Breaking down the PS Vita TV: Why Sony's $100 set-top box is more than a consolation prize

Late last night / very early this morning, Sony's PlayStation team finally unveiled a release date for the PlayStation 4 in Japan: February 22, 2014. That's just short of 100 days after the company's new game console launches in the US, and nearly as far away from the console's arrival on European shores -- a far cry from the PlayStation 3's launch strategy, which put the console in Japanese gamers' hands first.

Instead, Sony's got another idea for Japanese gamers this holiday in the PlayStation Vita TV. The $100 set-top Vita hooks up to televisions and functions as a Vita does, albeit with a DualShock 3 paired for control. It'll even act as a Remote Play device for the PlayStation 4 when that console eventually launches in Japan. Unlike some Japan-only PlayStation hardware from Sony's past (PS3's Torne DVR device, for instance), Vita TV seems bound for an international release.

In Sony's official PR, the company says, "PS Vita TV will be available first in Japan prior to any other regions, on November 14, 2013." Prior to any other regions, eh? PlayStation's US counterparts are keeping coy. We asked if the console was being considered for release in North America and were told, "We are considering every opportunity, but have nothing to announce at this time," by an SCEA rep.


Source/Keep reading: ENGADGET