The PlayStation Vita, 10 Years Later: A Mishandled Handheld

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When it comes to the handheld console market, few companies have managed to be successful. Though SEGA has tried its hand in the past with the Game Gear, and mobile companies like Nokia have attempted to break into the market with products like the N-Gage, no company or manufacturer has really come close to dethroning Nintendo as the king of the handheld console market. In 2011, Sony tried to do just that with the PlayStation Vita.

A successor to the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita was an innovative next step for the handheld market. Though the PSP ended up losing its head-to-head battle with the Nintendo DS, Sony seemed determined to make its next handheld console stand out from the crowd. Now, 10 years later, the PlayStation Vita seems to have almost faded into obscurity, despite trying to be a true next-generation handheld.

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With the stage set by Nintendo's Game Boy in the 1990s and Sony's rise to the top of the console charts in the early 2000s, the company released its first handheld in 2004. Named the PlayStation Portable, the console marketed itself as being the more powerful of the two handhelds on the market.

Though it failed to reach the same monumental heights as the Nintendo DS, the PSP still found its way into plenty of homes across the world. With beloved franchises like Metal Gear and Monster Hunter receiving exclusive titles on the PSP, the console managed to keep the interest of many PlayStation fans and is still remembered fondly today.

Despite only selling around half the units as the Nintendo DS, rumors of a PSP successor began circulating in 2009. In January 2011, the upcoming console was finally announced, being given