John Koller, VP of Platforms Marketing, SCEA, updated the PlayStation Blog with news that the PlayStation TV set-top-box will be made available on October 14. The device will cost $99.99 and will feature nearly 700 games to purchase and play on day one.
According to the blog, there will also be a bundled version for $139.99 that comes with an 8 GB memory card, a controller and The LEGO Movie Videogame. Meanwhile, Walmart plans to have an exclusive bundle of its own that includes Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the controller and memory card for the same price.
"Our library will continue to expand, with other fan favorites like Minecraft and more. We're proud to bring such a broad array of content from multiple PlayStation platforms to PS TV, a small console at a great value," Koller said.
So what is PlayStation TV? It's a set-top-box that's about the size of a wallet, measuring just 2.6 x 4.1 x 5.0 inches. The device provides a PlayStation Vita card slot, one memory card slot, one USB port, an HDMI port and an Ethernet port.
The specs listed last year showed (pdf) that the device includes a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4+ graphics, 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB video RAM. There's also 1 GB of internal storage, Wireless N and Bluetooth connectivity and a maximum rated power consumption of 2.8 watts.
So why does Sony think PlayStation gamers need this set-top-box? The biggest selling point is its ability to connect to a PlayStation 4 and allow users to remotely play a game. For instance, the PlayStation 4 may be in the bedroom and the user wants to play a specific game on the big-screen living room TV.
Another big selling point is PlayStation Now, Sony's upcoming game streaming service, allowing users to stream PlayStation 3 games on the set-top-box without having to purchase the more expensive PlayStation consoles. There's also access to PlayStation Classics and select PlayStation Vita games.
On the media side, PlayStation TV will provide access to movies and TV shows, making PlayStation TV a small-sized entertainment platform. Presumably, apps such as Netflix and Hulu will be offered as well as Sony Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited.
Games that will be made available on day one include the God of War Collection, Killzone: Mercenary, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, Borderlands 2 and many, many more.
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