The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a
handheld video game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
developed and marketed by
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...
. It was first released in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
on December 17, 2011, and in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and other international territories beginning on February 22, 2012. It is a successor to the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, and a part of the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
brand of gaming devices; as part of the
eighth generation of video game consoles
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
The gen ...
, it primarily competed with the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
.
The original model of the handheld includes a
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
multi-touch
capacitive touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
, two
analog joysticks, and front and shoulder
push-button
A push-button (also spelled pushbutton) or simply button is a simple switch mechanism to control some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal. The surface is usually flat or sh ...
input, and supports
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
,
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
, and optional
3G. The Vita features a quad-core
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ...
CPU and a quad-core
SGX543MP GPU. The PS Vita 2000 series, a revised version of the system, was released across 2013 and 2014. It has all of the same features with a slightly smaller size, extended battery life, and an
LCD screen instead of OLED. Sony released the
PlayStation TV
The PlayStation TV (abbreviated to PS TV), known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on ...
, a short-lived, re-purposed version of the Vita that uses a
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
screen like a
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
, discontinued at the end of 2015. As of 2022, it is Sony's last handheld console.
The Vita's design was intended to meld the experience of big-budget, dedicated
video game platforms
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback ...
with the then up-and-coming trend of
mobile gaming
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to h ...
as seen on
smart phones
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
and
tablets. However, in the year after the device's successful launch, sales of the hardware and its bigger budget games stalled, threatening to end its lifespan. A concentrated effort to attract smaller independent developers in the West, combined with strong support from mid-level Japanese companies, helped keep the platform afloat. Though this led to less diversity in its game library, it strengthened support in
JRPG
While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...
s,
visual novels
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
, and Western-developed
indie games
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
. This built moderate sales in Japan and a smaller yet passionate userbase in the West. Though Sony has not released exact sales figures, late-lifespan sales estimates are around 15 to 16 million units. In the platform's later years, Sony promoted the PlayStation Vita's ability to work in conjunction with its other gaming products, such as
Remote Play of
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
games, similar to the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
's function of
Off-TV Play
Off-TV Play is a feature of Nintendo's eighth-generation video game console, the Wii U. Like all video game consoles, the Wii U uses a console and a controller to manipulate an image on a television screen. The Wii U's unique feature is that its ...
.
While the Vita hosted several acclaimed titles and built a small but loyal and passionate fanbase, the system is regarded as a
commercial failure
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...
, with a lack of support from Sony and major third-party developers along with competition from the significantly more successful
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
and smart devices noted as major factors. Production of the system and physical game cards in the West ended in March 2019, with Sony having no plans for a successor.
History
Background
After the success of
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's
Game Boy family
The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple Handheld game console, portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware fo ...
of
handheld game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
s throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, with little market competition, and
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's massive success with its
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
and
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
s around the same time, Sony entered the handheld market as well. In 2004, it released the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
(PSP) to compete with the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
as part of the
seventh generation of video game consoles
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Nint ...
.
After a slow start in the worldwide market, it was invigorated in Japan with multiple releases in the ''
Monster Hunter
is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fantasy-themed action role-playing video games that started with the game ''Monster Hunter'' for the PlayStation 2, released in 2004. Titles have been released across a variety of platforms, ...
'' series.
With the series being less popular in western regions, it failed to revive the platform in the same way. The PSP ended up being a mixed result for the company. It was seen as a success in that it was the only handheld video game platform that had ever significantly competed with Nintendo for market share, with almost 80 million units sold in its lifespan, roughly the same amount as Nintendo's
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
had during the
sixth generation of video game consoles
In the history of video games
The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. '' Spacewar!'' was developed by MIT student hobbyis ...
.
This is only a little more than half of the sales of its actual market competitor, the DS, which was more than 150 million units by the end of 2011.
Rumors of a successor to the PSP came as early as July 7, 2009 when ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' reported that Sony was working on such a device, which would utilize the PowerVR SGX543MP processor and perform at a level similar to the original
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
. Through mid-2010, websites continued to run stories about accounts of the existence of a "PSP 2".
Reports arose during the
Tokyo Game Show
, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
that the device was unveiled internally during a private meeting during mid-September held at Sony Computer Entertainment's headquarters in Aoyama, Tokyo.
Shortly after, reports of
development kits for the handheld had reportedly already been shipped to numerous video game developers including both
first-party and third-party developers to start making games for the device,
a report later confirmed by ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick. By November, Senior Vice President of
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, Patrick Soderlund, confirmed that he had seen that the PlayStation Portable successor existed, but could not confirm details.
In the same month,
VG247
''VG247'' is a video game blog published in the United Kingdom, founded in February 2008 by industry veteran Patrick Garratt. In 2009, CNET ranked it as the third best gaming blog in the world.
History
Founded in collaboration on 1 February 2 ...
released pictures of an early prototype version showing a
PSP Go
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
-like slide-screen design along with two analog sticks, two cameras and a microphone, though the report mentioned that overheating issues had since caused them to move away from the design in favor of a model more similar to the original PlayStation Portable device.
