Since its debut back in 2012, the PlayStation Vita has been on a roller coaster of events throughout its life span. During its launch, the handheld was geared to compete against the Nintendo 3DS in the portable gaming market. Before the great surge of mobile gaming via smart phones, both companies had the upper hand in bringing gaming anywhere with you, and they still do.

More than a year after the release of the Nintendo Switch, the 3DS is still getting love from Nintendo with games being made for the 8-year-old handheld. Games like Luigi’s Mansion and Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn are being reimagined for the nearly decade-old platform.

The PlayStation Vita, while not quite the attention-grabber in the West, still holds its own in Japan. With the recent announcement of Catherine: Full Body coming for both the PlayStation 4 & Vita, developers like Atlus show they aren’t done with the handheld just yet.

Japanese magazine Famitsu interviewed PlayStation Vice President Hiroyuki Oda recently, and he discussed Sony’s indefinite halt in shipping Vita units to North America. Following up on that conversation, Oda has now told the outlet that production for the Vita will cease in Japan next year as well. We already know that physical games for the PlayStation Vita were discontinued back in May.

It would appear Sony’s 15-year streak in the mobile gaming market is headed for an unfortunate end with the discontinuing of the PlayStation Vita. It’s unknown right now what’s next for Sony in the mobile gaming space. It was mentioned by Sony Interactive Entertainment Head John Kodera that there is a possibility of Sony already looking into another handheld when speaking with Bloomberg back in May.

Source: Famitsu