With news that the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita PlayStation stores will be closing, some attention is being paid to Sony's forgotten handhelds. The closure of the PlayStation Store for these consoles is a shame, considering the hundreds of older games found in the store that are not available on PS4 or PS5. But, with more people talking about the PS Vita, some of its quirkier qualities are being highlighted, including the odd decision to use proprietary memory exclusively.

The PS Vita was never quite able to capture the handheld market in the same way that the 3DS did. Despite boasting impressive (for the time) technical specs, the system never had the appeal that kept the 3DS going well into the Switch era. It wasn't for lack of trying. The PS Vita has an impressive catalog of titles, including some excellent Vita RPGs that really show off the system's capabilities.

RELATED: New PlayStation Vita Game Projects Canceled Amid PlayStation Store Shutdown

One of the things that might have held back Sony's handheld was the unusual choice to go with a new proprietary memory card, a decision talked about at length by an ex-Sony employee during a Reddit AMA. The costly Vita cards (a 32GB card sold for $120 USD at launch) were prioritized by Sony due to concerns over hacking in the wake of particularly infamous hack on the PlayStation Network in 2011. Data breaches are a concern for gaming companies, as well as tech companies like Facebook, so Sony's decision to go with proprietary memory is understandable.

While the move to the proprietary - and much more expensive - memory cards was done for reasons that make sense, both for the company, and with the intention they would be safer for consumers, the choice left Vita users stuck paying a premium to store data on their handheld. Despite the cost associated with the memory cards, fans still point out how underrated the PS Vita is. It attempted a number of unique things in the Sony ecosystem, like Remote Play and internet connectivity on the go, which would only become more common on future gaming devices.

Production of the PS Vita was discontinued in 2019, and with the Vita PlayStation Store shutting down, support for the console appears to be coming to an end. The PS5 has already surpassed lifetime sales of the PS Vita, and with Nintendo (and smartphones) so thoroughly dominating the mobile gaming scene, it seems unlikely another Vita will ever be released. While the proprietary memory cards may not have been what did in the Vita, they were an odd choice for an already odd device.

MORE: Sony's Approach to Console and Game Preservation is Shocking

Source: Reddit