Soul Sacrifice launch boosts Japanese Vita sales above 3DS

Keiji Inafune's violent Vita-exclusive Soul Sacrifice has boosted the handheld's hardware numbers above 3DS.

More than 105,000 copies of Soul Sacrifice were sold in Japan last week, Famitsu reported (thanks, NeoGAF).

Last week, Vita hardware sales skyrocketed after the handheld's price cut. Seven days later, Sony's machine has maintained this performance. It even increased its numbers slightly to 61,152 units sold, around 1000 more than the 3DS.

We can't remember the last time Vita outsold 3DS. Nintendo's machine has been selling like gangbusters ever since its summer 2011 price cut.

But while the 3DS continues to post good numbers (and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon lies on the horizon to help Nintendo recapture the lead), it was another entirely dismal week for Wii U.

The struggling home console again sank beneath 10,000 sales. It sold 9454 units, about half the aging PSP's 18,023. As in the UK, there's no sign of any Wii U software in the chart and no new releases on the immediate horizon. Japan gets Game & Wario on 28th March, the same day as Lego City Undercover arrives in Europe. After that, it's another wait until the next big release.