Sony offers PS Vita Memory Cards now with a free game

Sony delievers the PlayStation Vita Memory card now with a free game. Choose one of six games.

[GreenRanger]

Why don't Sony just stop giving free stuff and drop the price of the Vita?
A €180 Vita would seem better than a €250 Vita with a free game and memory card, IMO.

[crinale]

While I completely agree with you, it is highly unlikely for them to drop the price. They'd rather bail out from console bossiness completely than dropping memory card's price.

It is actually showing how much the "standardized" flash memory devices (SD cards or USB memories) can take advantage of mass-production, regarding the price. Remember Vita's memory cards are dedicated for Vita only, and how many of them are manufactured is probably like one millionth of SD cards..

Edit: Damn I thought you were referring to memory cards. For PSvita itself I think they'll drop the price, once the re-designed version hits the market.

[miyamoto]

PS3, Xperia phones & tablet, Sony DSLR cameras use non-proprietary storage (HDD, USB drive, SD cards etc.)

vs.

PS Vita uses proprietary storage

???

Can somebody explain why Sony did this...

[PJF_Josh]

@axelstone - partly to help avoid the rampant piracy that plagued the PSP.

Everything they've done here, from proprietary memory cards, to the sealed battery, to the way it connects to PC's and PS3's for data transfer was done with that in mind. It's a measure of control and while it is a bit annoying, the prices will fall, they're already cheaper on Amazon (but they 'll still go lower)

[matgrowcott]

Sony would rather stick a digital copy of a game on a memory card than make a loss on a console. One costs nothing (or at least very little) but appears to add value, the other actually results in them taking a hit per purchase.

And again - 20 dollar loss but more purchases at 180 is an awful lot less worth it than a five dollar profit but hardly any purchases at 250.

[MikeMyers]

Agreed. Another thing is the Plus service is hopefully going to offset any losses as well. Consumers like hearing they are going to be getting free content.

[Pillsbury1]

Go go power rangers!

[tachy0n]

*tactical facepalm*

the price of the PSVita cant be lowered, go take a look at the specs of the PSVita (Quad CPU, Quad GPU etc..)

the PSVita is not like the 3DS with its cheap POS technology.....

[GreenRanger]

If Sony couldn't afford to drop the price of the Vita, they wouldn't be giving away free games and memory cards.
If they lost the money on the Vitas and not on the free stuff, they'd make that money back on software sales.

[Hicken]

They make that money back on the memory cards. This has been established and known for quite some time.

[rainslacker]

@Green

Giving away a free game they published doesn't cost them anything since it's a digital product. They won't make money on the game, but they won't lose it either.

Otherwise I agree with your sentiment, and although I love my Vita, the Memory Card prices are ridiculous.

Also, this offer is in France only.

[XB1_PS4]

It needs to come with a memory card. Most games you can't even play without a memory card. Even if you buy the hard copy, they still have an install size.

[admiralvic]

It has a bit to do with what others have said, like not taking a loss, adding perceived value, etc. Though it also has a LOT to do with keeping current buyers happy. If you drop the Vita, then early supporters are mad they paid a bit more, where as adding a bonus with memory cards could serve to support many people looking to buy one. This adds value to new buyers, but doesn't piss off current supporters.

[yeahokchief]

Here in the states they were on sale for $179 on Black Friday. It came with Assassins Creed, 10 dollar gift certificate, and 3 months of PS plus with all of those free vita games that were available via plus.

You missed out.

[sdozzo]

Yeah, typical business model is to keep the price and just add something that no one is buying anyway... Like Little Deviants etc.

[CanadianTurtle]

No Resistance Burning Skies bundle? Aw come on. All those games are just not worth playing for me except Super Star Dust Vita.

[silkrevolver]

And Burning Skies is?

[CanadianTurtle]

I think you missed the point. I said all those games aren't worth playing for "me." It was a personal opinion because I'm a huge fan of the Resistance series.

[silkrevolver]

Gotchya.

[Chapulin]

I want a 32 GB memory card but don't want to pay $90. I actually payed like $140 for a 2 GB memory card when the PSP first came out. My bank called me because they thought my credit card had been stolen. lol

[rainslacker]

At least the PSP came with a 1GB card initially.

[Pillsbury1]

Soon the price of the system will come down and hopefully the memory cards as well. It has only been out a year people, Black Friday sales prove it will sell at the right price.

[Janitor]

Yeah, but compared to every other system, console and portable, it didn't sell well at all, and really got stomped by its main competition, the 3ds. And the Amazon bundle was practically giving them away @180 with two full games, a memory card, and three months of plus.

[Janitor]

LOL, stealth disagree all you want, but the numbers don't lie. Personally I believe vita is way superior to the 3ds, but its just not selling. Why people get emotionally invested in a piece of plastic I'll never understand...

[VitaOwner]

I wish they had this deal back when i bought my 32 gb memory card :(

[Kennytaur]

I feel pretty safe saying that at least you didn't pay 175 USD for it. That's the cost of importing.

[Baylex]

Nice! I was going to buy a 16gb.. but now I think I'm going to wait and buy a 16gb with the little deviants or with modnation racer, the rest of the games I already have so..

[Kennytaur]

It's not like it's impossible to get both a Vita and memory cards for under the RRP.

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

This is a smart idea and a great one for gamers... I hope it spreads to the other sized memory cards... talk about feeling like you are getting a bonus...

[deletingthis34675334]

A step in the right direction.

[gamern4g]

Vita cost too much and these games also cost same as PS3 games.