Developer | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like (based on FreeBSD and NetBSD) |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Closed source |
Initial release | December 17, 2011 | (as 1.03)
Latest release | 3.63 / November 1, 2016 |
Available in | Danish, German, English (United States), English (United Kingdom), Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional). |
Update method | Direct Download Download via PS3 Download via PC Game Card |
Platforms |
PlayStation Vita PlayStation TV |
Default user interface | LiveArea |
Preceded by | PlayStation Portable (system software) |
Official website |
The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell. The PlayStation Vita system software has one optional add-on component, the PlayStation Mobile Runtime Package. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived from FreeBSD and NetBSD. The current version of the system software is 3.63, which was made available on November 1, 2016.
The LiveArea is the name of the graphical user interface of the PlayStation Vita system software developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features a new touch-based screen and acts like a hub page and allows users to hop between different parts of the game space. The eighth-generation PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV consoles use LiveArea as the graphical shell instead of the previous XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface, which was used by Sony's seventh-generation video game consoles such as PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. PlayStation 4, Sony's eighth-generation home video game console however uses neither LiveArea nor XrossMediaBar as its graphical shell, but rather utilizes a user interface called PlayStation Dynamic Menu.
The PlayStation Vita system software uses LiveArea as its user interface, which includes various social networking features via the PlayStation Network. Users can select the icon for a game or an application on the home screen to open the LiveArea screen for that game or application in PlayStation Vita or PlayStation TV. As a new feature of PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV's LiveArea, latest game information such as downloadable contents are shown on the LiveArea screen for that game. In addition, by scrolling down the game's LiveArea, the "Activity" of other users who are playing the same game can be checked instantly.