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]