Sony’s PlayStation TV micro-console no longer being sold in Japan

By Kris Wouk February 29, 2016

sony ending production of playstation tv in japan 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Since it first launched in November 2013, Sony’s PlayStation TV has always been a puzzling device. It was meant to allow users to play PlayStation Vita games on a TV, but compatibility issues and missing features kept it from being a hit with gamers.

Now it seems that Sony is giving up on the console, at least in Japan. A poster on the gaming forum NeoGAF first spotted the PlayStation TV’s listing on Sony’s Japanese website, where a message now roughly translates to “shipping has concluded.”

There has been no official word from Sony so far confirming or denying that the console has ceased production, but bundles that include the PlayStation TV have also been updated with the same message. The console can still be found in some stores in Japan, but this likely won’t be the case for much longer.

From the very start, the PlayStation TV suffered from a lack of compatibility with both Vita game and apps. Users who were looking to use the console for video streaming quickly found that Netflix and many other apps simply didn’t work. This, combined with a dwindling software library, meant that the PlayStation TV was tough to recommend.

Following the Japanese launch, the PlayStation Vita launched in North America in 2014. The unit sold poorly, and often saw price drops even within a few months after release. Last month the price dropped at a number of retailers, including related bundle pricing, but Sony said this was retailer specific, and not an official price drop.

For the time being, the PlayStation TV appears to still be in production in the U.S., though the price remains substantially discounted at a number of retailers. Amazon, for example, currently has the PlayStation TV on sale for $45.

If you’ve been waiting to pick up a PlayStation TV — maybe to stream PS4 games to another TV — you might not want to wait much longer, just in case.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Gaming

You need to try PlayStation VR2’s most psychedelic game yet

Key art for Akka Arrh shows psychedelic images.

You know that it's a busy year for gaming when a project by an industry legend launches with hardly any fanfare. That's exactly what happened in February 2023 with Akka Arrh. Created by Jeff Minter and his eccentric studio Llamasoft, the neon-tinted shooter is a remake of a 1982 Atari game that never saw the light of day after being deemed too difficult. Minter got the greenlight to revive the project, bringing it to life as a retro arcade shooter built in his unmistakable style.

While the project was exciting for game historians, it didn't exactly crack into the mainstream (it only has 37 user reviews on Steam). Thankfully, Akka Arrh getting a second chance to shine this week as its new PlayStation 5 version adds PlayStation VR2 support. While that might not be enough to make it a commercial hit, it does give PSVR2 owners a good reason to dust off their headset and check out a delightfully oddball project from one of gaming's true visionaries.
It's a trip
Akka Arrh is the rare example of a game that might be easier to explain on paper than in practice. In this throwback arcade shooter, players control a stationary ship that's tasked with protecting pods from attacking aliens. To fend off foes, players drop bombs that blow up in a different geometric pattern on each level's map. Every time an enemy touches that blast radius, it blows up in the same pattern, chaining to other enemies. The goal is to keep an uninterrupted chain going as long as possible by using a limited number of bullets to knock out foes that can't be destroyed by bombs and grabbing power-ups by hovering the cursor over them.

Gaming

PlayStation lays off 900 people and shuts down London Studio

Sony is the latest company in the video game industry to announce massive layoffs in 2024. We've learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment is letting go of about 900 people across several studios; PlayStation's London Studio will shut down as a result.

In a blog post, soon-to-depart Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan says these cuts amount to about 8% of PlayStation's workforce. "Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable," Ryan explains. "The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success."

Gaming

PC compatibility for the PlayStation VR2 is being tested by Sony

Playstation VR2 headset on a PlayStation-themed wallpaper.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the PlayStation VR2, Sony revealed a new batch of games coming to its virtual reality headset and confirmed that it's testing a feature that would let people play PC VR games on their PSVR2.

"We’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PSVR2 titles available through PS5," the PlayStation Blog post about PSVR2's first anniversary teases. "We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates."