It's been something of a shaky launch for the PlayStation Vita in Japan. Although Sony moved over 324,000 units in its first few days sales, things have taken a turn for the worse.

During December 19th–25th, only 72,479 units were sold, a drop of around 78 percent, according to reports.

Although a drop in sales is often expected from new consoles after the initial clamour has died down, such a drastic decrease is seldom seen.

The Nintendo 3DS, by contrast, only dropped 44 percent in sales in the week following its initial release.

Sales may have been affected by previous reports of technical issues and glitches with the console. Sony released a statement earlier this month apologising for the bugs, and posted a system update within days of releasing the console.

Compared to other consoles on the market, Sony had poor sales of the Vita in the crucial shopping week before Christmas.

The PlayStation Vita's main competitor, the Nintendo 3DS, sold 482,000 units in the same time period. Even the Vita's predecessor – the PlayStation Portable (PSP) — sold around 100,000 units. The Nintendo 3DS sold around four million units in Japan since it's launch.

Unfortunately, the lacklustre sales are also reflected in the Vita's software, with gaming charts also showing that none of the Vita's launch titles were in the top selling 20 games last week. Most of the top games ranked lower than 40.

Overall the console has sold around 400,000 units so far. Although this initial drop in sales might signal trouble for the Vita, it is too early to comment on its overall success.

The Vita is set to launch in the U.S. and Europe in February next year, giving Sony plenty of time to work through potential issues with the console.

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