Playstation TV - Will it breath life into the VITA?

[Oldskool]

http://psmedia.playstation.com/is/image/psmedia/pstv-ports-imageblock-us-16sep14?$TwoColumn_Image$
http://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstationtv/

I think at $99 the Playstation TV console is a great move for Sony. I personally think it will breath some life into the Vita since it will be the first way to allow you to play Vita games on TV. I also like that Playstation Now will allow people to play PS3 games on the Vita without even owning a PS3 (if I am understanding the concept correctly). I have always owned a Vita and I think that it will make things more interesting as now I can play my Vita games on TV and I will be able to play PS3 games now (considering I've never owned a PS3).

Do you think this will breath some life into the Vita? Do you think this will get people to purchase Vita games even if they do not own a Vita since it will have a Vita card slot built in? Maybe it will possibly spur people to buy the handheld?

Thoughts?

[kupomogli]

If Sony released in the west last year when it released in Japan, yeah, it would have helped. Now? No. Amazon Fire TV is out and it's a better quality product, not limited to 720p. It's got far more apps that are usable just through Amazon, anything from Google Play is possible(not officially,) and if someone wanted to play everything the Vita could play and then some(aside from Vita only games,) the Amazon Fire TV can emulate everything playable on PSP and up to the Dreamcast full speed. Also can use four controllers at once.

[Tanooki]

It appears you're right, if the PS3 game isn't I suppose too taxing as it's still beefier than a PS3, and it's on their full game download services, it will work on the Vita if Sony flags it to like that long list on that link you gave. That's pretty interesting if you don't mind digital downloads. I think it's a pretty neat box at least for allowing the use of Vita games on a TV. I see is does remote PS4 play, but can it alone use a pS4 controller? I'd hope as it would make for games like Uncharted to be playable since it used the Vita's touch sensor for some gameplay mechanics.

I could never see myself blowing $100 on it, but that said, if I found one for around 1/2 that price or got it as a gift I'd keep and use it. I had a Vita once with 5 games (4 which I really liked) and there's probably another 10~ games I would like to take a crack at. I don't think I'd find much other use for it seeing that it would be on the same TV as the PS4 which is a shame. I'd think if I could get a new Vita for $100 I'd still take that over it but it is a cool device for those wanting a set top box and don't like little handheld screens. THis probably will help sell a few Vita games but I doubt enough to really make a dent.

Edit: I just skimmed the Vita compatibility list, of the games I had, it appears Hot Shots, Lumines, Uncharted, Katamari don't work -- that's bs. Just the one I didn't like does - UMvsC3.

[megasdkirby]

I cancelled my preorder.

At least for me, what it currently does just isn't enough. I don't have a PS4. Most of the Vita games I like wont work on it.

I want to see more reviews and Youtube videos before considering it.

[josekortez]

Was considering one of these since it sounded like a cool idea, but now, I don' t think it's that good of an investment. I can't figure out who the target audience is for this item. There is a Vita TV bundle that includes The Lego Movie, so are they trying to attract kids? Or, is it a niche product for hardcore gamers who probably already own a Vita and want to play the games they already own on the big screen? I don't really see too much of a point of owning it since the original Vita's screen looks great to me, and the Vita TV's onboard memory is only 1 gb, which means that you still rely on Sony's extremely overpriced memory cards to save any of the games. At this point, my next Sony product would be a PS3 with a 500 gb hard drive on it so I can finally download the majority of my digital PS3 backlog or a hard drive for my 120 gb slim, which from what I've read is a bit difficult to install.

[kupomogli]

which from what I've read is a bit difficult to install.

http://joypadandme.com/tech-tips/tech-tips-upgrading-a-ps3-slim-hard-drive/

[Tupin]

Might get it simply because of the PS3 capabilities. Never owned one. All the Vita games I like don't use the gimmicky stuff anyway.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

Might get it simply because of the PS3 capabilities. Never owned one. All the Vita games I like don't use the gimmicky stuff anyway.

I want access to all my digital purchases on PSN without owning an actual PS3. PSP doesn't cut it and takes too long to download them. I still buy from the PS Store and now reading what this can do, I'm tempted. I know next to nothing about the actual Vita or its library, though.

[Leo_A]

Can Vita compatible downloads like Silent Hill (PS1) and Sega Genesis Collection (PSP), which are on the Vita handheld compatibility list but not the Vita TV's, be accessed via alternate means such as a transfer from a PS3 or swapping the card to a Vita handheld to download?

[PreZZ]

I wanted to buy it for ps4 remote play and to play a couple of psp and vita games on the big screen, but my second tv only has a dvi input it works with hdmi but no sound passthrough... wish they had put a stereo 3.5mm output, ps cable or rca outout.

