Though the microconsole has been available in its native region of Japan for almost a year now, Sony confirmed during its Gamescom conference that the PlayStation TV will launch across North America and Europe on October 14th and November 14th, respectively.
In tandem with the announcement, the company also confirmed that PlayStation Now — the ambitious streaming technology built on Gakai resources — will expand its reach from North America to Europe in the early stages of 2015. Furthermore, it’s understood that the service will debut in the UK in the form of an open beta.
And while Sony has teased an expansive library at the player’s disposal — one that encompasses PS4, PS3, PS2 and even PlayStation One games — it’s understood that the service will only offer PlayStation 3 titles to rent for the time being.
In terms of PlayStation TV, though, the company’s microconsole has been billed as a direct competitor to other like-minded devices such as the Roku and AppleTV. Priced at $99 (€99), the minute piece of hardware will offer users access to the PlayStation Vita’s library of games, along with other third-party services like Netflix.
In addition to the Vita’s software selection, the PlayStation TV can also play digital PSone titles and PlayStation Portable games. And, if nostalgia isn’t your cup of tea, you can simply use the device as a conduit to enjoy a PlayStation 4 game on another TV in your household through the use of Remote Play.
Alas, whether the PlayStation TV will make an impact on western audiences remains to be seen. After all, Sony’s microconsole failed to make an impression in Japan after selling a meagre 42,000 units in its first week on the market. Either way, we can expect the device to debut in North America and Europe on October 14th and November 14th, respectively.