Skip to main content

Don’t expect Sony to ever make another handheld PlayStation

Sony PlayStation Vita Slim review front screen angle
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Nintendo’s Switch console proved to the world that there’s still hope for portable gaming devices, but Sony’s PlayStation Vita failed to find the same success, and now exists as a niche platform for indie and Japanese titles. And according to Sony, it could be the last handheld system the company ever makes.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House said that there wasn’t “a huge market opportunity” for handheld gaming in regions other than Asia.

Recommended Videos

As many others have stated in the past, House believes that smartphones have largely replaced handheld gaming devices, and we’ve seen several games on the PlayStation Vita eventually coming to phones, as well. Moreover, games like Tearaway and Gravity Rush have eventually made their way to PlayStation 4, though they’ve needed to cut Vita-specific features in order to function.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Back in 2015, Sony said that it had “no titles in development” for the PlayStation Vita, and was instead focusing its efforts on the PlayStation 4, and now, PlayStation VR.

The Vita’s sluggish sales numbers weren’t caused by its games’ quality, however. At launch the excellent Uncharted: Golden Abyss was available, as was a great version of Rayman Origins. In 2013, Killzone: Mercenary was also released, giving first-person shooter fans bite-sized campaign levels as well as a surprisingly great competitive multiplayer component. Over the last few years, PlayStation Plus subscribers have received most of the system’s best games for free, so if you haven’t picked up the Vita yet, you could have a fully-stocked library without ever having to purchase a game.

Sony also has no plan to offer a “hybrid” gaming device like the Nintendo Switch, instead choosing to stick with the more traditional console model.

“The folks at Nintendo have their strategy and that’s great,” House added. “We remain focused around a highly connected gaming experience and also coupled with having a great range of other entertainment experiences so you can reach multiple people in the big screen in the household.”

In recent months, the PlayStation 4 has been dethroned by the Switch as the best-selling console in the United States. Previously, the system had been the top seller almost every month, only occasionally falling behind the Xbox One.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
PlayStation’s live service cancellations might be the lesser of two evils
A trio wearing monkey masks attack another crew in the Fairgame$ trailer.

Despite its best efforts, PlayStation's live-service strategy hasn't borne the fruits it has hoped for thus far.

The company's initial plan was to charge head-first into the market with 12 games planned to be released within just a few years after making its biggest purchase in Bungie to help guide that effort. Ever since that declaration, PlayStation has been scaling back its grand plans piece by piece, with the latest news coming from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier revealing that two unannounced live-service projects in development and Bluepoint and Sony Bend have been canceled. We don't know what the repercussions of this will be in terms of layoffs, but a spokesperson did confirm that neither studio would close down.

Read more
Don’t expect these games to be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch 2
Wario and his friends appear in WarioWare: Move It! key art.

Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer

Yesterday, Nintendo revealed its next console, the Nintendo Switch 2, via a short video. The clip didn't reveal too much outside of its design and a brief glimpse of the next Mario Kart game. We did get one crucial detail, though: the system is compatible with Nintendo Switch games, both digitally and physically. There is one caveat that has fans nervous, though. Nintendo says that select games won't be backwards compatible, but it hasn't explained what that means yet.

Read more
Everything we know about the PlayStation handheld
Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Handheld gaming is bigger now than ever, thanks to the Nintendo Switch (and soon-to-be Switch 2) and the Steam Deck. While these portable devices are not as powerful as the best video game consoles, their convenience and relative power make them ideal for anyone who is on the go, shares a TV, or just wants to play from the comfort of their bed.

Xbox has already made its plans clear about its own handheld, but many thought PlayStation had given up on the market after the Vita. It would later release the PlayStation Portal, which can be used for remote play or cloud streaming, but can't play games natively. Now, we have reports of a true PlayStation portable system on the way. Grab your UMDs and chargers while we talk about everything we know about the next PlayStation handheld.
Release speculation

Read more