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This Week In Sales: PlayStation Vita Makes Its Debut

By Ishaan . December 21, 2011 . 12:01pm

Period: The week of December 12th – December 18th (2011)

Top-seller: Final Fantasy XIII-2 – 524,217

Nintendo 3DS sales: 367,691 | Total sales: 3,601,990

PlayStation Vita sales: 324,859

The PlayStation Vita released in Japan this past weekend. In its first two days on shelves, it sold 324,859 units, but was unable to surpass 3DS sales — boosted by a strong line-up of popular titles — during the same week. The two top-selling Vita games at launch were:

#7 Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational – 61,412 copies

#8 Uncharted: Golden Abyss – 48,224 copies

Here’s a quick comparison of the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS launches, comparing both hardware sales and software that charted during each system’s opening weekend:

Nintendo 3DS	Sales	PlayStation Vita	Sales
Hardware	374,764	Hardware	324,859
Layton: Mask of Miracles	119,591	Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational	61,412
Nintendogs + cats	63,213	Uncharted: Golden Abyss	48,224
Samurai Warriors: Chronicles	49,327	Dynasty Warriors Next	29,181
Super Street Fighter IV 3D	44,649	Lord of Apocalypse	28,742
Ridge Racer 3D	38,226	N/A
Pro Evo Soccer 2011 3D	24,556	N/A

The top-selling game for the week was Final Fantasy XIII-2 on the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version of XIII-2 didn’t show up in the top-20 software sales chart for the week, which isn’t surprising, given the strong competition. You can read more about XIII-2′s performance in this post.

At #2 was Monster Hunter 3G, with another 200,000 copies sold. We expect Monster Hunter 3G, Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land to benefit from the coming holiday week. Thus far, Capcom have shipped 1 million copies of 3G, so it should be interesting to see how long it takes for them to sell through the shipment.

Meanwhile, Inazuma Eleven Go debuted at #3, with 135,000 copies sold. This game will likely benefit from the holiday week as well. While on the subject of the holiday effect, a quick comparison of the chart below with last week’s sales report will illustrate it already working its magic on several popular titles.

The complete top-20 chart is as follows:

Lw	Tw	Title	Weekly Sales	Total Sales	Sys.	Publisher
New	01.	Final Fantasy XIII-2	524,217	New	PS3	Square Enix
01.	02.	Monster Hunter 3G	208,427	730,386	3DS	Capcom
02.	03.	Mario Kart 7	182,418	789,871	3DS	Nintendo
New	04.	Inazuma Eleven Go: Shine/Dark	135,259	New	3DS	Level 5
03.	05.	Super Mario 3D Land	112,533	837,1430	3DS	Nintendo
08.	06.	Kirby’s Return to Dreamland	71,028	398,516	Wii	Nintendo
New	07.	Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational	61,412	New	PSV	Sony
New	08.	Uncharted: Golden Abyss	48,224	New	PSV	Sony
10.	09.	Just Dance Wii	44,021	323,293	Wii	Nintendo
12.	10.	PokéPark 2: Beyond the World	43,829	164,018	Wii	Nintendo
11.	11.	Wii Party	42,632	2,129,236	Wii	Nintendo
06.	12.	Magician’s Quest: The Stylish Wizard	25,068	81,110	DS	Konami
13.	13.	Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games	34,351	64,573	Wii	Nintendo
New	14.	Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru: 11 Hitome no Suspect	33,686	New	PS3	Chunsoft
New	15.	Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend	32,992	New	PS3	Arc System Works
16.	16.	Wii Sports Resort	30,804	734,046	Wii	Nintendo
17.	17.	Taiko no Tatsujin: Definitive Edition	30,046	100,284	Wii	Namco Bandai
New	18.	Dynasty Warriors Next	29,181	New	PS3	Tecmo Koei
New	19.	Lord of Apocalypse	28,742	New	PSV	Square Enix
06.	20.	One Piece: Gigant Battle 2 New World	28,406	207,458	DS	Namco Bandai

Update: We mistakenly listed the PSV version of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift in the top-20 chart. It was actually the PlayStation 3 version. The error has been rectified.

Sales data acquired from 4Gamer, Media-Create and Geimin.net.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jodecideion?feature=mhum TheWon and Only
The Vita lineup seems to be more for a Western Market than Japanese. Also do any one know what happen to Marvel Vs Capcom 3 or Ridge Racer for the Vita. I thought they were going to be launch titles? Still in the end with all the extra accessories you have to buy for the Vita at launch. I don’t see Uncharted being the game that’s going to make them open their wallets. Just look at how Samurai Warriors 3DS out sold Dynasty Warrior Vita. Those games have always sold better on a Sony platform. That Vita needs a killer app right now!

