PlayStation’s UK arm says Vita sales “exploded” over the Christmas period and that new, as yet unannounced games can help the company “light that fire” again.

While the handheld has fallen well short of the firm’s expectations in its first year on the market, Sony Computer Entertainment UK MD Fergal Gara told MCV he’s encouraged by what he saw over the festive period.

"We had a pre-Christmas lull where sales were quite low. But that absolutely exploded 20-fold from that low-point into the peak of Christmas,” the executive said. “That's very encouraging and shows that with the right promotion and software we can light that fire."

Gara also acknowledged that there aren’t many publicly announced Vita games on the horizon for fans to get excited about, but he said that will change: "It looks bare in terms of what we have announced. The cupboard won't be bare."

Japanese Vita sales recently jumped following a Vita price cut introduced in late February. Sony told us last month it has no current plans to cut the Vita price in the UK.