It's hard to believe that Sony's PlayStation Portable has been out nearly ten years – but, alas, in the face of the PlayStation Vita, its time has come. A report from Time Magazine indicates that Sony is discontinuing the handheld, with shipments ending this month in Japan and later this year in Europe.

Sony has already begun ceasing shipments of the system to the United States this past January, instead focusing on getting more PlayStation Vita systems on store shelves.

Sony of Japan has already confirmed that it's preparing to offer Vita hardware and download discounts to select users who are willing to upgrade to the new system. There's no word yet if this program will make its way Stateside or to Europe just yet, but Sony could announce something as soon as next week, during its pre-E3 press conference.

The system has gone through many changes over the years, including the launch of the poorly received digital download-only model PSP Go and various color iterations, including a special blue one for the Madden games.

Still, it's been almost a good ten years' of PSP games, and a lot of the titles are still playable on the PS Vita. So the PSP may be going, but certainly not forgotten. And we'll always have RIIIIIIIDGE RACER!