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Tag: remote play

  • Sony To Release PS Vita System Update 3.00 Soon, Adds PS4 Remote Play

    The PS4 is only a few days away now, and one of its most talked about features is remote play. It will allow you to use a PS Vita system and play any PS4 game on the handheld. That feature will becoming in a day one update on the PS4, and Sony will be introducing it to the Vita through an upcoming system update.

    Sony announced today that PS Vita system update 3.00 will soon hit the system. The update brings with it the aforementioned PS4 remote play capabilities, but Sony isn’t leaving it at just that. Since this is a major update to a new version number, Sony will also be introducing a number of new features that have nothing to do with the PS4.

    Starting with the new parental controls, Sony says that it will now have its own application on the start screen. From there, parents can manage how long kids can play on the system, what games and videos they can play and restrict their use of certain features, like the Internet browser and location data.

    Using the PS Vita’s admittedly terrible camera, you can now also take panorama shots with it. Once the photo is saved in the system, you can look around in it using the system’s built-in motion sensor.

    The Friends application has been updated to include four tabs new tabs – Find Player on PSN, Friends, Friend Requests and Players Blocked.

    Another app seeing a change is the Group Messages application. It will now be simply titled Messages, and it will allow players to not only receive messages from PS Vita and PS3 players, but PS4 players and smartphones with the PlayStation App as well.

    The Party app will get a new icon, and allow for voice/text chat between PS Vita and PS4 players.

    The email app has been improved to allow users to sync contacts saved in your account in Gmail and Yahoo Mail. To sync contacts, you need only do the following – “select Contact List > Options > [CardDAV Settings] > [Add CardDAV Account], and then follow the screens.”

    Another new features that is sure to delight Vita owners is that they can now transfer data between the PS3 and Vita through Wi-Fi. Previously, you had to connect via USB. it’s noted that the Vita and PS3 must be on the same network, and that PS3 must have system version 4.50 or later.

    Finally, this will be last update that you have to download manually. With version 3.00, you can now set the Vita to download system updates automatically.

    If you want to see all the above in action, check out the video tour below:

    [Image: PlayStation/YouTube]

  • A PS4/PS Vita Bundle May One Day Happen

    Never in the history of game consoles has a hardware manufacturer bundled a home console with a handheld device. Sure, home consoles can interact with handhelds in limited ways, but they’ve always been sold as separate experiences. Sony may be rethinking that unspoken rule.

    Official PlayStation Magazine U.K. recently had a chance to sit down with Sony UK boss Fergal Gara to talk about a potential PS4/PS Vita combo. The good news is that it’s something Sony is now considering. The bad news is that there probably won’t be such a bundle at launch.

    So, what was the moment that made Sony consider bundling its hardware together? At Gamescom, it showed off the remote play functionality of the PS Vita by playing the PS4 version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on the device. That functionality alone received such a positive reaction that Sony is now looking into ways to market the PS4 and PS Vita as complementary devices.

    Of course, you shouldn’t expect a combo pack anytime soon. Sony will continue selling them separately for now, and it will probably remain that way until Sony can sell both a PS4 and a Vita in the same box for less than $500. That being said, Gara says that it would be incredibly easy to slap a PS4 and PS Vita into the same box and ship it to retail. He concludes by saying any future bundle would be constructed in a way that’s best for their retail partners.

    It’s not exactly a confirmation or denial, but it certainly does appear that Sony is taking this idea very seriously. That’s only a good thing as remote play could become one of the strongest selling points for the Vita and the upcoming Vita TV. The ability to stream full console titles to a handheld device via an Internet connection isn’t exactly a novel idea, but it looks like the PS4/PS Vita combo nails the execution better than any of its predecessors. There’s real value in that, and Sony will no doubt pursue that in future marketing and/or bundles.

    [Image: PlayStation/YouTube]