CES 2012: PS Vita Sales Have Hit 500K [Sony's Kaz Hirai Announces PS Vita Sales Milestone At CES 2012]

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The PlayStation Vita may be off to a slow start in Japan, but Sony man Kaz Hirai had a trinket of good news to share at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show: the PS Vita, while struggling to find an audience, has still managed to sell 500,000 units. That’s sold, not shipped, mind you, so it looks like the PS Vita is on it’s way to being a hit after all.

With all of the excitement surrounding a new hardware launch, it’s easy to forget that most new systems generally start off slow, especially if they don’t have the software to support them out of the gate. In the PS Vita’s case, it has tons of software (in fact, it has one of the best launch line ups we’ve ever seen), but the problem is that many of its biggest launch games, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, are geared toward a more western market.

As a result, many Japanese consumers are waiting on purchasing a Vita until there are more titles geared toward them. Yes, the PS Vita has been out for weeks and has only managed to sell 500,000 – sales figures the 3DS was able to achieve in just one week during the lead-up to Christmas – but just wait. Once Monster Hunter starts showing up on the PS Vita, sales are going to shoot through the roof.

Sony knows that too, which is why we haven’t seen the company go into panic mode yet. If the PS Vita experiences similarly slow sales in the US and Europe, then Sony can begin worrying. Of course, if Sony cut the price on its handheld to bring it down to something that’s closer to the price of the 3DS, I’m sure we’d see the PS Vita fly off the shelves. However, considering that Nintendo’s price cut was a last-ditch effort to get the 3DS in the hands of consumers before the holiday season, it’s doubtful that we’ll see a price cut on the Vita any time soon.

What do you think? Will the PS Vita experience a jump in sales once it reaches western markets, or will it simply continue on at this slow pace? Head down to the comments section to sounds off and keep it right here for more news from CES 2012!

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