While the writing was on the wall for some time for Sony’s ill-fated PS Vita TV, it looks like now that the final nail has been hammered into it’s coffin. According to Sony’s Japan PlayStation website, the PS Vita has officially been discontinued, meaning no more units will be produced. Though I doubt that matters as there’s more then enough stock sitting in many stores and warehouses, both online and B&M. Further evidence of the poor sales of the system could be seen during the Christmas Holiday of 2015, where you could find them for under $35 dollars and they still weren’t selling. And while the discontinuation is in Japan only at the time, one can speculate that the same fate is in the future for its North American counterpart as well.
Many blame the poor sales of the PS Vita on Sony, as it’s lack of vision of the product was apparent. They didn’t have a clear marketing plan for the unit, as well as crippling it when it came to media streaming and playing many popular PS Vita and PSP titles. The lack of 1080p resolution and 5.1 surround support also made it a poor choice for those who did attempt to use it for a dedicated streaming device, especially if you wanted it for Netflix, as the support for Netflix never came. The fact that it also required the use of Sony’s propriety memory cards, both the 32GB/64GB versions, are expensive to say the least and that didn’t help either. At least there was Hulu Plus to keep you entertained, if you wanted to stream media that is.
And despite the original vision for the PS Vita TV, I thought that if Sony has put some more effort behind the difference, then perhaps it would have a better future. However, this is the very same company that is also slowly killing off the PS Vita, with the lack of 1st and 3rd party support, even though the system is a powerful little beast.
The only question now is if support from 3rd party companies, where they can add support for both the PS Vita and PS Vita TV will continue. While there is still a large amount of games don’t support the unit, the fact that many have done this and perhaps will stop is a big deal for many. Only time will tell what happens and hopefully the support does continue.
So thanks for what little fun I did have with you PS Vita TV. You gave me tons of fun with WipeOut, Persona Dancing All Night and Y’s, but it’s time for you to ride off into the sunset and find a place along side the other failed devices that had potential.
