Western Vita TV interest stronger than Sony expected

Interest from Western consumers in the PlayStation Vita TV streaming device has surpassed Sony's expectations, according to executive Masayasu Ito.

Speaking during a Tokyo Game Show roundtable interview attended by Eurogamer, Ito said the response for the device from Western markets had been "strong…more than we expected."

The executive also said Sony is "of course" thinking about launching the PS Vita TV in the United States and Europe, however, timing is not yet nailed down.

"But when it comes to the timing, we'll have to watch the environment and identify what other services are available in the US and Europe and whether we'll have to add other services," Ito said.

Separately, Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House told Eurogamer that the company has been "very encouraged" by the Western response to the PS Vita TV. "It's been very, very positive," he said.

House also explained Sony's decision to launch the PS Vita TV first in Japan, saying there is simply no major competitor for streaming boxes in the region, compared to the US and Europe where such devices are more readily available.

"The reason we wanted to launch PlayStation Vita TV in Japan first was because we think that there is a significant gap in this market even for a pure streamed TV box," House said. "There isn't really a competitor here that's staked out a claim. And frankly, in my own view, Japan is a little behind the adoption curve in video streaming services.

"So we thought we could have an opportunity in Japan to really establish a leadership position by having an addition differentiated killer app--which is having our huge library of streaming games content," he added.

The PS Vita TV will allow owners to play PSP, original PlayStation, and PS Vita games directly on their televisions. The system will also work with the PlayStation 4's Remote Play feature. In addition, the Gaikai-powered streaming service in the works for the PlayStation 4 could "technically" be supported on the PS Vita TV, according to Sony.

The device will launch in Japan on November 14 for ¥9,480 (around $95) and will also be available in a bundle that includes a PS Vita TV, a DualShock 3 controller, and an 8GB Vita Memory Card.

Last week, Sony published a full list of supported titles for the PS Vita TV.