Not meaning offense to anyone - but the PS3, PSP, and 3DS (also the original DS to a certain extent) - had slow starts, and limited libraries - as all consoles do when they launch.
But the Vita's sales over its first five months have made all those platforms first five months look impressive.
Technically, it's not dead.
But it's struggling in a big way - and to deny that would be foolish.
There's plenty of "well this game MIGHT" sell units - but nothing that stands out as a definite system seller on the horizon.
13 months til we can "officially" declare it dead in the water?
Well, you never know, but making projections based on current sales/preorders - only the most optimistic optimists would see things getting much better. I'd be surprised if it doubles it's LTD HW sales in the next 8 months.
But you never know!