The PlayStation Vita has weathered a difficult few years since its release in 2011. Sony’s immensely powerful handheld showed huge promise when it came to mobile games with depth, yet its use of expensive proprietary memory cards made it a pricy investment.
The system never quite took off in terms of sales, but all the same, it’s enjoyed a devoted following – and in more recent years, the Vita’s become a home to all kinds of great indie games and Japanese RPGs.
An announcement from Sony, meanwhile, suggests that the Vita’s time may be sadly running out. According to Kotaku, Sony has contacted software developers to inform them that, as of March 31, 2019, it’ll be ending production of Vita game cards – the system’s proprietary physical media. As a result, Sony has advised developers to get their orders in for batches of game cards by next February as production begins to wind down.
Of course, this doesn’t spell the end for the Vita as such. Games will still be available to download on the system’s digital store, and it sounds as though production of physical games will continue in Japan, where the handheld enjoys a much greater following.
All the same, it does seem like Sony’s preparing to turn the page on the Vita’s seven-year reign. It may have been eclipsed somewhat by the Nintendo 3DS and the rise of smartphone gaming, but the Vita remains a rock-solid machine – and with great games like Persona 4 Golden and Dragon’s Crown among its library of exclusives, it’s likely to become increasingly collectible in the years to come.
