The lights are on
Sony has hinted in the past that downloading games on the Vita will be a cheaper option than buying them off the shelves. The scuttlebutt from a recent Sony event is that the savings could be a dramatic 40 percent for ditching the box.
According to Thrifty Nerd, Vita games will be capped off at $39.99 at retail. Downloading a game at the same price would only cost around $23, however, saving you a pretty penny by going digital. Many gamers gasped at the Vita's spendy memory cards (4GB: $30, 8GB: $45, 16GB: $70, 32GB: $120), but these savings, if true, could soften that blow.
While this prospect is exciting for prospective Vita owners, keep your expectations low until we have official confirmation from Sony.
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nice to bad im not planing on getting any handhelp soon. Maybe I will reconsider
If true, there'll be a catch--like having to pay monthly for a special PSN online service (like Xbox Live Gold) in order to get the discounted games.
That would ACTUALLY get me into buying a Vita, but barely, unless they make a decent batch of GOOD portable games!
I prefer physical copies
there is no reason that memory cards should cost that much money, and even if the price was that great, you could only download a few solid games, even with some big ass storage capacity.
sounds good cuz *** fukn lame how PSN sells a digital download for more then a new copy of a game even if the price has lowerd on the game it seems like a game lowering to $20 new at the store yet its still almost $40 on PSN
Makes perfect sense. Box games pretty much get shared around which is lost money for Sony. Download means you keep the game for good. No sharing, no reselling. I'm sure GameStop would hate this but we the consumer should see this as a godsent.
I like how everyone is getting all butt-hurt about gamestop getting the shaft on this deal. What's the difference? A big name company gets all the money anyway.
If gamestop offered dl-able games for 40% cheaper i'd shop through them. Sony is just beating them to it.
Sounds good, although I doubt too many people will only download as the memory cards are very expensive, also the size of the games will be bigger than PSP games given the graphics and everything, so 1 game could be 4 GB's.
Now there is a cath though. Going digital you lose the ability to trade it in/sell or let friends burrow it. Not to mention the need for larger memory (It seems the 32gb would almost be a necessity). I could see my self doing some games digital but for the most part even 40 percent less I see more value in the physical copy. In the end I would save more by being able to trade it and not needing the larger memory.
Oh and to net on the Gamestop thing, the company evolve and find a way to profit from it. They are doing that now with the impulse service they offer. And, Gamestop would probably sell the games digital code. You can go to Gamestop and buy The digital code for PC games right now, this allows people to still trade in games for digital products and Gamestop to profit from it. They would probably do the same for the vita.
Well that would only make sense, but that basic idea seems to be lost on publishers. But this will cost you either a lot of time or money in regards to memory cards or "cleaning out the fridge" every time you want to download a game.
This and Uncharted could convince me to buy the Vita.
Uncharted Golden Abyss won't be a $39.99 title. It is announced that it costs over $70 in Japan and even adjusting for their prices no way is that title dropping below $50.
I don't know, I still think getting physical media is better. Today, I traded in AC Revelations and put $33 dollars towards Soul Caliber V. If I would have downloaded it all I would have is bits of data I don't want anymore. If it is significantly cheaper then that makes things better but I am not holding my breath.
Since downloading any game is practically 99.9% profit, this doesn't do anything to soften the blow of the high costs on memory. Their margin alone per card is practically 300% + pending on what card you buy. I made my decision, if others want to waist a ridiculous amount of $ on what the majority will be mediocre games, then by all means. It wouldn't be anything new for consumers to just bow down and accept corporate price gouging.
Except, when you think about it, most games are about 1 gig, or more (I believe Dissidia Final Fantasy is 1.2). so $30 for 4 gigs would be $30 for 4 games, so 30+23+23+23+23. Eventually there will be a point where it'll be more cost-effective to buy the physical games. And if you put music on your memory cards, or video, or really anything else, that's even less room for games.
Saves money, time, and gas! But will it hurt gamestops sales?