As one of gaming’s biggest console juggernauts since the debut of its first console in the mid-1990s, PlayStation has seen no shortage of successful consoles released under Sony’s premiere gaming brand. To this day, the PlayStation 2 stands as the best-selling console of all-time andSony platforms have led multiple console generationsas the brand has become synonymous with video games as a whole. However, not all of Sony’s past consoles were smashing successes and thePlayStation Vitais an unfortunate example of Sony’s past failures.
ThePS Vita’s release in December 2011 in Japan and February 2012 worldwide came as Sony’s belated answer to gaming’s increasing focus on the touchscreen. With Nintendo’s DS, 3DS, and then-upcoming Wii U all prominently featuring touch screens as an alternate control scheme, the Vita released with dual touchpads on the front and back as well as looking to trump Nintendo’s other platforms with two joysticks and console-quality games on a mobile platform. However, a lack of proper support saw the Vita meet an early end and, now, Sony’s new PS Plus Premium looks to be similarly skipping over the Vita.
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Sony’s grand reveal ofthe overhauled PS Plus subscription servicefeatures three different tiers with higher tiers offering access to a library of both modern PlayStation games and classic games from the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP. However, the PlayStation Vita was notably excluded from the service’s offerings with the Vita’s library seemingly being snubbed from the premium packages.
While the Vita was not the commercial success Sony had hoped for, the Vita boasts a library of titles that have become iconic among both Sony consoles and the gaming industry at large.Persona 4: Golden, theenhanced remake of the ATLUS hit RPG, first debuted on the Vita with the game still unavailable to play on modern PlayStation consoles after receiving a Steam port in 2020 and the cult classicGravity Rushseries first debuted on Vita. Several other popular franchises likeUnchartedandKillzonealso saw unique releases on the platform.
