Stores are offering discounts in order to get rid of extra stock

Jan 4, 2012 23:41 GMT  ·  By

It seems that the dwindling sales of the PlayStation Vita have forced some Japanese retail stores to make unofficial price cuts to the device, some offering discounts as large as 20 percent for the 3G model of the new portable console.

The PlayStation Vita made its debut in Japan last month and, while first week sales figures were pretty good, almost reaching 325,000 units, things quickly took a turn for the worse during its second week of availability, when the device barely sold 72,000 units. As such, it was overtaken by many other consoles, including the PSP, its predecessor.

In order to keep people interested in the device, especially in its much pricier 3G version, Japanese stores are cutting prices for the PlayStation Vita. According to Games Radar, some outlets are making discounts as large as 20 percent for the new handheld device, selling the device at a loss only to get rid of it.

As we revealed yesterday, Sony has declined to comment on these poor sales, so it’s unlikely that the company will release a statement on these unofficial price cuts.