Given the PS Vita's ability to feature as a controller for the PlayStation 4, as well as its remote play feature, here's some news that should come as no surprise. According to the latest issue of MCV, the sales for Sony's handheld have kicked up since the launch of Sony's next-gen console.
According to the magazine, Vita sales rose by an impressive 68% during the PlayStation 4's first week out in the wild, and 65% the week after.
Expectedly, Sony attributes the handheld's success as a result of the PlayStation 4's arrival, given the aforementioned intermingling abilities of the Vita.
"PS Vita sales wise we are continuing to see strong week-on-week growth since our latest campaign kicked in," said Senior Product Manager Ben Law. "The new TV advert went live this week and we've already seen amazing feedback from PS4 owners on the Remote Play feature, and the success of Tearaway highlights what [a] great proposition PS Vita is, either as a standalone device or as the perfect companion to PS4."
Sony confirmed back in May that remote play would be possible between the Vita and most PS4 games. Since then, Sony has referred to the Vita as "the ultimate companion device," saying, "Remote Play on the PS4 system fully unlocks the PlayStation Vita system's potential...With the PS Vita system, gamers will be able to seamlessly play a range of PS4 titles on the beautiful 5-inch display over Wi-Fi access points in a local area network."
Prior to the apparent symbiotic relationship that's formed between the Vita and PS4, the handheld was in a rough spot. Price cuts helped it along, but wasn't giving the Vita the boost in sales Sony was looking for. About this time last year, sales figures were on the "low end" of what Sony expected.
leading to analyst Michael Pachter declaring the system dead in the water unless more "compelling" software came along.
Sony's handheld currently sells for $200 - $250 depending on the version sold and retailer. A package bundling the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita is currently available in the U.K., but there's no news yet of it possibly coming to North America.
