The PS Vita, Sony’s new handheld console and the successor to the PSP, has now launched in most of the major territories. Leading Sony to reveal launch sales figures of 1.2 million.
This isn’t bad, but it’s not that great either. Despite what Sony fanboys may believe and may try to tell all those who will listen.
The PS Vita has been out in Japan for a while and Sony has sold around 500k units to gamers on its home turf. That means first-week sales of around 700k in North America, Europe, and Australia. These are similar figures to those of the 3DS.
The problem for Sony is keeping the momentum building past the first few weeks. New consoles almost always sell well initially, but once the hardcore have all purchased the hardware it needs to start appealing to the mainstream or it’s Game Over. At this point I’m not convinced the PS Vita will ever appeal to the mainstream.
