Google Behind End of YouTube, Maps, and Near App on PlayStation Vita?

Time to put on our tin foil hats folks. If you recall, a few weeks back, it was announced that support for Maps, Near, and YouTube would be coming to an end on Playstation Vita. According to Sony, the YouTube app on Vita will no longer be supported come April 20th though the app itself was pulled on January 28th from the store. As for Maps and Near, their end will come sometime in March, when a mandatory software update will pull the features from the Vita. At the time, it was unclear why the three apps would be pulled from the store. While I argued that due to a lack of wide 3G support on Vita, that Maps and Near likely weren’t that widely used and thus, won’t be missed, YouTube is something that gamers use all the time.

From watching videos to pass time to needing help on how to find a certain treasure in Uncharted, YouTube has replaced the strategy guide for many gamers. So why are the three services being pulled? The short answer, Google. Details after the jump.

The reason I asked you all to put on your tin foil hats is because currently what I have is a working theory but if you humor me for just a bit, I think you’ll find all the evidence you need. YouTube disappearing from Vita isn’t the only big YouTube news as of late. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Google would be pulling the plug on YouTube apps running on 2012 and older televisions and Blu-ray players. This even includes standalone Google TV products which is now essentially Android TV. The reason? Google will move from “v2” of its API for developers to “v3” and in the process, killing support for the app. In the process, YouTube switch to VP9 decoding, which is suppose to provide improved picture quality while reducing load times or so Google claims anyways.

So when will support end for smart televisions with the YouTube app? April 20th which also happens to be the same date that YouTube app functionality on Vita will end. With the Vita having launched on December 17th, 2011, it seems that the console just missed the deadline and perhaps hardware selection that Google sees fit for YouTube going forward.

It’s also no secret that Sony’s Maps and Near functionality also relied on Google services, specifically Google Maps. Since televisions traditionally don’t have any form of map capabilities, it’s hard to built a pattern but it’s likely not a stretch to assume that Google is tweaking other parts of its services and that the Vita is a casualty of them. In the end, it’s hard to see why the service is coming to an end on so many devices like the Vita and smart televisions. After all, older computers which run far weaker hardwares in some ways will still be able to access YouTube and maps. So in the end, the whole ordeal may not be hardware related and instead purely software related.

With new API’s in place, Google might simply not see it fit for them to go back and tweak older apps which if true, is sadly a shame.