[otaku]

I plan on getting one why not its only $100 and has enough reasons to do so

[Dr. BaconStein]

I was kind of interested... Then I watched an unboxing and a review of it. The system just looks cheaply made, even compared to FireTV or Ouya.

I don't mind the idea but I wish it was handled better. I still think they should release an HDMI adapter for the Vita someday.

[PreZZ]

I bought it yesterday, and for the same price ouya is a much better option. The ps4 remote play is not smooth, I use lan cables and powerline adapters and i get half a second of lag. Too many incompatibles games altough its nice to play the ones that work on the tv. Also enjoyed playing psp games like maverick hunter x, ultimate ghouls and ghost and gta lcs. My favorite psp game castlevania is not compatible and i dont know why since pstv is just a vita with video output

[kupomogli]

My favorite psp game castlevania is not compatible and i dont know why since pstv is just a vita with video output

Mine too. That's stupid it's not compatible. It's compatible on the Amazon Fire TV, upscaled to 1080p too.

For those who have a Vita TV, this might interest you. Now the Vita hasn't been fully hacked, but it can be used as a CFW PSP. This hack could be a full hack or just PSP CFW. Whatever it is it works for the Vita TV. Anything 3.20 and below.

http://wololo.net/2014/10/20/vita-hack-proof-of-concept-code-updated-confirmed-to-be-compatible-with-playstation-tvs-firmware-3-20/

[Satoshi_Matrix]

ah...damnit. I've got 3.30. It doesn't work.

[Rickstilwell1]

I just realized something. It is cheaper than an actual Vita and you can even buy it used for $20 less than a new one. I think I'll get one this holiday season as an entry level PS Vita and then go for the games that actually can play on it first, starting with Dungeon Hunter Alliance which was one of the early titles I wanted and go from there. Wikipedia says that is compatible. Then when I do finally get the true handheld version, I'll have a library of favorites to play a second time on the go.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

That is exactly what I did. I don't have a Vita but I did buy a Vita TV because well, the Vita TV is worth buying for Persona 4 Golden alone.

Seriously. P4G is probably the best killer app for a system launch since Halo on the original Xbox. It takes Persona 4, makes it widescreen, makes it HD, adds a ton of new content including features, characters, music and locations, adds tweaks to the gameplay to make it even more fun (and fair) removes the absolutely necessity to level grind and the Vita TV has a suspend mode so you can simply turn it off and resume later without turning off the entire game. This helps for when you're in a dungeon and don't want to go all the way back to a save point when you want to stop playing.


As for specific Vita games, don't use wikipedia. They are erroneous on several games they claim to work with the Vita TV but in actuality do not. They also simply say "yes" if a game is compatible or not with no further info. This is misleading as some games that work with the Vita TV only work with the Japanese or perhaps European release and NOT the US PlayStation TV.

Instead of relying on wikipedia, buying a game for your Vita TV and being disappointed that it doesn't work, instead go by Sony's official compatibility list. It's updated often, so just bookmark it.

https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5376/~/games-compatible-with-playstation-tv

[ZeroCool]

That is exactly what I did. I don't have a Vita but I did buy a Vita TV because well, the Vita TV is worth buying for Persona 4 Golden alone.

Seriously. P4G is probably the best killer app for a system launch since Halo on the original Xbox. It takes Persona 4, makes it widescreen, makes it HD, adds a ton of new content including features, characters, music and locations, adds tweaks to the gameplay to make it even more fun (and fair) removes the absolutely necessity to level grind and the Vita TV has a suspend mode so you can simply turn it off and resume later without turning off the entire game. This helps for when you're in a dungeon and don't want to go all the way back to a save point when you want to stop playing.


As for specific Vita games, don't use wikipedia. They are erroneous on several games they claim to work with the Vita TV but in actuality do not. They also simply say "yes" if a game is compatible or not with no further info. This is misleading as some games that work with the Vita TV only work with the Japanese or perhaps European release and NOT the US PlayStation TV.

Instead of relying on wikipedia, buying a game for your Vita TV and being disappointed that it doesn't work, instead go by Sony's official compatibility list. It's updated often, so just bookmark it.

https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5376/~/games-compatible-with-playstation-tv

What exact tweaks are there that make you dont have to grind? Im playing this game on PS2 but I get totalled on the Game Over dungeon. Its a really interesting game but Im not good at understanding the Persona fusing and apparently you need to use a specific Persona for this boss and I dont have either persona to fuse it. Its confusing for me.

[Rickstilwell1]

Uh oh, so Dungeon Hunter Alliance is on the Wikipedia list as a yes but is not mentioned at all on the official website. Do you know what versions of it worked somewhat or what issues it has causing it not to be on the official list?

I am also surprised to not see Suikoden as one of the PSTV compatible PS One Classics and I wonder why that is too.

