One of the PSP’s most interesting, yet least-usable features had to be Remote Play. The idea of playing PS3 games remotely from a portable device is enticing, and after seeing Killzone 3 being remotely played via the PlayStation Vita at Tokyo Game Show, it was a good sign that Sony got Remote Play right with their newest handheld hardware. But right now, it’s a dud.
I’ve had a PlayStation Vita now for two full days. And from the second I picked it up, I’ve been singing its praises. The screen is gorgeous, the hardware is fantastic, and it’s the best hardware launch in recent memory I can remember… ever – Sony has a real hit on their hands. But that’s not to say that the device is perfect.
Case in point: Remote Play sucks. At least it does right now. We tried a backlog of nearly 30 PSN titles and a handful of disc-based PS3 games via PlayStation Vita’s Remote Play; only PixelJunk Monsters and some PSOne titles worked. You know, the same exact games that the PSP can play remotely. Unfortunately, we don’t have a copy of Killzone 3 anymore, so we can’t confirm if even that is working at launch.
[Update] We picked up a brand new copy of Killzone 3 to test out Remote Play using the PlayStation Vita, and… it doesn’t work. “This content cannot be used during remote play”.
But we have to have faith. With hardware as decked out and powerful as the PlayStation Vita, I find it hard to believe they’ll just let this useful feature flounder again. Perhaps patches are required for certain PSN and PS3 titles to work. Maybe it’s something developers will work into the code of future releases, enabling compatibility with the PS Vita. Who knows?
What we do know is that Remote Play is a feature that can make the PlayStation Vita so much more appealing to PlayStation 3 owners everywhere, and is an opportunity that Sony cannot afford to sleep on. Remote Play on the Vita – make it right, Sony.
And to be fully clear here, the lack of Remote Play isn’t at all a reason to miss out on the PlayStation Vita, which is otherwise amazing in nearly every other facet. We’ll continue to dig into the hardware over the coming weeks and report on it all – good and bad.
Stick with PlayStation LifeStyle for all your PlayStation Vita coverage, and be sure to check out our 2011 Best of PlayStation Awards rolling out all this week.