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
What do you mean? Vita sold only a small part less than 3DS did without any software topping 100K units. The advertising employed for Uncharted 3 seemed to interest people there.
I think the larger issue is just timing of the systems release, would any launch line up really compare to the triple threat titles on the other platform, even if there that “killer app”…three to one…

http://www.youtube.com/user/jodecideion?feature=mhum TheWon and Only
You know like I know software moves hardware. The Vita numbers are due to it launching which always bring out first adopters. From now on it’s about what games you have out or coming. That will make people other than loyal Sony brand gamers want to buy it. Uncharted and Hot Shot numbers will be even less that that next week at retail. The timing is this is Christmas, and all sales on all consoles go up some. Even the 360 has seen a slight improve this month. So a new hyped system launching during the month of December. Still can’t out sell a older rival console during that week. Means that people are waiting for better games, a cheaper console price, or no interest due to competition. Sony is not going to cut the price they are already loses a lot of money on the hardware. There are no signs of a Monster Hunter, Kingdom Heart, or Resident Evil coming to the Vita in the near future. Then you have the 3DS who has all those games coming in a matter of months. Things will get worse before the get any better due to that fact. There is no REAL reason to buy a Vita due to no clear cut killer app. The 3DS got lucky because it released against no rival. Unless you want to count the DS, and PSP. This is not a trolling look at the fail Vita post. This is a what the hell was Sony thinking post. They knew what was launching a week before the Vita. The knew Nintendo had plans to release their AAA games during December. Yet the felt that people would buy the Vita because it’s better tech. AKA the pull a PS3 move, and we see how that turned out for them.

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
Hm, Sony could cut the price of the hardware, they probably earn way more and can afford it via the cost of those memory cards which are ultimately huge profit drivers.
I think your posts speaks as if Vita sold like 100K units and that it lacks support from Square Enix and Capcom and that it must only get established series on the system versus new IPs.
Shouldnt you ding its lack of support after the Q1 and Q2 slate of titles are elucidated?

malek86
“Hm, Sony could cut the price of the hardware, they probably earn way more”
Word is that Nintendo is losing money on the current 3DS price, despite its relatively old technology. No way Sony, with its far more powerful console, will make a profit with a price cut. They are probably taking a loss even at the current price (although right now it might be recovered with memory card sales). If they do cut the price, maybe not even the memory cards would save them. Games would, maybe… but remember just how much money Sony lost on the PS3 launch year.
http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
I cant imagine the memory cards profit margin is less than that of the hardware losses they are taking combined with profits from game sales. They have to be banking at least 100$ profit from the 32GB card. Since everyone is forced to buy a card, I would be curious to see if they are still taking a loss from people when buying the unit and card.
malek86
@tristtrist:disqus memory cards profit margins will surely be outrageously high, but $100 is probably too much. The retailer also gets a cut, you know. And not everyone will get a 32GB model. In fact, I have a feeling that the 8GB and 16GB ones will be the most popular models.
http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
“No way Sony, with its far more powerful console, will make a profit with a price cut.”
That’s correct. They plan to start making money on the hardware in three years. I believe that was a quote from Yoshida or Hirai or someone else at the company.
http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
Oh isnt Sony back to losing money on PS3 after the recent price cut? So if so, then Im sure they are alright with taking a hardware loss to increase more units fast, isnt that nintendos reason behind taking the extreme measure?
James Beatty
Sony can’t cut the price much more. The $250 price WAS sony’s preventive price drop, but they didn’t expect nintendo to lower the price by $80 making them lose their edge. I think they are still losing per vita sold, but they are making it up with the memory cards. They might be able lower the price by about $20, but not enough to make a big difference.

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
Neither of those two were in the top-20. We’ll find out where they landed on Friday. Agreed, Vita needs something to sell it post-launch. It doesn’t have the luxury of screwing around for half a year like 3DS did.

malek86
The 3DS didn’t actually have the luxury of half a year of screwing around. Nintendo paid for thinking that, with a 40% price cut.
I wonder if Sony will eventually need to revise its pricing strategy. The PSP was also expensive, but at that point, there were no smartphones or tablets.

