PSP Outselling Vita in Japan

Mike Kayatta

Minister of Secrets
Aug 2, 2011
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PSP Outselling Vita in Japan



The Sony Vita is off to a rocky start, suddenly generating nearly 150,000 sales less than its debut week.

Since its initial sales boom during the week of its release beginning on December 17th, sales of PlayStation's latest handheld have dropped. Precipitously. After getting the Vita into the hands of 324,859 gamers and gift-givers on the 17th, Sony's week two system sales nosedived to 72,479 units. Now compare that to the PSP's sales that same week: 101,121 units.

Sony is probably clamoring for answers as to why the sales tanked, but there are a few key factors likely to blame. For starters, sales always dive come the actual week of Christmas, however, relatively speaking, that still doesn't account for the drop as compared to Sony's now old-gen handheld. Another reason being posited is that the Vita is yet to offer new games post-launch, also causing not one Vita title to appear on the week's top twenty sales chart, which featured five 3DS games, two DS games, nine Wii games, three PS3 games, and one PSP game. Then, of course, there's the price dynamic. The Vita is currently the most expensive handheld on the market (compared to the DS, 3DS, and PSP).

It should be noted that these figures don't necessarily spell certain doom for the Vita. Nintendo's 3DS suffered a similar slump during it's post-release due to a similar issue: lack of games. The 3DS, however, has since u-turned after the release of titles such as Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land. We'll likely see the same upward swing once Sony's larger IPs hit the streets. Whether or not the system will be able to stick it out for the long run, though, is a different question entirely.

Source: Andriasang [andriasang.com/comzjb/media_create_hardware/]


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Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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Matthew94 said:
I'll just say what I said before

Matthew94 said:
Just like last gen people said "DS sux PSP is gonna destroy it when it comes out" and once again the opposite is happening.

PSV will do well but I have no doubt Nintendo will dominate as usual.
Especially in Japan. Nintendo's probably going to have a major lead in every market, but ESPECIALLY Japan.
 

SinisterDeath

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Nov 6, 2006
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I think they probably had dumb consumeritis.. Consumers saw
"PsP for $100!"
and
"PS VITA for $300!"
And thought... Well, hell, Ill get the $100 version! not realizing they aren't the same thing.
 

D Moness

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Sep 16, 2010
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Mike Kayatta said:
It should be noted that these figures don't necessarily spell certain doom for the Vita. Nintendo's 3DS suffered a similar slump during it's post-release due to a similar issue: lack of games.
Though that is true, the slump in the second week was 45% less units sold for the 3ds and 78% less units sold in the second week for the Vita (even though the Vita has more launch games then the 3DS had). Considering the 3DS sold more units in the release week then the Vita it doesn't sound that good for sony.

As for me i want to see both the 3DS and the Vita succeed, a bit of competition never hurt anyone. Though for the east it really needs a system seller(like monster hunter or dragon quest). If those games get released the Vita sales will spike.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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There's also the whole deal with needing separate memory cards to save stuff. Memory cards which are stupid expensive.
 

gigastar

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Sep 13, 2010
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Ill tell you what the real problem is.

Theres no Monster Hunter title available for it yet.
 

Zouriz

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SinisterDeath said:
I think they probably had dumb consumeritis.. Consumers saw
"PsP for $100!"
and
"PS VITA for $300!"
And thought... Well, hell, Ill get the $100 version! not realizing they aren't the same thing.
Unlike the 3DS, the Vita ISN'T backwards compatible. If you want to play PSP games on the Vita, you have to buy them from the online store. Not a great incentive to upgrade your PSP to the Vita. That and there aren't many good games for the Vita yet.
 

Epona

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Jun 24, 2011
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Zouriz said:
SinisterDeath said:
I think they probably had dumb consumeritis.. Consumers saw
"PsP for $100!"
and
"PS VITA for $300!"
And thought... Well, hell, Ill get the $100 version! not realizing they aren't the same thing.
Unlike the 3DS, the Vita ISN'T backwards compatible. If you want to play PSP games on the Vita, you have to buy them from the online store. Not a great incentive to upgrade your PSP to the Vita. That and there aren't many good games for the Vita yet.
If you were smart, you bought as many PSP games as possible via the online store to avoid UMD load times. Now, you could play those on the Vita too without having to "buy them again at a discount".
 

Epona

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I read that you have to control the UI with the touch pad. Let me repeat that, you have to control Vita's User Interface with the touch pad, the buttons will not work. Also, it seems to be hard for people with large hands to use the X button or the right analog stick without hitting the other.

Of course, the high memory card prices aren't helping either.

Maybe people who would have bought the Vita in the second week got to try out a friends Vita during the first week and decided it wasn't worth it.
 

Epona

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OutrageousEmu said:
j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
OutrageousEmu said:
I think this reflects poorly on Japan moreso than it does on the Vita. A handheld that is brimming with western games and brand new, fresh, and creative IP's, and they prefer to play the same Mario Kart they've always played.
Of course. That's it. Blame the Japanese. How dare they not spend hundreds of dollars on a hand-held console. It's not like their economy has been struggling, thanks in part to earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear melt-downs, and that like every other country in the world they're caught up in the turmoil of international economic uncertainty. Nope, they should damn well go out and buy the most expensive hand-held console ever made, and they should be grateful for it. After all, with the Vita, they get to experience our superior Western games, and general superiority in general? Why wouldn't they want to experience that?

/sarcasm
The 3DS was more expensive at launch, so you can cut your "most expsensive handheld" bullshit for, you know, a place where its even the tiniest bit applicable.
Crono1973 said:
I read that you have to control the UI with the touch pad. Let me repeat that, you have to control Vita's User Interface with the touch pad, the buttons will not work.
This has got to be the pettiest, most inconsequential bullshit complaint I've ever heard. How in the entirety of the universe could any organic life form have a problem with this? Unless you have a crippling debilitating fear of touchpads, there is no way this could be a problem.
I don't care for touch screens just like I don't care for motion controls. You have buttons available, why disable them in the UI?
 

Zouriz

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OutrageousEmu said:
I think this reflects poorly on Japan moreso than it does on the Vita. A handheld that is brimming with western games and brand new, fresh, and creative IP's, and they prefer to play the same Mario Kart they've always played.
Like what exactly?