Don’t hold your breath for a new Killzone or inFamous game on PlayStation Vita. According to Sony’s Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida, the platform holder currently has no first-party studios working on software for the shunted handheld, and that its future as an ultra-niche system looks to be all but confirmed.
Speaking to IGN, Yoshida-san noted that while the portable device will continue to be supported by third-party devs and digital software – not to mention its role as a second screen device for the PlayStation 4 – that void of triple-A software on Vita is set to exist indefinitely.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t say we will have big AAA Vita games from first party. But yesterday, Square Enix announced the new World of Final Fantasy,” he added. “That’s coming on PS Vita as well. And as you know and as I know, there are great games that come out digitally on PS Vita that are typically cross-platform with PS4. Volume is coming out soon and Super Time Force Ultra. There’s no lack of great games you can play on PS Vita and PS4. You can play at home on PS4 and continue on with cloud save on PS Vita.
“But we know that the smaller games work very well on PS Vita because it doesn’t require that PS4 tech to make the game fun.”
It’s no secret that the PlayStation Vita has faced an uphill battle since day one; not just in terms of competition from Nintendo’s 3DS – which has irrefutably trounced Sony’s hardware in the sales department – but the rise and rise of mobile gaming across iOS and Android devices. Sony understands this, and Andrew House recently referred to the company’s dedicated gaming handheld as a “legacy platform,” one which will exist as a niche from hence forth.
What do you think, though? Indeed, are you surprised by Sony’s dwindling support for PlayStation Vita? Let us know below.