Sony Must Solve the PlayStation Vita's Memory Woes

Push Square: "The announcement of the PlayStation Vita’s price sent rapturous applause throughout the industry. At the time, many pundits had predicted that the handheld would cost upwards of $350 – a figure not unreasonable for a company that’s famous for the extortionate price of its consoles. The firm eventually disappointed its critics, revealing that its next generation portable would retail for $250, the same figure as the Nintendo 3DS at the time. Of course, it failed to disclose one important detail: memory cards."

[arbitor365]

the vita is a fantastic platform, but the expensive proprietary memory and lack of interchangeable battery packs are the 2 biggest problems

[Apollosupreme]

No doubt it would be nice to have a spare battery but let's face it, they would be so expensive right now that most wouldn't indulge anyway. My battery is fine and I have a launch day Vita. Here's to hoping it holds up...

[Knushwood Butt]

Yeah, I'm happy with the battery, but I want a 64GB memory card that is better value for money.

[ThanatosDMC]

Here's a portable charger.

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-...

I have a 32gb, i wish they'd come out with bigger memory ones. 64+gb would be nice.

[Ilovetheps5]

The memory cards are a huge reason I'm not buying the Vita right now. I'm hoping that they will either make a new model that accepts SD cards or they will drop the price of their memory cards. The prices right now are just absurd in my opinion.

[kneon]

Don't hold your breath waiting for SD cards. That would make it much easier to hack so it's not going to happen.

[GraveLord]

These 2 aren't an issue at all IMO. They can lower the memory card prices all they want, it won't make me buy more games. Vita needs more and better games.

[ABizzel1]

@arbitor

Battery has nothing to do with it. It's almost 100% memory cost. It's outrageous. They need to make a model with 16GB built-in like the PSPGo, and cut the memory prices by at least 40% (40% - 60%). On top of that introduce 64GB and 128GB cards.

The remaining problems are:

Price: I have no problem with the Vita's price, but it's not a mass market price. The Vita needs a cheaper made remodel that can be sold between $179 - $199.

Games: There are games out and coming, but there needs to be a year of games where there's quality titles coming month after month, and not sporadically throughout the year. 1 good year of games like Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, COD (a good one), GTA, Fifa, Monster Hunter all being announced for the holiday season - early the following year, and the Vita will take off. Add to that innovatie games that take advantage of the hardware's unique features, and original IP's for the platform and it's set.

Marketing: I haven't seen a Vita commercial since launch. I haven't seen a good Vita commercial ever. It needs commercials and advertising that speaks to all gamers (kids - adults) and not just people who own a PS3 or plan on buying a PS4. Making it have more common tablet games and app would also significantly help, because that's the Vita's greatest competition, as it's lost in limbo between the 3DS and mobile devices.

3DS: Kids play thing / Nintendo fans
Mobile devices: Devices for everyone
Vita: Works semi-well with PS3

[HakatoX]

guess someone wasn't around for PSP launch. 80.00 for 512mb and 200.00 for 2 gigs.

[Donnieboi]

So? How does that make it right? The high cost for psp cards doesn't make the high cost of vita cards any more appealing.

[Apollosupreme]

He didn't say history makes it right, he was pointing out that this problem has been around for a while... That didn't hold the PSP back from being a success.

[raWfodog]

But three rights make a left :)

[GamersRulz]

are you seriously comparing 2004 memory sizes and prices with 2013?

because I remember I bought a 516mb usb stick for $60, and I thought It was a bargain at the time!

[Hicken]

The thing is: it's happened throughout the years. PS2 memory cards were expensive as crap when they came out, and so were Gamecube cards, and Xbox cards, and so on, and so on. Proprietary memory comes out, it's expensive, and then the price drops as time goes by.

The Vita's cards are costly. But that's no different than the memory for anything else. Just seems like it's a bigger deal for the Vita than for anything else.

