Japan PlayStation Vita sales at lowest ever weekly total

By Tom Phillips Published 15 February, 2012

Although Gravity Rush Vita makes a splash.

PlayStation Vita has floundered to its lowest ever week of hardware sales in Japan, according to new figures from chart company Media Create (via NeoGAF).

Sony sold just 13,939 Vita units from 6th to 12th February, despite the release of new Vita exclusive Gravity Daze.

Sony-developed Gravity Daze still managed to perform well, however. It secured second spot in the software chart with decent sales of 43,462 copies.

Vita's hardware numbers were low enough that it slipped back below weekly sales of the PSP. Vita's years-old portable predecessor shifted 15,860 hardware units, while new PSP game Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki claimed the software chart's top spot.

The PSP continues to be popular as it remains a well-supported platform, Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida explained this week to Venture Beat. "Looking very objectively at the market situation there in Japan, especially on the portable, PSP is still very popular. You can see, when you see the new software calendars, every month publishers are launching good product, new products on PSP.

"And also, they're still announcing new products coming later this year. PSP is still very alive, still a viable business platform for third-party publishers."

Too popular, perhaps?

Sales of Nintendo's previous handhelds have flatlined since the 3DS launched. Nintendo's portable pumped out another 67,558 units over the same weekly period, out-selling the rest of the console chart combined.

Japanese hardware chart 6-12th February

  1. 3DS - 67,558
  2. PS3 - 22,002
  3. PSP - 15,860
  4. Vita - 13,939
  5. Wii - 8,206
  6. PS2 - 1,239
  7. Xbox 360 - 1,139
  8. DSi LL - 957
  9. DSi - 651

Japanese hardware chart 6-12th February

  1. [PSP] Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki - 61.784
  2. [PSV] Gravity Rush - 43.462
  3. [3DS] Resident Evil: Revelations - 26.106
  4. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 - 23.758
  5. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G - 21.318
  6. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land - 19.673
  7. [PS3] Gran Turismo 5 Spec II - 12.613
  8. [PS3] Armored Core V - 11.673
  9. [PSV] Ragnarok Odyssey - 8.117
  10. [WII] Just Dance Wii - 7.896
  11. [PS3] Soul Calibur V - 7.519
  12. [PSP] PhotoKano - 7.361
  13. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go: Shine / Dark - 7.099
  14. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (PSP the Best) - 5.955
  15. [3DS] Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure - 5.888
  16. [WII] Wii Sports Resort with Remote Plus - 5.867
  17. [WII] Mario Kart Wii - 5.527
  18. [PS3] Dragon Age II - 5.308
  19. [PSP] Vitamin X: Detective B6 - 5.073
  20. [WII] Wii Party - 4.654
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 3 months ago

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

  • HerrQwerty #1 3 months ago

    But me and all my friends bought one! This makes no sense! I need to sit down, my head hurts...............

  • NotSoSlim #2 3 months ago

    Give me a Gravity Rush release date dammit. Dont give two hoots about console sales just give me a date

  • Gojiratron #3 3 months ago

    Look at the ol' PS2 go!

  • onezeonx #4 3 months ago

    Queue all the vita haters......

  • MoGamer2006 #5 3 months ago

    It's 'Cue', but kudos for the spelling.

    And here's the hate: Looks like Vita should've been named Morta!

  • TipTop #6 3 months ago

    Not a major story judging by the other platforms. 3DS still pulls from Monster Hunter. Would love to understand the obsession with MH to be honest but thats for another comments thread. Vita will need a major release for the Japanese audience soon.
    Edited by TipTop at 15/02/12 @ 17:15

  • MoGamer2006 #7 3 months ago

    I know Vita apologists like to write off the success of the 3DS as a weird blip caused by MH3, but that's clearly not the full story - MH3 has helped, but MK7 and Mario 3DLand have also contributed massively. And with new software like Resi Revelations, the software library for the 3DS is starting to look pretty impressive.

  • NathanMc2 #8 3 months ago

    Really a sad story for Sony. I rwckon we are soon in for a price drop!

  • CallousB #9 3 months ago

    Sony better have some big "to be announced" games due soon..otherwise Vita is going to have a miserable spring/summer in Japan.

