Sony may be considering ways in which it can broadcast PS Vita TV overseas, but we reckon those plans may be shelved soon if the diminutive device doesn’t pick up the pace in its home territory. After a miserable first month on the market, the micro-console has now slumped to just 3,772 sales in Japan according to the latest Media Create report. That’s less than the PlayStation Portable, and a pretty embarrassing figure for the relatively novel release.
Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad news for the PlayStation brand as a whole this week. Despite a disappointing debut in the UK, simulation racer Gran Turismo 6 sped straight to the top of the sales charts with an impressive 204,784 units sold. It’s less than its predecessor launched with, but it shows that the title may have been adversely affected by the launch of the PlayStation 4 in the West. The game helped the platform holder’s current generation console to sell 24,085 units in total.
Meanwhile, despite the failings of PS Vita TV, the PlayStation Vita itself continued to hold strong, selling 25,594 units throughout the tracked period. Both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U finished above the portable, but it’s definitely refreshing to see the handheld stabilising around a somewhat healthy tally. It’ll be interesting to see how the manufacturer's next-gen platform performs when it arrives in February, as the Japanese market seems pretty unpredictable at the moment.
We’ve included the full list of movers and shakers in the space below. Are you satisfied with the Vita’s numbers of late? Is the floundering PS Vita TV a big misstep? How will the PS4 be received in the region? Do your best Michael Pachter impression in the comments section below.
Hardware
1. 3DS LL – 92,375 (82,409)
2. Wii U – 48,762 (28,518)
3. 3DS – 32,894 (25,964)
4. PS Vita – 25,594 (20,202)
5. PS3 – 24,085 (13,311)
6. PSP – 4,416 (4,232)
7. PS Vita TV – 3,772 (5,391)
8. Wii – 767 (588)
9. Xbox 360 – 473 (309)
Software
1. [PS3] Gran Turismo 6 (SCEJ, 12/06/13) – 204,784 (New)
2. [Wii] Dragon Quest X: The Sleeping Hero and the Guiding Sworn Friend Online (Square Enix, 12/05/13) – 117,432 (New)
3. [3DS] Pokemon X and Y (Nintendo, 10/12/13) – 111,790 (3,200,919)
4. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind (Spike Chunsoft, 12/05/13) – 93,471 (New)
5. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go Galaxy Big Bang / Supernova (Level-5, 12/05/13) – 91,643 (New)
6. [Wii U] Dragon Quest X: The Sleeping Hero and the Guiding Sworn Friend Online (Square Enix, 12/05/13) – 70,648 (New)
7. [Wii U] Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo, 11/21/13) – 43,844 (183,245)
8. [3DS] Bravely Default: For the Sequel (Square Enix, 12/05/13) – 35,617 (New)
9. [3DS] Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: Duel Carnival (Konami, 12/05/13) – 26,497 (New)
10. [PS3] Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, 11/21/13) – 21,600 (358,755)
11. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 (Capcom, 09/14/13) – 20,601 (3,002,358)
12. [3DS] Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 (Sega, 11/28/13) – 18,225 (106,933)
13. [PS3] Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft, 11/28/13) – 16,920 (52,269)
14. [PS3] Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (Konami, 11/14/13) – 15,523 (228,367)
15. [3DS] One Piece: Unlimited World R (Namco Bandai, 11/21/13) – 15,145 (123,374)
16. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo, 11/08/13) – 15,039 (3,496,578)
17. [3DS] Tomodachi Collection: New Life (04/18/13) – 12,816 (1,523,528)
18. [3DS] Aikatsu! 2-ri no My Princess (11/21/13) – 12,737 (99,261)
19. [PSV] God Eater 2 (Namco Bandai, 11/14/13) – 12,610 (338,544)
20. [PSP] God Eater 2 (Namco Bandai, 11/14/13) – 11,337 (161,939)
[source 4gamer.net, via gematsu.com, vg247.com]
Comments 20
@Epic
Lol.
Back to the article. I think Sony should've released Vita TV worldwide.
I think Sony are a company willing to take risk on new products, but after seeing the PSP Go die a death, I don't blame them for wanting to dip a toe in the water.
