The lights are on
Research firm Strategy Analytics thinks that the new PlayStation Vita can sell 12.4 million units in 2012. But only if the price tag is cut.
"Sony now is experiencing the same story in Japan [as Nintendo]," says analyst Jia Wu. "Sales of the Wi-Fi version of PlayStation Vita at $249 initially exploded, selling more than 300,000 units in the first week of release. But the new console is barely moving 20,000 units per week in its home market after all the hardcore fans made their purchases, mirroring the experience of the Nintendo 3DS." Therefore, Wu suggests that Sony should further follow in Nintendo's footsteps and cut the price of the Vita to spur sales. Nintendo did that in 2011 for the 3DS, and it's already reaping the rewards.
Regardless, Wu notes that the Vita should do well for Sony, expecting it to bring in $2 billion in hardware and software sales in 2012. In particular, he thinks the unit has the potential to make a lot of money through its PlayStation Store.
[via GamesIndustry.biz]
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The PS Vita is an example of Sony's ego, it's working on already inferior technology. 3G? 4G! Sprint network would have made the system way more viable with their unlimited data plans on 4G. Also television connect-ability. they have to do what gets overall sales. of course the price would be higher and the launch pushed back but way more people would buy it. Smart Phones are starting to do the same things handheld devices do. Sony needs to make a more practical device, and they need a more practical Data provider to really compete. After all it's college students and teens, and over all broke people that need the dollars they have to go farther.
Hmm... I think I would need to try one out first before making any judgement. Even then, I wouldn't really find any time to really use one, because if I'm not working, then I'm at my house on my 360... sorry sony.
Worthless device.....as we speak im playing Skyrim through my phone and it's laptop dock. SONY needs to realize what type of market there in......mobile gaming is for casual gamers.....the Hardcore ones stream from there home computer to there tablets or phones.
Price cut those damn memory cards too!!! The current prices are a crime!!
I could see it by summer, and as an early adopter, would not be bothered by it, anything earlier and I'd expect some compensation, much like the ambassador program I got with 3ds.
If Sony can prove it has console-quality games on the go, then it can justify the console-like price. Otherwise, people are going to see that as far to steep a price to pay for games that can only boast being better than games on an iTouch.
I picked one up on release day and I definately do not feel ripped off by the price. When you play Uncharted in person and see the tech that the Vita is packing it's hard not to be impressed. I do believe the memory card not being included was a lame move, but I shopped around and almost all the major retailers were including a 4gb for the wifi model or 8 gb for the 3G model. For the games, Best Buy was doing a buy 2 get 1 free and they were including future pre-orders in on the deal too, they were also giving $150 for PSP trade-ins, and 40% trade-in credit bump on games you turned in. It's only day 3 in the Vita life cycle here in the US so I'm pretty sure Sony could hold off on the price cut for now.
I would definitely buy a Vita with a price cut and for sure buy one with a price cut on those expensive a$$ memory cards!
They would have to have way more then just the launch titles out to have me drop $249 on a handheld. Am no dissing the Vita but for me I would be better off buying a tablet and downloading roms for it.
Have to admit wouldn't mind a price cut, sure couldn't hurt matters any.
I hope this is true because I am waiting to buy when the 3g is down to 249.99
If sony price cut their sticks and waited to cut vita i bet more people would get it comn $99 for 32gb laughable.
A price cut on the console itself probably wouldn't hurt Sony's sales, but I think the future success of the handheld is less dependent on the cost of the hardware than it is on the the cost of the software. Even if Sony did lower the price for the Vita, they're still going to have a lot to compete with in such a rapidly changing market, both in terms of providing games to customers AND getting customers to purchase them. With so many people owning iOS phones or Droids, things are made simpler for developers who want to PRODUCE quality titles but can't afford to purchase a license to make them for a first party console and also for customers who want to PLAY quality titles but can't afford to purchase them for forty or fifty bucks a piece. Don't get me wrong, I fell in love with my Vita the moment I took it out of the box. I bought four games for it the same day and they're all great. Sony definitely did right by it's loyal fans. In many ways, the Vita is everything that the PSP wasn't. The dual analog sticks open up new possibilities in terms of what kinds of games can be played on it, and hopefully Sony will ensure that gamers have access to a slew of incredible titles even after the launch craze is over. But as for drawing in new customers, especially ones who are used to only paying a dollar for games on their phones, Sony's definitely got their work cut out for them.
Sony is extremely unwilling when it comes to price drops. They are confident that their consoles and hardware will sell well. And it usually does, when good games and software finally appears. I think the Vita is priced properly, its those memory cards that get you. 100$ dollars for a 32 GB micro SD card!? No way. The games aren't priced terribly high, well Uncharted was, but we all knew the experience we where getting when we bought the game. And it was well worth the money, in my honest opinion.
My main complaint for the Vita was the same as it was for a 3DS, poor launch lineup for first-day buyers, unprepared hardware, and (in the Vita's case) a large price to pay for a memory card that IS required. Not just for some games, ALL the Hardware and Software.
There making a price cut because if they keep the price of what they have the 3ds is going to succeed again in consumer sales and if they don't make the price cut there not going to sell as much as the 3ds did. That's why it's a big deal of a price cut. And about the ps vita the analogs are to small and so are the buttons but the system overall it seems to be a cool awesome system.
Sony makes no sense! Why would you sell your portable device at the same price other companies sell consoles? That is just irrational. What makes even less sense is that people are buying them. May be an amazing product but it isn't better than a brand new Xbox with a kinect or a brand new PS3, probably better than a brand new Wii though!
yea cut the price and more people are gonna buy it
I would definitely buy this, but I don't want to be the guy who buys the full version a week before a price cut is announced, so I'll wait until that happens until I buy a Vita
You have to think, though, that it costs more to make a Vita than it does to make a 3DS (just look at the specs). So now, either the Vita is already priced, or the 3DS was previously overpriced at launch.