PS Vita sales continue to slide

Sony’s quite-wonderful looking new gaming handheld, the PS Vita, continues to struggle to sell significantly in Japan, the first territory in which it has been launched.

Despite healthy week one sales of 324,859 units shifted, week five sees that number dropping dramatically to just 18,361, an-almost 95% slump.

Of course, the period directly after Christmas is always a difficult one for any console, and while other handhelds like the Nintendo 3DS and PSP also saw sales decline, their sales were not as sharply affected as those of the Vita. The Nintendo 3DS managed 100,668 units sold in the same week, many months after its initial launch, while Sony must be frankly embarrassed that their own ageing PSP still outsold the Vita at 22,538.

The importance of a successful worldwide launch in February is now paramount for Sony, and with a slew of AAA titles heading out of the wings around the same time, it’s likely figures will soon look more positive.

However, the continued decline of all three major dedicated handheld gaming consoles seems to further the theory that their time has passed, while mobile and tablet gaming’s star is on the rise.

Via: Slash Gear