Sony Computer Entertainment has announced the new phase of their plan to stop selling one of their cult classic items.
It’s not surprising to hear that the PlayStation Vita is entering its final turn before being mothballed completely by the tech giant.
Thanks to low sales and lack of strong third-party support, the PS Vita will be finishing its manufacturing in the not too distant future.
The handheld device only ever appealed to a niche market, but as the Nintendo Switch proves, innovation can be the key to success.
It has now been announced that Sony production of the PS Vita will end in Japan after 2019.
Not only that, but Sony doesn’t have plans to replace, news that will be disappointing to those players who still enjoy their PS Vita.
Speaking at TGS, Hiroyuki Oda, Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president told Famitsu: We currently do not have any plans to announce a new handheld device. As for the PlayStation Vita, we will continue its production through 2019 in Japan. Shipment will end.
It makes sense that Sony would want to put an end to the PS Vita, following a pretty long time on the market.
Sales never ramped up to what they needed to be and with the PS4 doing so well, there currently is any need to try again with handhelds.
The tech giant also has their hands firmly in the virtual reality market, selling devices that work in tandem with the PlayStation 4.
It was revealed earlier this year that Spain would be one of the first regions to formally stop manufacturing Vita parts.
The official PS Spain Twitter account revealed as much, confirming that it had been officially discontinued in the region.
The continued success of the Nintendo 3DS shows that there is still plenty of life in the handheld market.
But with the Nintendo Switch now firmly entrenched, it seems like a hard task to take it on with the same firepower.
The good news for fans of the PS Vita is that PS Plus games will continue to be released for it until March 2019.
This is when Sony will be changing up their games offerings through their subscription service, with PS3 games also being dumped.
“Starting next year on March 8, 2019, the PS Plus monthly games lineup will focus on PS4 titles and no longer include PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita titles,” a message from Sony explains.
“This won’t affect any games you’ve already downloaded or will download, prior to March 8, 2019.
“Those games will still be part of your PS Plus games library as long as you remain a member.
“Your game saves and other benefits of PS Plus will also remain the same – the only change is that no new PS3 and PS Vita games will be added to the PS Plus monthly games lineup beyond March 8, 2019.”
The reason behind the change is the focus needing to be on the PS4, as well as the fact that both the PS3 and PS Vita are ageing consoles with no future plans.
“Many of our fans are playing on the PS4 platform, with the increasingly vast number of PS4s in homes around the world,” Sony adds.
It’s unclear what will be replacing them as part of PlayStation Plus, although it seems fair to say that the PS5 will likely play a role in the not too distant future.