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
OK, then let’s rephrase! Sony don’t have as much leeway to be flexible with Vita pricing as Nintendo did with 3DS, and it should be interesting to see what that leads to.
I think the light is going to dawn on a lot of people when they see sales numbers over the next couple of months. I’m personally looking forward to Kingdom Hearts 3D sales most, so we can finally have some sort of direct-ish comparison.

malek86
Of course. Let’s not forget that these PSV launch numbers are also affected by the holidays. The next months will not only see a drop from launch, but also a drop due to the end of the holidays.
I fully expect the PSP to keep outselling the PSV for a long time, unless Sony purposely limits PSP shipments. But they have no reason to do that.

malek86
I always had this vague feeling things weren’t gonna be so easy for Sony.
I’d like to fast-forward six weeks just to see how sales are gonna be then.

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
You speak as if selling 320K units, double the premiere of Sonys entry into portable gaming, for a company lacking a Mario character of legacy, is utterly depressing and a sign that Sony will indubitably falter in the successive weeks.

Solomon_Kano
Reading that… for whatever reason, I lol’d.
These are indeed good numbers, but you also have to note that the system launched during the holiday season. While there’s no way to gauge how much of a boost that gave, it’s certain to have given some kind of boost.
Still great numbers considering the 3DS recently saw 2 Marios and a Monster Hunter, but one has to wonder what it would have sold away from the holiday season.

brian yep
What about Lord of Apocalypse PSP?
I’d thought that would be maybe about double PSV version.
Or does it not released yet?

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
Didn’t chart in the top-20. We’ll find out where it landed when Media Create release their top-50 report on Friday.

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
I guess this shows Vita is a viable competitor in the JPN hardware race. Perhaps 3DS wont have that huge of a lead like DS had.
FF13-2 couldnt crack a million? Guess ToX is a strong rpg which seemed to have a comparable debut, I thought FF was the premiere rpg series?

Altritter
A lot of people were very disappointed with FFXIII, so I’m guessing that had something to do it. But these are still pretty great numbers.
James Beatty
“Perhaps 3DS wont have that huge of a lead like DS had.” …did you read the same thing i did? 324,859 vs 367,691…on the system’s launch. But, then again, the DS did have a massive lead, so in comparison it might not be as big.

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
I do not think the sales indicate that 3DS will be selling at a 2:1 Vita ratio this generation like DS and PSP did (32 mln to 18mln, in JPN).

James Beatty
Well, with the difference in price (approx ~$110) and the fact that it was out 10 months before i don’t find it hard to believe. The cheaper thing sells, that’s a fact. I do think the vita will do better world wide, but the PSP did pretty poorly anywhere other than japan and nintendo seems to have japan in the bad thanks to games like pokemon, love plus, and MH 3G and 4 since those are crazily popular japan

Hraesvelgr
Hasn’t the 3DS actually sold more than the DS had in the same amount of time?

Suicunesol
Something else to consider is that the PSV launched during the holiday season while the 3DS didn’t, yet the 3DS still sold more in the first week. What would the PSV sales have been, for instance, if the Vita launched in March rather than December?
Also, I take it that the numbers from Hot Shots Golf and Uncharted don’t include the digital downloads via PSN right? Those two titles probably sold more than we think.

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
“Also, I take it that the numbers from Hot Shots Golf and Uncharted don’t include the digital downloads via PSN right? Those two titles probably sold more than we think.”
That’s correct. Media Create don’t account for online sales either from download services or from retailers like Amazon.
Tom_Phoenix
Considering how digital distribution isn’t very widespread, chances are good that the ultimate result wouldn’t be all that different even with digital downloads accounted for.
Not to mention that, in the first two days, most people probably didn’t have a chance to access the digital store anyway.

TheMysticalNinja
Looking at the PSV sales, it’s not specatular but no way a disaster. Sony begin to get a foothold and it shall be an interesting year come 2012.

PoweredByHentai
More like PS Vita was only on the shelf for the last 2 days of that week.
That and the pricing strategy of digital versions of Vita games being cheaper than their physical retail counterparts probably played a part in that.

Hraesvelgr
There’s also not that many games that really make it worth owning at the moment.

PoweredByHentai
What? You don’t like Uncharted Golden Abyss, Katamari Damacy no Vita, and Army Corps of Hell?