I think sells will pick up once PS4 is there
Vita TV never should have even launched in Japan - at all. Never ever even. It plays handheld games on your tv, but nobody in Japan wants to play games on their tv, they all want handhelds and smartphones. And the Vita doesn't have all that many great games anyway. And the Vita can stream the PS4, which doenst launch in Japan until Feb. It doenst make any sense.
That last commercial on here made me want 1 though, but I'm not japanese and I don't live in Japan. I don't have a Vita but I do have a $52" tv and I want to play Tearaway. Which probably wont even work on Vita TV anyway, another reason it isn't doing well in Japan.
I've said once before that sales will likely pick up once the PS4 launches and I stand by that. Sales should definitely increase when Soul Sacrifice Delta and Freedom Wars (if it's supported) are released, so I'm not worried.
That aside, Sony should release it in the West. Even with its current sales, it's already the market leader for streaming since Apple TV, Google TV and the Roku are almost, if not completely, nonexistent in Japan.
The Vita TV would be a huge hit in the west because we already have the PS4, which means that it's features aren't limited - and it's obviously going to become more valuable with the arrival of Gaikai's streaming services.
@rjejr "It plays handheld games on your tv, but nobody in Japan wants to play games on their tv, they all want handhelds and smartphones. And the Vita doesn't have all that many great games anyway."
Japan isn't as handheld-centric as you may think, this is evidenced by how quickly PS4 pre-orders disappeared (first batch in one hour, second in 26 minutes). The main thing holding the Vita TV back is the fact that no new game has been released since God Eater 2 which launched alongside it.
The Vita has a plethora of good games, especially in Japan, it's all just a matter of what you prefer.
I think the PS Vita TV would do great in the west and they probably should have done a worldwide release.
My opinion is that its a niche product and will only sell in quantities reflecting that. No matter what market. I doubt it cost sony much to produce so really no harm done. Great to see vita numbers stabilizing
@eLarkos What you said. All of it. Thanks!
More importantly, the Vita TV ought to be incredibly cheap for Sony to produce. No screen (the most expensive part of the Vita), no controls or touch pad. Just the internals in a box, ethernet, and a DualShock 3. I doubt Sony are worrying about costs too much.
@RawShark To be fair PSP Go was terrible, high priced downloads and no access to physical format whatsoever. PSN was also pretty basic back then and people were not as into digital as they are now, it was doomed to fail from the get go.
I can easily see this selling very well in the West as part of a ps4 bunduru.
Why they thought it'd be a good idea to launch this in Japan rather than the west is beyond me.
@Emblem Oh yeah no arguments there. The only defence I can give it is that with Smart Phones being on the rise at that time it wasn't a bad idea to test the waters by developing a mutant PSP (and that stupid Xperia play thing - remember that?) As with most mutants it was a wretched deformity rather than a super-human with laser eyes, but Sony were able to take the experience and learn from the mistakes to make the Vita all the better. And sales be damned I still maintain the Vita is the best handheld gaming option on the market today.
Oké vita tv was never going to sell in japan. But the vita is doing great in Japan! Vita tv and the new vita in the west will sell better.
I'd definitely buy at least one. Idk what people are looking for if it's not playing MHFU and MGS:PW at 1080p with a rumbling DS3, let alone freaking KZ or SS or any Vita game.
I guess Vita TV didn't make that much of an impact. I wonder where the Vita will go from here...
@DarkwingLz Well, if you look it vita. It stays steady at 20 K sold per week. Not good but also not bad.
@DarkwingLz
Vita is pretty much dead. It has a great library but it lacks the system seller like a GTA for the West or Monster Hunter in Japan. There was a chance the Japanese market could save the Vita but with MH being on 3DS along with those awesome first party Nintendo games, it's really just a matter of how long Sony wants to keep the Vita on life support. Just dropping the system will look bad but this thing is going to sell maybe 8 mil lifetime if lucky.
Japan doesn't seem like the place that would have the biggest market for a device like Vita TV. Considering how portable-centric they are. Plus, the PS4 isn't out there yet, getting rid of a major selling point.
With the price point the same as a Roku box over here, I can see Vita TV doing well in the US if marketed correctly.
Vita TV is a great concept and works for some titles, however Tearaway need to be play on PS Vita
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