Did Vita even have many Japanese style games at launch? Stuff like Uncharted never sells well in Japan so even Uncharted 3 fell off the top 20 in its 2nd week. You need Japanese style stuff to have legs there.
3DS is about to take over Japan. Mario, Mario Kart and Monster Hunter within a month's time. no big game to sell the Vita. a nice price difference. Pokemon coming eventually. Nintendo has done well over there, I'd say.
In Japan, the 360 is essentially just for Idolmaster and console VN ports. Nobody really cares about any of the other games on it. And now with Idolmaster 2 going to PS3, theres little reason for the Japanese to care about it.
Man is PSV gonna be the acronym? Looks too much like PS3 or PSP
But yeah the lowest charting game sold more than half of what the Vita sold, so unless there was a killer app that everyone had to get, then it's not surprising that no games charted. And I don't think there was a killer app for Japan... maybe in the US Uncharted would have been the must-have, but in Japan the sales were probably more spread out across the launch games, or they just didn't buy a game with the console cuz Japan is like that
From: foolm0ron | #016 Man is PSV gonna be the acronym? Looks too much like PS3 or PSP
I've been calling it that since it was announced! And I'm not sure how PSV looks any more like PS3 than PS2 or PSP do. Personally, I think that PSV sounds much better than "Vita."
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It's probably a mix of things -- no system seller (MH, FF), low stock on the WiFi model, and the 3DS having a new Mario, Mario Kart, and Monster Hunter within the past month. Sony mentioned PSN sales are much higher than anticipated, so that could be a factor, along with there being so many launch titles instead of only a few to choose from. Stil rough that no game charted, and the hardware drop was that sharp. In the short term, Vita might end up doing better in the US than Japan.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
The only way PSN sales could be higher than expected is if people in Japan were buying digitally! They didn't mention any numbers, though, so it's hard to say how much of a factor that really is.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
Found a comparison for the Vita and 3DS launches for hardware and software. It's probably missing stuff, but it took the best selling stuff for the first week for both.
3DS - 374,674 Layton: Mask of Miracles - 119,591 Nintendogs + Cats - 63,213 Samurai Warriors Chronicles - 49,327 Super Street Fighter IV 3D - 44,649 Ridge Racer 3D - 38,226 Pro Evo Soccer 2011 3D - 24,556
Vita - 324,859 Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational - 61,412 Uncharted Golden Abyss - 48,224 Dynasty Warriors Next - 29,181 Lord of Apocalypse - 28,742
From: ZFS | #018 Sony mentioned PSN sales are much higher than anticipated, so that could be a factor
Oh yeah, they don't count digital sales. Japan is not a huge fan of DD, though, are they? There are like 10+ million Steam users in the US, and still the general consensus is that DD is the antichrist. I imagine it's worse in Japan where collecting things is pretty huge too.
3DS dropped to 200k on week two. the Vita numbers are during Christmas week which is a huge sales time in Japan. 3DS just had its two biggest weeks of its life, for example.
Well, people might care less about the Vita being disappointing because Sony's handheld efforts were always second-fiddle to Nintendo. A potential Nintendo collapse in the handheld market really COULD kill them.
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foolm0ron posted... Yeah, Nintendo is supposed to be THE handheld market. If the 3DS doesn't at least quintuple the Vita, it will be seen as a failure.
Is DS a failure in Japan since it couldn't even double PSP?
Vita stock sold slower than expected. I think the hype in Japan outpaced the actual sales. in a way it's like what happened with PS3. Vita's launch week was fine but getting sextupled by 3DS in week two is not good unless there's a complete shortage and the software suggests that it's not just the hardware that's struggling.
Vita will be fine if it gets a game that's worthwhile. problem is that there's nothing on the horizon that's getting people excited. even the 3DS launch had Layton 5.
I swear early on people were yelling that Vita would do what PSP couldn't and actually compete with the 3DS, then the closer we got to the launch window, the more people went lol no.
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People were for some reason, despite the fact that we did this same song and dance with the psp. You can still find people who think that the 3ds is a failure though. Give it 3 months and they'll be gone too. System is on its way to rival the ds.
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The King Wang. Listen up Urinal Cake. I already have something that tells me if I'm too drunk when I pee on it: My friends. - Colbert.
In a month's time, the Vita could realistically be selling well under 50k/week. That means it's approaching "dead" status in Japan, with no system selling exclusives (for Japan) on the horizon. Sony needs to do something about that pronto, considering Japan was where the PSP prospered. But at the same time, they've got to prepare for the Vita's western launch, which will be up against a resurgent 3DS with consistent software support at a significantly lower price (since they're already selling at a loss, I doubt lowering theirs is an option, at least until costs drop). 2012 is going to be a rough year for the Vita, and I think Sony will need to work very hard to get the big third parties they need on board.
Of course, at the same time, Sony's surely preparing for the launch of the next console gen, desperate to avoid starting badly and losing money trying to fight back again.
Good luck!
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swordz9 posted... Found a comparison for the Vita and 3DS launches for hardware and software. It's probably missing stuff, but it took the best selling stuff for the first week for both.
3DS - 374,674 Layton: Mask of Miracles - 119,591 Nintendogs + Cats - 63,213 Samurai Warriors Chronicles - 49,327 Super Street Fighter IV 3D - 44,649 Ridge Racer 3D - 38,226 Pro Evo Soccer 2011 3D - 24,556
Vita - 324,859 Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational - 61,412 Uncharted Golden Abyss - 48,224 Dynasty Warriors Next - 29,181 Lord of Apocalypse - 28,742
Vita will be fine on the long run, much like with the 3DS. It won't sell as much as the PSP, in a likelihood, but the handheld market will be smaller overall this gen compared to the last.
As far as people saying Vita would compete, that was before Nintendo decided to lose billions of dollars with an aggressive price cut. The handheld space is a much bigger deal to Nintendo than anyone else, because it's the source of most of their profit. At $250 each, Vita was a no brainer, but at $180 vs. $250 it's obviously trickier.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
What was the last Sony product that wasn't basically stillborn? They seem to do alright eventually.
Come to think of it, there are a few folktales about half-demons who appear to be dead at birth but eventually come to life. Could there be an infernal contingent in Sony R&D?
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nah, people have been saying it afterwards too. hell they took the price cut as meaning nintendo's scared or something, when fact is they weren't scared of the vita as much as they simply wanted to match their expectations set out - the numbers needed to fair competitively against the DS once the system's over. thus, the cut happens to a price point they're familiar with and it instantly flies off shelves. pretty much got to the same situation as DS vs. PSP... except with the DS being seen as a much better value library-wise. might be the system with the best initial year ever in software quality.
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The King Wang. Listen up Urinal Cake. I already have something that tells me if I'm too drunk when I pee on it: My friends. - Colbert.