Hirai: Vita sales "on the low end of what was expected"

Sony chief executive Kaz Hirai has admitted that the Vita is struggling.

I would say it’s on the low end of what we expected,” Hirai told The Wall Street Journal, although he did add that it’s far too early to judge the machine, adding: Long term is what is important.”

After all, PS3 was derided for the first two years of its life and has grown to become a solid success. With Vita having launched in February 2012, and with less than a year under its belt, the handheld is still very much in its infancy.

However, the turnaround will have to be significant if the machine is to ape the success of its predecessor, the PSP.

Sales are low in every region and with little in the way of notable software on the horizon from either first or third party developers, a price cut seems the only viable route toward a turnaround.

Hirai also had a word of warning for handheld newcomer Shield from Nvidia, observing that there’s a long list of companies that have failed to break into the hardware sector.