PS Vita sells a million on launch week

Update: Sony has just released an official statement on PS Vita sales, below the original story. It announces two million software sales, which is pretty poor at less than two per user and some 70 games in development, which is encouraging, but since Uncharted and FIFA sold 50% of all Vita games last week, they need to be of that brand or quality to succeed and encourage further development.

On the plus side, that's a ballpark £286,800,000 in revenue for Sony based on the UK price which the company badly needs to drive future development and growth.

ORIGINAL STORY

Not sure how accurate the figures are, but VGchartz reckons the Vita sold 1.1 million units in its first week on-sale around the world with 300,000 US sales and 380,000 in Europe (no word on Aussie sales). All of these are fairly low in light of previous console launches, but it is a different world we live in and Sony will have to happy at having a solid base to grow from.

While the next few week's sales will probably decline, Sony's marketing should be kicking in (I've seen the TV advert just once and the logo around the pitch at a Champions League match) and interest will rise as the spring season of games arrives. With two Vita games at the top of the charts, what will be the next system seller?

On the release list, we've got Mortal Kombat, Silent Hill and Persona 4 The Golden lined up but then it looks like a long gap until Resistance Burning Skies and Ruin hit the shelves. What grabs your attention?

SONY PRESS RELEASE

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, today announced that the sales of the PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) portable entertainment system reached over 1.2 million units worldwide as of February 26, 2012.  PS Vita experienced an initial burst of momentum when it launched on December 17, 2011 in Japan followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Newly launched in North and Latin America, Europe and PAL territories as well as in Singapore on February 22, 2012, sales have exceeded expectations surpassing over 1.2 million units worldwide, firmly establishing PS Vita as the must-have portable entertainment device across the world.  Software sales across the globe have surpassed 2.0 million units at both retail and on PlayStation®Network.

"PS Vita was designed to deliver the ultimate portable entertainment experience, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the reaction we're seeing from consumers and the pace at which PS Vita is selling," said Andrew House, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "The market has responded and there is clear demand for a mobile device capable of providing a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context.  To sustain momentum, we're working closely with 3^rd party developers and publishers to ensure the best games and franchises possible will be available on PS Vita, and our software line up for the remainder of 2012 will have something for everyone across the globe."