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The PlayStation Vita was supporsed to be the successor to Sony’s ultra-successful PlayStation Portable or PSP. It served as a go-to portable console for anime fans, as it provided niche Japanese games. However, Sony is ending physical production of Vita games, though they’re still continuing the distribution of the digital copies of these games. In other words, while Sony is stopping their production of physical copies of PS Vita games, they will still continue selling their digital copies via the PlayStation Store.
Apparently, gaming website, Kotaku obtained a message by Sony to developers. It says that their American and European branches “plan to end all Vita GameCard production by close of fiscal year 2018″. According to Kotaku, “the message asks that all Vita product code requests be submitted by June 28, 2018, and that final purchase orders be entered by February 15, 2019. Sony’s 2018 fiscal year will end on March 31, 2019.” A Sony spokesperson also emailed the website and confirmed the decision.
Sony first launched the PS Vita back in 2012 with the slogan “console gaming on the go”. However, with the rise of mobile games for smartphones, as well as Nintendo’s 3DS and their new Switch console, the PS Vita has had a tough run.
But the console still remains popular in Japan, churning out anime-based games, as well as other local Japanese games. The decision may only affect North America and Europe as well, as the report didn’t state Japan nor Southeast Asia.
