Could the PS Vita Slim Or PS Vita TV Be Heading West?

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If a recent invitation sent out to IGN (among others) is anything to go by, Sony could potentially be gearing up for an announcement regarding the Western release of either the PS Vita Slim – or PCH-2000, to give it its more catchy name – or the PS Vita TV. The invitation that IGN received states:

Following the biggest launch in PlayStation history, join us for an introduction to the slimmest. Thursday, 30th January 2014, 09:00 – 11:00

Slimmer, lighter, longer-lasting battery and now in vomit-inducing neon pink!

 



There’s no further concrete information regarding what Sony plans to announce in less than a week’s time, but with the word “slim” being bandied about, there are only so many feasible possibilities. The first is the Western launch of the PS Vita Slim; already available in Japan, this model is 20% thinner and 15% lighter than the existing one, replaces the OLED screen with a 5-inch LCD display, includes 1GB of internal memory and comes in a variety of colours running the gamut from delightful to offensive. Vita hardware sales saw a massice surge around the time of the PlayStation 4 launch – likely due to the oft-advertised Remote Play functionality – and Sony could very well be attempting to give the Vita another push in sales and consumer awareness by releasing the Slim.

The second possibility is that Sony is releasing the PS Vita TV in the West. Available in Japan since November 2013, this microconsole essentially allows users to play PlayStation Vita games on their TV using either a DualShock 3 or DualShock 4, although games dependent on the Vita’s front touch screen, rear touch pad, microphone or cameras are incompatible. Personally, this seems like the most likely announcement to come to light come 30th January: first off, the thing’s tiny – lending credence to the “slimmest launch” blurb; secondly, the Vita TV – like its portable brethren – supports PS4 Remote Play and thus would allow PS4 users to stream their next-gen games not just to a Vita but to another TV in their house, potentially presenting the PS4 with a huge advantage over the Xbox One.

Small, compact and able to stream inFAMOUS: Second Son to another TV. Tempted?

And in the interests of uninformed Internet discussion and wholly preposterous speculation, how about these theories?

  1. The PlayStation 3 Super-Duper Slim: everything you love about PS3, now the same thickness as a credit card.
  2. PlayStation 4 Slim: because why should Nintendo hold the record of most console redesigns in a generation? Best for Sony to get in there now if they hope to snatch that title away.
  3. “Slim” isn’t alluding to the size of a hardware unit; instead it’s all a ruse to try and get us hyped up for some new console-based fitness game titled PlayStation Slim.

And that’s all. Even I’m struggling to think of anything more stupid than those. As soon as we have more information regarding what Sony actually has up its sleeve, we’ll let you know.