The Playstation Vita seems to have pulled a Shrodinger’s cat on us, as the console seems to have gone missing from US retailer shelves.
Hardcore Gamer reports that all major retailers they have contacted do not currently have stocks for the console, this includes both online and brick-and-mortar stores. Gamestop has the Borderlands bundle up for preorder, but unavailable until summer.
When asked to comment, Sony gave this statement:
We’re seeing healthy consumer demand for PS Vita globally, particularly in markets like Japan
The U.S. launch of the slimmer and lighter PS Vita has generated strong interest among gamers, and we’re working to replenish supply here to ensure continued momentum leading into the holidays.
Unfortunately, this statement does not quite match what we know has been happening to Vita sales worldwide. Japan does seem to be its strongest market at the moment (currently matching 3DS hardware sales), but for better or worse, that really isn’t saying a lot.
More importantly, we have seen hints that indicate a smaller push for Vita in the US, from dropping the promise of AAA ports, to continuing poor sales of both hardware and software.
Of course, Sony has opted not to talk about or share NPD sales results for the Vita month after month, so we will have to wait for the next official report, within a year, to find out what’s happened within this month for sure.
