PS Vita launch shipments upped

Retailers in Japan will receive 200,000 more units of PlayStation Vita in time for launch, bringing the total shipped to 700,000.

Andriasang reports sources close to Sony that the format holder had originally planned a shipment of 500,000 units, but this has now been raised to cope with pre-order demand.

Two of Japan’s major retailers, Amazon Japan and Yodobashi, previously reported stock shortages after their Vita pre-order allocation dried up in a matter of hours.

Yodobashi and a number of other retailers have since said customers can buy a Vita on day one without a pre-order. The handheld goes on sale in Japan on Saturday, December 17th. It will hit UK shelves on February 22nd 2012.

Sony Japan hired film star Harrison Ford to promote Vita, who appeared in an ad for launch title Uncharted: Golden Abyss.