200°

PS Vita fire sale in Sony stores could signal plans to axe 3G model

Sony is selling the 3G-equipped PS Vita for $199.97 at some of its stores, a saving of some $100 on its list price. Joystiq reports that "a majority" of Sony stores in the US are offering the deal, which also includes an 8GB memory card and free downloadable game (if you sign up to a data plan). Some store representatives told Joystiq that the deal is happening because Sony plans to discontinue the 3G model.

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theverge.com
Xaphy4055d ago

maybe because they charge too much for low quota? I have the 3G model and where I live they don't even offer any sort of ps vita contracts.

Conzul4055d ago

Hopefully it's because they're going to replace it with an uptier model of some sort. 4G, other upgrades or something.

darthv724055d ago

I dont know if they would make a 4g version. If the idea is to discontinue the 3g then it is based on the usage details they have accumulated since launch.

Meaning they can tell how many units of each have been sold and from the stats provided to them from the 3g carriers as well.

If the amount of usage is low, it isnt in their best interest to continue to sell that model. They could eliminate it, and sell just the wifi model and you could still do tethering on it via bluetooth to a smartphone.

rainslacker4055d ago

Probably didn't help that they locked it into the AT&T network in the US either. AT&T charges quite a bit for their data plans, and that would turn a lot of people off IMO, particularly since you can't really use the 3G for games anyways.

Vita should have been 3G/4G compatible from launch, and not locked into a carrier if they wanted that to take off on the system. They did it to themselves, and it made it so it wasn't a viable option to many who may have brought it over a tablet.

ABizzel14055d ago

A 4G LTE model would be nice, but they can't keep it stuck to AT&T or no one will use it.

On top of that it needs to be considered as a tablet, so you can add it to your current data plan for only $10 more a month, and not so outrageous price.

MasterCornholio4055d ago

Sony really screwed up with the 3G model. What they should have done was allowed any sim card to work with it that way people can just use their 3G service for their phones on the Vita.

In the beginning i really wanted a 3G vita but since Sony had those stupid plans i got a Wifi one instead. To tell you the truth im pretty happy with my WiFi vita and so far i havent run into a situation where i would need a 3G vita.

PhillipSantanaMusic4055d ago

but i bet if you spent the extra money and got a 3g model youd find a reason to use it!

Fluke_Skywalker4055d ago

I have a 3G one and tbh I can't recall having ever used the 3G for anything. It doesn't do anything over 3G anyway!

PhillipSantanaMusic4055d ago (Edited 4055d ago )

you saying it dont do anything over the 3g yet im here responding to you from my vita on 3g as we speak.

then you say you cant recall having ever used the 3G, umm for starters you will have to have the 3g active so...

ppl be killing me!

Th4Freak4055d ago

@PhillipSantanaMusic Why spend $50 extra in the 3G version when you can tether (share) your phone internet connection to the PSV?

kneon4055d ago

It's the carriers that decide what plans to offer

darthv724055d ago

i didnt buy it to use the 3g however. i bought it because it was the complete package unlike the wifi version.

should i desire to use 3g, its there. you cant say the same about the wifi version.

options for tethering should be possible on both due to bluetooth but you would need to have a tethering plan on your smartphone in order to use it.

Th4Freak4055d ago

@darthv72 If you root your phone you can tether w/o paying a tethering plan, there are some carriers that block it too and you can bypass it as far as your phone is rooted.

rainslacker4055d ago (Edited 4055d ago )

The reason for the lock was because there is more than one standard for 3G. AT&T offered them the money to support only their standard, which in turn meant that there was no need to have a separate 3G transponder within the system itself, thus reducing the cost.

It's kind of dumb, because it pretty much locks out an entire market. Vita isn't like a smartphone where there is an alternative on another carrier for consumer choice. I personally hate AT&T with a passion, and it made my decision easy on which one to buy. On top of that 3G will not be around as long as the Vita will be, so it will make the 3G version obsolete for that reason in the future.

