Sony says ‘climate is not healthy’ for PlayStation Vita 2

The popularity of smartphone gaming may mean that Sony never releases another dedicated handheld console.

Eurogamer reports that Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida was asked at an EGX panel at the weekend whether the company plans on releasing a successor to the Vita at any stage in the future.

"That’s a tough question," he answered. "People have mobile phones and it’s so easy to play games on smartphones. And many games on smartphones are free, or free to start.

"I myself am a huge fan of PlayStation Vita and we worked really hard on designing every aspect. Touch-based games are fun – there are many games with really good design. But having sticks and buttons makes things totally different.

"So I hope, like many of you, that this culture of playing portable games continues but the climate is not healthy for now because of the huge dominance of mobile gaming."

The handheld market continues to be quite starkly divided, with portable machines dominating the marketplace in Japan but suffering declines in Western markets.