Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/09/21/sony-to-retire-ps-vita-in-2019.html
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Cell phones ate the mobile gaming market. A dedicated handheld gaming console can’t keep up with Apple’s ridiculous performance gains each year, and the hardware price will always compete poorly with “device they already have”.
It’s a bit of a shame because good game controls are something sorely lacking on phones, but the market is just too niche these days.
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I always wanted to really like the Vita, i love that it had touch controls on the back, but it just didn’t get a lot of dev support in the same way the Nintendo handhelds did. I still really want Sony to make a successful handheld but if its not meant to be then oh well… at least they’re killing it in the console market. Really love their exclusive titles.
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Finally putting a pillow over its face after years of neglect.
The same thing Sony did with the PSP - launch it with great fanfare, great hardware, and some decent games, then get distracted by something else (the PS4 in this case) and forget it even exists.
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Sony did what they do best: Make some amazing hardware, and then fail to put great games on it. Nintendo’s mobile sales are still very high for how late-gen the 3ds is.
I have a Vita and a PSP. Most of the games feel like watered down versions of their console equivalents, and just don’t scratch the itch. That simply isn’t true for most of the top tier 3ds games. Hell, Monster Hunter 3 is exactly the same game as on WiiU, and you can even transfer saves across.
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I see your point, but I don’t think it’s that dire. Partly because the controls situation with phones needs to be resolved first, and no one is solving that. Bascially very few things are plug and play. Getting a bluetooth gamepad to play nice with say, PUBG, might not be impossible… but I have better things to do with my time, and I’m a pretty serious player. Meanwhile, I would absolutely buy a Switch if I had the money.
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I would agree with you up until the latest iPhones. At their price point, they will never be a “device I already have.”
Once my 6S either stops working, or the iOS leaves it in the dustbin of history and games all move along with the latest and greatest, that’s probably it for me and Apple’s phone line.
Add to that the avalanche of robocalls that keep increasing, and I may be done with having a “phone” at all. If you want to get in touch with me at that point, I hope you have a set of signal flags and its a clear day.
As for this, I thought they had already retired the PS Vita. But I was guess I was thinking of the PSP.
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a used one, before they tip over into “collectible” territory. And if that fails, and I live long enough, I’m sure it will be rereleased as a retro console at some point, with 20 games on it.
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Wasn’t the Vita the PSP that was heavily subscription based? I assume Vita owners will be left high and dry once Sony stops selling them.
That sure seems to be a thing now, isn’t it? Although I’m hoping to eventually see an AES version of this.
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This time is now, or maybe slightly passed. I nabbed a used Vita with 29 games (mostly good ones!) and a memory card for $420 USD. That was 2015. When I am in the “collection” phase I keep an eye on CL or watch newly listed “Buy it now” listings on ebay.
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Persona 4 Golden is not just one of the best Vita games, it’s perhaps one of the best games period. It’s one of my top 10 for sure. It takes a really special game for me to have at least 3 playthroughs on an 80+ hour long game (granted, two of those playthroughs were on the non-Golden version on the PS2 but still…).
The Vita has a lot of excellent titles and you can play nearly all them all on your TV with the PSTV (which you can often find for really cheap) if portability isn’t important. The only really annoying thing is the dumb proprietary and expensive memory cards.
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