James Beatty
Well, UC3 is probably a lot better, army corps is pikmin in hell, and katamari….well i can’t say anything about that i guess.
PoweredByHentai
But it is Pikmin that you can play against your friends to decide who is fit to be the King of Hell. :D

TheMysticalNinja
That will change when Dragon’s Crown comes :D

PoweredByHentai
Gravity Daze and Ragnarok Odyssey are the games that people are waiting for.
Ragnarok Odyssey could be the Monster Hunter hit that people want. I’m excited for Ragnarok Odyssey largely because I can now juggle a towering boss or triple-jump to slap the fool down to size.
TheMysticalNinja
I was purely speaking for myself. Not sure about Gravity Daze (I’ll take your word for it) but Ragnarok Odyssey I could see doing well. I don’t think it will be the “Monster Hunter hit” though. Could see it doing as well as God Eater did. And now that I think about it, I think Dragon’s Crown will do really well.
http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
I don’t want to pop any bubbles, but Ragnarok won’t replace or substitute for Monster Hunter. It’s not a question of there being a “Monster Hunter hit that people want”. The Monster Hunter hit people want is already out. They’re buying it.
People aren’t going to buy Vitas and then go, “Oh, I hope there’s a Monster Hunter game on it at some point”. They’re going to buy whatever platform their favourite games are on in the first place.
PoweredByHentai
@Ishaan:disqus In other words, similar to the Call of Duty syndrome of game loyalty?
I’m hoping that enough people pick up Ragnarok Odyssey to pop Monster Hunter’s bubble because MH’s combat mechanics is getting a bit old and could use a refresh like the boss juggling and triple jumping that Ragnarok Odyssey provides.
@TheMysticalNinja:disqus I’m hoping that Ragnarok Odyssey at least takes a sizable chunk out of the Monster Hunter franchise to motivate Capcom to refresh their combat mechanics.
http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
“In other words, similar to the Call of Duty syndrome of game loyalty?”
That’s exactly it. People always throw around the term “software sells hardware,” and this is why. Sure, there are fans of “consoles,” but they’re relatively rare. The vast majority of people are fans of certain games, or just buy whatever games they think look cool. It’s entirely dependent on marketing.
I don’t think Ragnarok is going to make a dent in Monster Hunter, but you may get your wish with Monster Hunter 4, since that seems to be bringing in some changes. :)
TheMysticalNinja
@PoweredByHentai:disqus “I’m hoping that Ragnarok Odyssey at least takes a sizable chunk out of
the Monster Hunter franchise to motivate Capcom to refresh their combat
mechanics.”
Not a chance. Okay 1 per cent chance. But as Ishaan – and you to be fair – pointed out, the “Call of Duty syndrome of game loyalty?” is what will prevent this. Medal of Honor failed with the reboot (oh it sold well, but then became promptly forgotten).
That said, If Ragnarok Odyssey does well enough to start becoming a competitor to Monster Hunter (Look at how there is now a Battlefield vs Modern Warfare debate) it could eventually achive this. But I only see the first game doing as well as God Eater did (which is still pretty damn good). And it can’t be as fail as Lord of Arcana.
I’m really hoping Dragon’s Crown becomes a success globally, even if it’s just cult success.

MarkMario
The cheaper price of the 3DS compared to the Vita probably mattered for some people also.

Hraesvelgr
Launch price for the 3DS was the same price as the wifi Vita when it was first released and people in Japan went out of their way to buy the 3G model instead, so no.

MarkMario
I’m talking about the 3DS (Which is cheaper then the Vita) right now . _ .As in some people would rather not buy a Vita because of the price and just have a 3DS.

Bruce
Hot shots golf ? … I still don’t get you japan ! lol

PoweredByHentai
I tried out Hot Shots Golf (aka Minna no Golf) last Friday at Santa Monica. It is pretty addicting since I sank half an hour into that demo just trying to hole-in-one the courses. >_<

Michael Vincent
Right now, I’m interested to see the sales when it comes to the downloads via PSN. I think there is a different story there with regards to, well, Uncharted and the other PSV games.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremiah-Velasquez/100001627819376 Jeremiah Velasquez
Let’s see if Monster Hunter 3G will do better than Portable 3rd…
Also which Nintendo 3ds game will reach the 1 million copies sold first..

malek86
That would mean it needs to sell more than 4 millions and half copies. Unlikely, especially because MH4 will eventually come out and stop its sales. But maybe MH4 can do it, although that’s still a difficult endeavour (we are talking about the highest-selling 3rd party game ever in Japan!).