[KrisButtar]

I was but I don't remember those prices, I remember $80 plus tax for a 16GB card though

[HakatoX]

you assholes bubbled me down for such a comment?
grow the hell up!!!

[Apollosupreme]

You should get your mem card at Costco if you're not willing to await a sale. Costco has the cheapest price based on my experience although even then they're pricey when you see how dirt cheap SD cards are.

People need to remember that changing the price of these cards affects their whole business as Vita is not the only device they're used in, correct? So, even though it's clearly too expensive it's a lot bigger ship to turn around; this goes beyond their gaming sector.

Anti-piracy, in my opinion, is not a valid enough reason for the restriction to only using these cards...

[nevin1]

@arbitor365

"and lack of interchangeable battery packs are the 2 biggest problems"

what do you mean?

[Krew_92]

You can't remove the battery. So replacing the battery if your battery goes faulty is a no.

After a while, batteries just don't last anymore, so it would have been smart to let us remove the battery ourselves. They just did it to prevent hacking, but they just slowed it down a bit, people will ALWAYS find a way.

[kingPoS]

The Vita needs an adorable 64gb card.

[Knight_Crawler]

Does it being adorable make it more powerful?

[Knushwood Butt]

Yes, yes it does!

[BeZdaBest]

i need a 32 gig but that price.. DAMN.. thats like 2 new games an a older launch title..

[FluffyPloo]

The price of memory will always be an issue and I had the same thoughts before i bought mine, but if you think of it as an investment for the future its not that bad.
For example, lets say you dont buy the 2 next big games on your calender at launch and a random game equalling £100/140dolla. Instead pool the cash and buy psplus and the memory card, then you get a years worth of decent games to dampen the initial investment with no storage issues.

[BeZdaBest]

i already have ps plus thats the main problem... i personally try to buy physical games...

the only ps plus game i dont own is gravity rush... i had bought sfxtk on sale an ninja gaiden day one.... with these three games my mem card/stick?? ran out of space... i have a four gig but i use that for all the other freebies...

the way i get around this is to use my ps3/pc to back up the data so i can switch games an stuff..an even with this dilemma.. i cant justify it..
they should have went with regular micro sd cards..

[Soldierone]

It has literally stopped me from buying games. I can't even buy retail games right now because of the installs.....

I have a 4GB and a 16GB, both filled and I don't even have that many games. Also no music or movies, and not many apps. The memory cards suck, the vita doesn't.

[BitbyDeath]

Hopefully they announce something at E3 cause I'm looking to buy one soon after.

[neogeo]

Vita emulator?

[Krew_92]

It's possible, but very unlikely at this time.

[Williamson]

Memory cards are the main problem imo. If sony had atleast 1-2 gb of internal memory then memory cards could become optional. Thats the only BIG flaw I see with the vita.

[tweet75]

I hope we get a new version of vita at E3 with at least 120 gb on board

[PrimeGrime]

I'll never understand this because regardless of how broke people are it still doesn't stop them from spending money frivolously.

Why do you think there are so many young adults running around with $600+ phones and tablets but can't even pay their bills or rent on time. Not even that I know people in their 30's and 40's doing just the same, they can't even afford clothes for their kids but they have everything from Apple.

All I am saying if anyone really wanted a 32GB card you would simply have one (you buy it once), another thing is go into any store and try buying memory cards brand new, not from amazon or some other retailer online for deals and I promise you the prices of these memory cards are not at all far off from the PS Vita's.

Hell I was in target just recently and figured since I was there I would just grab a bigger memory card for my phone, a micro SD. That crap was expensive for a measly 16gb new, mind you I can find them extremely cheap online but still the retail price still stands.

Unfortunately people are not willing to sell used PS Vita memory cards that cheap right now but you can still get them for cheaper and over time no doubt they will become dirt cheap just like the rest.

Bestbuy has a permanent price drop on the 16GB for $30, that really isn't a bad deal and should be sufficient enough for anyone who is complaining about not having enough space on their PS Vita.

