PlayStation Vita Manufacturing in Japan Will End in 2019

Pour one out for the PlayStation Vita, which will find its way to that great big used game store in the sky next year when Sony pulls the plug on the handheld console. Launched in 2011, the system will be eight years old, which is a little more in dog years and a lot more in human years.

To be accurate, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s senior vice president Hiroyuki Oda specific statement said that they’re discontinuing PlayStation Vita manufacturing in Japan and will cease shipping, but he didn’t specify whether that means no more shipping in Japan only or worldwide. The Vita is extremely popular in Japan, so it’s likely a safe assumption that if it’s done there, it’s done everything. Sony has no plans for a follow-up device.

The PSP, Sony’s original handheld, sold 80 million units in its lifetime. The Vita never came close to catching up, selling only 16 million units worldwide. While it offered a variety of solid ports, its exclusive library left a lot to be desired.

It also came out at a time when smartphone gaming was on the rise, so it had to compete with a device owned by nearly everyone. This concern was echoed in a lot of initial reviews. Critics didn’t have many complaints about the device itself, but they questioned its practicality, asking who would buy a dedicated mobile gaming console when your smartphone could offer something very similar.

PlayStation Vita, we hardly knew ye, because we were all playing on our smartphones. Rest in power.