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PS Vita sales in Japan drop to an all-time low

As hardware sales slump across the board

PS Vita sales in Japan drop to an all-time low
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Sales of all consoles were down this week in Japan, with the sole exception of the Xbox 360.

While the 360's jump is most likely explained by the release of Kinect Star Wars, the reason for the declining sales of the Vita remain less clear.

Deeper and down

Nintendo's 3DS dropped roughly 40 per cent from 121,921 to 72,115 units, after enjoying three booming weeks of sales attributed to the releases of Kid Icarus: Uprising and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.

The PlayStation Vita, on the other hand, dropped roughly 26 per cent from 12,105 units last week to 8,931 this week.

The PS3 (down 4,401 units to 19,370 this week) and the PlayStation Portable (down 3,552 units to 14,804) both managed to outsell the Vita handily, and for yet another week the combined sales of all three PlayStation devices don't come close to matching the sales of the 3DS.

A reaction?

Prospects for an increase in the Vita's sales remains unlikely barring action on Sony's behalf as the next weeks (and months) will bring only a smattering of major titles.

The brightest ray of hope are the likely boost in hardware units once the eagerly anticipated Final Fantasy X HD and Persona 4: The Golden (both ports) launch.

On a positive note: news from Japan this week is not all doom and gloom for Sony.

Bandi Namco’s 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen PSP title was the week's top-selling game although Nintendo's strength on the top ten list remained unquestioned.

Six of the ten top-selling games were 3DS titles and Pokemon Conquest (strictly speaking, a DS title) was present as well.

[via Gamasutra]

Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.