Jason Moses
June 5, 2014 
Sad news for fans of Sony’s Playstation Portable console: the electronics manufacturer is ending new shipments of the PSP this month, and wants you to trade the one you already own in and buy a Vita, ASAP.
Sony already ended shipments of new PSP consoles to the US this January — no surprise considering its general lack of popularity on Western shores, crippling battles with piracy and lack of support from developers. But Japan’s a little bit different.
Monster Hunter made the PSP a gargantuan hit over there, and developers have ardently supported the platform long past the release of the PS Vita back in 2011. Granted, most of that support has consisted of ports of otome games (read: dating sims aimed at women), but still. This is the end of an era, folks.
Alongside the announcement comes news of a “Summer 2014 Transfer Campaign,” which will let owners of the late-model PSP-3000 to trade in their old console and get $30 towards the purchase of a Playstation Vita. Owners of the slightly older PSP-2000 model will be able to trade in for a paltry $10 discount, and students will get an extra $10 kicked in to either trade-in deal.
Personally, I don’t know if I’d trade my PSP in for discounts like that, but it’s clear Sony wants developers to stop supporting the old horse in the race and switch over to the Vita. Just compare this to the Playstation 2, which lasted over 13 years before Sony pulled the plug and ended shipments in Japan on December 28, 2012 — with the caveat, of course, that the PS2 was the best-selling console of all-time.
Any fond PSP memories before Sony officially kills the device forever? Or better yet, any games you’re looking forward to in its final moments? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Siliconera
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