Throughout 2010, Sony would not confirm these reports of a PSP successor, but would make comments regarding making future hardware.
Shuhei Yoshida
is a Japanese businessman and gaming industry veteran. He was the President of SIE Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2008 to 2019, before moving onto other SIE-related projects. Yoshida has been a key member of the Play ...
, President of
SCE Worldwide Studios
PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Wo ...
revealed that his studio, despite usually being more involved with software, had a continued role in future hardware development at the time.
In December,
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
CEO
Kazuo Hirai stated that Sony aimed to appeal to a wide demographic of people by using multiple input methods on future hardware; buttons and joysticks for traditional handheld game system users, and touchscreens for
smart phone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
users. The device was officially announced by Sony on January 27, 2011, at their "PlayStation Meeting" press conference held by the company in Japan.
The system, only known by its code name "Next Generation Portable", was announced to be a handheld gaming device that aimed for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
quality visuals,
which was later clarified to not be taken at a literal level because, according to David Coombes, platform research manager at
Sony Computer Entertainment America
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
, "Well, it's not going to run at 2 GHz
ike the PS3because the battery would last five minutes and it would probably set fire to your pants".
Its power was later described by Sony engineers as about halfway between the PSP and PS3. As rumors had suggested, the device was designed to present "the best of both worlds" between mobile and handheld gaming, including a 5-inch OLED touchscreen, a rear touchpad coupled with physical buttons and dual analog sticks.
Sony also revealed that the device would be using a mix of retail and digital distribution of games.
Further details were announced at
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
2011, including that Sony would be dropping the PSP's
UMD disc format in favor of small game cartridges of 2 GB or 4 GB size variants.
along with two cameras, facial detection, head detection and tracking capabilities.
Launch and early years
On June 6, 2011, at
E3 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 201 ...
, Sony announced that the device's official name would be the PlayStation Vita, with the word "vita" being Latin for "life".
Despite reports of the
2011 earthquakes in Japan delaying the release of the device, Sony reconfirmed that it was on track for a late 2011 release in Japan
and a February 2012 release date for other major regions of the world.
The release date was later narrowed down to a December 17, 2011, release in Japan, and a February 22, 2012 release date for America and Europe, although a limited edition was released a week earlier in North America on February 15, 2012, which included the 3G/WiFi model of the device, the game ''
Little Deviants'', a limited-edition carry case, and a 4 GB memory card.
The Vita launched with 26 titles in Japan, with Sony announcing that there were over 100 titles in development prior to the system's release overall. The Vita launched in the west with 25 titles, including original titles such as ''
Uncharted: Golden Abyss'' and ''
Wipeout 2048
''Wipeout 2048'' is a racing game in which players pilot anti-gravity ships around futuristic race tracks. It was developed by Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was a launch game for the Sony PlayStation Vita h ...
'', and ports of games such as ''
FIFA 12
''FIFA 12'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 12'' in North America) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2011 on consoles for PlayStat ...
'' and ''
Rayman Origins
''Rayman Origins'' is a 2011 platform video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Rayman'' series and the first main installment since '' Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc'' (2003). The game was released for ...
''.
The sales of the Vita started strong at launch but then stalled and greatly underperformed. The Vita had a strong launch in Japan, selling over 300,000 units in its first week of availability, though figures shortly afterwards shrunk down 78% to under 73,000 sold in its second week, and then settled into about 12,000 sold per week in the following weeks.
Similarly, in the United States, the system debuted with 200,000 units sold in the first month, before slinking down into an amount of about 50,000 a month. 1.2 million units were reported as sold as of February 26, 2012 – after it had launched in most regions. The system continued to get high-profile games over the course of 2012, including ''
Gravity Rush
''Gravity Rush'', known in Japan as ''Gravity Daze'', is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Japan Studio's Team Gravity division and published worldwide by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Vita. ''Gravity Rush Remaste ...
'', ''
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita
''LittleBigPlanet PS Vita'' is a puzzle platform video game developed by Double Eleven, Tarsier Studios and XDev Studio Europe for the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It is the fourth game of the ''LittleBigPlanet'' franchise; a serie ...
'', ''
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
is a Kart racing game, kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in November 2012, for PlayStation Vita in December 2012, for Windows in January 2013, for ...
'', ''
Persona 4 Golden
released outside of Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4'', is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was ...
'', ''
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation'', and ''
Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified''. Despite this, the system still only managed to sell 4 million units worldwide in its first 10 months on the market,
and estimated by analysts to only be at 6 million units sold after two years of availability.
After 2012, Sony ceased releasing direct sales figures of the Vita, instead opting to release combined sales figures with it and the PSP.
Still, the system under-performed; while Sony projected selling 16 million units of combined Vita and PSP systems, it had to slash its forecast twice in the same year—down to 12 and then 10 million units sold.
With higher-profile games not pushing the system sales enough in 2012, big third party companies like
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
and
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
started reducing or eliminating support for the system, especially in the West.