[swlovinist]

I like idea of micro consoles. I own a Amazon Fire TV, and an Ouya. I use my Ouya alot, and use the Amazon Fire TV for streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. I probably will eventually get one to play Vita Games on the TV.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

What exact tweaks are there that make you dont have to grind? Im playing this game on PS2 but I get totalled on the Game Over dungeon. Its a really interesting game but Im not good at understanding the Persona fusing and apparently you need to use a specific Persona for this boss and I dont have either persona to fuse it. Its confusing for me.

One thing that is now different that if you're playing on normal difficulty, you can be killed in battle and choose to resume starting on the floor you last reached with the HP/MP, EXP, items and money that you had when you first reached that floor. Anything gained on that floor prior to your death is gone though. Because of this system, savepoints at the end of dungeons just before the major shadow fight are removed, as is floor skipping.

The Persona fusing system is also tweaked so you can manually assign skills fused persona gain, use a search field to find a specific Persona you want, so that boss fights against certain elements are easier to deal with.

Oh, and treasure chests now respawn as soon as you leave a dungeon floor, meaning you can reacquire more healing items, MP restoring items and more. Also when you defeat shadows and gain cards, you can choose the card you want, no more roulette. There are new feature cards too like partial restoring of the whole party's HP/MP.

All of this means level grinding is no longer really needed and the dungeon crawling is a lot more enjoyable than in the original P4. When I beat Persona 4 on PS2, I clocked 178 hours into it. So much of that was due to grinding. Persona 4 Golden feels liberating that you can focus on all the good bits like the social links and such and cut the level grinding time by two thirds.

There are a TON of changes. For a full list, check here:
http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Persona_4_Golden

[calgon]

Really enjoying mine so far. Child of light looks really good on 720p. Hope they add more compatibility soon. I have been dying to replay Metal gear solid for a long time now and was disappointed to see it's been white listed. I'm assuming this is a rights thing ?

[ZeroCool]

Cool. Thanks for the info and link.

So anyone who did buy it, did they buy the bundle or just the straight up bare bones device?

[Niku-Sama]

I might get one when they decide to dump stock. Probably at the beginning of the year

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The bundle. The system has 1GB internal storage, but unless you only plan on buying a Vita TV for one game, you'll definetely need to buy a memory card for it, and those are very expensive. You also need a controller of course, and since the Vita TV uses the DualShock 3, that controller can also be used for other systems including the PS3 and Ouya. I couldn't care less about the Lego Game voucher though. Too bad it was something so lame. Sony really ought to include a Persona 4 Golden bundle as well.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the Vita TV is totally worth buying for Persona 4. Best killer app in years. Game of the Year stuff, even though the game technically came out two years ago and is a remake of a PS2 game from 2008.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I might get one when they decide to dump stock. Probably at the beginning of the year

Yeah I don't see that happening, and I don't see the price going anywhere really. I think the price is a sweet spot.

What Sony needs to do with the PlayStation TV is simply make more games compatible with it, especially PSP and PS1 games that really have no excuse for being incompatible, like Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles and Grandia. Both work on PSP, both work on an actual Vita. So why the f*** do neither work on Vita TV?

[kupomogli]

ah...damnit. I've got 3.30. It doesn't work.

Just sign up for their forum and keep watch at wololo.net every once in awhile. They let everyone know about the next game before it's announced to be ready for it and depending on how long you're a forum member, if you go to the /talk forum page and you're logged in, it'll have a ninja release that tells which game to purchase before it's officially announced, giving everyone a chance to purchase it before it's taken down from PSN. The internet website one is just one way to exploit it, but you usually have to buy a PS Mini or PSP game and it gives you an exploit through the PSP emulator.

The halfbyte loader exploits suck imo because it's only specific homebrew/emulators developed to run in a very small amount of usable data. The best exploits are the ones that use the PSP emulator and then you can run any homebrew, PSP isos, etc. I've bought a few PSP games that I already own because they were really cheap and I have two Vitas, but I'd rather not spend money on games I've already purchased once before.

[calgon]

Why is Dracula x chronicles white listed also?

[kupomogli]

Because the Playstation TV can't handle that much awesomeness.

[Tanooki]

Hah you may be right. Some of the stuff they have listed as not working is entirely confusing. Other stuff I'd just imagine would fall into the lazy category or the one where they want key stuff stuck on Vita in a desperate play to maybe sell a few more. I'd think something like Uncharted would be a good thing on the Vita since it uses a PS4 controller which has the touch surface it needs. Then there are good games that don't need that like Hot Shots, Katamari and a few others and they don't work either so it's just confusing.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Dracula X Chronicles is especially annoying since the game was on sale for half off until today. Sony put it on sale but it's not playable on the one device that would really benefit for it. I decided to buy it anyway though because of the sale price and the possibility that I'll eventually buy an actual Vita.

