Eurogamer deems PS TV more of a failure than a success

Another element that hasn't changed so much since we first looked at the Japanese Vita TV is the poor surrounding infrastructure. In a world where UK buyers can buy a NowTV streaming box for £10 and gain access to virtually every major catch-up TV service, the fact that none of them are available for PlayStation TV is a real disappointment. There's no support for Netflix or Amazon Prime Video either, though Sony has at least released a network media player, so you can access video and audio via a local DLNA server. (Sony told us that it is having conversations with "all the usual parties" and hopes to add support for more services, whether in native apps or via PS4 Remote Play.) Other than that, the only media services you have access to are Sony's own - and they're not very good. We had a quick look at some of the movies on offer and found only SD versions available, even with Sony's own movies, like The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Over-priced (£3.49 to rent, £9.99 to buy these SD encodes) and uncompetitive, it's hard to believe that Sony is taking its own media services seriously.

Without strong supporting services, what we're left with is essentially a Vita without a screen - but what really kills PlayStation TV's chances of success is its inflated price-point. It costs £85 for just the micro-console, HDMI cable, power adaptor and a redeem code for OlliOlli, Velocity Ultra and Worms Evolution Extreme. You aren't even supplied with a controller - you need to supply your own Dual Shock 3 or Dual Shock 4, otherwise you're left with a completely inoperable device. The question is, how much does PlayStation TV cost to make and just how can the price be justified? Let's put this way: you can buy a full Windows 8 tablet with a more advanced processor, touchscreen, and 32GB of storage and it's still £5 less than Sony's asking price for the PlayStation TV. In terms of pure build cost, PlayStation TV will obviously cost Sony far, far less to build yet the consumer is still being asked to pay a phenomenal premium.

Of course, there's also PlayStation 4 Remote Play support - a feature that Sony is pushing strongly for the micro-console. In theory, PlayStation TV can offer a lower-latency experience compared to the standard Vita, owing to the provision of wired LAN support built into the unit. We looked at this a few months back, and revisited it with the UK unit, and we remain fairly underwhelmed with this functionality owing to the noticeable lag and the need for a solid connection to your router. Even with a fully wired connection, it's still sub-optimal compared to local play, and the chances of you having a fully LANed up house are probably quite small. Meanwhile, WiFi connections can work OK - but only if you're relatively close to your router, and only if your PS4 is connected directly to it via a LAN cable. A normal/high video quality option has been added since we last looked at it, but otherwise the experience remains the same.

As it is, to get PlayStation TV running comfortably as a games machine, you're looking at spending over £35 on a controller (unless you're happy shuttling Dual Shocks around the house), and at least £20 on a decent-sized memory stick (the 1GB of onboard RAM fills very, very quickly). Once you cross the £100 threshold, the case for PlayStation TV becomes very weak indeed - we're swiftly moving into second-hand Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 territory.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-playstation-tv-review

I don't know why this device was released in the first place, it is a gimmicky half-measure instead of the missing link in your home entertainment hub. In theory, it sounds superbly exciting, but the execution is terribad, and it feels like milking. Only 1GB of internal memory, what a joke.

Sony only get one good idea once a gen. This time it was the PS4.

I thought this thing was a really cool idea until I heard it only supported 720p and had pretty much no media apps.

inb4 'eurogamer are biased towards teh xbox'

Is this going to be a series of lemming straw-grasping as they struggle to accept the consolation prize of third place and no games?

yea, I'm sure you were VERY interested in this, TC, being the lem that you are.

I used to be a hardcore cow, you know?

The latter statement is fully accurate, though.

You cows make me laugh, if this was MS you would be jumping all over it.

When it comes to Straw grasping both Lems and cows are just as bad as each other.

All you pathetic fanboys are just the same, you refuse to think that anything your beloved company puts out might just actually be a pile of Rubbish like PS TV actually is.

You cows where Cussing the Xbone for being a 'TV tuner' now you are all defending Ps TV?

apart from being Flat out wrong, both consoles actually have games.

Neither console is better than the other for games at the moment unless you count indie games ( the games YOU said didn't count last gen until the journey came along)

Xbone

FH2-also available on 360

Mcc-Flop

Sunset OD-great game

Titanfall- Also available on 360, PC

DR3-also available on PC

Ryse- Flop and also available on PC

PS4

Killzone shadowfall-Flop

Driveclub-Flop

TLOU-great game but also available on Ps3

Infamous- great game

You cows and lems need to stop kidding yourselves, Neither console has many games that set it apart from 7th gen consoles or PC.

Keep arguing over which console has the most polished turd of a games library while i carry on playing all the multiplats Ps4 and xbone owners are playing on my 360 which with Fable anniversary had a better year than both the Ps4 and xbone combined when it comes to games in my opinion.

and i saved 400 quid,lol

@Salt_The_Fries said:

@SolidGame_basic said:

yea, I'm sure you were VERY interested in this, TC, being the lem that you are.

