Sony: Vita Won’t Outsell PSP

The PSP might be a distant memory for some of us, but it sold incredibly well. With well over 70 million units shipped, it remains an important if under-appreciated effort. The PlayStation Vita is way behind that curve, so far behind that even Sony would be surprised if the Vita managed to catch up.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Fergal Gara explained the situation:

Well, we don’t think the Vita’s going to sell as well as PSP, unless we get a very pleasant surprise, so the current assessment will be it has a strong existence and a strong reason for being, but the market it occupies is no longer as big as it was. It entered a wider and more complicated world, and we all know what has happened to portable gaming. It’s got bigger, but it’s permeated many devices. It’s still a superior device, and it offers a better screen experience, so it plays a role for the committed gamer. But also it’s also a very exciting accessory to PlayStation 4, so it has a very different role to other devices. But it may not be as huge as PSP, which sold 75, 80 million units across a number of years.

 There were a lot of people who were certain that such a high-end device would be difficult to market in an era where everybody carries a smartphone (or 3DS), and it appears Sony have long since accepted that maybe those people were in some ways correct. It is an excellent device though, and so long as they keep on supporting it, there’s little need to worry.