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What Ever Happened to Sony’s PS Vita?

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When we think of Sony's handheld consoles, we automatically draw our minds to the beloved PSP that launched back in 2005. With an absolutely gigantic following of over eighty million users, the little portable device went on to become one of the most favoured Sony products. And then, of course, there's the other one. You know, the one that Sony has tried to banish to an eternal void ever since the crash in sales. Yes, that's right — the PS Vita.

We're not entirely sure what happened to the Sony product, to be fair. I suppose we'll never really know the true reason behind the collapse of the handheld toy. Whether it failed due to the lack of exclusivity in content, or just the hardware updates not being as worthy as the price tag. Either way, the PS Vita never really took off from the get-go. Even after several years of trying to push juicy material into the eyes of the consumer — Sony never managed to convince more than a few million gamers worldwide to join its platform. And, you know, that's sort of surprising, seeing as Sony has established itself as the biggest brand in gaming history. But for one little device and a marketing car crash, the ambitious PS Vita soon met its demise before it ever really started.

Was it a hardware issue with the PS Vita, or just a lack of features?

The PS Vita didn't exactly lack in the video game department — because there certainly was plenty to get your hands on. Plus, there was quite the trolly of exclusives for it, too. But even with some triple-A contenders aiming to lift the PS Vita to new horizons, people just weren't overly bothered with it. And, sadly, that left Sony to decide whether to keep the ball rolling or to just crush it entirely. And, unfortunately, it was the latter that later came to fruition.

After a nine-year lifespan, Sony decided to pull the plug on the PS Vita, and therefore discontinued the product by 2019. After a rather low sixteen million sales worldwide, the Sony toy struggled to even reach minimum expectations. But, even today Sony fans look back and wonder just what went wrong with the hardware. Was Sony neglecting the product rather than boosting its presence? Were they ashamed of it? What really happened behind the scenes of the Sony HQ — and why did the PS Vita receive such a harsh reception?

The PS Vita didn't quite meet the expectations of the Sony creator.

Well, after a rather mediocre launch in 2011, Sony decided to bite the bullet and continue to evolve the new hardware regardless. With a line-up of indie titles and exclusive games, the PS Vita eventually found its niche in the community. There was a place where the Vita could feel more of a bonus rather than a second screen to the console. And, for a short while — the product was sold on a fairly regular basis. Only, the famous niche that Sony narrowed down on never really reached the expected figures; thus pulling the trigger on the ambitious device.

Nine years of trying to produce a snowball and Sony ended up with nothing more than a bit of dust. The market couldn't fathom spending hundreds on a console with so little following, and the technicalities behind the hardware managed to prove unworthy of a chance. Games started to grow dull, and before long, Sony looked to focus on the next generation of console gaming instead. And so, by 2019, the PS Vita signed its own death warrant.

It's been almost two years since the PS Vita stopped touching the shelves, and people are still curious to know whether or not Sony will try again. But after the last attempt, it's likely that the era of handheld gaming will be left in the hands of the PSP and nothing else. Perhaps, when the time is right — Sony might just avenge their little error. Until then, we'll be looking to Nintendo to keep handheld gaming thriving.

Third times the charm, Sony!

Jord is acting Team Leader at gaming.net. If he isn't blabbering on in his daily listicles, then he's probably out writing fantasy novels or scraping Game Pass of all its slept on indies.