But yeah, Sony really needs to get on making Dracula X Chronicles as well as Grandia, Megaman X4, X5 and more work with the Vita TV. It's still worth buying for Persona 4 Golden alone, but it's just frustrating that these games don't work with the PlayStation TV in the west.....especially when all the games I just mentioned work off the Japanese PSN.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Might be late but play asia had a ps vita TV sale over the weekend for 59.99 but shipping would bump u up to 75, still a good deal, I ordered Saturday morning, it arrived Monday morning (wtf?!)

I play using powerline adapters, so both the ps4 and vita TV are plugged into the wall. I notice next to zero lag, not sure if this creates a personal lan or not but my internet upload speed is only 1mb, the fact I notice barely any lag at all is crazy. I'm playing a couple of vita titles on screen and they look nice but you will notice Jaggies u didn't before since it was originally meant to be played on in a 5 inch screen


Main complaint is the same as everyone else's, compatibilty, a lot of games I was looking forward to playing on a TV like Gravity Rush simply won't work. Sucks, hope full vita compatibility gets patched in soon


Edit: playasia still has asian ps tvs for the sale price of 59.99, I bought the japanese one, I don't know if there is any difference between the 2, I doubt it but I would make sure the new firmware upgrade would allow u to use american accounts on it same as it allowed the jap version

[Tupin]

I'm liking mine so far, but they chose a very poor game to pack-in.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I play using powerline adapters, so both the ps4 and vita TV are plugged into the wall. I notice next to zero lag, not sure if this creates a personal lan or not but my internet upload speed is only 1mb, the fact I notice barely any lag at all is crazy.

Can you explain this? you're using a vita tv to play PS4 games? or was that just to test that? I dunno, that whole idea seems so absurd to me. Why not just use the PS4 to play PS4 games?

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Can you explain this? you're using a vita tv to play PS4 games? or was that just to test that? I dunno, that whole idea seems so absurd to me. Why not just use the PS4 to play PS4 games?

Because I keep my ps4 in my living room, but when it's occupied im shit out of luck, moving the ps4 back and forth was too much of a hassle when I wanted to play in my bedroom so the vita TV remedied that problem for me


The fact that I can now play some vita games etc on a TV is just icing on the cake, psp and ps1 games as well as video apps are nice to but I still have my original 60gig PS3 and hacked psp go so I was already covered on that end.

Main reason I got it was because it was cheaper than a second ps4 and more convenient than moving the ps4 i Already own between rooms everyday, only paid 75 dollars for mine after shipping and already had a bunch of memory cards lying around so figured why not and pulled the trigger.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Ohh....yeah okay that makes a bit more sense.

When you said "both the ps4 and vita TV are plugged into the wall" I thought you meant they were plugged in right next to each other, which is why I was ultra confused.

The only way to play PS4 games even off the Vita TV is to use a PS4 controller right? So that means you need to reassign the controller from PS4 to Vita TV every time you switch? Or what? how does that work?

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Ohh....yeah okay that makes a bit more sense.

When you said "both the ps4 and vita TV are plugged into the wall" I thought you meant they were plugged in right next to each other, which is why I was ultra confused.

The only way to play PS4 games even off the Vita TV is to use a PS4 controller right? So that means you need to reassign the controller from PS4 to Vita TV every time you switch? Or what? how does that work?

lol no my bad, I meant they're both hard wired for Internet into the wall, so no wifi at all for best results


And the ps TV can also use dualshock 3 controllers And any controller compatible with ps3, I'm using an Xbox razer onza controller via adapter on mine

[Satoshi_Matrix]

So you're baying the digital rental fee for PlayStation Now? to get PS3 games streamed from your PS4 to your Vita TV?

[Leo_A]

Vita TV/Playstation TV is fully capable of streaming PS4 titles with a Six Axis or Dual Shock 3, although presumably, a few games that use the touch pad won't work (Although I think there's a workaround with an on-screen pointer, isn't there?).

[Jorpho]

By the way, does this at least scale PSP games properly?

If I'm not mistaken, there's still no easy way to play a PSP game on a big-screen TV unless it happens to have just the right zoom mode, or unless you happen to have some painfully expensive scaler device of some sort.

[Leo_A]

It scales PSP games to full screen 16:9, as it should. External PSP specific scalers aren't too expensive though, unlike something like the XRGB Mini which I believe can also handle the job. And some Sony displays like their 3D Playstation model also have special PSP modes that will properly upscale PSP software to full-screen.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

So you're baying the digital rental fee for PlayStation Now? to get PS3 games streamed from your PS4 to your Vita TV?


