Fans already knew that Sony was bringing an end to their handheld support this year and it appears we now have a date for things to begin.
The PS Vita has been in the twilight stage of its lifecycle for some time and it now looks like production of the handheld will be ending soon.
This comes from a new message posted on the official Sony PlayStation PS Vita site in Japan, which reveals some big news.
According to the message, new shipments for the Sony flagship handheld device will be ending “in the next few days”.
And based on previous reports from Sony PlayStation, it seems pretty likely that the PS Vita production will have ended by the start of the next fiscal year.
That would give the PS Vita until April 2019, after which, Sony will have officially finished their support of the device.
But even with the end on the horizon, there are still a few games projects in the works for the Vita.
Gamers in Japan will continue to see new releases over the coming months, albeit, in a much more limited form.
It has already been confirmed that titles such as The Lost Child, Penny Punching Princess, and The Longest Five Minutes will be available to buy in March.
After this, PS Vita games will be reduced to niche releases, likely ending in 2019.
Sony PlayStation recently removed gaming support for the PS Vita as part of their changes to the PS Plus subscription service.
February is the last month PlayStation Plus users will receive free PS Vita games, with no more planned for the future.
This also includes the PS3, which has its final PS Plus games available download now.
The following games can be download on PS Vita in February 2019 – Divekick, Gunhouse and Rogue Aces.
“This month’s PS3 and PS Vita games will be available for a few extra days, until 8th March, 2019,” a message from Sony PlayStation reads.
“PS4 games will be available until 5th March, 2019, when the next monthly games line up hits.
“As a reminder, after 8th March 2019, PS3 and PS Vita games will no longer be offered as part of the PS Plus monthly games line up – so be sure to download them while they’re available.”
For those active PS Plus users worried about losing their library of digital titles, PS Vita support won’t be ending in that way.
The content you have downloaded as part of your PlayStation Plus subscription at no charge is accessible as long as you are an active subscriber.
The exceptions are free themes and avatars, which you will continue to have access to, even if you are no longer a subscriber.
And anything you have purchased (even if you purchased it at a discount) will remain available to you even if your subscription ends.