For the first time ever, Sony’s PlayStation Vita narrowly outsold the 3DS in Japan last week with 63,581 units sold (up slightly from 62K sold in the prior week), compared to 61,008 units for Nintendo’s handheld (down from 77K in the prior week). In addition to finally topping Nintendo, this brings weekly PS Vita sales almost up to the level that they were briefly at after Sony launched the handheld back in December 2011.
Undoubtedly, the reason behind the recent rise in PS Vita sales is Sony’s decision to lower the handheld’s price in Japan late last month. However, it should be noted that new software has also played an important part in the recovery, with the Vita posting two debut titles in the top 20 last week; Sony’s Soul Sacrifice at #2 (and a Soul Sacrifice double pack at #10), and Namco Bandi’s Tales of Hearts R at #5. Previously, it was not uncommon for Sony’s handheld to fail to make an appearance in the weekly software charts.
While this is certainly good news for Sony’s PS Vita, which has struggled at retail ever since launching, it remains to be seen if this is a temporary sales spike due to the new software and lower price, or a permanent shift in momentum. As a sales spike the 60K mark is not all that high, however, if this ends up being a weekly average the Vita should be able to stake out a more than sustainable market share in Japan.
Following the PS Vita and 3DS, the PlayStation 3 landed in third place in the hardware sales chart with 19.5K units sold, followed by the PSP with 18K, the Wii U with 9.4K, the Wii with 1.3K, and the Xbox 360 with 738 units sold.
Nintendo’s 3DS claimed the majority of spots on the top 20 software chart with 7 titles, followed by the PlayStation 3 with 6, the Vita with 5, and the PSP with the remaining 2.
For the week ending March 10, 2013, Media Create’s top 20 video game sales in Japan were as follows:
01./00. [PS3] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f (Sega) {2013.03.07} (¥7.329) – 110.229 / NEW
02./00. [PSV] Soul Sacrifice # (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2013.03.07} (¥5.980) – 92.396 / NEW
03./00. [PSP] Uta no Prince-Sama: All Star # (Broccoli) {2013.03.07} (¥6.090) – 67.217 / NEW
04./05. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) – 63.285 / 2.802.940 (-14%)
05./00. [PSV] Tales of Hearts R # (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.07} (¥6.480) – 55.258 / NEW
06./01. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors 8 # (Koei Tecmo) {2013.02.28} (¥7.560) – 46.866 / 250.090 (-77%)
07./00. [PS3] Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft) {2013.03.07} (¥7.770) – 33.281 / NEW
08./02. [3DS] Professor Layton and the Legacy of Civilization A (Level 5) {2013.02.28} (¥5.500) – 30.078 / 160.764 (-77%)
09./10. [3DS] Dragon Quest VII: Fighters of Eden (Square Enix) {2013.02.07} (¥6.090) – 24.045 / 1.159.265 (-49%)
10./00. [PSV] Soul Sacrifice: “United Front” Double Pack (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2013.03.07} (¥7.980) – 22.050 / NEW
11./04. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.02.28} (¥5.800) – 21.915 / 110.302 (-75%)
12./08. [PS3] Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance # (Konami) {2013.02.21} (¥6.980) – 17.833 / 386.908 (-70%)
13./03. [PSV] Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Otome Shoujotachi no Shoumei # (Marvelous AQL) {2013.02.28} (¥6.980) – 17.138 / 111.461 (-82%)
14./00. [3DS] Doraemon: Nobita to Himitsu Dougu Hakubutsukan (FuRyu) {2013.03.07} (¥5.229) – 12.768 / NEW
15./07. [PSV] Phantasy Star Online 2: Special Package (Sega) {2013.02.28} (¥5.229) – 10.031 / 71.258 (-84%)
16./00. [PS3] Crysis 3 (Electronic Arts) {2013.03.07} (¥7.665) – 9.602 / NEW
17./06. [PS3] Macross 30: Ginga o Tsunagu Utagoe # (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.02.28} (¥8.380) – 9.294 / 72.383 (-85%)
18./09. [PSP] Shining Ark (Sega) {2013.02.28} (¥6.279) – 9.161 / 63.999 (-83%)
19./13. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 # (Nintendo) {2012.07.28} (¥4.800) – 8.452 / 1.950.816 (-17%)
20./14. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!) (Capcom) {2012.11.15} (¥3.800) – 8.096 / 252.737 (-12%)
