Vita sales beat expectations the week approaching Christmas day at 202,271; selling over 18% from the previous week as opposed to the 7% prediction. This is the second time the system has sold over 200k since its launches in both Japan and the rest of the world, the first being black friday.
The system has passed its first year since launching in Japan. Despite decent launch numbers, the Vita has been plagued with low sales and an apprehensive market. In one year it managed to only sell 3,941,112 units. Less than half of that of its big brother, the PSP. Finishing the year next week the Vita will have an install base of over 4 million which might make publishers still consider it launch hardware when determining what, if any software to put on the device.
Amid the bumps, the Vita is still an impressive handheld device with tons of potential. The firmware updates, PS Plus integration, and Cross-buy are some of the great highlight features of this past year. Now that the system has tasted a full fledged holiday season, maybe its bad days are behind it, or perhaps the undetermined price drop next year will swing things in its favor. Sony, no doubt, hopes that to be the case as it has struggled up a slippery slope when it comes to market presence for their new toy. Perhaps the increased word of mouth from those lucky enough to have unwrapped the system this past Christmas will help Sony find their stride.
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
