Over the years, Sony’s commitment to the PlayStation Vita has been a bit of a puzzle, but the company seemed quite okay with their handheld performed in Japan. When production for Vita units ended in the west, Sony kept the lines running in Japan, where the PSP successor still enjoyed some modest success and seemed to at least be making the company money. Those days are over, however, as Vita production has officially ended in the one bulwark it had remaining.

The announcement that shipments were ending soon was sent out to retailers last week, but it has been replaced with a new notice that shipments have ended. Whatever PlayStation Vita units are on the shelves are all that remain of the system’s new hardware. The system will likely still get the occasional port, but for the most part, the new notice is as good as an obituary for Sony’s beleaguered handheld. 

The PlayStation Vita launched in December 2011 in Japan, so it survived quite a while, especially considering Sony’s disinterest in it over the years. This month’s PlayStation Plus offerings are the first time that PlayStation Vita offerings have been excluded since they were first added to Sony’s monthly free game lineup.

[Source: Gematsu]