The PlayStation Vita has never really enjoyed the success of other handheld consoles like the 3DS. Now it seems the Vita may be on the way out. Sony Computer Entertainment Senior Vice President Masayasu Ito spoke to Japanese outlet 4Gamer in a story that has been translated by Dual Shockers. In the article Ito said Sony is no longer working on first party games for the console, and is instead directing all of its energy at the PS4.
First-party games means games developed by the same company who makes the console. In the case of the PS Vita, some examples of first-party games are Tearaway and Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
“Currently, first party studios have no titles in development for PS Vita. Since third parties are working very hard on PS Vita, SCE’s own strategy is to focus on PS4, which is a new platform,” said Ito But he also said the Vita has picked up a lot of momentum lately, largely thanks to the release of Minecraft.
“At the beginning the PS Vita did not resonate with age targets under 20, but now the situation is changing and the popularity with younger demographics is increasing. Minecraft: PS Vita Edition has provided a boost.”
Ito stressed that there are a lot of third party games in development. Sony hopes to let those carry the Vita forward, but the end of first party support is not a good sign for the Vita. Whenever a console maker stops making games for that console, it generally means the console is going to be phased out soon. Developers often see this as a sign that they also should be shifting their development resources elsewhere.
But Sony expects the third-party games in development for the Vita will make it more popular. So much so, that Sony is planning to release some new colors for the Vita soon. But if you’re a Vita fan, don’t get too excited about that news. Different colors for Japanese consoles rarely make it outside of Japan.