Good god no. Even if I already didn't have a PS3 with most of the games that interest me in my collection already, I would never rent a game from ps now, not at those ridiculous prices definitely not with the catalog they have available

In order of importance of what I use my vita TV for

Remote play ps4 in a different room
Play the vita games it DOES support on full screen tv with controller (mostly dangaronpa and persona 4 golden)
Play digital psp titles finally properly scaled to my tv unlike my psp go where I had to use the zoom setting in my tv and still didn't get it right
Play ps1 titles mostly for the bilinear filtering on the vita, PS3 has smoothing but it's a little to smooth, too blurry for my taste
Check my email on tv? Lol I ran out of uses

It does have a few set top box media apps that work like crackle and....crackle


I don't really care about this particular feature, I already have chromecast, PS3, ps4, Xbox and smart tv, I really didn't need another method of accessing Netflix and youtube

[Tupin]

Gotta admit, some of these PlayStation Mobile games are fun. And they work great on the TV.

[calgon]

I could have sworn I saw puzzle fighter on the original list Sony provided but couldn't not find it on the store last night

[Jorpho]

External PSP specific scalers aren't too expensive though, unlike something like the XRGB Mini which I believe can also handle the job.At the risk of going off-topic, is there a specific one that comes to mind?

[Leo_A]

Check out the LKV8000. It's $50-$75, basically the price of a current gen AAA game at release, and performs very well. Digital Press user Satoshi Matrix has a video review up of it on YouTube, as I recall from an old thread, if you want to see it explained and demonstrated.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, the LKV8000 is a great choice to play PSP games on an HDTV. It does a very good job, but the video quality isn't as absolutely flawless as what the Vita TV produces though PSN downloads. I'd say it's about 85% as good as the Vita TV.

So you're better to go official whenever possible, but there are PSP games that are still not on PSN at all, such as Megaman Powered Up. The only way to play those games on a tv is through a PSP and the LKV8000.

[Jorpho]

I was hoping a dramatically cheaper option might have materialized. Those still look a bit pricey, alas.

[Leo_A]

I was hoping a dramatically cheaper option might have materialized. Those still look a bit pricey, alas.

If only Sony had released an external UMD drive for this thing. The option is nonsense for North America, but had a fighting chance at making sense for Japan back when this thing launched a year ago. As long our firmware was able to interact with it, those of us willing to import could've been all set.

[kupomogli]

but there are PSP games that are still not on PSN at all, such as Megaman Powered Up. The only way to play those games on a tv is through a PSP and the LKV8000.

Once the Playstation TV receives the same exploit the PS Vita has received, it'll be able to act as a CFW PSP and all PSP games will be playable on it. No reason to go through a third party upscaler anymore when other products do a better job.

*edit*

I know the PPSSPP runs PSP full speed on some more recent cell phones, just looked it up and Amazon Fire TV happens to lag using the emulator. Maybe it'll get better. There's alwaysy the ability to hook a PC up to your TV using HDMI and using the PC version of the emulator to play any PSP game on an HDTV running full speed though.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

What's this about PS TV not working with Grandia? That's one of my PSN games that I wanted to play on it. Have they fixed it yet?

I like the small size of PSTV and that I can access all my PSN purchases without owning a PS3. Should I hold back for now?

[calgon]

I would only becuase there has been no mention on enabling any of the white listed games to play and Sony has treated this thing as an after thought. Probably selling mine soon

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The problem is that any exploits will be patched, so you choose either exploits and play hacked PSP games (how would you even get them on the Vita TV in the first place? Is there a USB adapter for the Vita memory cards...?)
or you can have access to PSN.

There are a lot of Vita games that don't have physical releases at all, so you can't just decide to ignore PSN unless you plan to ignore a good percentage of the best games coming out on Vita.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

What's this about PS TV not working with Grandia? That's one of my PSN games that I wanted to play on it. Have they fixed it yet?

Sony has up a compatibility list for the PlayStation TV for Vita games, PSP games, PS1 games, PSP Minis and PS Mobile games. If the game you want isn't on the list, it currently does not work with the PlayStation TV. That includes PS1 Grandia 1. There's a lot of games that aren't playable on the Vita TV when they really should be. Right now it's kinda spotty.

https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5376/~/games-compatible-with-playstation-tv

This does bother me, but not enough to rage quit on the Vita TV and sell mine off like a sissy. There's Persona 4 Golden for it and most of the PSP games on PSN are available, so I'm literally good with just Persona 4 Golden, Lunar Silver Star Harmony on an HDTV (yessssss) and a couple of other games until next year.

I don't know for certain, but if I had to guess, perhaps some games aren't playable on the Vita TV yet due to licensing issues or perhaps emulation performance. Remember, the Vita does not have the PSP hardware. It runs PSP games via emulation. In either case, I believe these games will be added to the Vita TV eventually.




I like the small size of PSTV and that I can access all my PSN purchases without owning a PS3. Should I hold back for now?

No. You cannot access all your PSN purchases without owning a PS3. That isn't even close to being true. The Vita TV cannot access any PS3 content through PSN. It can access most PS1 content, but it's in no way a substitute for a PS3.

