Former CEO of SCEA, Jack Tretton who left the company in 2014 had mixed opinion of PS VITA, a handheld playstation system. He said that it is a “nice machine” but it came “too late” to sustain an audience. In an interview with IGN, Tretton, from the outside of Sony said that:

This is a great machine, it’s just too late. The world has shifted to portable devices that aren’t dedicated gaming machines.

In comparison with the PSP, Sony’s previous handheld Playstation system, the PSP was a much better system which Tretton said was what he envisioned what consoles were supposed to be. Consoles were supposed to be multifaceted that allow players to do more than play games. He praised the PSP for its ability to bring older gamers into the realm of handheld systems; apps on smart phones were becoming more and more popular along with the various games for the super popular Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS. The Nintendo 3DS is miles ahead of the PS Vita. Nintendo has sold 57.59 million units globally as of June 30, 2016 compared to the PS Vita who only sold 5 million units in Japan. In its debut in the US in February 2012, Sony sold 2.2. million systems in the first six months. It is currently unknown how many have been sold as of now.

The Nintendo 3DS was released before the PS Vita. The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and the US in early 2011.

Sony released an update of the PS Vita Spring 2012. It was thinned down and has a longer battery life and other features. Sony continues to sell PS Vita systems that start at $200.

Sony seemingly doesn’t have any plans for a successor of the PS Vita but it is rumored that mysterious NX system in development at sony works as a console/handheld hybrid