Sony: PlayStation Vita ‘Plays an Increasingly Important Role’

There are 100 games in development for PlayStation Vita according to Sony who only barely mentioned the handheld at and has removed the 'Vita' branding from PlayStation TV ahead of its Western launch, so just how important is the system to the company that makes it? 

Speaking to Metro UK, Sony Europe boss Jim Ryan said the Vita is becoming "increasingly important" as part of "our overall ecosystem."

Asked if they've given up on the console, Ryan answered with an emphatic "No!" adding "Vita plays an increasingly important role in our overall ecosystem… the old vertical silos where nothing ever talked to each other, that’s all breaking down now."

Ryan elaborated by pointing to Remote Play functionality with PlayStation 4 noting that the number of people using the feature and extended periods is surprisingly high, "It’s not like they use it once and then they say, ‘OK, that’s great’ and then they put the PS Vita back in the drawer."

The executive also pointed to PlayStation Now, Sony's Netflix-like game renting and streaming service, which will launch in North America at the end of July. Ryan commented that Vita could be "potentially quite an important" client device for Now. 

As for the Vita itself, he said the system's original vision will likely not be realised, "So in the sense it was initially intended – having huge, portable, exclusively-designed portable games – is that it’s future? Probably not. But does it have a future? Yes."

His remarks reflect those of SCEA's Don Mesa who commented in May that triple A economics don't work for Vita.

PlayStation Now does not currently have a release window in Europe and Ryan said "we might be able to talk about" the service's expansion at gamescom in August.