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With only 400,000 units sold last quarter, PS Vita's global total limps to 2.2 million

Vita being outsold by PSP

With only 400,000 units sold last quarter, PS Vita's global total limps to 2.2 million
As of 30 June – six months after the console's Japanese launch – the PS Vita had sold 2.2 million units worldwide.

German PlayStation executive Uwe Bassendowski first mentioned the figure to Playfront.de, and Joystiq independently verified the numbers through an SCEE representative.

Back in March 2012, Sony pegged worldwide PS Vita sales at 1.8 million, meaning that only 400,000 Vitas were sold in April, May and June 2012.

Elderly relatives

Sony's own hardware sales figures show combined PSP and PS Vita sales at 1.4 million for the first quarter of the company's 2012 financial year.

If it's true that just 400,000 Vitas were sold during that three-month period, then the PSP accounts for one million of Sony's handheld console sales for Q1 FY2012.

In other words, Vita sales are being dwarfed by those of its seven-year-old sibling. The portable remains a strong seller in Japan.

In fact, a look through Sony Computer Entertainment's hardware sales records (which go back to the start of FY2006) shows that quarterly PSP sales have never been as low as Vita sales are now.

A sign of the times?

Of course, the PSP's heyday was a different time – a time when handheld gaming consoles didn't face the same level of competition from smartphones and tablets.

However, a look at the 3DS's performance since launch shows that the Vita is struggling by any measure.

Nintendo's handheld took only three months to reach a global sales tally of roughly 3 million units.
Staff Writer

PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013