Vita TV's Interest in the West Surpasses Sony's Expectations

The casual-focused PlayStation Vita TV has received a stronger reaction in western markets than Sony anticipated, something that could improve the odds of the device eventually being released outside of Japan.

Sony Japan's Masayasu Ito revealed to Eurogamer that the western response to Vita TV has been "strong... more than we expected." This prompted him to state Sony is thinking of launching the casual-focused device in the United States in Europe -- backing up what Sony told IGN last week -- albeit without guaranteeing anything. "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.

In addition to allowing Vita games to be played on a television set with a DualShock 3 controller, Vita TV also offers video streaming services and, following a future update, the ability to use a DualShock 4 to play PlayStation 4 content through Remote Play.

The rationale for launching Vita TV in Japan -- where it will be sold for 9,480 yen, or about $95, beginning on November 14 -- was outlined by Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House. With TV-connected devices that offer video streaming and game support already being available in the west -- and more being on the way, possibly including Amazon's Android-powered box -- the challenge is much different than in Japan.

"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."

With the Tokyo Game Show in full swing, IGN has gotten our first hands-on look with both Vita TV and the new PlayStation Vita model. You can check out our thoughts here.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who spends his spare time agonizing over the final seasons of The X-Files. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

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