Vita Means Death (Patreon)

Hey.

You’ve all heard the somber news by now: PlayStation Vita will be a storeless husk (drama!) beginning in late August. It sucks. We’re really bummed about it. Over at Lillymo, we even had to unexpectedly cancel our next game for PSV! (It’s still coming to other platforms, of course.)

Here at Last Stand Media, we naturally want to commemorate the handheld in some way. We want to show our respect and adoration. It’s a handheld I’ve personally championed -- perhaps above virtually all others in the industry space -- since the very beginning, and it’s one that means something to (almost) all of us under our umbrella.

So I got my mind thinking: What can we do to put a bow on this thing?

Well, we’ll definitely do a few commemorative episodes of Sacred Symbols and Sacred Symbols+ about it, of course. There will be much to say -- many stories to tell, recollections to recollect, and insight into last-minute purchases given -- in the months to come. But what else could we do, something more actionable?

After pondering a bit, I had an idea: Vita Means Death. A play on the famed forum fodder Vita Means Life moniker that fans of the handheld will remember well. Vita Means Death is an art-focused project driven and funded by Last Stand Media that will make shirts (with stickers, posters, pins, and more coming down the pike) celebrating The End. Specifically, each piece of art will be a unique encapsulation of two themes: Vita’s demise and a character known best for being on Vita, somehow mixed together. In hiring different artists to interpret these possibilities in their own way, our goal is to have a small catalog of Vita-inspired art to choose from by the time we have to say goodbye.

To kick us off, I commissioned talented artist Lachlan Pini. I gave him a series of games and character names, as well as a few loose ideas I had. In return, he delivered to us a few pieces of stunning art, and I thought beginning with two of them -- Danganronpa’s Monokuma and Gravity Rush's Kat -- was most fitting. We're excited to showcase Lachlan's art, and you'll see more of him pop-up as we move along, with other artists being tapped, too. (And yes, of course Dagan will do a couple!)

You can go to Last Stand Media’s store by clicking here, or go straight to the product page for the Monokuma shirt here and the Kat shirt here. As we release more designs over the months to come, the Vita Means Death line will grow. Selections won’t be taken away, and we’ll eventually get sticker packs going, maybe some posters, and more. We really want to do this right, and what better way to show our love and respect for Vita than by funding the creation of some dope art to celebrate the best handheld ever.

As always, we thank you for your support, and appreciate your passion for our shows and our brand. We couldn’t do it without you. Sincerely, -Colin

[An aside, for those interested: On Sacred Symbols last week, we solicited input from the audience on a merch-related issue we ourselves weren’t aware of. In short, one of our shirts isn’t totally Made in America like we had thought. We wanted to know what you thought we should do. After reading your feedback, we drew three conclusions. First, since everything else minus this one type of shirt is completely Made in America, we’re (generally) doing a great job of putting our money where our mouth is. Secondly, the base shirt in question is manufactured in India; everything else that’s done to it (preparing, printing, shipping, etc.) is executed domestically. And thirdly, the factory in India in question that makes these shirts is a unionized factory well above their own domestic (and international) standard.

Thus, we’re going to keep the status quo while actively seeking out a solution for this one shirt that brings us more in line with western, American manufacture. We’re comfortable with this solution, and hope you are too. Our goal is to fully support American manufacturing jobs, and we're not only doing so, but we'll continue to do so more and more. When it comes to merch, this (along with high quality) is our mission, in totality.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to iron out the wrinkles (pardon the pun), and thank you for buying merch which very much is helping American workers make their living in a global marketplace that undercuts and undervalues them.]