Can we please have a moment of silence? The Vita is finally dead.

After years of niche yet vehement support for Sony’s latest attempt at a handheld, the company has finally pulled the plug on the beloved console. In an interview with Famitsu, Hiroyuki Oda, a senior Vice president for Sony Interactive Entertainment, has confirmed Vita manufacturing will end in 2019.

Although this announcement hurts, it isn’t too surprising following another senior vice president, Masayasu Ito’s 2015 statement exclaiming, “first-party studios have no titles in development for PS Vita.” A gut-wrenching comment to hear just 4 short years after the console’s launch in Japan, essentially leaving its fate up to third-party studios. Things were beginning to look even grimmer when Sony announced plans to begin phasing out Vita support from their PlayStation Plus service. Then weeks later, stating physical production of Vita games would be ending as well.

Just to twist the knife in a still fresh wound, Oda noted there are currently “no plans” for a successor to PlayStation handheld line which began with the PSP in 2004. An unfortunate yet obvious decision when looking back at Vita’s past handful of years of existence.

What are your thoughts on Vita’s short albeit fascinating life? Do you think Sony should throw in the towel with handheld consoles? Let us know what you think in the comments below, or reach out to us on Twitter!

Source: Polygon