Additionally, while the ''Monster Hunter'' series had significantly boosted the sales of the PSP, its absence instead hurt the Vita. Its developer,
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
, had decided to release ''
Monster Hunter Tri'' and future ''Monster Hunter'' games exclusively on the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
, where it would sell millions of copies for Sony's main competitor.
With support diminishing, Shahid Ahmad, Sony's Director of Strategic Content, instead began a new approach to software, through directly reaching out to, and making accommodations for, smaller, independent developers who were previously release games for mobile and PC platforms.
While not completely reversing the sales trends of the Vita, the lower costs of making or porting smaller-budget games made it easier for developers to make a profit on the systems's smaller userbase, and in turn, increased consumer attention on the console, keeping the device afloat.
''
Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
'', ''
Spelunky
''Spelunky'' is a 2008 source-available 2D platform game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various platfo ...
'', ''
Hotline Miami
''Hotline Miami'' is a top-down shooter video game by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin, collectively known as Dennaton Games. The game was published by Devolver Digital and released on 23 October 2012 for Microsoft Windows.
Set in 1989 Mia ...
'', and ''
OlliOlli
''OlliOlli'' is a side-scrolling skateboarding video game developed and published by Roll7. It was released for PlayStation Vita on 21 January 2014 in North America, and on 22 January 2014 in Europe.
The game received a port for Microsoft Windo ...
'' all found success with releases on Vita.
Ahmad also maintained interest in the device by directly interacting with consumers on social media; the game ''
Tales of Hearts R'' was localized into English only because it was number one in a survey of games desired on the platform.
Sony continued to support the system with games through 2013 as well, albeit lesser so, with titles such as ''
Killzone: Mercenary'' and ''
Tearaway'', along with a handful of other Western-developed ports such as ''
FIFA 13'' and ''
Rayman Legends
''Rayman Legends'' is a platform video game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth main title in the ''Rayman'' series and the direct sequel to the 2011 game ''Rayman Origins''. The game was released for Mi ...
''.
While the focus on indie games kept the device afloat in the West, in Japan, no such measures were necessary, as the Vita maintained moderate hardware sales.
While it was routinely outsold by its main competitor, the Nintendo 3DS, the Vita still managed to be one of the top consoles sold overall, partially due to Japan's preference towards handheld gaming.
Strong support by Japanese developers also helped, with companies such as
Bandai Namco
also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...
,
Falcom
is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...
,
Koei Tecmo
is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Game ...
,
5pb,
Compile Heart
is a Japanese video game developer founded on June 2, 2006 as a subsidiary of Idea Factory. The company was formerly managed by Compile's former executive Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, most well known as the creator of the ''Madou Monogatari'' and ''Pu ...
,
Spike Chunsoft
is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango ...
, and
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
releasing many games in the
JRPG
While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...
and
visual novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
s genre to help keep a steady flow of mid-level releases coming to the system.
Additionally, big games such as ''
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
is a high-definition remaster of the role-playing video games '' Final Fantasy X'' and ''Final Fantasy X-2'', originally developed by Square (now Square Enix) on the PlayStation 2 in the early 2000s. It also features story content previously ...
'' sold well and roughly in-line with their home console counterparts. The heavier support from Japan, in turn, also helped support the system in the West as well, with many games in the ''
Atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
'', ''
Ys'', ''
Danganronpa
is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high school students who are forced into murdering each other ...
'', ''
Persona
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
'', and ''
Trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
'' series
localized into English on the Vita, or made playable through the system's
backward compatibility
Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
with digital PSP games.
While the system managed to stay afloat as a minor success, other issues continued to persist, including the high price of the system in comparison to its main competitor, the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
,
and its sibling device, the PS3,
the high price of its memory cards used for game and data storage,
[Sony Will Not Cut Price of PS Vita Outside of Japan](_blank)
IGN (February 21, 2013). Retrieved on July 16, 2013. and the increasing popularity of
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and
tablets.
In August 2013, Sony addressed the first two, dropping the price to $199 in North America and €199 in Europe, and cutting the suggested retail price of the memory cards as well. The price cut also coincided with the release of a slight redesign of the system, the "PS Vita 2000" model.
The redesign included making the system 20% thinner and 15% lighter, while adding 1 GB of internal storage, and an extra hour of battery life.
However, the redesign did remove the
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
screen in favor of a cheaper
LCD screen.
Shifting focus
Towards the end of 2013, around the launch of Sony's next video game device, the
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, Sony began making comments in regards to the change in focus with the Vita. Yoshida stated that Sony would be releasing fewer first party games for the platform. Sony Computer Entertainment's Product Planning & Platform Software Innovation Director Don Mesa stated that the "economics simply don’t work with the traditional process". Sony addressed the "economics of Vita game development" issue with beginning on focusing on the fact that almost all PlayStation 4 games could be streamed and played through a Vita through
Remote Play. Sony attempted to attach the device to the PS4 due to its extreme popularity; it took only a few weeks for the sales to surpass the sales of the Vita over the course of almost two years.
