Hirai on PS Vita: 'Long term is what is important'

PlayStation Vita sales are coming up short thus far, but Sony Corporation CEO Kaz Hirai is not worried just yet.

“I would say [PS Vita sales are] on the low end of what we expected,” Hirai said to a room of media (reported by The Wall Street Journal) following Sony's 2013 Consumer Electronic Show briefing last night. The executive further noted it can take 5-10 years to know if a product has been successful

Hirai explained that similar questions were asked of the PlayStation 3 early after its launch, but he now views that platform as a success. The PS3 has sold-in (i.e. shipped) more than 70 million units worldwide as of mid-November 2012.

"Long term is what is important," he said.

The PS Vita has sold more than 2.2 million units worldwide since launch 11 months ago. Sony marketing manager John Koller said in October that the PS Vita is "going to be a very good, solid platform for us, one that performs very well."

The PS Vita begins at $250 for a Wi-Fi model, scaling to $300 for a 3G system. Sony has previously squashed rumors of a price cut for the device.