Sony stops manufacturing PlayStation TV in Japan

The computer entertainment division of electronics giant Sony has stopped manufacturing the microconsole PlayStation TV in Japan, said a statement on the company’s Japan webpage Monday, indicating the product might soon stop being sold worldwide.

The webpage says shipments of the device, launched in the country towards the end of 2013 and in Europe in 2014end, have concluded, meaning users in Japan will only be able to buy pieces that remain on store shelves.

PlayStation TV prices fell in U.S. markets by 80 percent and in Europe by 40 percent and augured its discontinuation.

Users had particularly complained the miniconsole, conceived as a settop box version of the portable PS Vita which allowed users to play PSP or PlayStation 1 titles and some from PlayStation 3 using a “streaming” service, did not play all Vita games.

The company may have decided to stop manufacturing the product in Japan as a first step to discontinue the product worldwide to do away with the losses it has been incurring.

In the first nine months of the fiscal, Sony reported net profits of $2.09 billion, thanks mainly to the success of the PlayStation 4, its flagship product in the sector.