    I'm sure it'll get a big boost from a Monster Hunter at the end of the year..but if Sony don't do something soon they risk publishers pushing projects back until sales pick up (which happened with a number of 3DS games).

  • roz123 #10 3 months ago

    Good to see Resident Evil Revelations selling well, its a very good game.

  • Whitster #11 3 months ago

    @NathanMc2 we should probably wait on the western sales befor making predictions like that.

  • abigsmurf #12 3 months ago

    Good sales for Gravity Rush, nice to see. So long as Vita games chalk up respectable sales, developers will develop for it and sales will come with the system sellers.

    The 3DS really struggled to get its games charting until Mario and Monster Hunter hit the console.

  • roz123 #13 3 months ago

    I agree sales of Gravity Rush are good considering the small install base but plenty of 3DS games charted before Mario and Monster hunter

  • Snake_2011 #14 3 months ago

    wow playstaton brand is on fire poor 360 got done by the PS2.

  • BigDannyH #15 3 months ago

    Not filling me with hope (I've already pre-ordered the Vita) but it's still short term at the moment. Plenty of time to go.

    While units wise it's still not blowing the opposition apart, in terms of money spent it's not as far off the 3DS as it might look, especially when you add in the additional hit of a memory card. Still significantly lower though, momentum is with the 3DS which Sony should be looking to address.

    Higher sales of the PSP, while surprising, still just contribute to Sony's profits. I imagine the money will be re-invested into the Vita as they won't be bringing out another version of the PSP. 3DS's backwards compatibility pretty much killed the DS, would be slightly ironic if the PSP's continued love hurt the Vita.

    I wonder how the UK and US charts will compare in a couple of months? PSP won't be anywhere but 3DS - Vita comparison will be interesting.

  • BigHal #16 3 months ago

    Japanese HW sales always follow major releases - more so than over in the west. Release MH there and for sure Vita will do very well. Of course one game on its own will not do but the launch line up is geared towards western tastes at the moment and they need to redress ASAP.

    By the way I'm not saying it will just overtake 3DS owing to a few releases because Nintendo are not short of gems.

    Anyway, enough about sales. I have a vita on pre-order and I can't wait.

  • mr2ange #17 3 months ago

    Lowest ever in 9 whole weeks... wow... barely news...

  • slowbots #18 3 months ago

    Vita = Dead

  • X3Entente #19 3 months ago

    call it schadenfreude, but im really enjoying this :)

  • Goffee #20 3 months ago

    In the scale of its 6-8 year lifespan, I'm sure Sony aren't bricking it. At this rate it will still have sold 45 million in Japan alone by then... and this is before a Monster Hunter game is announced.
    Edited by Goffee at 15/02/12 @ 21:39

  • spazmo #21 3 months ago

    A monster Hunter game has been announced.

    For the 3DS. /Iwatalaughs

  • Number1Laing #22 3 months ago

    @Goffee huh? At the rate they are going they'd be lucky to crack 10 million in 6 years.

    Monster Hunter is going to 3DS. A new one has already been announced. Sony does not have that franchise anymore. They need something else.

    I have to say - I really like the hardware and want Sony to succeed but this is not looking good right now.

  • beelzebozo #23 3 months ago

    I've played on a Vita a couple of times and I think its a great bit of kit. However, there is a small part of the 3DS ambassador in me that is smirking over this. I think I read that the 3DS was a flop and that Vita would crush it too many times over the summer last year.

  • menage #24 3 months ago

    Needs more monster hunter.

  • onezeonx #25 3 months ago

    @slowbots idiot....

  • NotSoSlim #26 3 months ago

    <quote>Number1Laing wrote:
    @Goffee huh? At the rate they are going they'd be lucky to crack 10 million in 6 years.

    Monster Hunter is going to 3DS. A new one has already been announced. Sony does not have that franchise anymore. They need something else.

    I have to say - I really like the hardware and want Sony to succeed but this is not looking good right now.</quote>

    Vita is getting a Monster Hunter so dont see your point really. It will have its own features to make it different to 3ds version. Both games will sell

  • gooner77 #27 3 months ago

    am almost tempted by the vita but early adopters always get screwed. i'll wait till the end of the year and see how its doing then

  • Number1Laing #28 3 months ago

    @NotSoSlim There's been a bunch of rumors, and some non-Capcom people talking about an unnamed version of the game "coming soon" to Vita, but that's about it. As opposed to the actual games that exist and are announced on 3DS.

