Sony announced that the PlayStation TV will hit stores in the United States and Canada on Oct. 14.
Upon the release of PlayStation TV, 700 games will be readily available for the service.
The PlayStation TV set-top box, which was first introduced by Sony at the E3 video game conference back in June, allows users to play games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation One and PSP through the streaming-game service of Sony PlayStation Now.
PlayStation TV also gives users access to video and music streaming services, similar to the services offered by Apple TV and Amazon's Fire TV. Contents that can be accessed include movies and TV programs.
PlayStation TV is also able to connect to a PlayStation 4, which will allow gamers to play games for the PlayStation 4 on another TV within the house using the Remote Play feature. However, for gamers to utilize this feature, a wired Internet connection is needed.
The retail price for the PlayStation TV set-top box is $99. However, users buying the system will also need to purchase a DualShock 3 or 4 controller, which has a price of around $40.
However, for $139, users can purchase a PlayStation TV bundle that includes the set-top box, the controller and the Lego Movie video game, along with a memory card with a capacity of 8 GB.
PlayStation TV, known in Japan as Vita TV, has already been out in Sony's home country for almost a year. However, a very small collection of games and average streaming services have limited the success of the device in Japan.
Sony may have other plans for releasing PlayStation TV in North America, or perhaps the company is only getting its name into the set-top box market, wherein the company will have more-established competition. One of the competitors, Amazon's Fire TV, which was released earlier this year, debuted with over 100 games available to its service.
Sony's biggest rival in the video game industry, Microsoft, currently does not have a set-top box device in the market, or any form of remote play service to work with its Xbox gaming console.
With a game library of 700 titles and remote play functionality, the PlayStation TV may find its niche in the market as a viable alternative to buying a gaming console, which would be much more expensive.
Included in the 700 titles that will be available at PlayStation TV's launch are Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, God of War and Minecraft.
