The PlayStation Vita has had quite the rocky life; since its middling launch in 2011 Sony had mostly left the handheld out to die, quickly pulling away from supporting it with first party content. Meanwhile, indie and Japanese games flourished on the platform thanks to a small but loyal userbase. Now it's 2018, and the Nintendo Switch has been quietly smothering the remaining life out of the Vita. A few months ago saw Sony mention that physical game cartridges for the system would come to a halt. Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment's VP admitted that PlayStation Vita systems in Japan would finally be put to rest in 2019, when the company plans to end production. Perhaps more notably, he also stated that Sony PlayStation has no plans for a successor or handheld gaming console at this time.

Source: Famitsu
If you're interested in games for the PlayStation Vita, check out our highlights list

 

[Reploid]

Thanks sony, for nothing. Never gonna buy another your console ever.

 

[Bladexdsl]

hahah they finally realized it's been dead (for years)

 

[sj33]

Sony continuing their trend of investing in something right up until release, then leaving it out to die if it isn't an immediate success. How long will they support PSVR?

 

[WildDog]

The PSP Vita is a reminder of 2 things

A)Even if you are the most powerful and have more tech, doesn't mean you are going to win. The PSP Vita with the OLED model was amazing, yet the 3ds was a bit more fun...
I can say the same for the Original PSP, X-mas 2005 got a PSP, i was quite happy with.. But doing some retrospective i would have loved more a DS.

B)Sony is pure hype and once the hype ends, they give you the middle finger.

 

[DBlaze]

It's a shame they wasted the potential it had pretty much from the start.

 

[chartube12]

If memory cards weren’t too expensive, I’d buy a vita again to hack it...then again I have hacked psp 3000 somewhere

 

[Ericthegreat]

Sony continuing their trend of investing in something right up until release, then leaving it out to die if it isn't an immediate success. How long will they support PSVR?

Until PS5VR?

 

[KingVamp]

Shame really. Even a bigger shame that they don't plan on another handheld.

At least that means Switch is more likely to pick up most of the Vita titles.

 

[Ericthegreat]

I didn't care for the 3ds or the vita, I like the switch tho.

 

[duwen]

It's a real shame. The Vita is truly a great system - I just regret leaving it as long as I did before getting one.
I guess it was a failure from Sony's perspective when compared to their other products, but it was still relatively successful in terms of being a non-Nintendo handheld.
It also has an incredibly devoted fanbase, and I can see why - I've barely touched my 3ds since I picked up my OLED Vita.
Some of it's innovations paved the way for the Switch to refine the concepts it introduced. Others, like cross-play/cross-buy/cross-save between three Sony platforms, were just great consumer focused ideas that no other console manufacturer will likely ever be able to copy.

I can see, and appreciate, the reasons why Sony realised that throwing more money into supporting it wasn't a good idea in the current market where even Nintendo's sales have dropped significantly in the wake of the ever booming mobile market (just look at the sales figures of the DS compared to the 3DS), but that doesn't mean I don't see the unrealised potential the device had.

RIP Vita ...I'll be enjoying you for years to come.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

If memory cards weren’t too expensive, I’d buy a vita again to hack it...then again I have hacked psp 3000 somewhere

you can buy a sd2vita adaptor for a few $ so you can use sd cards instead, I've got a 128gb mirco sd card in my vita

 

[JamiePashley]

I always like the Vita, lots of JRPGs, and PSOne and PSP titles. Hopefully Sony will try again in the future, and not make stupid decisions like a special memory card format which cost a fortune

 

[sj33]

you can buy a sd2vita adaptor for a few $ so you can use sd cards instead, I've got a 128gb mirco sd card in my vita

I have an SD2Vita too, but this isn't practical solution for the vast majority of people without CFW.

 

[gameboy]

i tried to like the vita but just couldnt, huge waste of money. the ps2 ports didnt run very well either. too many rumored games that just never were even close to happening

 

[Hells Malice]

Still overall has a better library than the 3DS. Especially quality over quantity wise.

Too bad it wasn't properly supported by Sony themselves.

 

[Enryx25]

Still overall has a better library than the 3DS. Especially quality over quantity wise.

Too bad it wasn't properly supported by Sony themselves.

Only if you like JRPGs and VNs.

 

[leon315]

Thanks sony, for nothing. Never gonna buy another your console ever.

*Handheld, ps4 rocks with all these exclusives which outsold x1 tho!

 

[mgrev]

I'm going to miss you. It's a shame it didn't succeed much

 

[NeroAngelo]

I still don't get the hur dur Vita was shit comments, it has GREAT games , GREAT ports, and is quite the little powerhouse for a portable, hell mine still gets tons of game time.
SURE it isn't as popular as the 3DS, but let's be real, I think we can all agree that NO ONE can go up against Nintendo portables anymore, they kinda turned it into an artform that no one can rival anymore.

The only major bullshit Sony pulled with Vita was the proprietary MemoryCards ... fuck those expensive piles of crap.