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Sony Rules Out PS Vita Successor Due to Popularity of Smartphones

Sony Rules Out PS Vita Successor Due to Popularity of Smartphones

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 26 September 2017 21:30 IST

Highlights

Sony doesn't see any opportunity in the dedicated portable gaming space
Smartphones have ensured no PS Vita successor
Sony has created its own mobile game studio last year called ForwardWorks

The PS Vita is Sony’s second handheld console and it seems that Sony has all but confirmed that it would be its last. At Tokyo Games Show 2017, PlayStation boss Andrew House claimed that this was due to lack of demand in markets such as the US and Europe.

“The Vita experience was that outside of Japan and Asia, there was not a huge demand,” House said in an interview with Bloomberg Technology. Furthermore, he felt the limited potential of the PS Vita was due to the popularity of smartphones.

“The lifestyle shift toward the dominance of smartphones as the single key device that is always with you, was the determining factor.”

This should come as no surprise considering Sony had set up ForwardWorks - its own mobile games studio last year. However with the Nintendo Switch proving there’s value in a portable device, House states its had no impact on Sony’s PS4 hardware or game sales and Sony doesn’t see dedicated portable gaming “as being a huge market opportunity.”

“That draws me to the conclusion that they’ve really been additive to the business in the last year or so,” House said. “The folks at Nintendo have their strategy and that’s great. 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 on the big screen in the household.”

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