In July 2014, Yoshida stated that the company would focus on it less as a dedicated handheld video game console, and more on its combination of uses, stating "it's not about individual Vita games any more. It's more about how Vita can have multiple uses – with PS4
Remote Play, PS3 games with
PS Now, and the dedicated games. The whole ecosystem with PS4 at the center, the Vita's a part of that." Sony later announced that the Vita will have
PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016.
It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
integration in the form of a
second screen
A second screen involves the use of a computing device (commonly a mobile device, such as a smartphone or Tablet computer, tablet) to provide an enhanced viewing experience for content on another device, such as a television. In particular, the te ...
as well.
Open beta
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
trials for PlayStation Now functionality on the PS Vita began on October 14, 2014 in North America. The
PlayStation TV
The PlayStation TV (abbreviated to PS TV), known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on ...
, released across late 2013 and 2014, also aimed to expand the system's userbase by allowing for Vita games to be played on a television like a home console, though the device was discontinued in the West by the end of 2015, and did not fare well in Japan's handheld-focused region either.
In November 2014,
SCEA president
Shawn Layden
Shawn Layden (born June 25, 1961) is an American businessman and was the Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios. Previously, he served as the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA), executive vice president and COO of So ...
suggested that the new approach was working on hardware level, stating that Vita sales had increased since the implementation of PS4 Remote Play,
though he and another Sony representative did not give specific figures.
Sony continued to make games for the device, though in smaller number than in past. The last major Sony-developed title, ''
Freedom Wars'', still found success, selling over 188,000 copies in its first week of release in Japan.
The debut was the highest Sony game debut for the system, and the second highest, only to Namco Bandai's late 2013 release of ''
God Eater 2
is a video game developed by Shift and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment on November 14, 2013, in Japan for PlayStation Portable. It is a sequel to '' God Eater''. It features a new setting, as well as new protagonists, new monsters, and ...
'' on the platform.
In September 2015, Yoshida stated that Sony had no current plans for a Vita successor, stating that "climate is not healthy for now because of the huge dominance of mobile gaming."
At
E3 2015
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 (E3 2015) was the 21st E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It took place from June 16 to June 18, 2015, with 52,200 total attendees.
Major exhibit ...
, he had stated that Sony would not be making any more AAA, big budget games to the system,
but by October, the comment had been revised that Sony would not be making any more games for it at all.
Reasons cited included the company focusing on supporting the PS4, and the fact that it felt that third party Japanese developers and Western indie developers were sufficiently supporting the device.
In March 2016, Sony announced that instead, it would be forming a new company, "Forward Works", and be instead concentrating on bringing PlayStation-based games to mobile platforms like
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and
Android.
Despite Sony's focus on the PS4 and mobile for the future, the Vita still continued to receive substantial third party company game support in the way of Japanese-style
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s and
visual novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
s and Western-style indie video games through 2017.
''
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...
'' in particular was successful for the platform, with it selling over 1.2 million physical copies in Japan alone as of September 2017. The device is considered to have sold fairly well in Japan,
and still a crucial part of Sony's overall strategy in the region,
while Sony has acknowledged that the device still has a very vocal and passionate user-base in the West as well, with the company still encouraging third party companies to create games for the device. At the 2016
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
, research analyst firm EEDAR estimated the sales of the Vita to be about at 10 million unit sold through the end of 2015. Multi-platform releases with the PS4 have also incidentally helped sustain the Vita's stream of software, even in the west, through 2016 and 2017; games receive a Vita version more to appeal to Japan's larger Vita user-base, and receive a PS4 version more to appeal to North America's larger user-base. The March 2017 launch of the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, which operates on a similar concept of providing high budget video games on a portable unit, further overshadowed the Vita, though niche support through indie games and JRPGs continued into the year.
In mid-2017, ''
Glixel
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...
'' estimated the Vita userbase to be around 15 million.
On September 20, 2018, Sony announced at
Tokyo Game Show
, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
2018 that the Vita would be discontinued in 2019, ending its hardware production. Production of new physical Vita games in Europe and America ceased by the end of Sony's 2018 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2019. At the time of the announcement, ''
USgamer
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'' estimated that the Vita userbase had grown to approximately 16 million units.
Production of Vita hardware officially ended on March 1, 2019. In March 2021, Sony announced that the Vita's online storefront would be closing on August 27, 2021, making it impossible to purchase digital games for the platform, though still allowing for the download of previously purchased games; this decision was later reversed following consumer feedback.
Hardware
![PlayStation Vita Layout](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/PlayStation_Vita_Layout.svg)
In line with Sony's ambition to combine aspects of traditional video game consoles with mobile devices like
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and
tablets, the Vita contains a multitude of
input method
An input method (or input method editor, commonly abbreviated IME) is an operating system component or program that enables users to generate characters not natively available on their input devices by using sequences of characters (or mouse o ...
s. The device features a "
super oval" shape similar to the design of the original PlayStation Portable, with a
qHD
The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height a ...
