The PlayStation TV looked pretty amazing at first glimpse. It had the PlayStation name slapped on it, it was 3D capable and that SimulView thing certainly caught the attentions of my girlfriend and I. It was even a fairly good price at the time, especially for a Sony TV, so why don't we hear more about it? More importantly, why are their only four games that support SimulView listed on the PlayStation website? That's a feature that some people would have happily splashed out £400 towards if the potential had been realized.
In an interview with Forbes, Jack Tretton discussed why he thought the PlayStation TV had occupied a niche, and why it it's something Sony are proud of.
"The TV market is a difficult market right now. It is very commoditized. It is very price driven. What we really marketed it towards was, again, the PS3 consumer. We said here is 3D for your dorm room, for your apartment, for your bedroom. Not only can you hook up your PS3, you can bring in your cable or satellite signal. You can hook your PC up to it.
"I think that did fairly well within a very difficult TV market, where people were buying strictly on price and monitor size. That was not the market we were going after. It is a 24 inch monitor with 3D capabilities, so if you are buying on size and price, that wasn’t the device for you. But if you were buying something that was going to compliment your PS3, and give you all that for under $500 –in addition to new ways to game like SimulView, then I think it did fairly well. But the numbers were relatively modest, it is not a multimillion unit seller. But certainly in terms of technological innovation and more options for consumers, we were very proud of it. And we are going to continue to support that business."
