Those wishing to buy the PS4 may learn that most games for the new console are set to feature the PS Vita Remote Play trait on them. That’s because Sony has mandated all developers to add support for it, with the exception of those titles which make use of the PS4 Eye camera. While this news is nothing to worry about for prospective buyers, it definitely speaks volumes of the company’s efforts to maintain the relevance of its handheld machine.
First introduced through the PS3 and the PSP, this ability of handheld consoles to allow gamers to cross-interact with content, ala the Wii U, hasn’t quite caught on as a major activity among gamers. This latest news had first come out courtesy Eurogamer, but Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida later confirmed it through Twitter, adding that ‘It will be great to play PS4 games on PS Vita.’
The Eurogamer report mentions that the feature works by downscaling the 1080p framebuffer of the PlayStation 4 to the handheld’s native 960 x 544 resolution with the help of the former’s in-built hardware h.264 video encoder. These compressed visuals are then beamed through Wi-Fi onto the Vita which decodes the video and sends controller inputs back to the PlayStation 4. Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai indeed has a lot to do with this.
Past reports had carried forth news that Sony was asking its developers to test their games on Remote Play prior to submitting them for certification. However, no mention of a compulsion was made back then. Sony’s unveiling of the PS4 saw the world gaining a glimpse of most of the features that the console has in its store. And while the controller, the PS4 Eye camera and large array of games were also showcased at the event, the actual consoles box still remains unseen.
The company recently released a teaser video for it, and has confirmed that E3 will be the stage at which we’ll finally get to witness the console. Apart from that, a number of publishers will be revealing their next-gen plans at this event as well, making this year’s E3 one of the biggest ones till date. We hope to learn more about the PS Vita Remote Play feature as well as the PS4’s other unique offerings soon. Stay tuned.