Why did the PS Vita TV launch in Japan first?

"This may sound slightly counter-intuitive, but we wanted to launch in Japan first because I feel there really hasn't been a critical driver or device that's driven the adoption of streaming content overall."

- Sony Computer Entertainment head Andrew House explains why the PS Vita TV launched in Japan first. Sony announced the PS Vita TV earlier this year, a small portable device that can connect to a television and send its handheld games to TVs. The company chose to launch the device in Japan, with plans to release in the West at a later date. Now House has told Eurogamer that the idea behind the Japan-first launch was to attempt to control the content streaming market in the country. "It's still very much in a nascent stage in Japan compared to some of the markets in Europe or the U.S.," he noted. "We felt there was therefore an opportunity to leverage the strengths of PlayStation Vita, which as you know is quite strong in Japan in terms of game line-up, but combine that with the features of a media streaming box, and offer something packaged newly for the Japanese consumer and possibly be at the forefront of creating a new market via that device." When it comes to launching the PS Vita TV in the U.S. and Europe, House reasons that streaming services like Roku and Apple TV are already in full bloom, and therefore it will be "a different road to market" over here. "It's a very different landscape when you look at the US and Europe," he added. "Much greater establishment of streaming video services, and much greater understanding of what that concept's all about."