Sony gives up on the PS Vita

[cflnut]

http://www.geek.com/games/sony-gives-up-on-the-ps-vita-1637695/

Just last month, Sony said that a PS Vita sequel was unlikely given that there's no market for the device. If that didn't spell doom for the somewhat forgotten handheld, this almost certainly does: Sony is ceasing all first party development for the PS Vita.

In an interview, Sony Computer Entertainment SVP Masayasu Ito stated that first-party studios have no Vita games in development, and that the company is shifting focus to the PS4. He did state, though, that third parties are "working very hard" on the PS Vita, which was positioned as a way to assuage the fears of Vita fans — no, no, it's okay, third parties are going ham on your platform. Sony's new strategy — aside from letting others go ham in Sony's stead — is targeting a younger audience. Ito said the Vita's demographic is skewing younger nowadays, and the company will attempt to capitalize on that trend, with new hardware colors.

Of course, it's not exactly a surprise that Sony is focusing its development resources on the PS4 — the most popular gaming console on the market — instead of its also-ran handheld that, despite great hardware, began life with a very steep climb over the competition provided by Nintendo and, most importantly, mobile gaming. Considering Nintendo is finally getting in on mobile gaming, it's likely just a matter of time before portable gaming shifts to mobile, and the once great bastion of handheld consoles are a thing of the past. Although, you know, touchscreens don't make for the best gaming experiences, so handheld consoles will have a market until smartphone makers figure out what to do about that.

Just like the PSP, Sony never really utilized the compatibility of the Vita with the PS3 or PS4.

[rollntider]

The smart phone Killed those. If we still had flip phones I could see those doing ok.

[cflnut]

Lack of marketing on Sony's part as well. Also there is no [or very little] 3G support for it, and what support support there is is far to expensive for what you get. 

[rollntider]

true, a little more support would have helped.