One of the PlayStation 4's coolest announced features is Remote Play, the service that will allow you to use WiFi to mirror and play PS4 games on your Vita. Today, Sony revealed some specifics about how that Remote Play will work—and they caution that it might not work so well when your Vita is on a different WiFi network than your PS4.

.. You can only use Remote Play via WiFi—not 3G—and your PS4 will have to be turned on for the feature to work.

Sony also recommends not traveling too far if you want to get Remote Play working properly:

When will Remote Play work best?

Remote Play will work best when the PS Vita system is located within the same WiFi network where PS4 is connected. We also recommend that PS4 be connected to the local area network via an Ethernet cable, that a router suitable for gaming be used and that the PS Vita system be within close proximity of the WiFi access point so that the connection is free of interference.

Can Remote Play work outside the user's home network?

We strongly recommend that Remote Play be used within the same WiFi network where PS4 is connected. Remote Play may or may not work over a wide area network. For Remote Play to function over a wide area network, a robust and stable WiFi connection and broadband Internet connection is required, and the local area network where PS4 is connected must be configured to permit the PS Vita system to access PS4.

"But wait a minute!" you might be thinking. "I thought Sony was advertising the ability to play PS4 games on the go!"

You're right..

Kotatsu: PS4 Remote Play Might Not Work So Well When You Leave Your House

So, if you go out of town, and even if you login to Wi-Fi, you can't play PS4 games. But you can on your other couch.

It doesn't say it can't work, just that it won't work without a good connection/network.

Really?! People actually thought they could play PS4 games on the go?

So it can work depending on the wan connection ? Neat i have a strong connection in my area. Playing Killzone on the go!

So 3G not good enough to stream games is a big surprise to people?

@jimmyfenix said:

Yup, only through wifi on the vita. Obviously there would be a lag issue that could easily make it not fun to play though.

To be fair, Sony did release a commercial in Japan that showed people leaving their house and playing their PS4 games at school or at a restaurant with the Vita.

I assume that Japan has Wifi everywhere though.

I thought they never advertised that you can play anywhere. I expected that this would always work like the wii u does.

Said part of the Commercial Video,

They're just being sensible and covering their back from people calling them to complain why they couldn't play Knack on their grandmas dial-up connection and the rest of free but most of the time rubbish WiFi connections out there. These games will most likely need a steady 2-4 Mbit/s connections for streaming which should be fine on home networks but you can't necessarily guarantee that at your *insert local café* and as I said they don't want people complaining about it.

It never was

So it's the same as they've been very clearly saying from the very beginning? Shocker!

If you actually thought that you would be able to stream your PS4 games to a Vita over 3G... well your a fool.

From the couch to my bed is mobile enough for me.

Until today, I had no idea anyone even thought it could be used mobile. I thought people understood it as a Wii U-like off the big screen experience on your Vita.

That ad is deceptive, but I was never under any impression that it would work otherwise.

I'm sure it'll work if you've got a good upstream.

Problem is, in 'Murca, thanks to Comcast, the general population does not have a good upstream. Your options are something like:

768k/64k $19.99, 8mbit/256k $39.99, 20mbit/512k $59.99 40mb/2mb $79.99. I have a feeling that a lot of people's upstreams just aren't up to snuff for streaming video.

Whereas the rest of the world is like 10gb/1gb $9.99.

That's fine. I never expected it to be an on the go feature. I always assumed it would function similar to the Wii U.

Yeah, I also always thought it would be like the Wii U, so no big shock. I've got absolutely no use for such a feature, but can see how it would be cool for some people who already own a Vita. People who think this feature will help sell Vitas to more than very, very few people are crazy though.

Anyone who thought otherwise was not paying any amount of attention.

You can only use Remote Play via WiFi—not 3G—and your PS4 will have to be turned on for the feature to work.

Not true, the FAQ says that if the PS4 is in standby the Vita can turn it on remotely, provided that option is switched on in the PS4 settings.

Also like everyone else said streaming live video over 3G is going to be a terrible experience, no wonder they don't support it.

"It might not work on that free wi-fi at the local Burger King" Seems logical.

I'm shocked. Shocked that there was even one person out there who thought you could play PS4 games on the go on their Vita.

This all just sounds like common sense. Anyone shocked or disappointed by this news kind of had their heads in the clouds. Remote play remains an incredible feature.

Not being limited to one room with the PS4 stillsounds awesome.

This is obvious. Long range mirroring requires good Internet. Surprise.