[gamegenieny]

"another thing is go into any store and try buying memory cards brand new, not from amazon or some other retailer online for deals and I promise you the prices of these memory cards are not at all far off from the PS Vita's. "

Thats the point, we have choices. We CAN go online and find cards cheap, but sony stopped that for piracy and to make money on the cards. This here is THE issue, because sony has done this for piracy issues they've hurt the customers that would buy these devices. I for one have not bought a vita yet because of the memory card pricing. Not buying the system and a card for what would be console money. When the prices drop i'll grab one asap, cause i'd love to have one but the pricing is too high for what it is.

[sprinterboy]

I have a 8Gb card and I have played alot of Vita games and bought a few off the store and stil have alittle space left, not saying I would`nt want cheaper memory cards but I have had my vita since launch

I played Uncharted, Unit 13, Wipeout, Cod plus others like RC, escape plan,Everybody`s golf, fifa 13, Gravity Rush, LBP, MK and MNR and still have space so I think people moan alittle too much imo about the cards.

[Krew_92]

It's just people don't like to delete their games after they installed them.

Imagine this situation, your internet is very slow. The download for one game takes about a day to complete. Would you want to delete it, and if you wanted to play it on impulse later have it take that long to download later? I would personally want to keep it.

I myself got an 8GB card at launch, it was okay. It started to fill up very recently though, I traded my friend my 8GB for his 16GB, since he buys physical a lot more than me. I have 4GB left on my 16GB at the moment.

PS+ will drain your space faster than Peter Molyneux throwing his career out the window.

[b_one]

Memory cards? You buy it once, unlike games - those are real problems...

[o-Sunny-o]

128gb for $90, 64gb for $60, 32gb for $30, 16gb for $15, and 8gb for $5. I think that's some what fair...I'm hoping for more space T-T

[Shacojin]

AGREED!

[Krew_92]

The prices for each memory cards as of now seem to go on a pattern.

So if Sony continued to price the way they do, this is how much everything you listed would cost:

4GB - $20, 8GB - $30, 16GB- $60, 32GB - $100, 64GB - $150, 128GB - $210

Around there, possibly even more though, I doubt they would continue to sell the memory cards at those prices once the higher sizes come out, it would be a horrible business practice.

[Shacojin]

I would pay $200 for 128GB!! I just want all that space and not worry about deleting my downloads

[Sithlord-Gamble]

I get tired of hearing about these damn memory card complaints.

The reason for the proprietary cards was to prevent hacking/pirating, so it didnt end up like the PSP. I'll gladly pay a higher price if it means having a "safe" console.

So everyone complains about it, but had they not, then everyone would complaint about piracy.

Dont blame the memory cards. It's just a convenient excuse for some of you.
If a memory card is the only thing stopping you now, II'm willing to bet you'll find a different excuse once they drop the price.

[Krew_92]

Yeah I agree with you to an extent.

A lot of the people complaining about the memory card prices will simply move to any other little excuse.

I also agree with you that Sony made these to prevent hacking, and I am in support of that as well. It's just some people are used to buying cheap memory nowadays, with smartphones being a megaton these days, it's not hard to understand that some people would complain when they're used to seeing 32 GB memory cards in the $30 range, and seeing Sony's 32 GB in the $80 - 100 range.

The sad fact is that, most people who own a smartphone and complain about the Vita's memory cards, and when the cards do indeed drop in price and maybe the Vita too, they won't even buy the system at all. Like you said they'll make an excuse that their phone can deliver similar games and such.

I'm sure the memory cards will drop in price, like everything else in the market, but I don't see a huge fall.

[Sithlord-Gamble]

I agree.
It's the people like you & I, that understand what we are buying with our money, that don't complain.

I'm happy with my 3G Vita. I'm happy with my 32gb memory card & I'm happy with the games.
IMO, it was all money well spent.