    Now. I'd be surprised if a Monster Hunter did not come out for the Vita at some point. But it's not an exclusive anymore, and as such has lost much of its cachet as a driver of system sales. People who want Monster Hunter already know what system it is definitely coming out and it's not the Vita.

    Sony needs another big game.

  • aphex187 #29 3 months ago

    The XBOX 360 failed miserably over in Japan in terms of hardware sales yet it is one of the best selling consoles in the last 6 years. Just because Japan is going through a weird transition in how well games machines are selling doesn't mean the rest of the world is going to be the same....

  • Mono_X #30 3 months ago

    @aphex187
    Fair enough, but the difference is that the 360 was never going to be big in Japan, but it had massive success in the US.

    But Japan has been the strongest market for the PSP. So if that's also the case for the PSV, then it does not bode well for the PSV elsewhere.

    However it is still far too early to make any meaningful predictions about the PSV's long term success. The 3DS being the case in point.

  • spunkythefunkymunkey #31 3 months ago

    Nice Vita hating headline, lets be honest here, the real headline is "Xbox 360 outsold by PS2!"

  • roz123 #32 3 months ago

    True but japan is a market where handhelds thrive and the current Vita sales are apparently worse then PSPs lowest ever (which was a week before PSP2000 was released). there is also news that 3 of Australias biggest retailers are not stocking it (big w, target and kmart) you have to worry.

    I read some good opinions about why this is happening, the DS had shite 3D graphics so the PSP accommodated those games like MH and GTA. Vita has no major advantage like this over the 3DS despite it's extra horsepower.

  • penhalion #33 3 months ago

    And now we know why game are willing to take a trade of a 3DS and sell you a vita for 99 quid (yes I'm getting one and maybe even the 3g one to boot).

    My 3DS is gathering dust but, has that bloody ambassidor program so I'm pained to part with it. weighing everything out though I don't use the danged thing and had all the ambassador program games on my ds. I'm also sure that there will be a 3DS lite with a second analog real soon (say end of this year in all likelyhood if previous itterations are to be believed) so what do I loose by getting rid of this one.

    still.........
    Edited by penhalion at 16/02/12 @ 01:55

  • ilmaestro #34 3 months ago

    Possibly should have made more of an effort to make PSP games more easily playable on the Vita? Or at least got a new MonHun lined up sooner.

  • Prezer0 #35 3 months ago

    I'm glad the Vita sales are at lowest ever! There prices are waaaay too high.

  • alcides #36 3 months ago

    360 less popular than PS2, wtf?

  • Turfschipper #37 3 months ago

    If they make the web browser as fast as a an high end smartphone, i am buying.

    But at the moment the browser is useless.

  • coolbritannia #38 3 months ago

    Another Sony victory.

    /muahahaha

  • Qwarky #39 3 months ago

    Well the previous DS sales flatlining after the 3DS launch is not that surprising. There's new PSP games being released (and at the the top of charts there), and with the Vita not being UMD compatible, of course the PSP is still going to sell, while the 3DS will play DS games.

  • Retro_ #40 3 months ago

    MH on the Vita would make all the difference, I be Sony are throwing money at NAMCO right now... with a begging letter!

  • Retro_ #41 3 months ago

    @Prezer0 based on what exactly? The 3DS is cheap because it's a cheap piece of equipment, Vita is basically an iTouch with proper controls and arguably a nicer screen with four times the CPU/GPU power makingit a very viable handheld console. So, no, the price is right for right now.

  • cynical #42 3 months ago

    @Turfschipper There was an update to the ps3 browser recently that made it usable, I think its the same as the vita one so maybe it won't be too bad. Would be nice if i didnt have to change devices to check eurogamer ;)

  • MoGamer2006 #43 3 months ago

    @Retro_

    Sony throwing money at Namco to get MH on the Vita? Wouldn't get them very far, but I'm sure Namco would like the cash!

  • Prezer0 #44 3 months ago

    @Retro_ I'm not basing it on anything I'm just saying the prices are waaaay too high.