The sharp post-launch sales decline of the PlayStation Vita following its late 2011 launch in Japan isn't really that big of a deal.
At least that's according to Sony Computer Entertainment America's hardware marketing director, John Koller. At CES, when
asked by GameSpot whether the drop in sales was of any concern to the company, Koller replied, "No concern at all."
Koller said the current Vita buyers are happy, and that Sony will build upon that good will. "If you look at the word-of-mouth factor, it's really strong because people are bringing it home and really enjoying it," he said.
"That satisfaction rate is really high. But also in terms of when we funnel in additional hardware units, that'll dictate how many sales there are and how many sell through."
Koller added, "We're still in the first couple weeks, and we're trying to get as many units into market as possible. We're going to give it some time, but overall those numbers have been to forecast."
The Vita launched in Japan on December 17 last year, and sold over 320,000 units in its opening week, a very strong start. But the following week, the device sold around 72,000, and the next week in the 40,000 unit range, where they
stand currently. Sony said it sold over 500,000 units to consumers so far.
The Vita is slated to launch in the U.S. on February 22 at $249.99 for the wi-fi model and $299 (plus
data fees) 3G/wi-fi model. The handheld console will launch with 25 games in the U.S.
