PlayStation Vita Production Is Finally Ending In Japan

In the saddest news of the month, Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that the PlayStation Vita production in Japan is finally ending, officially putting a cap on an era it probably wants to forget ever happened.

The news comes way of the official Japanese PlayStation website, which reveals that the production of the Black PlayStation Vita and Aqua Blue PlayStation Vita -- the last two models in production in Japan -- "are scheduled to end soon."

As you may remember, Sony had previously confirmed manufacturing of the handheld would end in Japan sometime this year, but never specified when.

At the moment, an exact end date hasn't been specified, but when the same thing happened with the PS3, production completely ended in two months. In other words, PlayStation Vita likely has a couple more months of production before night-night forever.

The PlayStation Vita first launched back in 2011, and after it failed to ever make an impact in the market, it became quickly apparent Sony was going to slowly start phasing it out, something it slightly accelerated these past couple years.

The Vita is estimated to have sold 15-16 million units, a drastic decrease from the sale numbers of its predecessor: the PSP. However, while it failed to ever make a considerable splash in the mainstream market, it was borderline worshipped by many hardcore PlayStation fans, to the point that it almost became an inside joke to be extremely passionate about all things Vita.

Ultimately, the system failed for multiple reasons, including lack of software support. Sony never really got behind the system, which quickly turned into an indie machine, and its later years, a visual novels machine.

Luckily for gamers who prefer the handheld experience, Nintendo has stepped in and filled the void with the Nintendo Switch, which is not only going nowhere, but is on a trajectory to be one of the most successful gaming systems of all-time. The Vita -- which literally means "life" -- may be dead, but the torch is being passed on to allow us to play video games from bed and on commute for years to come.

As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. What's your best memory with the PlayStation Vita?

Thanks, Gematsu.