Critics have long been saying that the Playstation Vita’s significant price tag was a major roadblock for potential customers, and they may have been right. Sony recently cut the price in Japan, and it’s seeing some impressive sales numbers as a result. Early reports suggested that sales had “quadrupled,” and now Gematsu is estimating that Vita numbers are up six times.
Even with the bigger than expected increase, Sony’s powerful little handheld isn’t out of the woods yet, but it’s becoming clear that there was, in fact, pent-up demand. There is still no word about a price cut in the West. At this point, you can see a similar trajectory to Nintendo‘s 3Ds, which struggled in the same way until it got a price cut.
Still, the Vita is going to need more games if its going to be a major contender. The library, and release calendar especially, are both looking a little bit thin. These numbers will help assuage fears of a low install base but, there’s still work to do.
Getting more Vitas in consumer’s hands provides an ancillary benefit to Sony: it seeds the ground with potential PS4 customers. Sony is advertising a lot of streaming and other interaction between the Vita and the PS4, so anyone with a Vita has better reason to pick up Sony’s new console in the fall.
