PS Vita off to middling start, moves 72K post-launch
updated 03:40 pm EST, Wed December 28, 2011
PS Vita sells just 72K units in first full week
Sales of Sony's recently launched PS Vita handheld games console have cooled significantly, the latest numbers from Japanese site 4Gamer.net reveal. The first full week of the console's being on the market saw just 72,479 Vitas find homes, a marked decrease from the 321,400 units sold in its first two days on the market. This puts the system in fifth place after the 3DS, the Vita's predecessor the PSP, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PS3, respectively.
Reasons for the relatively poor sales aren't clearly known, but may have something to do with the relatively poor quality from an admittedly wide selection of gaming titles, at 24, or the (controversial, said Sony) teething issues the system suffered. Also, bundles or holiday sales for the existing systems could have boosted their popularity among customers over the measured week as well.
Cost may have been a separate problem. The Vita is much more expensive than both the PSP and the 3DS and still needs a separate storage card to be usable.
When the console arrives in the US on February 22, the bugs and competition from bundles are likely to be resolved. Sony will still have 25 games on launch, but the mix will be more westernized. [via TechnoBuffalo]
