When Sony dropped the price on the Vita in Japan from ¥24,980 to ¥19,980, it was clear they were trying to stimulate demand for their struggling handheld, as it was routinely getting stomped by the Nintendo 3DS in its own market. In fact, the only time I remember it keeping pace was during the release week of Persona 4 Golden. That price drop went into effect on the 28th of last month.
It looks like we’ll see a big change when we get the sales numbers for the week post price-drop. Hiroshi Kawano, Sony Online Entertainment’s president, said yesterday that sales numbers for the Vita have nearly quadrupled. Even if Kawano is referring solely to the week before in comparison where Vita sales would have certainly been less, Sony has to see this as a good thing. Even when quadrupled, it’d be getting outsold almost 2 to 1 by the 3DS, but it certainly would give them a chance to make a dent where they’ve had little traction until now.
One has to wonder if similar results could be achieved in the west… but that’s a story for another time.
