Top Hat Studios have announced the PlayStation Vita release dates of Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story and Synergia; what may be the final games for the console.
As stated in the press release (via email) Top Hat Studios, “after extensive discussions and technical conversations with Sony Interactive Entertainment” have secured what they believe “may be the last ever releases for the Playstation Vita platform.” Both Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story and Synergia will support cross-buy with their PlayStation 4 equivalents, along with PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility.
However, this will only be in North America “due to technical limitations with PEGI and the SIEE Vita storefront services.” The games had limited physical editions previously released on PlayStation Vita, but those sold out in under a day.
Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is available on Windows PC, Linux, Mac (all via Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and April 27th on PlayStation Vita. In case you missed it, you can find our review here (we recommend it!)
Synergia is available on Windows PC, Linux, and Mac (all via Steam), and April 27th on PlayStation Vita.
For those unfamiliar, in October 2020, SIE announced the PlayStation Store on browser and mobile would no longer sell PlayStation 3, Portable, or Vita games; after the new browser store launched.
On March 29th, the old browser PlayStation Store was effectively shut down; while users had got around the late October 2020 cut-off via region-specific URLs, the website began to redirect to the new store on March 27th. Among the 2000 digital-only games no longer being purchasable though those stores, 138 digital-only games will be lost; not being available physically or on other consoles.
Later on March 29th, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) quietly confirmed the closing dates for the console stores as well; the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable console stores on July 2nd, followed by PlayStation Vita on August 27th. Several PlayStation Vita developers stated learned this at the same time as the general public; with some still working the morning of the announcement.
SIE CEO Jim Ryan later announced that the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores would not be shutting down this Summer. Top Hat Studios tweeted on the day of the statement “We’ve only just learnt the news about the Vita store policy change at the same time you have!”
“In our long advocacy for releasing new titles onto the Vita however,” Top Hat Studios states, “it was heavily implied to us that new submissions would not be accepted. Let’s see what happens.”
As previously reported, a report on Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story’s Nintendo Switch release drew attention to it. Some objected to the game’s artstyle- a dystopian cyberpunk future where hyper-sexualization and body modification was commonplace- to the degree false information was spread. This included that the game was “encouraging violence,” and featured illegal content.
Top Hat Studios struck back, denying the claims and stating they “categorically refuse” to censor the game. They also revealed that they and developer Suzaku had received death threats.
The statement was applauded by those against censorship and “cancel culture” in the video games industry, yet some doubted their claims of abuse were legitimate. This lead to them releasing the abusive messages and gaslighting from “industry-adjacent people” publicly.
