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Posted by: Vito Gesualdi

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Though the PlayStation Vita is an arguably sexier piece of hardware than Nintendo's own 3DS, it seems that the electronics giant has a ways to go to prove themselves in the portable realm, with the Vita's launch weekend sales less impressive than the 3DS's launch, despite the holiday shopping season.

Of the 700,000 Vita units Sony rushed out to market, less than half were sold, just 320,000. This is not an unimpressive number, but definitely nowhere close to the first day sell-outs many retailers expected. Comparatively, the 3DS sold 370,000 units in its first weekend, before tanking like a stone as Nintendo failed to get relevant software onto the shelves.

With both portables boasting roughly similar opening sales numbers, it seems this war will be won by software. Nintendo seems to have squandered the year-long head start they had, with Super Mario 3D Land and Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D being the only noteworthy releases. Meanwhile, Sony has a decent slew of games ready for launch, with Everybody's Golf and Uncharted: Golden Abyss being this weekend's biggest sellers.

Perhaps the biggest decider in this fight will be Capcom, developers of Monster Hunter, one of the biggest portable games in Japan. Monster Hunter sold hundreds of thousands of PSP units, though Capcom has only announced future portable installments for the 3DS. If Sony doesn't get a Monster Hunter game, the future of their impressive handheld could be questionable.

Tags: PS Vita