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
capacitive touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
in the centre of the device.
The device features two analog sticks, a
D-pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...
, a set of standard PlayStation face buttons (
![PlayStationTriangle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/PlayStationTriangle.svg)
,
![PlayStationCircle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/PlayStationCircle.svg)
,
![PlayStationX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/PlayStationCross.svg)
and
![PlayStationSquare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/PlayStationSquare.svg)
), two shoulder buttons (L and R), a PlayStation button and Start and Select buttons.
Motion control
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Motion control systems are extensively used in a variety of fields for automation purposes, includi ...
is also possible through Sony's
Sixaxis
The Sixaxis (trademarked SIXAXIS) is a wireless gamepad produced by Sony for their PlayStation 3 video game console. It was introduced alongside the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and remained the console's official controller until 2008. The Sixaxis was s ...
motion sensing system, consisting of a three-axis
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
and a three-axis
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...
.
In addition to these input methods, specific to just the Vita, is a secondary touchpad that is on the back of the device.
Other hardware includes
stereo speakers
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
, a
microphone
A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...
, built-in
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
, and
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR connectivity, and two
camera
A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
s.
The cameras are both 0.3
megapixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
and run at
640×480
The display resolution or display modes of a digital television, computer monitor or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution i ...
(VGA) at 60 frames/s, or at
320×240 at 120 frames/s.
They can be used to take photos or videos using built-in applications on the system. The two cameras feature the abilities of face detection, head detection, and head tracking.
The platform also launched with a model with
3G mobile data
Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access via mobile networks. Access to the network can be made through a portable modem, wireless modem, or a tablet/ smartphone (possibly tethered) or other mobile device. The fi ...
support, which required a separate data plan through a data provider.
The 3G service has been partnered with
NTT DoCoMo in Japan,
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
in the US,
Rogers Rogers may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
* Rogers Island (Nunavut)
United States
* Rogers, Arkansas, a city
* Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement
* Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...
in Canada and
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
in Europe and Australia. The 3G model was discontinued in 2013 and not made available in the system's future revised models.
![Sony Playstation Vita Memory Card 16GB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Sony_Playstation_Vita_Memory_Card_16GB.jpg)
Internally, the device features a custom
system on chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
with a quad-core
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ...
processor and a quad-core
GPU
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
SGX543MP4+.
Sony has stated that the Vita generally runs well under its full clock speed due to overheating and battery consumption issues that would ensue, instead placing its processing power "around halfway between the current PSP and the PS3".
The Vita's internal battery has between 3–5 hours of power for game playing, depending on the processing power required for the game, screen brightness, sound level and network connections, as well as other factors. Additionally, the battery can supply about five hours for video watching, and up to nine hours of music listening with the screen off.
The system does allow for additional external battery solutions as well. The PlayStation Vita has 512 MB of system RAM and 128 MB of VRAM.
The amount of RAM allows cross-game chat to be used on the system.
Storage media
Software for the PlayStation Vita is distributed on a proprietary
flash memory card
A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a soc ...
called "PlayStation Vita game card" rather than on
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a discontinued optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data and is capable of storing video games, ...
s (UMDs) as used by the PlayStation Portable.
The shape and size of the card itself is very similar to an
SD card
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
. 5–10% of the game card's space is reserved for game save data and patches.
The PS Vita is incompatible with standard
memory card
A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
s, such as
SD cards, and instead stores data on proprietary PS Vita memory cards, which are available in sizes of 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB.
A maximum of 100 applications and games can be stored on the device at a time, regardless of data storage available.
[PS Vita System Software Update 3.10 Coming Soon](_blank)
PlayStation Blog. Retrieved on March 25, 2014. When the limit is reached, applications or games must be moved or deleted in order to access those beyond the limit.
Remote Play interactivity with PlayStation 4
All games developed for the PlayStation 4, with the exception of games requiring the use of special peripherals such as
PlayStation Camera
The PlayStation Camera is a motion sensor and camera accessory for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation Eye for the PlayStation 3, which was released in 2007. It i ...
, are playable on the Vita through
Remote Play. With the use of a Vita, PS4, and PS4 game, this allows a PS4 game to be run on the PS4, but its output transmitted to the Vita, with the Vita being used for the controller input, and the image and sound being transmitted to the Vita's screen and speakers instead of a
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
.
The end result is similar to what a
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
console does with its
GamePad controller through
Off-TV Play
Off-TV Play is a feature of Nintendo's eighth-generation video game console, the Wii U. Like all video game consoles, the Wii U uses a console and a controller to manipulate an image on a television screen. The Wii U's unique feature is that its ...
.
The Vita technically has Remote Play functionality with the PlayStation 3 as well, though
very few PS3 games supported the feature due to limitations with the less-powerful PS3 hardware.
More PS3 games are available for streaming on the Vita through Sony's
cloud gaming
Cloud gaming, sometimes called gaming on demand or gaming-as-a-service or game streaming, is a type of online gaming that runs video games on remote servers and streams them directly to a user's device, or more colloquially, playing a game rem ...
service
PlayStation Now
PlayStation Now (PS Now) was a standalone video game subscription service the first on consoles developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The service offered cloud gaming for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable a ...
