As Nintendo's 3DS looks set to pass sales of 1 million in 2012 next week in Japan, so the latest Media Create figures paint a picture of a PS Vita that continues to struggle in its home territory.

Numbers for the week ending 11 March suggest Sony sold 10,041 units, up marginally on the 10,023 units the handheld sold the previous week.

A tale of two handhelds

In contrast, however, Nintendo's 3DS continues to do good business in Japan, with its latest weekly tally hitting 68,951 units sold.

That means Nintendo has sold 960,496 units in 2012 – almost six times as many as PS Vita this year, with Sony having shifted 170,076 units during the same period.

At its current pace, it would take Nintendo under three weeks to sell the same number of 3DS units as PS Vita has sold all year.

Vita's continued struggles come after a well placed source informed PocketGamer.biz that Vita's launch tally in the UK came in at around the 45,000 mark – around one quarter of the figure its predecessor managed.

Worldwide estimates published by VGChartz peg Vita sales to date at 1.4 million, suggesting around 200,000 units have been sold since the end of February.

[source: Andriasang]