Slow sales in Japan haven't changed Sony's western release plans for Vita TV

Sony is still deliberating a western released for the PlayStation Vita TV hardware despite relatively slow sales after its initial launch in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment's Andrew House told Eurogamer.

The Vita TV was released in Japan on Nov. 14 and sold 42,000 units during its launch week. House said that Sony's plans for bringing the console to international territories is unaffected, but the way the device is pitched abroad may change.

"The positioning of Vita TV may be different between Japan and some of the other markets," he said.

According to House, the $99 hardware — which makes Vita, PlayStation Portable and PSOne games playable on HDTVs using the DualShock 3 controller — launched in Japan first because streaming is still relatively unused in the territory.

"We think there's a great opportunity to broaden the market, because you essentially remove the need to make the console purchase in order to have access to that experience," House added. "It may sound counter intuitive, because, aren't you replacing a business that is your bread and butter? But part of being an innovative company is being a pioneer in new forms of distribution of content, and we would like to be there first and take a leadership role."

PS Vita TV launched last month in Japan only. Check out our hands-on with the Vita TV from the 2013 Tokyo Game Show here.