Vita and 3DS have ‘two to three years left’ in the West

The current generation of handheld games consoles will persist for up to another three years in Europe and the US, publisher NISA has predicted.

Takuro Yamashita, president and CEO of NIS America, told MCV @ Gamescom that while publishers should be looking to transition from PS3 and Xbox 360 to PS4 and Xbox One in the home console space, they shouldn’t abandon dedicated handheld games devices just yet.

The first in Nintendo’s 3DS range was launched in Europe in early 2011, with Sony’s PlayStation Vita following one year later.

Generally speaking about the West, I think the right time has come for major game publishers to shift their line-ups to PS4 and Xbox One,” Yamashita observed.

Talking about the handheld devices in the West, PlayStation Vita and 3DS will fade out in the next two to three years.”

Yamashita added that smaller publishers could take advantage of the increased concentration of triple-A firms on the home consoles, with fewer big games coming out in the handheld space to compete with.

There is still a chance for Vita or 3DS games in the West,” he continued.

I bet you that the small publishers can benefit without having strong competition if they continue to publish games for Vita and 3DS.”