PlayStation Boss Sees ‘Limited Potential’ For Handheld Gaming

Ever wonder what happened to Sony’s PS Vita console? Back in 2015, it was reported that gamers probably shouldn’t expect to see a successor anytime soon, and last year there were also rumors that the console could be discontinued in North America. If you’re still holding out on the hope that Sony will have a new console soon, you’ll be disappointed to learn that it really doesn’t seem like it will happen.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Sony’s PlayStation boss Andrew House has stated that he sees “limited global potential” when it comes to handheld gaming consoles, at least as far as this day and age are concerned where smartphones are more than capable of being powerful gaming devices.

House also states that outside of Japan and Asia, the PS Vita did not see much demand. “The Vita experience was that outside of Japan and Asia, there was not a huge demand. The lifestyle shift toward the dominance of smartphones as the single key device that is always with you, was the determining factor.”

It is an interesting sentiment considering that Nintendo is making a bet that handhelds will continue to be popular, especially with the launch of the Switch which is a hybrid of a home console that can also be taken on the go. According to House, “The folks at Nintendo have their strategy and that’s great. We remain focused around a highly connected gaming experience and also coupled with having a great range of other entertainment experiences so you can reach multiple people on the big screen in the household.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: PlayStation, PS Vita, Sony