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Sony says initial sales "a good start," projecting to sell another 10 million systems in current fiscal year; game division posts loss for the year. 
How well is the PlayStation Vita performing? Sony today announced that the new system has sold 1.8 million units in its lifetime. On top of that, the company is projecting to sell another 10 million units during the current fiscal year.
The news came during a postearnings investor call attended by Gamasutra for Sony's 2011 fiscal year earnings report. During the presentation, newly appointed Sony president Kaz Hirai noted initial PS Vita sales were hitting the mark.
"The last year, 1.8 million units for US, Japan, Asia, and Europe [were sold]," he said. "And as a starting phase, I think it was a good start."
In February, Sony announced that the PS Vita had sold 1.2 million units worldwide, indicating the system has moved an additional 600,000 systems during March.
Later in the call, Hirai explained that strong, alluring software will spur the PS Vita as a platform.
"For a game platform, like Vita, the software is the key to success--how good the software is, that is the key to business success. We have to reinforce the software area in order to improve the business, that is the basic line."
Sony also today updated sales figures for its game systems. The company said during the 2011 fiscal year, it sold 13.9 million PlayStation 3 consoles, compared to 14.3 million the year prior. Additionally, the PlayStation 2 moved 4.1 million units, a dip from the 6.4 million sold a year ago prior. Lastly, the PSP sold 6.8 million units in fiscal 2011, down from 8.0 million last year.
As for software, Sony said it sold 156.6 million PS3 titles worldwide, an increase for 147.9 million during the previous year. The PS2 moved 7.9 million games, a drop from the 16.4 million from a year prior, and the PSP sold 32.2 million games during the last fiscal year, down from 46.6 million year-on-year. PS Vita software sales were not announced.
As for Sony's actual earnings, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, revenues for the firm's Consumer Products and Services division (which houses its game business) dipped 18.5 percent year-over-year to ï3.14 trillion ($39.4 billion). Net losses for the period came in at ï229.8 billion ($2.88 billion), compared to profits of ï10.8 billion ($135.5 million) from a year prior.
Sony's overall business was also down. Revenues hit ï6.5 trillion ($81.6 billion) during the year, marking a decrease of 9.6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year. The company took an operating loss of ï67.3 billion ($844.5 million) for the year.
Looking ahead, Sony said it anticipates a return to profits in the current fiscal year. The company is presently expecting revenues to surge 14 percent to ï7.4 trillion ($93 billion), and net income of ï30 billion ($380 million)
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