Nintendo tends to be the best source for PlayStation sales information in Europe – and its latest financial report has delivered once again. But while there is good news for Sony’s flagship platform in the region, it’s off-set by some disappointing numbers for the PlayStation Vita.
According to figures released as part of Nintendo’s most recent financial briefing, Sony’s latest handheld has slumped to irrelevance in Europe since release. The console is being handily outsold by the Nintendo 3DS, and, incredibly, is being outpaced by its aging predecessor, too. It’s perhaps worth nothing that the PSP is still extremely popular in parts of continental Europe, but, regardless, this doesn’t make for particularly positive reading.
The good news is that while the Vita is struggling, the PS3 is on fire in Europe. It’s not quite on par with its tally from 2011, but it’s still way ahead of its competitors. The Xbox 360 is lagging behind in second, while the Wii continues to tail off ahead of the Wii U's launch. In addition, three of the five best selling games in the region are for PS3.
As a result, it's mixed news for Sony. There’s no doubt that the Vita will see a boost leading into Christmas, but it’s going to need to be a big one in order to reverse the fortunes of the troubled platform. Meanwhile, the PS3 will probably continue to dominate way into next year, depending, of course, on the popularity of the Wii U.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 19
Will the super slim model of the ps3 positively affect sales for the
holiday season?
I love my vita, it really is a shame its not selling well. This time next year this and Wii u could be dead machines.
@blurays It already has judging by Nintendo's data. We'll have to wait and see if it holds over Christmas, but I'm confident it will. A price-cut would have given the platform a much bigger boost, though.
vgchartz (for whatever it is worth) has the Vita selling better than this article makes out in Europe. Still not good sales, but better than Nintendo's version. Not sure who to believe.
I still say that the Vita is too expensive for what most people are willing to pay. They may want one, and the tech may be worth the price, but that doesn't mean enough people will spend the money. They may just look on in envy.
@Ginkgo VGChartz is well known for fudging its figures. I would guess Nintendo's data is far more reliable.
@get2sammyb - That's a good thing.At least Sony is doing
better then Microsoft worldwide overall.
@blurays The Xbox 360 tends to dominate in North America and the UK, but elsewhere it's usually between Nintendo and Sony.
that kinda sucks, people need to get on the vita more, it's an absolute treat of a system!!!!
As for PS3 super slim, I can see PS3 making more money now that it's a better deal, especially since the over-priced Wii U that offers basicly the same is coming out soon.
You have to hand it to Sony for supporting the PS3 through hell and high tide until it reached its current situation, which is far better than most analysts speculated during its strugling beginnings. I hope that they do the same with the VITA.
@fchinaski To be honest, it's one of the primary reasons I think there's still plenty of hope for Vita. Back in 2007, people were claiming that Sony should scrap the PS3 and release the PS4 ASAP.
Vita is getting a load of big releases in Japan soon (before and after Christmas) so I'm guessing we'll see a boost over there at least. It all just depends if that boost is enough to drive more interest from publishers.
@getsammyb Thats true. I think most have forgotten just how bad the PS3 situation was or was made out to be by some. So to see PS3 come back from that is very encouraging. Glad i stuck it out! Vita will still need more time, im not sure AC3: Liberation or Black Ops Declassified is enough to get it the 1yr-after boost the 3DS got. And while i love it to death and think its aexcellent move byt Sony, crossbuy will boost PS3 sales far more than Vita sales.
As long a developers keep writing games for it, it will be fine in the long term. Prices will come down eventually and the more good games it has the better value it will be. The risk is that developers abandon it, that is what Sony must ensure does not happen at all costs. Games sell systems.
The Vita is a great value for what it offers but Sony really needs to drop the price on the unit and the memory cards to get it selling to the masses. Also the checkbook needs to be opened. They need Capcom onboard with Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, SquareEnix with Final Fantasy and Konami with Metal Gear Solid. The game that I think could save them all in regions is a Final Fantasy VII remake but SE has in the past shot down any hope of that ever happening. Still something along the lines of what Crisis Core was could be a big help.
@Gamer83 Nope, Never. Look how long its taking them to put out FF10 HD and they announced it nearly 2 yrs ago. I remember watching the event online. At the time thye also said 13-2 was coming to Vita, that never materialized. I agree that Sony needs the big boys to put some established franchies on Vita. But most seem to be focused on PS4 and other next gen projects. So indie games devs might be the short term answer here.
Yeah, indie devs and Sony's big first party studios will have to pick up the slack. Doesn't seem like Naughty Dog has any interest in handheld gaming but Guerilla is bringing Killzone, MediaMolecule is working on Tearaway and Japan Studio has Soul Sacrifice and already released Gravity Rush which is one of the best games this year on any system. Sony's investing in studios in the mid 2000s may actually end up benefitting the Vita more than it has any of its other systems to this point. At least I hope it does because Vita is a great product that deserves to be a success.
@Dambuster WiiU dead? Have you seen the pre orderes? I barly got mine
@Gamer83 True, If they can get more 1st party vita support it will be ok for the time being. I hope Bend studios make another uncharted vita game since like you said Naughty Dog doesnt seem interested in Vita. And the next Gravity Rush is already in developement so that gonna be killer. I still wish more games used NEAR and gps more effectively, like getting 2XP in BlackOps declassified for playing at a certain location on fridays ( like McDonalds for instance ). They would get ppl into using Vita more in public. Thats how word-of-mouth sales come about.
i dun think wii u wii die,nintendo choose a good moment to release it since ps4 and the nextbox coming at least a year away and everyone is dying to play a next gen console...by the time the big two next gen systems arrived...there is tons of wii u on the market already...
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