Solomon_Kano
Huh. So Drake’s popularity in Japan is just up there. I was surprised to see Uncharted 3 near the top when that came out, but I guess it wasn’t a fluke. Nice.
Is anybody else surprised that the Vita version of Lord of Apocalypse placed rather than the PSP version? I’d have thought the version on the system with a larger install base would sell better, but I guess I was off.

PoweredByHentai
Uncharted (both Drake’s Deception and Golden Abyss) had Harrison Ford promote it. You have the original Indiana Jones play games that are essentially a throwback to the Indiana Jones that we knew and loved and there will obviously be some interest in the games.

Solomon_Kano
Ah, that’s a good point.

thebanditking
Outside of PS2 (which sold 900K in its first week) no JP console launch
has really set the charts a blaze, mostly due to limited stock (to my knowledge even DS only moved 200K) in the past I don’t remember people counting numbers sold but judged success based on a sell out of the initial shipment. 300K+ are fantastic numbers, especially considering the gap in release between Vita and 3DS, plus the 3DS advantages of strong franchises and lower price.
I think this bodes well for Vita (so long as the software continues to come in) as it coming in just under 3DS launch numbers and at a price point the 3DS failed to be viable at and after the 3DS has already taken a lower price point. It shows that consumers see the differences between Vita and 3DS and that 3DS at 250 was not a good price but for Vita, a more powerful device it is (for now) viable.
Honestly I am glad both are doing well as my concern is not Sony vs Nintendo (on the same side imo) but Hanhelds vs Smart Phones, because a portable future that consists of only iOS and Android with devs like Pop Cap and Gameloft is a Hell I want no part of.

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
The problem isn’t the launch sales, though. The launch was always going to sell out of its shipment, regardless of price or games, because launches consist of early tech adopters and brand fans buying the device.
The problem is maintaining those sales, which is a big question mark for Vita at this point, considering that the original PSP sold off the back of Monster Hunter for a large portion of its life. Nothing else on PSP ever even came close to Monster Hunter sales, or to selling PSP hardware the way MH did.
Or, to put it more bluntly, in terms of software that appeals to a very large number of people, Vita has nothing announced for it.

PoweredByHentai
Ragnarok Odyssey might not have the name recognition of Monster Hunter but it is certainly on my list of games to pick up.
Gravity Daze has a demo that will be available next week so that should ring up some interest (it is already on my pre-order list).

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
That’s not the point, though. The point is that both those games likely aren’t going to convince hundreds of thousands of people to run out and buy a Vita. Only established mainstream series can do that, or in a very rare scenario, the breakout of a sudden social phenomenon like Monster Hunter.
The latter isn’t controllable, and there’s a notable lack of the former, at least for the next couple of months.

PoweredByHentai
@Ishaan:disqus While I agree that big name titles are system sellers, it doesn’t explain the situation with the PS2 nor the 360. Neither of those systems had a mainstream title hit the consoles until the 2nd year of their lifespans.
I would say that this is just par for the course to wait for bigger titles to be announced.
http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
Agreed that it’s par for the course to wait for bigger titles, but the 360 had the advantage of being first on the scene. Microsoft were very pro-active when it came to building an audience and negotiating with publishers, and as a result, a lot of games that may otherwise have been PS3 exclusives ended up on 360 as well, which impacted PS3 sales.
It’s also a question of instilling some faith in fans. When 3DS was announced, we knew right from day 1 what games to look forward to. Kingdom Hearts, RE et al were all announced at E3, alongside the system.
So far, the Vita doesn’t seem to have any such major announced for it. Now, I’m sure Sony are working with publishers to try and get a few of these impactful franchises on Vita, but that will take time, and it gives the competition a chance to build up an even greater lead.

OverlordZetta
Give it time. I think Vita numbers might have been a little better if people didn’t also have to worry about memory cards, but that’s still nothing to shake a head at.
darkraiders
If Vita wasn’t able to sell more then 3DS on launch date then i think this is a bad sign for Vita.
And i think sale will only drop from now on like what happened to the 3DS.

http://twitter.com/ZEROthe1st ZEROthefirst
If you actually looked things up the 3ds sales have been increasing due to releases of some anticipated games. Such as Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, and Monster Hunter 3G. Of course there are more great games to come so I can only image that’ll help sales even more.

http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada
I think its difficult to pin down the reason why 3DS sales have rose. A price drop with these three games and in a holiday season, which is the true reason and which will cause sales to remain high throughout q1 2012 and beyond?

PrinceHeir
glad both sides are doing good so far :P

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