Why did PS Vita fail?

What Shuhei Yoshida Said - Insider Confessions

Recently, former Sony Interactive Entertainment president Shuhei Yoshida gave a series of interviews where he frankly told what went wrong. His words only confirmed that the platform's problems were much deeper than they seemed from the outside.

Yoshida said that many technical solutions turned out to be wrong:

1. Proprietary memory cards.

They cost several times more than microSD, which scared away users and complicated access to content.

Yoshida didn't mention another extremely interesting point: not only were they proprietary, but they were also in short supply at launch:

• In the UK, for example, 32GB memory cards were not available at launch, which limited users' capabilities - especially considering that many games required a mandatory memory card for saves.
• 64GB cards were released only for the Japanese market and were not officially sold outside it. Users had to order them through gray imports at inflated prices.

2. Rear touch panel.

According to Shuhei Yoshida, this was perhaps the biggest misconception in PS Vita's design. The idea itself seemed promising: in one of the first console prototypes, the game Little Deviants effectively used the panel to control the landscape and objects - without fingers blocking the screen image.

This demonstration convinced Sony management that the technology had potential. But in real games it was hardly used. Most studios simply ignored the panel, and players complained about accidental presses and unintuitive controls.

This was especially evident in ports like Borderlands 2, where the rear panel was used as a replacement for L2 and R2 buttons. It was terrible - instead of immersing in the game, you had to fight with the controls.

At the same time, the panel significantly increased the cost of device production - and became an extra element that Sony had to carry until the end of the generation. Yoshida admitted: from a technical point of view, the rear panel "inspired in the wrong place."

3. Lack of TV-out.

Yoshida also noted the fact that the final version of PS Vita didn't have TV-out - although it was originally present in devkits. Such a feature could have significantly expanded the console's capabilities and brought it closer to a hybrid device format.

However, before the launch of PS Vita 1000, this output was removed. According to Yoshida, it saved literally a few cents on each device - but, as he admitted, it negatively affected the console's appeal.

Probably one of the reasons for removing TV-out was Sony's desire to keep this feature as a unique trait for the future PS Vita TV (VTE-1000), which was positioned as a device for playing on TV.

Although Yoshida didn't say this directly, such a decision looked logical from a marketing point of view. However, from a user's perspective - it was a serious omission.

We covered this moment in detail in the article "History of PlayStation Vita. Part 2. VTE-1000 and PCH-2000".

4. OLED screen.

PS Vita's screen is often called its main technical advantage. Bright, contrasty, with deep black color - it significantly surpassed everything competitors offered in the portable segment at that time.

But this beauty had a price - literally. The OLED display greatly increased the cost of the device, and it was largely responsible for the console's high starting price. According to Yoshida, the screen was impressive, but it couldn't retain a mass audience: not everyone appreciated the visual quality, but the price was felt immediately.

Later Sony released PS Vita 2000 with an LCD screen - cheaper, with greater battery life, but less expressive image. This was an attempt to make the console cheaper, but by that time interest in the platform was already fading.

The problem wasn't just in unsuccessful technical solutions. Shuhei Yoshida also emphasized that the main reason for PS Vita's failure was the simple lack of resources within Sony itself. The company couldn't handle supporting two platforms simultaneously - first PS3 and Vita, then PS4 and Vita.

"We had to decide which studio would make games for PS4 and which for Vita. But there weren't enough people for both platforms."

This was the main reason that predetermined PS Vita's fate. Even strong hardware and interesting ideas couldn't save a platform that gradually stopped being supported from within. Without internal belief and investments - no system survives.

Sony not only deprived the console of support itself, but also faced strong external blows that no one in the company expected.

Monster Hunter Left - And Everything Fell Apart

A few months before PS Vita's release, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter 4 would be a Nintendo 3DS exclusive. This was a real blow: Monster Hunter wasn't just a popular series - it was a system-defining hit on PSP, especially in Japan.

Shuhei Yoshida later admitted that this moment became "one of the scariest" in his career. Sony seriously counted on the series continuing its development on PS Vita. Instead, the franchise went to a competitor - and with it went a huge part of the Japanese audience.

But that wasn't enough. Shortly after the Monster Hunter 4 announcement, Nintendo took a decisive step: announced a price cut for 3DS from $249 to $169 - almost by a third. This happened even before PS Vita's launch, and became a strategic blow.

Sony couldn't respond in kind. Due to expensive technical solutions - OLED screen, touch panels, proprietary cards - Vita's cost was already too high. Sony simply couldn't afford aggressive price cuts without losses. As a result, Nintendo won not only in content but also in accessibility.

Understanding the role Monster Hunter played in PSP's success, Sony attempted to create its own "answers" - games that could fill the vacant niche. This is how projects like Soul Sacrifice, Toukiden and Freedom Wars appeared. These games were high-quality, original and received warm reception - but they failed to become a cultural phenomenon like Monster Hunter.

As a result, even promising sequels like Freedom Wars 2 and Soul Sacrifice 2 were canceled. Especially since by that time all of Sony's resources were focused on supporting PS4.

Nintendo Switch - Everything Vita Should Have Been

Against the backdrop of PS Vita's failure, Nintendo Switch's success stands out especially brightly.

This console embodied everything Sony envisioned but failed to realize. Ironically, Shuhei Yoshida directly admitted:

"When I saw Nintendo Switch, I thought: oh! This is PS Vita 2."

Nintendo did what Sony didn't dare to do:

• Abandoned proprietary solutions. Switch uses microSD, USB Type-C, works with any HDMI-compatible TV. This sharply reduces the console's cost and entry barrier.
• Simplified philosophy. Instead of dividing efforts between portable and home systems (like Sony: Vita + PS4), Nintendo made one universal device. This allowed all its studios to work toward one goal.
• Focused on convenience and UX, not technology demonstration. Switch has no rear panels and strange sensors - only what the player really needs.
• Launched with powerful hits: Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, Monster Hunter Rise - everything that sold the system.

Result? Over 130 million Switches sold. This isn't just commercial success - it's proof that Vita was initially on the right path but didn't make it.

Conclusion

The saddest thing in PS Vita's history is that it really was a great console. Powerful, comfortable, with a gorgeous screen and ambitious design. Neither the proprietary memory card, nor the rear panel, nor the lack of TV-out doomed it to failure by themselves.

PS Vita lost not because of one mistake, but because Sony itself at some point simply stopped believing in it. When PlayStation 4 became the priority, the portable went to the background. Without internal resources, without studio support, without strategic partners - it couldn't survive.

Switch proved: the idea was right. And if Sony hadn't abandoned Vita, then who knows - maybe today we'd have a full-fledged modern portable console instead of strange peripherals like PS Portal. Like in those days when the whole world discussed the confrontation between PSP and NDS.