Sony's Hirai puts Vita sales near expectations

I suppose expectations were rather low then.

I put PS3 at 4.2 million for the first 10 months compared to the Vita at 2.7 million for the same time frame with similar launch periods.
And the PSP did 7.0 million in that time frame...also with a similar launch period.

Posted:8 months ago

Come on Kaz, no one believes that. I'm a Vita owner and a Sony fan, but you're selling half what you projected, if that (assuming your reduced but still overly generous sales predictions in your financial report are any indication). Heck, Nintendo thinks it could do better on 3DS sales and they're selling 4-5 times as much per week as you.

Posted:8 months ago

Maybe this is Kaz's way of telling us that something going to change? Why did PS3 start selling? The price eventually dropped.

Posted:8 months ago

As Abraham Lincoln said: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

Posted:8 months ago

It must be really tough to be told to get our there and lie and try to smile whilst doing it. Especially when this guy is bright enough to understand that nobody is being fooled by it. Bless.

Posted:8 months ago

Well I can personally promise one more sale once Tearaway is released.

Posted:8 months ago

I like Kaz Hirai, but I would prefer a bit of honesty about the Vita's struggles and for him to talk about forthcoming software which will encourage users to buy the console. I also think they need to throw a bit more money at Japanese publishers like Capcom to properly support the console, as its much-documented failures in Japan week-on-week are becoming quite the joke.

Seriously, it seems like a no-brainer to get Dark Cloud 3 and Legend of Dragoon 2 on the console to help with sales in Japan. Hell, if it had a Demon's Souls port or sequel I would have to find the money for one. And although I think Crossplay is a great initiative for folk who own both a PS3 and a Vita, it's not the kind of thing which will get people to buy a Vita in my opinion. It needs more completely new games, not pared down ports of PS3 games. It needs more content like Gravity Rush, Tearaway and Soul Survivor. That is what will sell the console. Sony also drastically need to improve their marketing for it.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Terence Gage on 31st August 2012 12:13pm

Posted:8 months ago

I want a Vita, but am unwilling to pay the current price for the console and memory cards. A lot of people are in the same mindset as me!

Posted:8 months ago

Yeah, I agree with that Jamie. I wonder if it's possible in hardware redesigns for Sony to add a slot or add the option to save to an SD card or micro SD card - that would make me much more inclined to invest in the console. I believe they'd veered away from this due to piracy issues, but at the moment you have to wonder whether it would be the lesser of two evils. I've read that there's some reason why we won't see unofficial Vita memory cards, but I wonder if again if Sony could or should revert on that and allow the price of memory to come down a little.

For everything they've done right with the Vita it feels like there's been an equal screw-up elsewhere - sneaking out an update locking memory cards to one system being the latest one; really not the kind of thing which will win Sony fans in any quarters.

Posted:8 months ago

I respect Kaz Hirai and hope he can turn VITA sales around soon. I would like to see SONY shine under his leadership. VITA is a nice piece of hardware, but regarding my financials and priorities, its exageratedly expensive. i dont think SONY's PS3 console would have sold as much as it did had not been for a price drop. id probably drop 300$ for a home console, but never a portable console.

Posted:8 months ago