PlayStation Vita To Shut Down In Japan, Soon, Sony Announces

Many have already foreseen this coming, but now it’s official that Sony would shut down PlayStation Vita production in Japan any time soon. The information was made public via the Japanese Sony’s site, and Gematsu was the first to report it.

According to the Japanese Sony’s site, the two PlayStation Vita models, namely PCH-2000 ZA11 Black and PCH-2000 ZA23 Aqua Blue, are now labeled as “Ending Soon.” The news is not new, however, as Sony announced in September 2018 that it would shut down PlayStation Vita production across Japan in 2019. But, besides the labeling stating that the before-mention PlayStation Vita models would be “ending soon,” Sony did not mention when is that going to happen precisely.

PlayStation Vita launched on the Japanese market in 2011, a few months before its emergence on the North American market in February 2012. PlayStation Vita pleased the gamers with titles such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, and Assassin’s Creed Liberation.

PlayStation Vita To Shut Down In Japan

Sony struggled to boost PlayStation Vita sales after it launched in Japan but lost the battle with Nintendo 3DS, a very popular and appreciated handheld console of those times. Now, even more, PlayStation Vita is outdated and Nintendo Switch, the bestselling console of 2018, is threatening Sony’s portable console.

Nonetheless, PlayStation Vita is not anymore getting support from games studios. Although Canada-based Drinkbox Studios and Japan-based devs such as Atlus are still releasing games for PlayStation Vita, other game creators are not doing so anymore.

Sony refused to reveal the exact sale figures that PlayStation Vita generated, suggesting that the Japanese company considered it a failure as regards the sales. However, some analysts estimated that PlayStation Vita hadn’t sold more than 15 million units since 2011 when the handheld consoles launched across Japan. That is, probably, another reason why Sony plans to shut down PlayStation Vita production in Japan.

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