[Leo_A]

It's my understanding that that isn't correct. There are some workarounds, such as installing a game on a Vita handheld and moving the memory card over to the Playstation TV, or transferring over from a PS3, which allows some releases currently disabled from being downloaded directly to a PSTV to still be played.

It's really just a big mess.

[Rickstilwell1]

So maybe if I copy my download of Suikoden that I have on my PS3 and hacked PSP Go onto the PSTV, it would work?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

It's my understanding that that isn't correct. There are some workarounds, such as installing a game on a Vita handheld and moving the memory card over to the Playstation TV, or transferring over from a PS3, which allows some releases currently disabled from being downloaded directly to a PSTV to still be played.

It's really just a big mess.

How on earth would you transfer a downloaded game from a PS3 to a Vita TV...?

Also, what games are you talking about? No matter what, Dracula X Chronicles doesn't work on the Vita TV.

[Leo_A]

I don't know, I've only read about it. I suspect it's similar to moving it from a PS3 to a Vita handheld, even though apparently the remote play functionality doesn't work on a PSTV with a PS3 (Neither the standard PSP to PS3 remote play, nor the enhanced Vita handheld remote functionality such as with the Ico Collection.).

It's possible I've slightly mixed it up though, and the two tricks are transferring from a PS3 to a Vita handheld for the games that can't be downloaded directly to a Vita handheld, or download directly to a Vita handheld for the selection of games compatible there but officially not on the PSTV. Then, of course, you move over your memory card afterwards to the PSTV.

And I haven't kept a list of games that work via this workaround, but some most definitely do while others will still end up with an error message. It took all of 5 seconds on a search engine to find one notable example with Valkyria Chronicles II and there are definitely quite a few others.

The Vita handheld is the same way. Not every PSP compatible download able to be played on it is able to be downloaded directly. A good slice of the list of non-compatible games however can just be downloaded and transferred over from a PS3.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

What I need to invest in is actually a bigger memory card for my PSP. That way I can have all or most of my PSN purchases so far on the system. PSP has a slow wi-fi connection so downloading and installing games like Grandia can take over an hour. I however, found that the MediaGo application by Sony cuts down this time significantly, so my confidence is boosted. I use a TV cable for my PSP when running PS Classics.

[Leo_A]

You have no choice these days. Direct downloading to the PSP was discontinued a while back. [Edit: It's my understanding that a recent firmware patch for the venerable PSP rectifies this and restores access]

[SparTonberry]

What I need to invest in is actually a bigger memory card for my PSP. That way I can have all or most of my PSN purchases so far on the system. PSP has a slow wi-fi connection so downloading and installing games like Grandia can take over an hour. I however, found that the MediaGo application by Sony cuts down this time significantly, so my confidence is boosted. I use a TV cable for my PSP when running PS Classics.

I remember last I tried, my PSP was having problems installing from downloading directly. (installation failing, necessitating 45+minutes to redownload the whole game I wanted. After several failures, I downloaded on MediaGo, and it transferred the first time flawlessly.)

[Manhattan Sports Club]

I remember last I tried, my PSP was having problems installing from downloading directly. (installation failing, necessitating 45+minutes to redownload the whole game I wanted. After several failures, I downloaded on MediaGo, and it transferred the first time flawlessly.)

Yeah, it's great, isn't it? Also, do you have any suggestions on what kind of memory cards to look for, what to avoid (like poor bootlegs), how to get good deals, etc.? I'm looking for one at least 8 gigs or higher if that's even feasible.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I was an early adopter of the PSP so I can tell you a thing or two about Sony memory cards - they've always been hyper expensive. I remember in 2006, I bought a 1GB ProDuo card for my PSP - and it cost me $95.99. Seriously.

But with the passage of time, you no longer need to pay anywhere close to that to get massive amounts of storage on a PSP 1000, 2000 or 3000.

Nowadays, the cheapest (and best) storage solution is to buy a Micro SD to ProDuo adapter. These are all over ebay and other places for around $3 + storage. They let you insert two Micro SD cards and once formatted by a PSP, are recognized as a ProDuo with the combined storage of both cards.

http://toonieshop.com/images/CR-5400_4.jpg

I use two 32GB Kingston Micro SD cards in mine, for a total of 64GB on my PSP. This is enough storage to support all the PSP games I have, all the PSN games I have, emulators and a bunch of PS1 games from PSN as well.

The only real downside is these ProDuo adapters are made out of incredibly thin plastic which can crack at a moment's notice. If you buy one, keep the memory card plugged into the PSP and don't ever drop your PSP.

If you have a GO, you're SOL since those use M2 cards.


