We all are aware that Tokyo Game Show 2018 is underway and while there is so much on Sony’s list. The senior vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Hiroyuki Oda was able to spare few lines regarding Sony’s handheld console, PS Vita.
Oda said to Famitsu at TGS 2018 that the production of PS Vita shall end next year in Japan. He also added that there is no successor being planned, for this handheld console.
Currently, we do not have any plans regarding a new handheld device, in Japan, we will manufacture PlayStation Vita until 2019. From there, shipping will end.
This is not the first time we are hearing about PS Vita’s manufacturing reaching its end, Sony has been highlighting this topic from time to time. Oda also gave confirmation that there are about 20 titles for PlayStation Classic that shall differ between Japan and the west.
So what does this all mean? We have Nintendo Switch nailing down the handheld market. Its success has reached such heights that its sales are most often compared with Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
PS Vita in comparison to that was not able to reach that level, however, even at its mediocre performance in the market, Vita was heaven for indie developers. Unfortunately, it still was not able to get third-party support from big publishers.
This eventually translated into poor sales of Vita even in comparison to PSP, which as everyone knows, was a huge success.
So with PS Vita winding up by 2019 and provided the fact that Sony is not likely to release another handheld, also Microsoft with no interest in handheld consoles, it would leave Nintendo Switch alone in the market, allowing it to be the most unique gaming experience offered.
Both Sony and Microsoft are more interested in mid-gen console upgrades like PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. We do not see them pushing for a handheld anytime soon.
