Do Vita’s Japanese Sales Numbers Spell Doom in the U.S.?

The heavily anticipated (at least in my world) Vita has been available in Japan for just over 1 month, and according to media create and andriasang it has sold 500,000 units. To add to concerns, the numbers last week for the device ranked below the 3DS, and it’s predecessor the original psp. To put the 500,000 unit sales into perspective the Nintendo 3DS sold 440,000 units within it’s first week. I’m not sure if Sony is pointing fingers yet, but it has to be related to the lack of solid release titles seen in Japan as of yet. I see 3 or four good launch titles hitting us , and solid titles heading very soon after the device release, but can it hold up in the U.S. market?The 3DS suffered what Nintendo considered to be tough sales numbers, and they quickly dropped the price. My concerns with the Vita currently lie with the software releases, if low sales numbers hit the U.S. developers will leave the device high and dry. In Japan software sales for the device have also been abysmally low, with no titles for the system even making the top 20 by volume in the previous week. I’m still extremely excited for the system, I truly believe the features packed in make it worth the price tag. But I’ve been wrong before… hell I purchased the original PSP 3 times over a four year span as titles I wanted to play launched, and then a draught of 1 year or more hit. I’m hoping for more use from the Vita, and you know I’ll be feverishly reporting my thoughts on every bit I can get my grubby mitts on. I certainly hope that I don’t end up with a $300.00 paperweight. Thoughts?