Hopefully eventually some sort of adapter will be made for the Vita, as those Sony memory cards are so very expensive.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

Thanks, Satoshi. Also, are the cheap nameless microSD cards on eBay acceptable, or should I just stick with name brands like SanDisk?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

go name brand, always. those cheap knock offs have a range of issues from being extremely slow, not the storage they're marked, not writing to the card when prompted, currupting data, and more. don't put yourself through that. besides, name brand micro sd cards aren't that much money. you can even start off with two 8GB cards. That's still a lot of space.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

One thing that is now different that if you're playing on normal difficulty, you can be killed in battle and choose to resume starting on the floor you last reached with the HP/MP, EXP, items and money that you had when you first reached that floor. Anything gained on that floor prior to your death is gone though. Because of this system, savepoints at the end of dungeons just before the major shadow fight are removed, as is floor skipping.

The Persona fusing system is also tweaked so you can manually assign skills fused persona gain, use a search field to find a specific Persona you want, so that boss fights against certain elements are easier to deal with.

Oh, and treasure chests now respawn as soon as you leave a dungeon floor, meaning you can reacquire more healing items, MP restoring items and more. Also when you defeat shadows and gain cards, you can choose the card you want, no more roulette. There are new feature cards too like partial restoring of the whole party's HP/MP.

All of this means level grinding is no longer really needed and the dungeon crawling is a lot more enjoyable than in the original P4. When I beat Persona 4 on PS2, I clocked 178 hours into it. So much of that was due to grinding. Persona 4 Golden feels liberating that you can focus on all the good bits like the social links and such and cut the level grinding time by two thirds.

There are a TON of changes. For a full list, check here:
http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Persona_4_Golden

So far my only complaint is the change in voice actors for chie and teddy, I prefer the original chie but I can see this one growing on me it also seems to fit the tone of the character a bit more as she's less serious and a lot more hyper active like a 16 year old would be, but the change in teddy is wayyyy more egregious.


I'm gonna save a lot of of uncomfortable typing on my iPad by just saying I fucking hate this new guy. It's been a while but isn't the original va the same guy doing the voice of the killer teddy in dangaronpa?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Well, that's everyone's complaint who played the original Persona 4.

The new Chie and Teddy voices are a big sticking point for a lot of people, but the new voice actors do a great job with their roles. And besides, Persona 4 Golden is such a big improvement over the original P4 in so many ways this issue is a drop in the bucket compared to all the good things it does.

And the game can be found for $25 or less new. That's just insane given that you're getting a game that has enough content to single-handedly last months.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Well, that's everyone's complaint who played the original Persona 4.

The new Chie and Teddy voices are a big sticking point for a lot of people, but the new voice actors do a great job with their roles. And besides, Persona 4 Golden is such a big improvement over the original P4 in so many ways this issue is a drop in the bucket compared to all the good things it does.

And the game can be found for $25 or less new. That's just insane given that you're getting a game that has enough content to single-handedly last months.

Yeah I'm not even mad at that price lol, I actually picked mine up for around 18 new bundled with my vita TV when I got it shipped from playasia. I even did a side by side comparison between p4g at 720p on the vita TV and an upscaled persona 4 on the original 60gig PS3 at 1080p. P4g was sharper but the original p4 had slightly higher color saturation which comes down to preference. Besides that already I've noticed differences large and small in the new content. This is great for me since I never beat the original, on,y made it to the fight with the 5th or 6th persons persona.


I'm with you, persona 4 golden in hd full screen is almost worth getting a vita TV by itself

[kupomogli]

That's just insane given that you're getting a game that has enough content to single-handedly last months.

We must have been playing different games. Persona 4 is a great game, won't deny that, but the content in the game certainly won't last for months, unless you're talking about in game months, then yeah(get it?) Persona 4 is more story and time management focused than combat and exploration. The content that is in the game that you can put more time into is in the dungeons and Persona compendium. For the Persona compendium, 100% it isn't really meaningful content. After 40 hours or 60 if you've put effort into maxing out your relationship levels, you've beaten the game and completed all the dungeons except one. If you put in around 60 hours you unlock another dungeon, another dungeon that's is exactly like the other seven or eight before it. Having no world outside of the text hub of the town you're located in and a randomized dungeon, the dungeon design in Persona 4 is poor. It lacks in any sort of meaningful exploration and design like your more classic RPGs, even those in a similar series, SMT Nocturne, SMT4, etc. The extra dungeon might be extra content, but as boring as the design of the dungeons are, it doesn't mean your experience is going to be an enjoyable one. Even then, the dungeon more than likely doesn't last that long, so length of the dungeon certainly doesn't help the main game last for months.

Atlus should remake SMT Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga. The games didn't receive the recognition they deserved and there are too many fans that started at Persona 3 and 4 who've never played the game. Even Raidou Kuzunoha seems be more played and have a larger fanbase than Nocturne and DDS. Pretty ridiculous imo.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I'm with you, persona 4 golden in hd full screen is almost worth getting a vita TV by itself

Not almost, it is.


he content in the game certainly won't last for months, unless you're talking about in game months, then yeah(get it?) Persona 4 is more story and time management focused than combat and exploration.

