PlayStation Vita sales fall to 15,000 units, Nintendo 3DS remains top seller

I don't want to cause alarm, but the PlayStation Vita is in a freefall.  After a meager 18,000 units were sold two weeks ago in Japan, PS Vita sale fell to 15,000 units sold for the week of January 16 to January 22.

Last week's Vita sales mark an all-time low for the new handheld system from Sony which had high expectations.  Now, it looks lucky if the PS Vita breaks 20,000.

To be completely fair, the Vita wasn't the only console to see sales decline last week, but given the early hype is is the most scrutinized.  Actually, all platforms saw a drop in sales, including the red hot Nintendo 3DS which saw sales fall to 80,000 units.  Below is the full hardware chart for the week spanning January 9 through 15, with last week's sales numbers in parentheses.

  1. 3DS: 80,960 (100,668)
  2. PS3: 21,155 (30,332)
  3. PSP: 17,181 (22,538)
  4. PSV: 15,219 (18,361)
  5. Wii: 10,173 (14,179)
  6. Xbox 360: 1,519 (1,519)
  7. DSiLL: 1,515 (1,200)
  8. PS2: 903 (766)
  9. DSi: 822 (1,206)

According to Media Create, a little over 500,000 PlayStation Vita units have been sold since it's exclusive release in Japan.  With the official release in the US and Europe still a few weeks away, it looks like the Vita is barely hanging on.  It will be interesting to see if its release in the western markets provide the boost that Sony needs.

Sony admitted a few weeks back that a lot rests on the success of the PlayStation Vita and are supporting it with "the biggest campaign ever".  Currently, the PS Vita is on tour in Europe giving consumers a hands-on experience with the handheld in hopes of sparking interest.  Just last week the Vita was also seen in the brand new Resident Evil Retribution trailer.

Are you planning on purchasing a PlayStation Vita?  We've given our answers, what about yours?

[NeoGAF]