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At the same pre-Tokyo Game Show event at which Sony announced an update to the PlayStation Vita, the Japanese electronics maker also unveiled the PlayStation Vita TV: a small and inexpensive television game console.

The new console was introduced by Andrew House, the current president and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, and is essentially a PS Vita 2000 crammed into a tiny new form factor that connects directly to a television.

The small white unit (6.4 cm x 10.5 cm) is able to play all PS Vita games, as well as downloadable PSP and PSone games, and has full access to Sony’s Unlimited streaming music and video services. The device also includes an HDMI output, space for a (proprietary Vita) memory card, a slot for Vita games (on the side), as well as USB, power and ethernet ports.

The PS Vita TV will be available on the 14th November 2013 in Japan and will be available in two flavours: a stand alone package for 9 945 yen ($100/R1000) or the PS Vita TV ‘Value Pack’ for 14 994 yen ($150/R1500). The ‘value pack’ bundles the small console with a white DualShock 3 controller and an 8GB memory card.

In addition, and most likely one of the units best features, the PS Vita TV can act as a Remote Play hotspot for the forthcoming PlayStation 4 (pending a future update). What this means is that if the PlayStation 4 is in the living room, but that room is occupied with guests, and assuming you have a PS Vita TV in another room, you could still use your PlayStation 4 to play games with your friends through the PS Vita TV’s remote play feature. It is worth noting that the PS Vita TV only supports 480p, 720p and 1080i output resolutions. This feature and a host of others are showcased in Sony’s official “PlayStation Vita TV Global Concept Movie” imbedded below.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5l78gbvpU’]

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Owner, founder and editor-in-chief at Vamers, Hans has a vested interest in geek culture and the interactive entertainment industry. With a Masters degree in Communications and Ludology, he is well read and versed in matters relating to video games and communication media, among many other topics of interest.