PlayStation Mobile is joining Near in the list of services being discontinued for the Vita. Actually, PlayStation Mobile itself is completely getting shuttled.
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has confirmed plans to close the service after a little over two years of offering a platform for games on both Sony’s Android phones and the Vita. The store itself will be closing on July 15. On September 10, PSM owners will no longer be able to authenticate devices into the service or redownload purchased games.
The news was later confirmed by the PlayStation Mobile Dev Support account.
SCE regrettably announce the discontinuation of the PlayStation®Mobile(PSM) Developer Program. http://t.co/Wh8938XSHT #psmdev
— PSM DevSupport (@PSMDevSupport) March 11, 2015
which includes the discontinuing of content distribution on PSM store on July 15, and closure of the PSM DevPortal on Nov 30, 2015. #psmdev
— PSM DevSupport (@PSMDevSupport) March 11, 2015
Of course, Sony will still give users the opportunity to acquire their games and play after the service ends. It’s also likely that the service will be closing for the rest of the world on the same dates or soon after.
Our source vouches that there are some worthwhile games on the Vita, including Chaos Rings, Adventure Bar Labyrinth, Ambition of the Slimes, and Musync, so if you happen to own a Vita or a Sony phone with the service, you can still choose to get those games. This includes being able to authenticate as much as three devices (Sony phone or Vita) to play them with, using one account.
In the long run, Sony has long left PlayStation Mobile behind, after failing to see inroads in promoting it as a cross device platform to entice Android devs into making games for Vita. After Vita failed to gain enough traction to keep enticing AAA ports, Sony doubled down on indies to port to the console directly. This time, they touted ease of cross platform development on Vita and PS4, and this strategy worked better for everyone concerned.
Do you happen to be a PlayStation Mobile fan? Why do you think the service didn’t pan out? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
