After nearly eight years, Sony finally ended production of the PS Vita in March of 2019, effectively ending any and all rumors of a comeback for the console within North America. We'll look at the console's history, its success in Japan and 🀅failure elsewhere, and Sony's recent decision to prevent users from homebrewing the console and what this could mean for the system's future.
The System's History
Sony unveiled the PS Vita in Japan on December 17, 2011, and from the start, it seemed that it would become a good competitor to Nintendo's handhelds as it would sell within the first week of launch. This success would be short-lived though, as console sales would drop off drastically the following week i🦄n Japan, causing the system to .
When the PS Vita was released in North America on February 15, 2012, it seemed that Sony was on the rebound as it would again sell well during its first week on the market. This wasn't the case though, and shipments of the console would drop to . Despite the console's constant struggles, EEDAR, a research firm, would go on to estimate that the console had shipped 🃏, finally hitting Sony's original two-year projection.
During its lifespan, the PS Vita would have various custom units released around the globe, but these models would only change the system's outward appearance. The Vita had only two models ever released, the PS Vita 1000 at launch and the PS Vita 2000 two years later. While🐲 the PS Vita 2000 was thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it lacked 3G capability and had an LCD screen instead of an OLED, giving it worse image quality. This, coupled with the system's high price, would cause it🧸 to continue to struggle in Japan and elsewhere. As a result, Sony would make the decision to shift its focus more toward small third party developers, while also updating the console's software for and .
Additionally, the company would also release the PS Vita TV in November of 2013, giving home users the ability to play their favorite games on any television with HDMI compatibility. Thanks to these changes, many JRPGs and♈ visual novels would be released for the system. When Minecraft was introduced in early 2017, it would go on in Japan alone. However, despite having a userbase of and continued supp𝔍ort in Japan, Sony would announce the end of production for the console at the in 2018, with production having ended in North America three years earlier.
Sony's Attempts to Stop Recent Hacking of the Vita
Despite Sony's decision to end the console's production, when a homebrew application was released by popular Vita hacker, TheOfficialFlow, the company took swift action to , preventing its use on the system. The hack, h-encore², was designed to allow users to make modifications to the system's Kernel files, giving them the ability to run homebrew software which would then give them access to pirated Vita games. While this update blocked the hacked software 🃏from being used, Vita owners were quick to point out that you could simply stop your system from updating itself, effectively nullifying Sony's attempted patch. While the company's decision to patch out the software was understandable, many wondered why Sony was still focused on the console despite discontinuing it.
What's Next For The Vita?
While it would be nice for Sony to revive the Vita, that doesn't appear to be a possibility given that the Nintendo Switch does many of the same things at a much cheaper price. Nintendo's continued innov🦋ation with the console, and its willingness to include all kinds of third-party game developers, all🐻 but guarantees that Sony will never again attempt to invest in the Vita. Though this the case, it's clear that the company is more than willing to update and protect its console from being used simply as a portable emulator. Sony will protect its image at all costs, meaning that it will continue to battle hackers until it's satisfied that it has won.
What It All Means
💞The Vita was an amazing handheld, it was able to do things that no other handheld at the time could do꧋ and it helped to pave the way for the likes of Nintendo to create something even better. While many would see what they created as a failure, what the system did for the gaming industry can't be ignored. If the company had continued to show love for the system and updated both its hardware and software along the way, we may have been able to finally see what it was capable of. Sony wouldn't be the first company to release something at the wrong time and they should take comfort in knowing that they helped to change the landscape of gaming forever.