Sony Sells 321,000 PS Vitas in Two Days
First day sales for Sony's PS Vita are in.
Sony's PlayStation Vita was first unveiled almost a year ago, back in January of this year, and the device wasn't given a price or estimated launch until June, at E3. Though the waiting game is never fun, it does give the company time to drum up excitement for a more successful launch. So, how did Sony do? Well, we already know there were some moderate queues at stores around Japan, but that doesn't guarantee success. The real question is how many units did Sony sell?
Reuters points to data from research firm Enterbrain in reporting that Sony sold just over 320,000 PS Vitas in its first 48 hours of availability. This is about 50,000 fewer than Nintendo managed to shift with the 3DS's first days of availability. Nintendo's 3DS launched in Japan in February of this year to strong sales but things soon slowed to a point where Nintendo was forced to cut the price of the device significantly to give sales a boost. Sony is no doubt crossing its fingers it manages to avoid a similar scenario with the PS Vita.
The PS Vita hit Japanese shelves on Saturday, December 17. However, the company has already been forced to issue a software update and an apology to early adopters after some users reported issues with the device locking up and freezing. The company said in a statement to its Japanese users that its information center for PS Vita, as well as its usual customer service center, was receiving 'many inquiries' and apologized if users' phones weren't connecting right away. The device is scheduled for launch in the United States and Europe in late February, and it's likely this issue will have been completely resolved long before then, so the chances that this will have any impact on you (if you decide to get a Vita) are slim.
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Handheld console is now a dying genre...unless it involves something really new (and good, not gimmick like Nintendo 3DS), it'll have a hard time competing with smartphones, which is just about as powerful as a dedicated console...why want to pay again for another handheld and carry more gadgets around?
To survive handheld consoles need to change their business strategy, 1) App download is the way to go 2) Cheap software...forget about USD50 games retail disc/media...EVER...they'll need to make it back in volume or earn extra via levels upgrade etc.
If not, the handheld console is definitely going to fall. But i see the PS VITA will probably do better than the DS...at least it's less gimmick and has some new control method...which might or might not work.
So, the first buyers had to update their units as soon as they bought them in order to have a fully working unit? You'd think they would have learned from their PS3 launch that this makes for a bad debut.
Let Japan users beta fix the bugs
Definitely buying on first day release here in NA.
having worked at SCEA i can assure everyone that any new product is not ever finished upon release. i bought NFL sunday ticket from the PS3 store, it didn't fully work for 2 weeks.
Man, Sony is apologizing so fast these times. Must have learned from experience...
Handheld console is now a dying genre...unless it involves something really new (and good, not gimmick like Nintendo 3DS), it'll have a hard time competing with smartphones, which is just about as powerful as a dedicated console...why want to pay again for another handheld and carry more gadgets around?To survive handheld consoles need to change their business strategy, 1) App download is the way to go 2) Cheap software...forget about USD50 games retail disc/media...EVER...they'll need to make it back in volume or earn extra via levels upgrade etc.If not, the handheld console is definitely going to fall. But i see the PS VITA will probably do better than the DS...at least it's less gimmick and has some new control method...which might or might not work.
Handheld gaming isn't going anywhere, cell phones have neither the control scheme, nor reliable enough platform (differences in memory, graphics etc.) to compete. The people buying mobile games are a total different demographic than the people that want to play full fledged games on a handheld. The games are rarely 50 bucks either, more like 30-40$ and I believe that the Vita does support downloadable games.
Unless Sony quickly beefed up their game library, Vita could end up the way 3DS does. Sony and Nintendo seem to forget that the games sells the console, not the other way around.
Handheld gaming isn't going anywhere, cell phones have neither the control scheme, nor reliable enough platform (differences in memory, graphics etc.) to compete. The people buying mobile games are a total different demographic than the people that want to play full fledged games on a handheld. The games are rarely 50 bucks either, more like 30-40$ and I believe that the Vita does support downloadable games.
Agreed. People don't buy phones to play games. They buy phones, and the game apps come as a bonus. If the Vita can somehow be connected to a carrier to be used as a phone, I would have no need for my phone I have now.
Handheld console is now a dying genre...unless it involves something really new (and good, not gimmick like Nintendo 3DS), it'll have a hard time competing with smartphones, which is just about as powerful as a dedicated console...why want to pay again for another handheld and carry more gadgets around?To survive handheld consoles need to change their business strategy, 1) App download is the way to go 2) Cheap software...forget about USD50 games retail disc/media...EVER...they'll need to make it back in volume or earn extra via levels upgrade etc.If not, the handheld console is definitely going to fall. But i see the PS VITA will probably do better than the DS...at least it's less gimmick and has some new control method...which might or might not work.
apps are for the most part, absolute crap. but the sony store has games that are cheap, but are also well worth the asking price.
the vita and even the 3ds are FAR better for games than any cellphone, as touch screen controls, while can be decent, suck for the majority of games, where an analogue stick and buttons would be such a better option.
if the uncharted game is as good as it looks, they deserve to cost 40-50$
if a 3ds game can pull me in for 80+ hours, i dont care if the graphics aren't the best
i cant name one ios game that i have played that didn't feel like i wasted money... and yes i have played infinity blade, and while its...ok (touch controls are spotty, but that may just be the ipad i was using) its a 20 minute game... its pretty but so not worth the price... about the only game i may like on the ios is simcity, but i cant bring myself to buy it because of ever other ios game being a waste of money, and i don't have an infinite disposable income.
Unless Sony quickly beefed up their game library, Vita could end up the way 3DS does. Sony and Nintendo seem to forget that the games sells the console, not the other way around.
exactly. its sad the 3ds fell in price so fast when just 1 system seller game would have made up for the lack of sales. but this is a early report, wait 2 months, and than 6, if games come out that are REALLY good, and the systems still fails to sell, something is wrong.
Agreed. People don't buy phones to play games. They buy phones, and the game apps come as a bonus. If the Vita can somehow be connected to a carrier to be used as a phone, I would have no need for my phone I have now.
the iphone, and any smart phone, want to have a word with you... you remember how they stoped talking about how you can make a phone call on them... right?
PlayStation Vita is well equipped with an intuitive touch interface, wide range of 24 games, impressive graphics, wireless connectivity and much more.....
http://mirolta.com/2011/12/21/sony [...] -two-days/
Handheld console is now a dying genre...unless it involves something really new (and good, not gimmick like Nintendo 3DS), it'll have a hard time competing with smartphones, which is just about as powerful as a dedicated console... ~~
Er... No. The same reason I bought a Wii for my son is why I will buy a portable game unit rather than a $400 phone.
The form factor of smart phones sucks for many types of games. The battery life on a phone gets sapped out from the games and then it's useless for a phone. I played angry birds on my android and hat simple game kills the battery, I'd play it tethered to an ad adapter. Not fun.
A $100~130 game boy ds works great for kids... Not something many adults are interested in.
Moving 320k units in a sluggish economy of Japan is quite good, I think.