Well, I suppose it all depends on how much you play on a daily/weekly basis.

I just saved Rise, and my clock is already at the 60 hour mark. Since that's not even the half way point, it means that 120 hours long, probably longer. In the original PS2 version I finished the game at about 170 hours.

I put about 1-2 hours into P4 a day when I can, so that means there's enough game here without even rolling over into new game+ mode for at least another month of solid play.

[The Adventurer]

So.... The PS TVs are already on sale at $80 for just the device and $100 for a bundle with a PS3 controller. This is a holiday promotion and I'm seriously thinking about springing for one.

But I've got a big question, is a subscription to PSN required? If not, is it worth it? I do hear Sony offers freebies and good sales deals to subscribers fairly often.

How well do PS1 era games look on the HD screen? Are they presented at the proper aspect ratio with decent scaling?

[LaughingMAN.S9]

So.... The PS TVs are already on sale at $80 for just the device and $100 for a bundle with a PS3 controller. This is a holiday promotion and I'm seriously thinking about springing for one.

But I've got a big question, is a subscription to PSN required? If not, is it worth it? I do hear Sony offers freebies and good sales deals to subscribers fairly often.

How well do PS1 era games look on the HD screen? Are they presented at the proper aspect ratio with decent scaling?

It's not required but it is recommended for the free monthly games and cloud saves, you should be able to get a year subscription for around 30 as we near Black Friday

Ps1 games look good on the ps TV you can choose how it scales and whether to use bilinear filtering or not. You can keep original aspect ratio or full screen, your choice.


If you intend to use it mostly for vita gameplay know in advance that not all games are currently compatible, same with ps1 and psp purchases. There are compatibility lists out there if you google them which can tell you more

[The Adventurer]

I primarily want to play JRPG-like games like Freedom Wars (which is not on the compatibility list?), Mind Zero, and the Danganronpa games.

Also, do PS3 fight sticks work with the fighting games?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Bookmark the official compatibility list from Sony, and check back often.

If you want to play a game that isn't there, you just can't.

https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5376/~/games-compatible-with-playstation-tv

PS1 games on Vita TV look identical to PS1 games on PS3 - which is to say they look great.

PS1 games scale to fit and can either run in their original 4:3 ratio or stretched to 16:9. You can easily switch this at any time through the PS menu. You can also choose to "soften" the image (make it blurry) or keep it razor sharp.


PS+ is worth paying for if you have or plan to buy a PS3 or PS4. I wouldn't bother just for the Vita TV itself.

The benefits are:

free games (so long as you are continuing to pay your subscription; you cannot play anything you get free with PS+ if you ever stop paying for it)
discounts on most PSN games, and further discounts even when Sony is running sales on PSN. For example, leading up to Halloween, Corpse Party on PSP was on sale for $9.99 instead of 19.99. PS+ members could get it for $8.99.
Online play on PS4
random extras like themes as such

If you plan on buying a lotta PSN games, then a PS+ membership might not be such a bad idea, as even if you do let the service eventually lapse, anything you bought with the discount stays.

As for PS3 arcade sticks? Yes. Most PS3 controllers will work on the Vita TV just fine. Granted, I say most, which doesn't mean ALL. Some sticks might not work. ymmv.

[Leo_A]

If you want to play a game that isn't there, you just can't.

Again folks, he's not fully correct here. For the second time now, a fair percentage of downloads that aren't listed in the official compatibility list can still be played.

What this list represents is the content that can be downloaded directly from a Playstation TV. Just as with the handheld Vita and its official compatibility list, it isn't fully representative of everything that can actually be played here. PS3 transfers and moving Vita handheld memory cards over to the PSTV do open up a percentage of what's officially "incompatible".

Sadly, some games just can't be transferred from a PS3. And some Vita handheld compatible PSP games, despite being there on your memory card, will still throw an error message out on a Playstation TV after swapping the card over. But for a fair percentage of PSP material not presently on the PSTV's official compatibility list, there are solutions.

Plus, if you downloaded and backed games up with the content manager when Sony accidentally unlocked almost the entire PSP library a while back, those files will apparently install fine on the PSTV as well and be playable (Such as the Spyro the Dragon franchise). But if you did this and merely move over your memory card that you previously installed this software to, you'll just get an error with such games that have otherwise never been playable on a Vita by any non hacked means.

Here's some lists that document this oddness with the Vita handheld. We're still in the early days of the PSTV and I see no signs of anyone teaming up to create something similar to make the official compatibility list truly complete via the inclusion of unofficial compatibility for the PSTV, but all signs point to it working similarly to the handheld with easy solutions available for a portion of the current incompatibility list of PSP software.

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/281768-complete-list-of-pspminispsone-games-playable-on-vita/

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=488789