, though they are streamed over the internet in the form of
cloud computing
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
rather than directly from a physical PS3 console. First implemented in 2014, the service was announced to be discontinued on the Vita on August 15, 2017.
Revised model
![PlayStation-Vita-2001-FL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/PlayStation-Vita-2001-FL.jpg)
A revised model of the Vita was released in Japan on October 10, 2013, in Europe on February 7, 2014 and in North America on May 6, 2014. The revised model, officially called the PCH-2000 series
[2013-09-09]
【速報】新型PS Vitaが10月10日より19929円(税込)で発売!【SCEJAプレスカンファレンス】
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
and commonly referred to as the PS Vita Slim, is 20% thinner and 15% lighter compared to the original model.
While it largely maintains the original's overall structure and layout, the original's
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
screen has been replaced with a lower-cost
LCD display.
The model also roughly added about an extra hour of battery life.
The newer model also comes with 1 GB of internal storage memory, although it is not possible to use both the internal memory and memory card concurrently. Upon inserting a PS Vita memory card, the system will offer to copy the existing data from the internal memory to the new card. This model has a
micro USB
The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...
Type B port, which can be used to charge the device along with any standard micro USB cable. The model was released in six colors in Japan (white, black, light blue, lime green, pink, and khaki),
although it was only released in black and light blue in North America and Europe.
PlayStation TV
![PlayStation-TV-BL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/PlayStation-TV-BL.jpg)
The PlayStation TV is a non-portable variant of the Vita; instead of featuring its own display screen like a
handheld video game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
, it connects to a television via
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
like a traditional
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
, and is controlled though the use of a
DualShock 3
The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
or
DualShock 4
The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
controller. Due to the difference in controller input between the Vita and a DualShock controller, Vita games that are dependent on the system's touch-screen, rear touchpad, microphone, or camera are not compatible.
[2013-09-09]
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INTRODUCES PLAYSTATION(R) VITA TV
(Corporate Release), Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
It also shares the Remote Play and PS Now functionality of a regular Vita. The system was released in Japan in November 2013, in North America in October 2014, and in Europe on November 14, 2014.
[2014-08-12]
Gamescom 2014: PlayStation TV Launches in October, Bringing PS4 Remote Play to Your TV
Gamespot The device did not fare well and had a short retail shelf life in North America and Europe, where it was discontinued at the end of 2015.
Software
Game library
![PSVita game card minus artwork](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/PSVita_game_card_minus_artwork.jpg)
Physical software for the Vita is distributed on a proprietary
flash memory card
A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a soc ...
called "PlayStation Vita game card".
All Vita games are also made available to be downloaded digitally on the
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
via the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
, although not all games are released physically.
Since its launch, digital-only releases have slowly become more prominent, partially in an effort to reduce production costs for release on the platforms comparatively smaller user-base, and partially due to the influx smaller-scale indie mobile phone games that have always been digital-only releases.
Like the PS3 and PS4, the Vita contains
Trophy
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
support for games. Hackers later found out that the card format was based on the
MultiMediaCard
The MultiMediaCard, officially abbreviated as MMC, is a memory card standard used for solid-state storage. Unveiled in 1997 by SanDisk and Siemens, MMC is based on a surface-contact low pin-count serial interface using a single memory stack subs ...
standard, but with a different pinout and support for custom initialization commands as well as copy protection.
The system was designed so that it would be easy for developers to extract PS3 game assets and in turn use them to make Vita versions of games. Prior to the Vita's release, several third-party studios showcased
tech demo
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of s ...
s of the device by exporting existing assets from their
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
counterpart and then rendering them on the device, high budget examples including ''
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'', ''
Yakuza 4
is an action-adventure game developed and released by Sega for the PlayStation 3. The game was introduced on July 24, 2009. A promotional video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, The sequel to ''Yakuza 3'', it was released on March 18, ...
'', and ''
Lost Planet
''Lost Planet'' is a video game series of third-person shooters published by Capcom. The series follows a number of protagonists on E.D.N III, a planet in the process of an ice age, as they survive and fight the environment, various alien creature ...
''. While none of these particular high budget tech demos materialized into actual game releases, and few big-budget Western games would be made for both outside of ''
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'' is a 2012 crossover fighting video game developed by SuperBot Entertainment, in conjunction with Bluepoint Games, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It features various characters drawn from dif ...
'', many Japanese development teams would go on to develop mid-level games that would release for both platforms, including the first two games from Falcom's ''
Trails of Cold Steel'' series, Compile Hearts' original ''
Hyperdimension Neptunia
is a series of role-playing video games created and developed by Compile Heart and Idea Factory. The series debuted in Japan on August 19, 2010, with the video game of the same name for the PlayStation 3, later re-released as an enhanced rem ...
'' trilogy, and many entries from Tecmo Koei's ''
Atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
'' and ''
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...
