PS4 News: PS Vita TV Not Coming to West; PS4 Trumps Over Xbox One with 50 Percent More Power; No Game Bundles Coming
The PS Vita is becoming a hot button topic for Japan, as news has started to come in that it may only be available in the territory. This story serves as a complement for the announcement that the PS4 will have a much later release in the area, with three full months of delay compared to other territories.
There had been more hopeful news before, with GameSpot quoting Sony Worldwide boss Shuhei Yoshida in Twitter, "For people wondering about PS Vita TV outside Japan, we are just saying now 'PS Vita TV releasing first in Japan.' Stay tuned."
This was announced back in September 13, but a new announcement came from Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, stating that the Vita TV may not come in Europe or the U.S. as of yet.
"SCE will [release] the PS Vita TV in Japan Nov. 14, 2013, and in other countries after that," said House to Digital Trends. "The reason why it will be launched in Japan earlier than in other countries is that there is no leading company in Japan's video streaming market. The company is planning to sell the PS Vita TV in China, South Korea, etc., but not in the U.S. and European markets at this point."
Perhaps for now, the U.S. will be concentrated more on the PS4 and handheld gaming, while the PS Vita TV tries to test the market in its Asian counterparts.
The PS Vita TV gives players access to PSP, PlayStation and PS Vita games, all played through their TVs and with the DualShock 3. It will also support the Gaikai streaming service meant for the PS4.
Don't Expect Bundled Games for the PS4--For Now
Another thing that Sony fans should not expect for the meantime are game bundles for the PS4. Considering that the release dates for the PS4 and the Xbox One are already near, the supposed typical course of action is to take the remaining days leading to the release to gather more pre-orders, but it seems that Sony does not feel the need to resort to its competition's style.
"Platform holders and publishers run pre-order campaigns, and if you need to increase momentum then they dial it up a little bit with some promotional stuff, it's a rational thing to do. But do we need to do that? No," said Jim Ryan, SCEE president in an interview quoted by Gamerant.
However, this move is mostly for the official bundles offered by Sony. Other retailers have long been offering game bundles with Sony's next-gen console. From AAA games like "Battlefield 4" and "Watch Dogs" to PS4 exclusives like "Knack and DriveClub," these games are offered as a pack with the PS4 and sometimes with the PS Plus membership pack.
PS4 Trumps the Xbox One in Power and Speed
With less than 2 months on the clock before the PS4 and the Xbox One will be released, there is now new development regarding the hardware for Sony--and it is one that can be troubling for the nitpicky few who had opted for the Xbox One.
The latest developments come from Joystiq, which reports that not only is the PS4 more superior in terms of power and speed but also in terms of frame rates.
It is stated that the RAM power of the PS4 supersedes the Xbox One's by as much as 50 percent, and the lower resolution of the Xbox One is not helping its cause either.
But more than the power of the hardware, what is more damaging is the feedback from the developers, which have voiced that the Xbox One has more problems that it would need to resolve. Even though the hardware is supposedly not locked so both Sony and Microsoft can still work on their respective consoles, there is a problem with regard to these aspects of the hardware.
Extreme Tech has confirmed the values, with a game developer and their own tech analyst, stating that the overall configuration of Microsoft's device is what's preventing it from achieving a similar power as the PS4.
In essence, the 32 MB of ESRAM allotted in the Xbox One is said to have the capability of pushing the power of the Xbox One, if properly utilized and with additional work with the console.