Sony has silently discontinued the shipments of PlayStation TV in Japan. Does this mean that the microconsole is dying a slow death?
The official Japanese listing of the PlayStation Vita TV, more popularly known as PlayStation TV in the United States, has been labeled "End of Shipments." This signifies that the shipment of the system along with the "Value Pack," which comes with a memory card plus DualShock 3 are being stopped in the country.
Sony's website, though, does not mention the specific end date of the PlayStation TV and the bundle.
DualShockers says the microconsole has not succeeded in Japan. In fact, a figure from Media Create on Jan. 3 puts the lifetime sales of the PlayStation TV at 185,452. The console was launched in its home country on Nov. 14, 2013. It first entered the boundaries of the United States and Canada in October 2014. One month later, it also hit the European market.
When it was first rolled out in the United States market, the device carried an original price tag of $99. To date, after retailers have slashed its price, consumers can buy a PlayStation TV for $43.95 via Amazon.
Apart from PS Vita games, the PlayStation TV can also launch PSP and PlayStation One titles. This gadget also currently supports PlayStation Now, enabling users to play PlayStation 3 games through the device. On top of that, this microconsole can be used to stream PlayStation 4 titles from a PS4 console to a separate television in which the PlaySation TV is connected to.
In October 2015, Masayasu Ito, Sony's senior vice president, said that "first-party studios have no titles in development for PS Vita." At the time, he also said that the strategy of Sony Computer Entertainment in those days was to center its attention on the PS4.
Engadget thinks that if the microconsole is discontinued across the globe, "it won't be surprising" as it says the device "has long come across as an awkward compromise."
"[L]acking common streaming apps like Netflix as well as a large amount of the Vita's library made any notion of success for the mini-console a pipe dream," Game Informer says.
What do you think does this news mean for users outside Japan? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.