'' series. The trend continued on the PS4 as well, with Vita/PS4 releases becoming common due to the spread of their userbases – Vita versions for Japan, where the Vita was larger in its initial years, and PS4 versions of games for North America and Europe, where the PS4 userbase was substantially larger. Few
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
titles were ported to the Vita due to the PS2's complicated infrastructure – games that did, such as ''Final Fantasy X/X2 Remaster'' and ''Persona 4 Golden'' required extensive reworking, or were based on their PS3 counterparts, such as ''
Jak and Daxter Collection
''Jak and Daxter Collection'' (known in the PAL region as ''The Jak and Daxter Trilogy'') is a 2012 collection of the remastered ports of the first three games in the ''Jak and Daxter'' series. The remasters were developed by Mass Media Games, w ...
'', ''
Ratchet and Clank Collection'', and ''
Sly Cooper Collection''. Towards the end of its lifespan, Vita versions of games began to be cancelled, in favor of PS4 or Nintendo Switch releases.
Backward compatibility
The device is backward compatible with most PSP games; however, its lack of a
UMD disc drive limits this capability to those titles which have been digitally released on the
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
via the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
, but not physical PSP games or films. The Vita is also backward compatible with the majority of the
PS one Classics – the group of
PlayStation 1
The (abbreviated as PS, commonly known as the PS1/PS one or its codename PSX) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in Japan on 3 December 1994, in North America on 9 September 1995 ...
games Sony has made available digitally for download, and
PlayStation Minis – small-budget downloadable titles originally created for the PSP and PS3.
Games from Sony's
PlayStation Mobile
PlayStation Mobile (formerly PlayStation SuiteHinkle, David. (2012-06-04 HTC is first partner for 'PlayStation Mobile,' the new name for PlayStation Suite [Update: Press release added Joystiq. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.) was a software framework us ...
initiative had initially been compatible, but were removed when the service was shutdown in September 2015. In Japan, select downloadable PC Engine and PocketStation titles became backward compatible as well.
Applications
A number of Mobile app, applications are available to run on the Vita, some initially pre-loaded on the device, while others are available via Sony's PlayStation Store. Pre-loaded apps include an
internet browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
,
a "Content Manager" app for monitoring data saved to the device,
an
email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
app, a music playing app,
a photo app,
and a video playing app.
The system's web browser supports
HTML5
HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML ...
, cookies, and
JavaScript
JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...
, but not
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
. Also included was "Near", a
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
/
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
like app that allowed the user to see other Vita players in the area, and what games or applications they had been using, with the opportunity for some limited interactivity and communication,
although most of its functionality was disabled in 2015.
A number of other third party apps commonly found on mobile devices have also been made available on the Vita:
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
(removed in 2015),
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
(broken),
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
(removed in 2015),
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
,
LiveTweet (Sony's third-party client for
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
),
MLB.tv
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...
(broken),
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
Redbox Instant
Redbox Automated Retail LLC (stylized as redbox.) is an American video rental company specializing in DVD, Blu-ray, 4K resolution, 4K Ultra-high-definition television, UHD rentals, and formerly video games via automated retail kiosks. Redbox kios ...
(discontinued),
Skype
Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
(removed in 2016),
TuneIn
TuneIn is a global audio streaming service delivering live news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users.
TuneIn is operated by the company TuneIn Inc. which is based in San Francisco, California. The company ...
(broken),
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
,
WeatherNation
WeatherNation TV (branded on-air as simply WeatherNation) is an American broadcast, digital streaming, cable, and satellite television network owned by WeatherNation, Inc, a subsidiary of Performance One Media and ultimately owned by Robert J. ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
(removed in 2015).
Facebook, Flickr, Google Maps and YouTube no longer function as Vita apps, but continue to be available by using the Vita's web browser.
System software
Unlike the PSP and PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Vita does not use the
XrossMediaBar
The XrossMediaBar (pronounced "cross-media bar" and officially abbreviated as XMB) is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation mov ...
interface. Instead, it uses a touchscreen-based UI dubbed
LiveArea
The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived ...
, which includes various social networking features via the
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
.
Each game or application is represented by its own circle icon, and selecting it leads the user to a panel with multiple options present, including running software itself, going to its respective website through the internet, seeing if there are
downloadable updates available for the software, and seeing a
newsfeed
In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, feed reader, news reader, RSS reader or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates syndicated web content such as online newspapers, blogs, po ...
-like list of activities related to it, such as installing it or obtaining trophies, for both the user and others the user has interacted with recently.
Reception and sales
![Bildvergleich PS Vita](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Bildvergleich_PS_Vita.jpg)
According to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the Vita's original hardware release was generally well-received with critics, although a few concerns persisted as well.
Metacritic editor Jason Dietz noted that reviewers tended to praise the Vita's actual hardware design and operating system, but expressed some concern on its practicality, namely competing in 2012 onward, with a large size and price, where mobile phones with large screens and cheap games were prevalent as an alternative.
