Sony’s console set the path to the future, just too early to save itself

A 5-inch multi-touch OLED screen. A back-panel touchpad, dual analog sticks and six-axis motion sensors. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an optional SIM card slot for cellular play. 

No, those aren’t the specs of a new premium handheld or emulation device; they belong to the 2012 PlayStation Vita.

Before the Vita, I held vivid memories of the PlayStation Portable: competing in ranked SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo tournaments with my cousin, committing heinous crimes in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, racing my nights away with Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.

The problem was that video games weren’t my priority in 2012, so I waited until the 2013 holiday season to get my hands on the Vita. I was deep into college; running my school’s student newspaper and working on three associate degrees took up all the time not spent partying. 

The Vita was exactly what I needed, a full-fledged gaming experience I could take anywhere. I used to sneak my PSP into my high school English class to keep my reflexes quick for my next tournament.

Thanks to the forward-thinking design of the Vita, it didn’t feel like playing catch-up when I first booted it up. I felt like I stepped into the future.

Looking back now, it’s even more impressive how ahead of the curve Sony was. Nintendo and Valve have both made fans buy their consoles twice, and OLED is still treated as an optional upgrade. Even the Switch 2 is shipping without an OLED 13 years later.

The revolution that the Vita tried to begin wasn’t just on paper. The tech may be the least important part of the system.

Game Library

I started my Vita journey with Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified. 

While I wasn’t familiar with the Uncharted series at the time, having such a rich and detailed world in my hands was something unparalleled. 

Call of Duty was one of the first signs of what the console should have been.

Until Declassified, truly portable Call of Duty was in bad shape. 

The DS had many Call of Duty ports but they were held back by clunky touchscreen aiming, limited online capabilities and blocky graphics. 

The PSP got closer, but was still missing the true console feel; with only one thumbstick and ad-hoc (local network) multiplayer only, it couldn’t fill the void of competitive play.

Black Ops: Declassified may have had its critics for using the touchscreen to throw grenades and swing your knife, and lack of ongoing content, but it got more right than wrong.

It was a truly console level experience: dual analog aiming, 4v4 matchmaking, customizable online weapon classes, leaderboards and the ability to prestige.

It’s a shame Sony dropped the ball early on the console and didn’t capitalize on the potential that had been teased.

Indie developers and third party support were the lifeblood of the Vita. In 2025 it feels natural for indie titles to be in contention for Game of the Year conversations, yet they were an afterthought on the Vita. Add to that the popularity of JRPG and visual novels on the device, and you’ve got a 2025 gamer’s best friend.

The Vita boasts an impressive library of games that could be a greatest hits play list for many a gamer:

• Persona 4 Golden
• Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
• Limbo (my personal pick of the list)
• Guacameelee Gold Edition
• Steins;Gate

Digital Mindset

It’s not unusual for people to skip physical releases. Sony and Microsoft both offer completely digital consoles, and when was the last time you saw a disc drive on a PC?

2012 was a completely different story, but Sony wanted to innovate. 

AAA titles like Golden Abyss were available day one, no need to fight for limited physical copies. Some launch games were digital only, something that I had only seen for small, overlooked titles on my 360.

The PlayStation Network also had an incredible backlog. PlayStation 1 and PSP titles were available to purchase, and play, through the console. One of the first things I did was download Resident Evil 1-3 and Parasite Eve. The 5-inch screen actually made me prefer the older content on the handheld rather than stretched out on an HDTV.

Sony also introduced us to cross buying and cloud saving. Buying a game like Hotline Miami on your console would get you a Vita copy as well. You could even upload your saves to the cloud and continue where you left off between systems.

Beyond all of that, the Vita was able to be used for remote play on the PlayStation 4, becoming a handheld way to enjoy your games without needing to be sitting at your couch.

Sony’s Missteps

With all of the good you would think the Vita was a huge success, but it’s estimated to have only sold about 16 million units, according to USGamer.

Sony dropped the ball quickly; within three years they had stopped making their own Vita games. By the time a new wave of Sony exclusives could have been developed and released, they had already thrown in the towel.

On top of that, using proprietary memory cards was one of the worst things they could have done. With such an emphasis on digital purchases, the availability of DLC and the use of other multimedia, digital storage space was at a premium. 

When people in forums could post about $40-$60 32GB SD cards in 2012, the launch price of Vita’s 32GB memory card was $119.99.

Cross saves were a gamechanger; the ability to start a season in MLB The Show on the Vita and switch to the PS4 was incredible, but it wasn’t automatic. You had to remember to manually upload and download your saves between sessions.

Nintendo’s DS and 3DS were killing the market with killer exclusives, and smartphones were getting more powerful. App developers realized everyone had a portable gaming machine in their pocket every day.

New Life

Game enthusiasts and retro gamers love the power of the Vita.

The modding and homebrew community have brought more to the Vita than Sony could have imagined. It’s able to do everything from emulate older consoles to natively support multiple Sony systems. 

And the wonderful community has even been able to adapt microSD cards to improve the cost of storage.

Despite Sony trying their best to destroy it, the Vita is better now than it was at launch.

My original Vita has stayed in a regular rotation, despite me owning multiple Anbernic devices and a Steam Deck. I love playing through the waves of enemies in Black Ops’ Hostiles mode, and Injustice running at 60fps is highly impressive when I want to play while laying in bed.

I purchased a modded Vita just a year ago, and it’s on the corner of my desk as I write this. I’ve been playing Digimon: Cyber Sleuth and SENSE: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story for the last few days while binge watching Ted Lasso.

The Vita may have started the game too early, but the world has finally caught up. It will always have a spot in my heart and in my hands.