PS Vita Is Big in Japan

[Greg Tito]

PS Vita Is Big in Japan

The PS Vita doubled first week sales of the PSP, but fell short of the debut of Nintendo's 3DS.

Japanese language gaming magazine Famitsu reported that Sony sold 321,407 PS Vitas the first two days the handheld was available. Sony didn't report the total number it shipped to stores - or a percentage from which we could figure it out - except to say that 500,000 units of the 3G/Wi-Fi model with 100 hours of free 3G access. Sony hopes to sell out of that limited edition pretty quick.

Japan's handheld market is a bit hard to predict. Nintendo's fancy CEO even cut his salary in apology [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101379-E3-2010-Hands-on-With-the-Nintendo-3DS]. The PS Vita, on the other hand, has fantastic launch titles including Uncharted: Golden Abyss but Sony's new handheld just didn't beat Nintendo's debut numbers. During the holidays, no less.

At least, the PS Vita sold better than the PSP did, which only moved 166,074 units in its first day back in 2004.

Given the feature set and the launch games, the PS Vita should end up doing pretty well and eventually competing pretty heavily with the 3DS. I expect worldwide sales to blow up when the Vita comes out on February 22, 2012 for everyone outside of Japan.

Source: Andria Sang [http://andriasang.com/comzfc/ps_vita_sales/]



Permalink

 

[Greg Tito]

It should be in the News section and not just in the scrawl. I'll check with the tech monkeys to see if something is borked, thanks.

Greg

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Hey Sony.

Where's Monster Hunter.

You know, the game that pretty much sold PSPs for you in Japan.

I'm really surprised that a new MH hasn't been announced yet, considering it's a massive franchise for the handheld.

 

[wooty]

No surprises, from what I saw in Tokyo, handhelds are all over the place in Japan.

The games they have for it over there in comparison to the grey west are incredible too, theres a pattern here.somewhere

 

[Korten12]

Hey Sony.

Where's Monster Hunter.

You know, the game that pretty much sold PSPs for you in Japan.

I'm really surprised that a new MH hasn't been announced yet, considering it's a massive franchise for the handheld.

I have no idea. MH has soo much more potential on the Vita then 3DS.

Better graphics, dual analog sticks, easy touch screen interface, more memory...

No reason for it to be on the 3DS over Vita.

Though I would say this gen, Capcom seems to have something against Sony I swear.

 

[Something Amyss]

Someone didn't do as well as Nintendo in Japan?

Quelle surprise!

 

[Enrathi]

It should be in the News section and not just in the scrawl. I'll check with the tech monkeys to see if something is borked, thanks.

Greg

It's there now.
But seriously, the new format just seems to be causing more problems for the site.
And wheres my home button on the top menu?

Not to derail the thread, but it took me a bit to find it too. While a button that says Home is gone, if you click on the Escapist logo on the far left of the bar, that takes you to the homepage.

Now, back on topic. I highly doubt I'll get a Vita, and as another poster said, no MH? That would be about the only game I can think of right now that would get me to buy one.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Hey Sony.

Where's Monster Hunter.

You know, the game that pretty much sold PSPs for you in Japan.

I'm really surprised that a new MH hasn't been announced yet, considering it's a massive franchise for the handheld.

I have no idea. MH has soo much more potential on the Vita then 3DS.

Better graphics, dual analog sticks, easy touch screen interface, more memory...

No reason for it to be on the 3DS over Vita.

Though I would say this gen, Capcom seems to have something against Sony I swear.

I'm pretty much guaranteed to buy a Vita if a MH game is announced for it. I love the series, and I only played Tri on the Wii.

A handheld version would be a bloody godsend for me.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I think the 3DS may have had more of a hand in the slow sales than you think.

Think about it. 3DS gets hyped up as the second coming of Christ (I recall people here comparing it to Hulks return in World War Hulk), comes out, is gigantic disappointment. So the next hyped handheld., the japanese people are of course gonna be a bit skeptical. As word of mouth and reviews come out, saying the system and its games are phenomenal, I think thats gonna mean it sells well, and doesn't see an immediate drop off in sales like the 3DS.

Hey Sony.

Where's Monster Hunter.

You know, the game that pretty much sold PSPs for you in Japan.

I'm really surprised that a new MH hasn't been announced yet, considering it's a massive franchise for the handheld.

Lords of Apocalypse doesn't count?

What now?

That's a funny way to spell 'not Monster Hunter'.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I think the 3DS may have had more of a hand in the slow sales than you think.

Think about it. 3DS gets hyped up as the second coming of Christ (I recall people here comparing it to Hulks return in World War Hulk), comes out, is gigantic disappointment. So the next hyped handheld., the japanese people are of course gonna be a bit skeptical. As word of mouth and reviews come out, saying the system and its games are phenomenal, I think thats gonna mean it sells well, and doesn't see an immediate drop off in sales like the 3DS.

Hey Sony.

Where's Monster Hunter.

You know, the game that pretty much sold PSPs for you in Japan.

I'm really surprised that a new MH hasn't been announced yet, considering it's a massive franchise for the handheld.

Lords of Apocalypse doesn't count?

What now?

That's a funny way to spell 'not Monster Hunter'.

You play as a warrior fighting against progressively more giant monsters in a world with no end. Obnly real difference is that in Apocalypse you can summon monsters.

Hmm interesting.

Might be worth checking out, thanks for alerting me to its existence.

 

[ultratog1028]

That is because nintendo has been around the gaming block 10 years before sony was. They still arethe first thing that most people think of when you say "video game"

 

[Dunkerloop]

I've heard reports of the systems REALLY not functioning right, which has potential to slow down the sales a bit. And while it is close to Christmas now, they're releasing it AFTER Christmas elsewhere besides Japan. This could have a pretty big impact on first day sales, as considering how close it WAS to Christmas, not as many people will be buying it as they might have if they launched it either sooner or later. Either be people still busy with the stuff they have or might just be parents who don't want to spend more money on video games. And while it may not apply as much to those who don't celebrate Christmas, there still is the fact that there is a lot of sales going on right now. All just a theory, and me trying to apply some logic.

 

[SH4DOWSL4Y3R]

it's good to see that the vita is selling well. it was never going to beat the 3DS though in terms of day one sales. the 3DS just has a wider target market to begin with.

I'm looking forward to the PS vita launch here in Australia, although as of yet i can't see any definite indication as to whether Gravity Rush is being released here, which makes me a little sad. I'd like to be able to buy it with my vita, but if that fails to be possible i guess I'll stick with rayman or uncharted and import a copy.

I've also noticed that the memory card prices here don't seem anywhere near as bad as predicted, so I'm happy about that.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I can't remember if it was here or not but I read an article about the PSVita having some mild to major bugs with the console itself. Other than that though, the launch line-up in Japan looks amazing! I'm really glad this one is region free, I may have to get one if only for the foreign games.