Often referred to as just Vita, PlayStation Vita is a handheld gaming console introduced by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was originally launched in Japan at the end of 2011. By the end of February, 2012, it was available all over the world.
PlayStation Vita is seen as the successor of PlayStation Portable. Since it was associated with the eight generation of video gaming consoles, its primary competition included Nintendo 3DS.
When the console came out, it had a five inch touchscreen, a couple of analog sticks, as well as button inputs. It could work with 3G, but it was mainly used over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
From a technical point of view, Vita comes with a quad core CPU. It wasn’t the final setup though. PlayStation Vita 2000 represents an upgraded version of the original console that came out just a few years later.
It has similar capabilities, but its battery is more powerful. It's also more compact, and boosts improved ergonomics, not to mention the LCD screen replacing the original OLED.
Sony tried to take Vita even further by releasing PlayStation TV, a similar version that required a TV screen. It was discontinued before the end of 2015, as its popularity failed to meet the manufacturer’s expectations.
The concept behind PlayStation Vita was simple to understand. Sony developed an affordable platform that could provide the same experience as big budget platforms. However, while the idea was welcome, prices for big games put the sales on hold.
Although the console was affordable, games did add to the overall price. That’s when Sony focused on independent game developers. New high quality titles were more affordable and kept the console afloat.
Sony has never revealed how many consoles were sold, but most experts estimate around 15 million. Further products from Sony were made to work along with Vita, such as PlayStation 4 through the remote play features.
Some would say Nintendo Switch killed PlayStation Vita. The moment it was released in 2017, most handheld console fans switched to the new Switch. Sales for Vita went down, so Sony decided to discontinue it in 2019.
Despite boosting decent sales, PlayStation Vita was considered a commercial failure, yet it has a solid fanbase all over the world. Vita didn’t have any official successors. However, Sony came out with PlayStation Portal, which looked like one.
Some of the games associated with PlayStation Vita include Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, Tearaway, Hotline Miami, TxK, Severed and Dragon’s Crown, among others. This shows once again that Sony focused on independent developers, rather than big names. And some of them did a pretty good job.
While PlayStation Vita may seem like a thing of the past, the truth is real fans can still bring some of these memories back. Many of the games available for PlayStation Vita are now available as ROMs, meaning they can be downloaded and emulated on other platforms.
Simply put, users can play PlayStation Vita games on their computers and enjoy the exact same type of experience.