PlayStation Vita Japan launch sales revealed

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 20 December, 2011

Fails to beat Nintendo 3DS two day figure.

PlayStation Vita sold 321,407 units in its first two days on sale in Japan.

The Enterbrain-collected data, revealed by Japanese magazine Famitsu (via Andriasang) covers sales for Saturday 17th December and Sunday 18th December.

Famitsu notes Vita's opening two day sales failed to beat the Nintendo 3DS' opening two-day sales.

3DS sold 371,326 units over the two-day period 26th February and 27th February in Japan.

The PlayStation Portable sold 166,074 units on launch day in Japan: 12th December 2004.

Last week Japanese media reported that Sony shipped 700,000 Vita units to cover the launch period. Sony has only said it shipped 500,000 units of the 3G/Wi-fi model as a limited edition that includes 100 hours of free 3G access, and expects to sell through this stock quickly.

More sales information is expected later this week when Media Create releases its figures for software and hardware.

Meanwhile, a number of Japanese Vita owners have reported technical issues with their new consoles. Some have even found it freezes, locking them out of the system.

Sony Japan issued a notice to its customers, admitting it had received "many inquiries" to its Vita Information Center. It updated its website with a Q&A for issues frequently encountered by customers, including power cuts, freezing in mid-operation, failure to connect to data service and inability to register a PSN account.

Vita launches in Europe on 22nd February 2012.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Zozzilla #1 5 months ago

    There are always bugs in new hardware that can be ironed out by firmware updates, hopefully by the time it's released over here.

  • Quizmos #2 5 months ago

    Interesting data but I'm still on the fence on which model I will buy in Japan next month to 3G or not to 3G that is the question... I think those limited edition packs will help me make up my mind lol 100 free minuets yes please!!!

  • onyxbox #3 5 months ago

    I bet Monster Hunter 4 (being a 3DS exclusive) has something to do with it... Sony should have bagged that deal.. it would have sealed the deal for Vita in Japan

  • Scrapper #4 5 months ago

    Doomed.

    That's how sales threads usually go, right?

  • RevanNL #5 5 months ago

    Vita is facing an uphill battle without Monster Hunter, that franchise is the reason why the PSP was so succesful in Japan

  • mastablasta #6 5 months ago

    Not looking good for Sony, Howard Stringer will be gone next year.

  • Beano #7 5 months ago

    @onyxbox Is MH4 3DS exclusive or just only announced for 3DS?

    Either way, I'm sure another new MH will arrive on Vita. Capcom likes to milk their franchises (and consumers).

  • menschenfracht #8 5 months ago

    monster hunter 4 was not announced as 3DS exclusive though...

  • Beano #9 5 months ago

    @menschenfracht That was also my impression.

  • betonos #10 5 months ago

    Guys, they are comparing LAUNCH date numbers here (feb for 3ds), so no MH effect is taking place.

  • jonno394 #11 5 months ago

    @betonos I think the effect people are talking about is in the way of the Monster Hunter series currently being attached to the 3DS brand, so the asusmption is fewer people have bought a Vita due to this.

  • Beano #12 5 months ago

    @jonno394 Exactly - Monster Hunter Tri was released on 3DS the week before Vita launch which could have affected sales.
    Edited by Beano at 20/12/11 @ 09:14

  • telboy007 #13 5 months ago

    Will there ever be a console (handheld & home) that won't have problems? Scrap that, electronics in general. I can't think of something I've bought recently that hasn't gone wrong for one reason or another.

  • abigsmurf #14 5 months ago

    The Vita was supply constrained.

    They sold out of Wifi models pretty quickly but there were lots of people who would rather wait than pay the premium for the 3G version.

    *edit*

    Why the downvotes? Pretty much every report I've read says that it was incredibly difficult to find the Wifi model for anyone who hadn't pre-ordered or queued compared to the plentiful 3G model. The figures I've read suggest around a 90% sell out of the Wifi version compared to a 40% sell out of the 3G model.

    It's not too much of a stretch to assume that if they'd had more Wifi units, they would've sold more consoles overall.
    Edited by abigsmurf at 20/12/11 @ 10:44

  • robbiejc85 #15 5 months ago

    Interesting. I suppose not disastrous but hardly popular-culture hit either. Although I will almost certainly get one just for the major Sony franchises, I still fail to see how - despite all Sony's attempts otherwise - they're supposedly making a markedy different product to the PSP, so there's NO way they'll beat the PSPs (very respectable) numbers in this day and age of smart phones.

    Let's look at it - I mean its bigger than the PSP, has console-like graphics, cutting edge tech, new control inputs, a big multimedia-friendly screen and propritary game format. Sound familiar? Except back in 2000-and-whenever, PSP WAS the only real powerhouse.

    The PSVsIt's tech will be overtaken within 18 months by the smartphones 9if not sooner), it's 'app store' won't even make a dent on iOS (and what's the point of a 99p app on a game console?) and the new gen of home consoles will make the graphical bump look as old as the current PSP does now.

  • Beano #16 5 months ago

    It always amuse me when people use the term "propritary game format" as a negative when describing Vita and PSP. DS and 3DS also use a propritary game format but is that a negative?

  • Brutal_Zen #17 5 months ago

    IMHO, those figures does not surprise me. Sony would have needed a miracle to beat the sales of Nintendos 3ds in the first two days. That 3D crap was marketed as if it was some kind of revolution and the Vita doesn't have such a gimmick. I'd rather wait and see the figures in the next few months when sales rely more on software than on hype. The availibility of must have games is where the ps vita will have an edge.

