In a message to developers, Sony has stated that it plans to stop producing PS Vita game cartridges, according to a report from Kotaku. The company says that this will happen by the end of the fiscal year 2018, which translates to 31st March 2019.
Sony also stipulates that all requests for Vita product codes be presented by 28th June 2018, and final purchase orders submitted by 15th February 2019. Digital titles will continue to be released -- this purely concerns physical games. While the release of new games has slowed over the Vita's lifespan, especially in recent years, this is Sony's next major step in winding down its handheld.
The Vita may not have enjoyed the kind of support many people wanted, but it's beloved by its fans, and games are still making their way onto the system every month. It was only this week, in fact, that Stardew Valley was confirmed to be landing on the Vita in just a few days. As our illustrious editor Sammy Barker writes, the longevity of the handheld really is quite something considering its history.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 29
In the UK, the ability to get physical has diminshed massively so for me, not a big deal. It seems to be a graceful exit for the Vita which I understand.
@Rudy_Manchego Yeah, physical Vita games seem to be pretty scarce nowadays.
PS VITA 2 HYPE.
No?....ok
The Vita had sooo much potential , it's sad the little powerfull handheld didn't take off , the size of the screen and actual unit felt really good in hand. I'm sure they prototyped many successers in the past couple years . But I guess the market wasn't strong enough enough in their eyes for a new handheld . I'm curious what Sony is going to do with the Freedom Wars IP , hopefully it doesn't die with the Vita !
you know if the higher capacity memory cards were actually affordable or if they let third party companies make them then perhaps the Vita might have had a longer life because it's a great little machine that sadly didn't live up to it's potential
It's time for playstation portable 3
Seriously though, I'm 100% digital on vita, I think the last vita cartridge I bought is dragon crown, which I sold it when the digital version discounted on psn.
Not like there were many worthy games to get physical copies of anyway.
I just hope this means there is still an opportunity for physical copies of persona 3 and 5 dancing and Catherine in the west.
Ultimately i understand this move, although its sad news. This effectively kills the vita. Although many of us are happy to go digital, the japanese market relies on physical releases (ironically given that market was the only one to receive the 64gb memory card). Go into a shop in Japan and there are rows and rows of vita games.
Sony releases a statement: "We have been trying very hard to kill the Vita, but we had unexpected the continued support from other software developers in keeping it alive. As such, we have decided to cease allowing physical software production, as we believe this is not helping us achieve the goal of making the Vita a redundant piece of hardware."
I own over 150 Vita games.
Not a single one is physical.
Think I’ll be alright .
Sucks for Limited Run Games. I’m sure they’re going to start stockpiling them though, which in turn is going to shoot up their price for physical Vita releases.
@AFCC Nah, Sony really doesn't want to invest in mobile gaming anymore, sadly.
@MadAussieBloke thats a bargin. Hope you enjoy it as much as i have
Impeccable timing
I wonder if I should try selling my Soul Sacrifice Premium Edition version...
@PS_Nation I know to be honest they didn't really support Vita so if it was to do the same thing I rather not spend more money on a portable console
@CK97 yeah right. And you have played how many Vita games?
Im gonna bulk up on Vita physical games. They are small enough to keep a good 60+ games without needing a new house. I can see them becoming very collectible too due to the avid fanbase.
Vita was the first system I owned where the ratio of games purchased heavily favored digital, probably because it was the perfect indie machine at the time and most of those games didn't get a physical release anyway. Looks like things really are finally winding down for it. Until the Switch, Vita was my most-played handheld system from the time it released. Considering Cobra Kai advertised Vita more than Sony has at any of its conferences over the last few years, I'm shocked the system is still around and getting any games at all. It won't go down as my favorite portable ever but for now (until Switch inevitably surpasses it) it's third on my list behind PSP and Gameboy Advance. Had a lot of great games and I don't regret the purchase, just too bad some extremely poor decisions did it in before it had a chance.
To be fair, the only physical Vita game I own is FFX. The rest are all digi, baby. I've still only got the original 4gig memory card, too. You'd have to be mental and loaded like Donald Trump to fork out for another one.
Maybe I'm the minority but physical portable games are terrible compared to digital anyways. Swapping cards is a huge pain. I get the Vita memory cards are tiny and expensive, but still...
@MadAussieBloke Enjoy! Seems like a very solid deal. You won’t regret it.
I think now is the perfect time to purchase a Vita if you’re interested in getting one. Here in Belgium, game stores have no interest in buying your Vita so a lot of people offering a ‘Used PS Vita, barely touched’ for 90-150 euros (depending on the extras you’re getting) bit I can imagine the prices going up in time.
I’m actually considering buying a second one as a back-up but maybe that’s a bit crazy 😉. Maybe if I find a good deal with some physical games included in my neighbourhood...
I hope they release some of the vita exclusives on ps4 in the future so the series can live on. Such as freedom wars that game is so underrated.
the switch section replaced the vita section in all stores here.
I normally do prefer physical, but digital on the Switch is the way I've been going.
Its portable, dont want a pocket full of carts.
I'm hoping the death of Vita gives us P4G on console.
Digital only is a good move. Doesn't necessarily mean that it's the end for the vita.
I dont find to hard to buy physical ps vita online. I am happy Digital or physical, as long as i got games to play.
Still enjoy my ps vita. Currently playing chaos;child. And waiting for rainbow skies release in june.
At least this should lower the cost of other flash-memory gizmos.
@themcnoisy good for you, I guess.
I only own three Vita games...if I bought a Vita it'd be to play PS1/PS2/PSP digital games.
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