Sony PS Vita Physical Game Production to End by March 2019

PlayStation Vita, Sony's dying portable gaming console, is another step closer to its deathbed. In a message to developers on Tuesday, according to a report, Sony announced that it plans to end physical production of PS Vita games – known as GameCard – by the end of the 2018 fiscal year, i.e. March 31, 2019, in the Americas and Europe.

Kotaku first brought word of this new development, and a Sony spokesperson has since confirmed to the publication that PS Vita card production is coming to an end. PS Vita owners in Americas and Europe will still be able to buy games on Sony's digital store. That the announcement specifically calls out those two regions means Sony will continue production in Asia, including Japan, its most profitable market for PS Vita.

Of course, that doesn't include India where the PS Vita hasn't gotten new units officially since mid-2015, and new games haven't released in two years. The most recent game available on Amazon India is 2016's Lego Marvel Avengers, while not a single PS Vita game is available on dedicated video game store, Games The Shop.

In its message, Sony added that "all Vita product code requests be submitted by June 28, 2018, and that final purchase orders be entered by February 15, 2019."

PS Vita released in Japan back in December 2011, before making its way around the world in February 2012. But the console - a successor to the much more popular PSP (PlayStation Portable) - never took off in the age of smartphones, and lost interest even among dedicated fans to the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS has sold over 70 million units, while the PS Vita stands between 10-15 million.

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