Numerous reports now circulating across the web are claiming that the President and Global CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Andrew House, has all but confirmed that the end may be nearing for Sony’s handheld gaming device, the PS Vita.
The reports, which originated with Gamesindustry.biz and subsequently were picked up by every other major gaming news outlet, are saying that House referred to the PS Vita as a “legacy platform” during a discussion of fiscal write-off’s at Sony’s annual Investor Relations day.
Although House’s exact quote has not been referenced by any major news outlet, a PDF of the key points presented at the conference lend credence to the claims, as the PS Vita is indeed labeled as a financial “write-off” along with the PS TV in a section disclosing increased expenses for the 2014 fiscal year.
Categorizing the PS Vita as a legacy platform would mean that Sony considers the device akin to the PlayStation or PlayStation 2; a platform that will no longer receive strong first-party support, if any, in the U.S.
Furthermore, House went on to say that Sony would be relying on third-party support for their flagship PlayStation 4 system again this holiday season, as the first-party line-up is “a little sparse.”
“We are working very hard to continue very strong support from third-party pubs and devs. Our first-party lineup is a little sparse this year, so I think this places even greater emphasis on getting good third-party support.”
Earlier in the year it appeared that Sony was set to let Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End lead the 2015 holiday charge, however Naughty Dog announced a delay to 2016 for the highly anticipated sequel back in March.
Sony has not yet commented on the comments reportedly made by House concerning how the company views the PS Vita. We should get a clear picture of the PS Vita’s fate, along with the direction Sony plans on taking for the Holiday 2015 season during E3 2015, which is set to begin June 16th.
Do you think that we are seeing the end of the PS Vita? Whether you want to deliver the eulogy or a stirring battle cry, we want to hear it in the comments section below.
The concept that is hard to grasp in the US is the role that mobile gaming plays in our market vs the Japanese market. The mobile games we play here are ones that you can jump in and out of quickly with minimal difficulty. Good for wasting the 3-5 minutes that you have while waiting for whatever you are supposed to be doing next to begin.
In Japan mobile gaming is what you do when you are on the train, which for some people could be over an hour one way. When I’m riding a train in Japan, everybody is playing a game while they wait for their stop, using either their phone or a mobile gaming system…everybody.
We don’t embrace mass transit out here, so we don’t have the time it takes to play the games that “gamers” would want, instead we get clash of clans and boom beach.
Man, this is such a bummer to hear. I only have TWO games for my vita!! ha ha. Guess, now would be the perfect time to start building up my physical libary. (as opposed to digital).
It really sucks because the Vita is such a power horse for a handheld. The idea behind it, and launch titles, showed how much juice the system had and that you really good get a “AAA performance” from a on the go handheld.
Sony screwed up big time here. Poor Vita. 🙁
Ugh, this is sad but not surprising.
Nintendo may have led the way with handhelds, but the PSV certainly is an awesome machine. They could’ve put some very very good stuff out if they’d bothered to try. I loved the PSV the moment I got it, but like everyone else, I agree that there isn’t enough of a library to prop it up, and the library that it does have is barely promoted or acknowledged. Even as far back as 6 months ago (maybe more) I noticed that stores like Target and Walmart were stocking very few (sometimes none) brand new PSV games.
I think Sony’s problem here was that they were trying too hard to tap into the mobile market, such as making sure all their titles were made available digitally, the built in 3G support, etc. and not enough time branding it as a true handheld. All these empty promises and vague allusions to PS3/PS4 support haven’t helped. It’s barely ever been touted as more than a companion machine.
As much as I love the DS/3DS line of games and systems, I would’ve liked to have seen Sony put up a real fight. How hard would it have been to go up against the 3DS directly?
Does this mean someone else will step up to the plate and make the handheld market competitive once again?
It truly is the PSP2. With a handfull of must plays in the US, the system gets loads of Japan exclusive games and thrives there. I mean, I suppose the market isn’t right here for the games to get localized, but without an install base, created by must-have games in the first place, there never will be.
The Vita is undoubtedly too far gone to do anything but float instead of sink and act as a companion for the PS4, but it’d be nice to see it get at least a bit of love this E3.