Posted Wed May 29, 2013 at 08:30 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
Players can use the PS Vita to play PS4 games remotely at home.
When the PS4 was finally revealed by Sony, Remote Play via the PS Vita was briefly mentioned and described as optional for developers. Now though, Digital Foundry is reporting via Eurogamer that all PS4 titles with the exception of games that require the PS Eye camera, are required to support Remote Play.
Remote Play on the PS3 with the PSP was an abysmal technical exercise supported by only a handful of titles and typically yielding unplayable games. Digital Foundry claims that Remote Play of PS4 titles through the PS Vita over a local network will work because of the PS4's built-in Remote Play capabilities.
From Eurogamer, "Remote Play works by downscaling the 1080p framebuffer to the Vita's native 960x544 resolution, using the PS4's in-built hardware h.264 video encoder to compress the image. This is then beamed out over WiFi to the Vita, which decodes the video and sends back controller inputs to the PlayStation 4."
Oddly enough, it is the Wii U's off-screen feature that seems to have renewed interest in Remote Play. Each Wii U title that supports off-screen play, which is mandated for Virtual Console titles, seems to draw praise from reviewers infatuated with the capability.
If Remote Play for PS4 games is mandatory, easy to implement, and usable, it could mean a sales boon for the flagging PS Vita. If the Digital Foundry's Remote Play declaration is true, PS$ launch titles such as 'Watch Dogs' would seem to be included. Even so, a confirmation from Sony may not come for some time.
Source: Eurogamer
Author: Brian Hoss
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