Global PlayStation Vita Launch Won’t Be Affected by Low Japanese Sales

Sony has talked about the PlayStation Vita and the slow sales experienced by the new handheld device in Japan, where it went on sale for almost a month, saying that these low figures won’t mean a poor launch next month in Europe or North America.

The PlayStation Vita went on sale in Japan last month and, while the first week figures were pretty good, sales quickly dropped below those of other game consoles, including the Vita’s predecessor, the PlayStation Portable.

Now, after confirming that over half a million Vita units were sold since its Japanese release, Sony has talked about the device’s upcoming launch in Europe and North America.

According to Sony Computer Entertainment America Director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller, the sales figures are in line with internal predictions.

"We're still in the first couple weeks, and we're trying to get as many units into market as possible," he said. "We're going to give it some time, but overall those numbers have been to forecast. If you look at the word-of-mouth factor, it's really strong because people are bringing it home and really enjoying it. That satisfaction rate is really high. But also in terms of when we funnel in additional hardware units, that'll dictate how many sales there are and how many sell through."

Sony Europe boss Jim Ryan also said that the company has learned with all of its releases that stats from their Japanese launches won’t necessarily correlate with figures from other territories, so people shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the Vita’s future.

"One of the things we have learnt over a long period of time, is that whether it is PS1, PS2, PSP or PS3, it is dangerous to the point of impossible to take any experience from the Japanese market and try and extrapolate it, and propose upon what will happen in Europe or North America," he said.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita is looking extremely good at launch, with plenty of games and features, but it still has a pretty steep price that might drive off plenty of people. What’s your opinion? Will you get a Vita next month or are you going to wait a price cut, just like with the Nintendo 3DS?