Sony: It's Too Early to Drop the PS Vita's Price

When Nintendo's 3DS wasn't selling as well as the company had hoped, Nintendo slashed the price to get things going. The 3DS ended up having a more successful year than the first 3DS, selling 4.5 million units to the original DS's 2.3 million. However, those hoping that Sony might pull a similar move to jump start sales of the PS Vita will be disappointed.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony's Worldwide Studios boss, Shuhei Yoshida, said that the company's engineers are working to reduce the cost of manufacturing of the PS Vita. This in turn will lead to a price cut, but that price cut won't happen this year.

"At a certain point in the future we would like to address the pricing issue for some of the people who are waiting," Yoshida said. "But this year we are trying to add value by creating different types of bundles. We announced we will provide LittleBigPlanet PS Vita bundle pack. That's affordable for people who are looking for a good deal."

When asked if that meant no price cut this year, Yoshida said: "No, it's too early." 

Sony's PS Vita launched in December 2011 in Japan, and in late-February elsewhere in the world. It packs a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU; a 5-inch 960x544 multitouch OLED display; a rear touchpad with multitouch; both front-facing and rear-facing cameras with frame rates of 120fps at 320x240 (QVGA) and 60fps at 640x480 (VGA); GPS; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; PlayStation Vita card slot; memory card slot; a SIM card slot; and a multi-use port for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio (Stereo Out / Mono In), Serial data communication, and WiFi and 3G support. There's also a WiFi-only model for those with an aversion to data contracts.

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  • zachusaman
    its too early to drop prices, the vita might not bomb and we cant have that!
    Reply
  • Pennanen
    I think its too late to drop the price of vita. Ahahahah what a shameful machine :D
    Reply
  • the 3DS ended up having a more successful year than the first 3DS

    ever heard of proofreading?
    Reply
  • Shin-san
    The bundle idea is good, but a price drop would be better. The problem with bundles though is that what if the customer doesn't like any of them? Another option would be a coupon for a game
    Reply
  • master_chen
    Fu*nk you, Sony. Just...F*UNK YOU.
    Reply
  • getreal
    Hasn't iOS / iPad / iPhone / Mac OS made all of these other platforms totally irrelevant and obsolete already?

    Why would I buy a vita, when my iPhone or iPad is much better, smaller, and is more functional?

    Why would I dump a ton into a windows PC just to get 5 extra fps in a game my Mac Pro already gets 200+ in? Steam and Valve games coming to Mac basically defeats needing a cheap PC. Plus most good games are on consoles that just pop in and work. No need to configure anything. More time playing, less time jacking around, more time to go out and party and get laid.
    Reply
  • vitornob
    getrealHasn't iOS / iPad / iPhone / Mac OS made all of these other platforms totally irrelevant and obsolete already?Why would I buy a vita, when my iPhone or iPad is much better, smaller, and is more functional?Why would I dump a ton into a windows PC just to get 5 extra fps in a game my Mac Pro already gets 200+ in? Steam and Valve games coming to Mac basically defeats needing a cheap PC. Plus most good games are on consoles that just pop in and work. No need to configure anything. More time playing, less time jacking around, more time to go out and party and get laid.
    If you think that your might mac pro have enough performance based in the price you pay. You just don't know anything about performance. Or price...
    Usually Mac pros have powerful cpu, but a not so powerful GPU and yet it's costly.
    Mac uses nothing more than converted usual PC hardware components, the main difference is the OS.
    Reply
  • DRosencraft
    I'm not in favor of paying more for something I can get cheaper, but this time I would support Sony. If they drop the price now, and they redo the manufacturing, they'll be expected to drop the price again at that time. Sony has had a habit of selling hardware for a loss. That's part of the reason why when the PS3 came out games jumped from $50 to $60, because they needed to make back more money through software sales. From a business standpoint it would make more sense to tread a little water now rather than shoot themselves in the foot IMHO.
    Reply
  • getreal
    I really like Sony stuff. I want to see it succeed. I just need a reason to buy the stuff. The PS3 has great exclusives, but why buy a vita? I don't want to carry more crap around.

    Make a vita for adults with phone capabilities, and more people might consider it. An Xbox phone could be good too.
    Reply
  • master_chen
    LOL, raging Sony fanboy ITT, everyone - put a tinfoil hat on your heads!
    Reply