Sony to discontinue the PlayStation TV in Japan

The PlayStation TV (PSTV), the Vita's microconsole sister which first released in 2013, is being discontinued in Japan, new reports show.

As GameInformer reports, Sony Japan quietly confirmed that the system’s shipments are finished, a tacit admission that, in essence, so is the system. PSTV is still available for purchase, but supplies will not be replenished in Japan.

PSTV released in the West a year after its Japanese launch, so this change may not immediately affect Western supplies. However, it’s likely PSTV will be discontinued internationally soon enough, as it never flew off shelves to begin with.

PSTV was marketed as a cheap alternative to the Vita, but played with a Dualshock controller on the big screen. It relied on the handheld’s library and its own low price to draw in customers. Unfortunately, many Vita games were incompatible with the little system, which, combined with the technical limitations we discussed in our review, quickly forced the PSTV into a steep discount dive.

At its cheapest, PSTV was available for just $40, but even then it never found momentum. Even the Dekavita 7, a bizarre peripheral which effectively converts a PSTV into a handheld, didn’t help. Imagine that: aping the handheld the PSTV was designed as an alternative to did not sell it.