SONY DONE FUCKED IT UP!!
I was recently thinking about purchasing a PS TV because the Wifi on the Netflix Blu-ray player I have in my room gave out. I remember hearing the announcement of it and thinking it was a great idea. Basically a Vita that hooked up to your big screen TV, allowing you to use Vita apps and play PS1, PSP, Vita, PS4 (through remote play) and, now, PS3 (through PS Now.) After doing some research before my purchase, I found one BIG problem, some of those don't work, including the most popular and widely used and available apps for streaming media, Netflix. There are even some PS1 Classics (including some of the bigger names, like MGS and Silent Hill) that don't work on the thing. Now, I'm guessing I must have not been around and/or busy when this big negative was discovered, because I don't remember ever hearing about this.
And all I have to say is...REALLY, SONY?! With the great launch of the PS4 and its continuing success, the PS TV could have been a great companion piece to go along with half, or more, of those purchases. Who wouldn't want to have remote play in another room, while also being able to use it for Netflix, Youtube, and/or HBO Go. Even without the PS4 remote play, it really could have been a big competitor in the streaming media device market, too. Have all of your streaming apps PLUS the ability to play the occassional PS1/PSP/Vita games. Again, I could have seen it bringing some real heat to that market. Instead, we have Sony dropping the price from $99 to $79 not even a year after launch, with some retailers dropping it even further to ~$50-$60. Gamestop and Best Buy recently had a sale where they lowered it to $39.
Another poor decision and big turn off was to continue the use of the proprietary memory cards, instead of just using standard SD cards for the PS TV. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if the prices were comparable, but they aren't even close. A 32GB Vita card will run you about $60. A 32GB SD? $15-$20. You can find a 64GB SD card usually for $25-$30. A 64GB Vita card? Oh, that'll just run you about $90. Around the price of 2 new Vita games, 2 slightly discounted PS4 games, or 4-5 new Blu-rays.
Seems like yet another device that had great potential, but failed because it lacked some basic core features that were no-brainers to add. Sony must have lost quite a few customers (myself included) by not making sure every downloadable PS1 and PSP game worked for it, as well as not supporting popular streaming apps, like Netflix and Youtube. I'm just glad I research everything I buy, otherwise I would have been pissed after I hooked it up. Guess it's an Android TV box for me.
