In an interview with IGN, Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida talked about the future of the company’s amazing but underperforming handheld platform, the Sony PlayStation Vita. In the video (which you can see below), Yoshida essentially explains that they will not be developing any more AAA related titles for the Vita. He added that when the PSP was released and was capable of playing PS2 quality games, the bar was set pretty high for performance on Sony handheld devices. The Vita was their answer to the demand for high quality portable gaming experiences but, despite the hardware’s considerable specifications, it couldn’t consistently match the performance of the PS3 or PS4 because the technology was limited. Subsequently, people moved on from the Vita as a viable gaming platform because they wanted bigger and better graphics on larger displays than the Vita could provide. Yoshida said that Sony knew this was an eventuality, but that isn’t stopping them from continuing to support and market the Vita in different ways.
Yoshida said that they remain invested in the device but will be scaling back on the more ambitious software in favor of games that the system can handle more easily and also giving us more content that supports their successful cross-buy and cross-play initiatives. The interview gave many examples of the types of games that we can expect to on the Vita in the coming years and overall, the message is encouraging. It seems Sony knows that the PS Vita still has potential and can be successful but they will have to change their strategy to reap the potential benefits.
Here is the video so you can hear it all straight from Yoshida himself.