  • Rigu7 #18 5 months ago

    @robbiejc85 But the PS Vita is unashamedly a game console rather than a smartphone. It has buttons. And dual joysticks. And what amounts to game carts. Until another more powerful portable game console with buttons and joysticks appears on the market, Sony's machine will do just fine with its target audience. I look forward to importing my first JRPG in the new year.

  • TonyHarrison #19 5 months ago

    You guys need to remember that when MH4 was announced at Nintendo's pre-TGS conference, that Sony held there's after that, and no announcement was forthcoming. They were even asked about why it wasn't there as well and no answer other than ask Capcom. Seems like a timed exclusive at the least.

    As for these sales, it's a little surprising that the Vita couldn't beat the launch of the 3DS despite having a much higher shipment (Nintendo shipped 400k for the Japanese launch) and releasing at a better time of year, as December sales are normally higher than February sales. First sign of the higher price being a problem?

  • Dizzy #20 5 months ago

    Not a very good start...

  • gruntboy #21 5 months ago

    @Dizzy "Not a very good start..."

    By what measure, exactly?

    {Edit} Or perhaps I should ask - do you mean the sales, or the reported issues? Whichever, my first question stands. :)
    Edited by gruntboy at 20/12/11 @ 11:47

  • Retro_ #22 5 months ago

    Not too bad a start, Just wait till Japan gets a new FF or Dragons Quest etc, sales will go into orbit.

  • bemani247 #23 5 months ago

    @Quizmos but will it accept UK sim cards? my family got me a Wi-fi one to be safe, but if it does, thne i may upgrade

  • drumbaby #24 5 months ago

    Can't really see Vita getting anything other than an HD port of a current Monster Hunter game. Capcom seem content to let that series languish as a slow incremental upgrade of the original PS2 game. Not that I mind, but sometimes I wonder what could have been had they harnessed the power of PS3/ Xbox 360 and really moved the series forward.

  • infoxicated #25 5 months ago

    That's actually sound numbers in comparison to the 3DS considering what Japan has been through since then. If not for the impact of the earthquake, I wonder how well the Vita might have done.

  • Sid-Nice #26 5 months ago

    I hope the European Vita doesn't launch with Issues; The Saturday's advertising the 3DS was enough to put gamers off. The Vita sales are good; the 3DS only managed to sell 350,000 in 7 days this week.

  • Beano #27 5 months ago

    ...the 3DS only managed to sell 350,000 in 7 days this week.
    Only?

  • Serebii #28 5 months ago

    @Sid-Nice 350,000 in 7 days is amazing. Most of the time in good weeks, consoles only sell upwards of 60,000 in a week in Japan
    Edited by Serebii at 20/12/11 @ 14:25

  • higganos #29 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:03 20-12-2011

  • robbiejc85 #30 5 months ago

    @Rigu7 I certainly wasn't questioning its gaming credentials (and I've now read somewhere the Vita doubled PSPs opening sales) just its longevity.

    You're right, many of us Eurogamer readers and their 'traditional' audience will buy it but I bet your bottom dollar it will completely run out of steam quicker than the PSP did - they keep trying to court with the wider tech consumer (otherwise, why bother with the small-app-style platform and dual touch interface??) and there's just so much competition out there. And once again Nintendo have the cheaper end of the market sewn up - even if it is smaller than before.

    My point is, actually I bet there are a lot of core gamers out there who are fairly happy with their future iPads and iPhones which will all out power the Vita in a short space of time.

  • Z101 #31 5 months ago

    By the way: The 3DS sold 380.000 the week before. Probably over half a million in the week of the vita launch.

    The 3DS launch sales in low sales month february was sensational.

    The Vita launch sales in the top-selling month december are more than disappointing. The vita software sales are disastrous.

  • Arwin #32 5 months ago

    Just a small note to those comparing Vita to iOS devices: platforms with varying hardware have some downsides performance wide. You have to program at a higher level, which gives Vita an 4x to 8x (see Epic's comments). You cannot just target the latest hardware - you have to target a big enough user base, not just of owners, but owners that play and buy games. And they can't use too much power all the time, or you're phoneless. Anyway, do some calc and you could easily see that it could take 4-5 years before there are enough fast smartphones. And even then they have more limited controls.

    So while I think iOS stuff, and eventually hopefully Android 4 and even MS phone stuff, is pretty awesome, for me as a half serious gamer Vita is where it's at! Hopefully! ;)

  • andrewsqual #33 5 months ago

    @onyxbox Crapcom said 4 years ago that they weren't going to bother bringing Monster Hunter 3 to PS3 because "we are lazy bastards who couldn't be arsed learning how to program for this new machine and if its not coming to 360 we aren't doing it for PS3 then, obviously". What makes you think in anyway that now on PSVita ( a smaller PS3) that things will be any different? "No we are bringing the next game to the same generation of graphics again with he 3DS because we are douchebags." Sony does not have any say in Crapcom politics.

  • septimus #34 5 months ago

    @robbiejc85 Not sure why you are negged. It's true.

    Though mentioning apple or anything apple related is the touch of death here in comments. It has replaced Sony and the ps3 for general hatred at this place.

    The tech in the Vita will be outdated in a year. Phone technology is where pc technology (gpu's) was in 2001 for leaps in power.

  • TheRealPanda #35 5 months ago

    According to GamersDig they're selling well so far in the past couple days! Can't wait to get my hands on one!