Funny thing about all this...it was the only thing that was "boo'd" about during the press conference regarding this. Everything else was praised to death. That should have been a good sign to Sony right there.

kneon4055d ago

@rainslacker

AT&T didn't have to pay Sony for them to choose their version of 3G. AT&T uses GSM like most of the rest of the world. Sony built the 3G version to work with GSM since that is the standard used almost everywhere. It just so happens that in the US the big GSM carrier is AT&T.

rainslacker4055d ago (Edited 4055d ago )

@kneon

Really? You think so? Why cut out the many other carriers in the US that offer GSM services on their network then? How come any official information on using the 3G on the Vita from Sony always refers to AT&T, and not one of their affiliate companies which use their service, or any other company that uses compatible technology. Are those affiliate companies even able to work on the Vita?

Here's a list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

In Europe they didn't lock the Vita to one carrier, and there is more than one type of service available there. They partnered with Vodafone(i believe), but the choice was still there for the consumers.

I'll admit that all the other carriers of GSM may not be as big as AT&T in the US, but the fact that Sony made it so you could only use AT&T is because money changed hands. To believe otherwise is naive. The only ones that benefited from that decision were AT&T and Sony due to money that changed hands.

Edit: I will clarify that Sony's decision on not supporting CDMA is likely all on them and not because of AT&T, but the rest is because AT&T partnered with Sony to block the choice in service providers.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4055d ago
Anon19744055d ago

Personally, I've never understood the appeal of the 3g model. It's not like anyone is offering specific contracts for PS Vita users. If I'm on the go and I really wanted to, I could just fire up a wi-fi hotspot on my phone and link my Vita to that, but I don't see that happening very often. Usually, I'm gaming with my Vita at home anyway and have access to my own wi-fi.

If we look at the tablet market, 9 out of 10 tablets sold are wi-fi only and that seems sufficient. It was nice of Sony to offer the option, but it just seems like a "nice to have" feature as opposed to a reason to buy a system.

Conzul4055d ago

Well Sony's own upcoming Xperia Tablet Z will have two variants....Wifi 32GB and 4G 64GB.

I think that's why they're dropping the 3G - just because 4G is the new black.

Anon19744055d ago

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for consumer choice and there's no doubt there's a market for 3G/4G devices. I personally just don't think it's necessary - but I'm sure there's interested gamers out there.

Apollosupreme4055d ago

That sucks when you consider you could have got another new release for the price difference you paid for the 3G you can't use...

showtimefolks4055d ago (Edited 4055d ago )

When Sony announced the $249 price point people clapped During conference but when Sony said exclusive to AT&T booooooooooo that was classic lol

Vita has started to pick up pace and that's nice, I will pick it up with soul sacrifice

Bring down the price on those memory sticks

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4055d ago
zeal0us4055d ago

$200 isn't a fire sale. If it was $100 or less then it would be a fire sale.

Kalowest4055d ago

LMFAO, I love Arrested Development!!!

brettski4055d ago

Great, now I can't get the final countdown out of my head :)

XabiDaChosenOne4055d ago

Should have done it already, 3g is pointless.

nevin14055d ago

They shouldnt have limited the 3G to AT&T. If there is a 4G Vita incoming, I suggest they let people choose their own provider.

kneon4055d ago

Don't blame Sony or AT&T, the fault is with Verizon and Sprint for going CDMA when most of the rest of the world went GSM. It's not worth the additional cost for Sony to make a CDMA or CMDA+GSM version.

DivineAssault 4055d ago

3G model was pointless.. I understand what they were trying to do but that was excessive

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies14d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken14d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga14d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken14d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6414d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long14d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197213d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 13d ago
DivineHand12514d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91314d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer14d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit14d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91313d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit13d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 13d ago
Christopher14d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6913d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit13d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal14d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher14d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken14d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197213d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2314d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218314d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder14d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts14d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades20d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken20d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades20d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii20d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

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gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit22d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

21d ago
Profchaos21d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9521d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia21d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

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