I used to be a hardcore cow, you know?

I was a sheep that realized the greatness of Sony, so that makes me better than you.

Anyone got sales data on the psvita TV in October? I'm guessing it flopped. Probably like 5k.

No one wants a vita even at $99 :(

I am happy with Xbox Video. They have rentals up before Comcast and are priced the same.

Don't know what Sony is doing in this area.

Ever since it was announced it looked to simply be a vita, but worse, and when you consider how bad the vita already is... No thanks.

PSTV is a Vita in a different plastic shell, idiot. At least try and have a clue about stuff before mouthing off.

oh, i am sorry, did i sink down to your level of not knowing what i was talking about, my bad, makes a change you saying that to me, usually the other way round.

Funny that it's always you getting crushed at these things, isn't it, deltuh?

Go melt down about Gears of War being GOTY like you did in the UK charts thread.

'Funny that it's always you getting crushed at these things, isn't it, deltuh?' =BULLSHIT

'Go melt down about Gears of War being GOTY like you did in the UK charts thread.'=BULLSHIT

Try harder SONY drone.

You get consistently drubbed everytime you even try, Deltuh. And yes, you did meltdown in the UK sales thread.

Meltdown confirmed. Go and calm down by looking at MCC's matchmaking screen.

'You get consistently drubbed everytime you even try, Deltuh. And yes, you did meltdown in the UK sales thread.'=Bullshit

Do you even understand what try harder means? pathetic

The onboard RAM fills up quickly? Surely he means 1 GB of storage and not RAM.

I'm genuinely pissed at they made this half-assed product. By making this, they made the situation worse for Vita owners. This resource should've went to support software development for Vita instead. In the end, Sony wasted money, Vita owners got even more shit, and Vita still has no games.

I mean, who was this for? Internet whiners who supposedly said they "would buy if it's no longer portable?"

Problem with it is that Sony are being too passive with the Vita and PS TV. It's an interesting idea, but they've put no effort into it.

This was handled poorly and was a bad idea to begin with. Especially if this was supposed to save the VITA.

Good thing for Sony that the PS4 struck gold.

@Salt_The_Fries: yep, I was a hardcore cow as well.. after the SNES, I owned nothing but PlayStation consoles (PS1, PS2, and PS3) and wouldn't touch anything else.. I eventually saw the light and realized that Microsoft's software vision and online infrastructure was exactly what I wanted in a home gaming console when I finally picked up a 360 and saw that Sony was just playing catch-up in those regards.. PSN has definitely come a long way with the PS4 and they've introduced some novel ideas with their streaming services but I'm already seeing the writing on the wall with Microsoft's Azure platform and the things they have coming down the line with their ecosystem.. In terms of the software and the cloud, I see Sony playing catch-up again this gen as well.. "b bu but, teh sales!!1!".. sorry, I don't play sales.. but by all means, have fun with that..

OT, yea I didn't see much success coming from the PS TV.. I think this is a sign of Sony getting arrogant again frankly.. With the phenomenal success of the PS4, they probably think they can put out anything and people will eat it up.. Anyway, I look at PS TV just like I look at PS Now.. sounds cool at first until you really stop and think about it.. To a certain extent, I feel the same way about SharePlay.. Sounds cool, and its cool tech, but how often are people actually going to use it?.. that's a ton of research, development, and resources Sony poured into something that I may use once a blue moon for about 15 minutes.. Remote Play is another example.. sounds amazing but am I willing to buy a PS Vita just for that?.. hell no.. PS Vue?, yet another subscription internet TV service in a sea of internet video services?.. No thanks..

The next "big thing" Sony is dumping money into is Project Morpheus.. As you can probably tell, I don't have much confidence in that either..

yup internet silent majority....thats why nintendo made the 2ds...for people who dont like 3D. that failed too.

Well it probably does fill up, flush, and refill all very quickly

Man those people who whine in forums about some ridiculous stuff are good for nothing at all.

I myself only occasionally visit GS so I'm safe.

>.>

The whole thing is a mess. Sony needs to kill these and Vita. Focus on the PS4. This might be their best shot at making a profit. They need to take advantage of the ps4.

Falling apart so hard he denies the truth to protect his sensitive soul.

Sure. The extended rants he does to downplay the PS4 aren't meltdowns at all.

Sometimes he could give crackace a lesson in the art of the meltdown lmao

Hahaha!

If Sony upgrades this, I'll be all over it. 720p and no SS is awful.

Ok and?

Seriously lems are scrapping the bottom of the barrel in desperation to say anything bad about Sony or playstation that they can. There have been zero, count ZERO cows who have even made a pep about this idea, or service from Sony so why do lems care if cows don't?

*lems desperately combing the web for any negative PS news at any costs*

lol, it's so sad

Damn that fact that lems don't have any projection for when they might hear about any of their exclusive games releasing in 2015 is really getting to them.