The PS Vita continues to struggle overseas, according to the latest weekly sales totals from Japanese firm Media Create. The report, which covers video game sales from April 9 to April 15, showed Sony's handheld in fourth place behind its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable, and the week's big winner, Nintendo's 3DS.
1. Nintendo 3DS: 63,796 (72,115)
2. PlayStation 3: 17,765 (19,370)
3. PlayStation Portable: 13,166 (14,804)
4. PlayStation Vita: 8,250 (8,931)
5. Wii: 6,837 (7,099)
6. Xbox 360: 1,373 (3,764)
7. PlayStation 2: 1,212 (1,355)
8. DSi LL: 800 (793)
9. DSi: 633 (743)
Shifting its focus to actual game sales, Media Create announced Namco's Second Robot Wars Z Saisei Volume for PSP as number one with 20,977 in sales, and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts 3D for 3DS in second place with 18,119. Nintendo's Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS also made a nice showing in third, and Kid Icarus Uprising for 3DS held its own at number five. No PS Vita or Xbox 360 titles were included in the top twenty countdown.
The PS Vita had a strong launch in Japan, but as GR reported in PS Vita Japanese sales continue decline, once more outsold by 3DS and PSP, its success has been tapering off at a steady rate. Judging by NPD's March 2012 US sales report (March 2012 NPD: Mass Effect 3 and Xbox 360 assume control), the PS Vita is also trailing the 3DS; however, the gap is much smaller than it is overseas.
It's still too early to gauge the success of Sony's latest handheld. That said, Sony could do with a strong summer boost.
