Sony will soon end production of the PS Vita.
“In Japan, we will manufacture PlayStation Vita until 2019. From there, shipping will end,” said Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president Hiroyuki Oda in an interview with Famitsu (via Gematsu). “Currently, we do not have any plans regarding a new handheld device.”
The idea that Sony is done producing the Vita isn’t too surprising. While the Vita was an ambitious platform that allowed gamers to take something that is somewhat close to a PlayStation 3/4 on the road, the Vita was released around the time of the handheld hardware market’s fall from grace. The Vita library contains some truly great games – especially if you’re into the Japanese gaming scene – and most of the people who own a Vita can’t stop talking about how much they love it, but the device proved to be a tough sell to a growing number of people who just use their phones for on-the-go gaming.
The idea that Sony isn’t interested in producing another handheld device is a little more fascinating (if true). The success of the Nintendo Switch – particularly its handheld functionality – led some to believe that Sony and Microsoft might release similar devices, but it seems that Sony has had enough of the handheld gaming scene.
While we’re never comfortable saying never, the fact that Sony would come out and say they have no plans to release a handheld device at this time tends to suggest that they have no plans on launching the PS5 with any kind of portable functionality.
So should you buy a PS Vita if you end up finding one at a reduced price? Our answer to that would be a strong “maybe.” If you really dig some of the device’s exclusives, it might just be worth snagging one for cheap. However, you could easily argue that any money you spend on one would be better off going towards the purchase of a Switch if you’re not particularly enamored with the Vita’s library.
Regardless, the Vita was a well-made, much-loved system, and it’s going to be missed.