Speaking with GameInformer on the occasion of PlayStation's anniversary, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan briefly turned his attention to the PlayStation Vita.
In GameInformer's extensive conversation about the PlayStation family of consoles, both the PlayStation Vita and its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable, were briefly mentioned. Ryan's comment was quite unequivocal: "PlayStation Vita was brilliant in many ways, and the actual gaming experience was great, but it's clear that this is a business that we are no longer involved in."
The true end of the PlayStation Vita came earlier this year when Sony Interactive Entertainment ended production of the handheld console in March, coinciding with end date for the distribution of free games for it to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Since March 2019 in the monthly selection of the service only projects for PlayStation 4.
Former Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Andrew House also told GameInformer that Ken Kutaragi was "particularly reluctant" to enter the portable market with the PlayStation Portable. According to House, Kutaragi (then chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment) accurately predicted how smartphones would disrupt the mobile gaming market: "I think he really foresaw the rise of smartphones before anyone had heard of the iPhone. I remember him talking about how there would be a convergence of all forms of media and entertainment into a single communications device."
In 2017, House himself citing the prevalence of smartphones as one of the reasons why Sony did not want to compete with the Nintendo Switch.
Source: 3dnews.ru