320k sold in japan. far cry from 12 million when monster hunter went out with psp. Told you it would break the sales.

During its first week on sale in Japan, PS Vita sold 320 K units. The
sales period tracked was just two days, so hopeful fans thought that
perhaps the first full week would bring good news.

But the second week brought devastation – just 72 K units sold. When Nintendo
launched its latest handheld, the sales of the 3DS declined from 370 K
to 210K over the first two weeks. That drop-off led to a steep further
sales erosion, which forced Nintendo to implement an unusually early and
steep price cut. This cut combined with the launches of big franchises
like Monster Hunter, Super Mario Land and Mario Kart turned the fortunes
of the 3DS around in Japan. The 3DS has now sold more than 4 Million
units in Japan and in the past week it crushed Sony‘s more advanced PS Vita by 484 K vs. 72 K in unit sales.

Sony will likely be forced to cut the price of the PS Vita from
24’000 yen to well below 20’000 yen very soon. The upcoming US launch
could be a true debacle for several reasons. Sony has decided to price
Vita at $250, higher than the Amazon Kindle Fire. The hottest games like
the latest Uncharted are priced at $50, while many other major titles
are $40. The pricing seems delusional in light of the Japanese response
to the PS Vita. The older PSP handheld console has been a bigger hit in
Japan than it has been in the US market. The tablet and iPhone market
penetration rates in America are higher than in Japan – consumers may
well be more reluctant to splurge on expensive, proprietary handheld
consoles. The launch of the Kindle Fire at $200 has changed the US
consumer electronics pricing environment.

I believe Japan could well be the last stronghold of portable game
consoles. Even though the 3DS stumbled badly during its early months,
Nintendo revived the console with a steep price cut and nearly
simultaneous launches of three major franchises near the end of the
year. The 3DS should have been a surefire blockbuster in its domestic
market – the summer softness in Japan may have been an early warning
sign of the coming global portable market malaise. The disastrous second
week of the PS Vita is the second sign. Sony clearly had some anxiety
about the Vita’s launch – it built it massive early support via an
extensive line of launch titles. Despite the fact that Sony’s PSP has
been a big hit in Japan, the PS Vita is foundering badly out of the gate
– the ancient and heavily discounted PSP outsold the brand new Vita by
40% during the Christmas week. Much is now riding on the Vita debut in
the US market in February.

I argued last week
that PS Vita could mark the end of the era of portable game consoles.
There is no doubt that Nintendo’s 3DS is going to sell at least 20
Million units globally over the next couple of years. But the portable
console market may now have entered an age of permanent, slowly
accelerating decline.The true test of the industry is the United States,
where consumers are embracing games designed for smartphones and
tablets. The possible shrinking of the portable game consumer base would
hit the runner-up Sony before Nintendo really gets mauled. The rot sets
in first at the periphery.

Sony has approached the PS Vita launch in America with arrogance,
pricing the console and games high while opting to debut the device
during the slow retail month of February. Mobile app sales more than doubled
during the Christmas of 2011 – solid triple digit volume growth. In the
meanwhile, even in the Japanese heartland of video games, video game
software unit sales are set to decline by double digits in 2011.

Mobile games have traditionally been simple and often very childish – yet slowly but surely, deeper and more sophisticated games are
arriving, chipping at the depth advantage long held by the games
designed for portable consoles. The majority of consumers are not
interested in the 30 to 60-hour epics dominating game charts. The fickle
casual gamers have started their grand migration from portable consoles
to smartphones and tablets. 2012 could well be the first year when we
see the shape of this transition. Early warning signs arrived in 2011.

With the memory card pricing and features removed my friends have all jumped ship to 3ds for them selves and ther kids. we already know ill go where mh is but yes sony did underestimated. I want to know why mh is leaving sony in the dust. buy out? or wtf is it agghhh its driving me nuts! lmao. burn the wall down eden!