Sony Explains Lack of Success with PlayStation TV

[Liv6]

 
The PlayStation TV made landfall here in North America in October last year, promising to give players access to a wide range of Vita titles and media streaming options. The device hasn't lived up to expectations, with only about half the titles compatible with the mini-console.

Retailers have rapidly dropped the price from the original suggested price of $99.99 to as low as $39.99. We asked Sony president of worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida about the future of the PlayStation TV and what went wrong.


"It didn't capture the consumers' imagination," he says. "It's a hard concept to explain. You could say it's a mini-console, it's a video streaming device. If we say it's a mini-console, like other mini-consoles, people expect a better device like PS4 or Xbox One. It's short in that delivery. When you say it's a video streaming device, there are other devices with higher def video. It has some unique things like remote play of PS4 games. It can do many things, but it's not easy to say this one thing is extremely good. I think that's the reason we were not able to convince people at the original price."

I never tried the PlayStation TV, though I heard that it bombed. Did anyone try to buy this? What was your experience with it?

 

[froggyboy604]

I was never really interested in Playstation TV since you need to buy a controller, and memory card to make it useful. I think the Ouya, and Madcatz Mojo mini consoles are a better deal since they come with more storage, and a controller. They also both support emulators for playing older console games with Emulators.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

wait its only $40 for it? I should get it then for the vita games.

 

[froggyboy604]

wait its only $40 for it? I should get it then for the vita games.

Indeed, it is only $40 on Amazon Marketplace sellers @ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KVMHSUM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00KVMHSUM&linkCode=as2&tag=johsgamsto-20&linkId=6JB56CFBVXJZ7ABK

Amazon sells it for $49.

 

[Totalarmordestine]

It doesn't do well for the same reason the Vita doesn't do well. Lack of marketing. If they wanted it to do better, they would have willed it to do so.
 

 

[tarverten]

I agree, they never cared to market it much in anyway. I can't say I remember any Vita commercials. And I damn sure know PS TV never had any commercials. It's just like their phones. Great product, little marketing.
 

 

[blastguardgear]

If they gave it a proper push the way they did the PS3 and PS4 we wouldn't even have this conversation. How did they expect this stuff to take on the 3DS WITHOUT telivised commercialing. Even Nintendo knows that for as successful as the 3DS is, that success comes with advertising the product.
 

 

[thepieeatingjay]

Marketing has never been Sony's strong suit. Even in the 80's when they were super dominant, they didn't really try to push commercials. But they have an old world mentality of "if you build it, they will come". That mentality doesn't work in this era. If you don't let the people KNOW you built it, they won't come.
 

 

[shadowsupernature]

The Vita should have been given more effort before they tried Vita TV. I have the device and it's great for what it is. But they should really put more attention into a commercial or two here and there. It's night and day how they treat their home consoles compared to their handhelds I swear.
 

 

[Bonbinski]

I like to think that I am up to date on most things Sony, but I had no idea there was a PlayStation TV.  Perhaps it is my lack of PSP that did me in.  It seems, like the PSN, that what they would have available would be on par with Netflix in terms of quality.  Why spend all that extra time and money when you could just download the Netflix app to any phone or tablet and get similar results?