Speaking to Japanese gaming site Impress Watch (via Andriasang), key members of the PlayStation Vita development team revealed new details on Sony's plans for the handheld, including the prospect of flash support, Remote Play, and the relatively high price of the system's proprietary memory cards.
First on the table was Flash support. With Adobe's recent decision to discontinue development on its Mobile Flash Player, it's unclear whether Sony will be able to patch in support after launch, as the company had previously expressed an interest in doing. Apparently, Sony hasn't given up yet, and they're still in negotiations with Adobe to work something out.
The Sony reps also touched on the Vita's much touted Remote Play feature, which will allow you to play PlayStation 3 games on your handheld over a WiFi connection. Fromt he sounds of things, they won't be able to offer universal support for every title, as the technology depends on an API that must be implemented by PS3 developers on a case-by-case basis.
While you'll be able to connect your Vita to a computer to transfer files and manage your data, the device won't be picked up as a plug-and-play mass storage device. Instead, you'll need to install a specially utility onto your computer that Sony plans to release on PC before launch. Mac users will need to wait a bit longer, though Sony alleges that porting the functionality over will be trivial, as most of the actual UI and management is handled by the Vita itself.
The interview also confirmed that Vita won't be able to play 1080p videos, potential firmware updates notwithstanding. The system's display only supports 544 pixels of vertical resolution, so anything above that will be downscaled. With that in mind, Sony decided to limit playback to 720p video.
And as for those pricey first-party memory cards? Sony isn't backing down anytime soon. According to Shimada, the company went with a proprietary solution for two reasons: to make sure everyone would have the same experience, and to ensure the continued security of the system.
From a DRM standpoint, it's probably sensible that Sony opted for a closed technology that they control, rather than a third-party standard like SD Cards, as they'll be able to respond quickly to any exploits. On the other hand, charging customers $120 for 32 GB of storage borders on the absurd, and blaming security — read: piracy — concerns certainly isn't going to soften the blow.
The PlayStation Vita releases in Japan on December 17 and in Europe and North America on February 22.