As of its initial Western launch in February 2012, out of 44 professional critic reviews, 9 fell in the "Great" rating, 29 in the "Good" rating, 6 in the "Mixed" rating, and 0 in the "Bad" or "Awful" rating.
Its initial launch sales were generally seen as positive, selling over 300,000 units in Japan,
and 200,000 units in North America.
However, a large dropoff occurred in both regions. In Japan, second-week sales dropped 78%, and leveled off at selling about 12,000 units per week.
Similarly, sales dropped off to about 30,000 to 50,000 units sold per month for the year after launch in North America.
Overall, Sony fell far short of the worldwide sales targets of 10 million Vitas sold by the end of March 2013. The device sold 1.2 million units as of the end of February 2012, 4 million by the end of 2012,
and were only estimated by analysts to have reached 6 million by the end of 2013, figures that have not been confirmed due to Sony's ceasing to release Vita sales figures after hitting the 4 million mark at the end of 2012.
Views on the hardware dropped to more moderate levels in 2013, after the platform's initial sales lulls. Surveys in Japan showed that consumers were not purchasing the device due to its high retail price and perceived lack of software variety,
and that current Vita owners only showed a 46% rate of approval for the device and its software library. Similarly, many Western critics felt that the low sales through 2013 would lead to an early death for the product.
From 2013 onward, Sony was able to reverse the trajectory of the system by changing focus, aiming to be more of a
niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
product than one with mass market appeal – focusing more on small Western mobile phone games and mid-level Japanese developed games, and attaching it to the rise of popularity of its
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
platform with its
remote play connectivity functions.
Sony also released the Vita model revision, the PCH-2000, which was generally well received by critics as well for addressing a number of prior complaints about the system, which included a price and size reduction.
However, reviewers felt more mixed on the decision to change from
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
to
LCD screen in the revised model, with some feeling it led to a minor downgrade in image quality.
While not giving specific figures, Sony stated that Vita sales beat projections in North America in 2014, which it was happy and surprised with, sometimes even falling out of stock. Similar response was found in the UK as well.
The platform has been considered to have sold well in Japan, where it outsold the PS4 in 2015, and reached 5 million units sold in 2016 according to sales tracker
Media Create
is a Japanese company that gathers and analyzes data from the digital entertainment industry, specifically focusing on the Japanese console gaming market. Business operations include publishing, market research and consulting. It is a popular webs ...
. It also obtained million-selling software in the same year, with the Japanese Vita release of ''
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...
''. By the end of 2015, research firm EEDAR estimated the sales of the Vita worldwide to be around 10 million. Despite the smaller userbase, the platform continued to be viable for game releases into 2017 due to the high
attach rate
The attach rate is a concept used broadly in business, especially in marketing, to represent the number of units of a secondary product/service sold as a direct or implied consequence of the sale of a primary product/service. It is often expresse ...
of software sold per hardware user.
Limited Run Games
Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company specializes in the release of digital games on physical media, with the games being sold on their website. The company, founded by Douglas ...
and various indie game developers praised the platform for its wide selection of more original and niche video games, and the strong respective sales of them.
In mid-2017, ''
Glixel
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...
'' estimated that approximately 15 million units of the system had been sold,
while by September 2018, USGamer estimated it had grown to about 16 million units.
In a 2021 retrospective by ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'', Sony employees attributed several factors to the Vita's poor sales in contrast to the PSP, which had an estimated 80 million sales in its lifetime; a similar drop had been seen by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
with its transition from the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
to the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
.
Christian Phillips, a former senior director in Sony, said they had underestimated the impact of
mobile gaming
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to h ...
at the time of the Vita's release. They had considered gaming on smartphones to be "just good enough for gameplay" and instead felt tablet computers to be more their competitors to the Vita, according to Phillips.
While some technologists in Sony had cautioned that mobile device computational power could outpace current consoles around 2010–2011, the design of the Vita did not incorporate this caution. Thus, the Vita was released at the same time that mobile gaming was greatly expanding, losing potential consumers to that market.
John Koller, the former vice president of marketing at Sony, also believed that the Vita had been released too late into the main PlayStation console cycle and too close to the PlayStation 4's release in November 2013. As one of Sony's flagship products, many of their first-party developers had put more focus on games for that system rather than the Vita as a result. The lack of interest from Sony's first-party teams reverberated to third-party developers, who felt the Vita was not worth the effort to develop for over the upcoming PlayStation 4, leaving the Vita without a strong software library. Koller believed that if the Vita had launched earlier into the PlayStation 3's lifecycle, they would have been able to capture more interest from developers during that time and build out a more compelling library for the Vita.
Notes
References
External links
Official website – United StatesOfficial website – United Kingdom
Official website – Japan
{{Portal bar, Video games, Electronics
2010s toys
Eighth-generation video game consoles
Handheld game consoles
PlayStation (brand)
Portable media players
Products introduced in 2011
Products and services discontinued in 2019
Discontinued handheld game consoles
Regionless game consoles
Sony consoles