From the horse’s mouth to the ears of eager gamers, Sony’s worldwide studio president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed this morning that every upcoming title for the PS4 will be playable with the Playstation Vita via Remote Play. Other than games that will require external peripherals to function – such as the PS4’s Eye camera –  Sony’s handheld will have the ability to stream a compressed version of the console game using your domestic Wi-Fi – a service deemed to be ‘great’ by Yoshida himself.
@mrdawe Yes, it’s true unless the game requires specific hardware like the camera. It will be great to play PS4 games on PS Vita.
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) May 29, 2013
In hindsight, Remote Play has been a critically underused feature in the Playstation ether during previous generations. Sony botched the integration of the PSP with the PS3 considering how it wasn’t compatible with many games, plus the fact that PS2 classics were deemed off limits meant the once buoyant streaming idea became somewhat of a novelty rather quickly.
Now though, following their acquisition of the cloud-based streaming service Gakai last year, Sony have the technological firepower to ensure Remote Play becomes a staple in the next generation’s ecosystem, and one that will surely lend credence to revitalising the Playstation Vita’s presence on the marketplace.
In issuing a mandate to their next-gen developers, the Japanese giant have ensured that the handheld is as important to the company’s future plan as the forthcoming PS4. The ability to run next-gen software on the Playstation Vita is a commendable decision from Sony and one that will alleviate the device’s dilemma of a limited library.
Of course, questions of latency and visual fidelity can only be answered after a hands-on impression, and the feature echoes that of Nintendo’s GamePad and its relationship with the Wii U. Nonetheless, should Remote Play go as planned – as demonstrated on stage through Knack back in February – then the Playstation Vita will enjoy an encouraging, symbiotic relationship with its sibling-like PS4.
What’s your opinion on Remote Play? Is Sony exploiting an exhausted resource? Or will the feature kick-start the Playstation Vita’s commercial standing? Let us know in the comments!
