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PS Vita sells 300,000 in two days, some broken

The Vita sold twice the original PSP on opening weekend, but fell short of the Nintendo 3DS' first two days in Japan.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

The PS Vita only went on sale in Japan on Saturday, but has already shifted 321,400 units, according to Japanese magazine Famitsu, CVG reports. That's twice the original PSP's sales in its first two days, but falls somewhat short of the Nintendo 3DS, which sold over 370,000 in its first weekend.

All's not going completely smoothly, however. Some videos have surfaced online of early buyers experiencing some issues with their new toys. One posted pictures of stains on the screen, while some couldn't boot up theirs, despite them being fully charged.

Here's a video of just that happening, as spotted by The Verge. Despite plugging it in and pressing every button he can, this unlucky chap can't get his to work.

Sony has posted a software update already. While these issues don't appear to be widespread, and no console launch ever goes completely smoothly, let's hope they're fixed in time for 22 February, when the console reaches the UK.

The PS Vita was subjected to a teardown yesterday, showing off all its innards and revealing quite a chunky battery. Sony posted the full manual online over the weekend, so you can read up on everything you could need to know -- including the fact the Vita is locked to one account, so if you want to access your stuff on someone else's it'll need a full factory reset, as well as your memory card. Bummer.

The Vita will cost £230, or £280 for the 3G-enabled console. While it won't work with multiple accounts, it will stream all your PS3 games, so you can play on your portable while someone else watches TV (albeit with games downscaled to 480x272-pixel resolution).

Excited about the Vita? Or are these niggles the final nail in Sony's portable gaming coffin? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.