PS Vita Production Ends In Japan Next Year

If it wasn't before, it's clear now that the PS Vita is on the way out. Sony has revealed plans to wind down production in Japan soon, essentially condemning the handheld to death. There's no precise date for this halt to production yet, but the PS Vita's days are certainly numbered regardless.

Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president Hiroyuki Oda broke the news in a new interview with Famitsu. He also said that Sony currently has no plans for a successor to the PS Vita, and we probably won't see the company change its tune after the rise of mobile devices. With the Switch poised to fill the gaps left behind by gaming handhelds, that probably makes developing a successor to the Vita even less desirable.

Oda doesn't give a precise date for this halt in production, saying only that it'll happen sometime next year, with shipments obviously coming to end at that point as well. Though this 2019 date only applies to Japan, it's not likely production will continue in other regions either, as PS Vita has been most successful in its home country. It makes little sense, then, for Sony to end production in Japan while continuing to ship new units in North America and Europe.

Indeed, the writing is already on the wall here on the other side of the Pacific. Earlier this year, Sony announced that it'll end PS Vita GameCard production in the US and Europe on March 31, 2019. Games will still be available digitally, but we can probably expect hardware production to stop shortly after GameCards go away.

So, there you have it: at some point next year, Sony will kill off the PS Vita in Japan and shift its focus entirely toward the PS4 and PS4 Pro. What do you think of this news? Head down to the comments section and let us know!