380°

Price Cut Prompts PlayStation Vita Sell Outs in Japan

Push Square: "See that red text at the bottom of those PlayStation Vita promotional posters? That's the sign of victory. After having its price slashed to just ¥19,980 yesterday, Sony’s struggling handheld has finally started flying off the shelves, with the pictured Akihabara retailer only having two models left in stock."

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pushsquare.com
antbolton894093d ago

I think the japan price cut was a test to see if it would make a difference to sales, i expect europe and america to get a price cut soon if it is selling out

Blastoise4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

I read something on this last night. Apparently they sold out within the hour!

I imagine Phantasy Star Online 2 & Soul Sacrifice helped a lot too

http://www.inside-games.jp/...

Use google translate

bicfitness4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

What's funnny is this troll article that was trying to paint an entirely different story:

http://n4g.com/news/1183421...

I told the fool to wait until the official date and more numbers/ samples started trickling out before making assumptions, but some people just don't listen.

Would be nice to see the Vita do 50-70K for the next few weeks (or more, obviously, but we have no idea what supply is like).

G20WLY4093d ago

"...PlayStation Vita Sell Outs in Japan", now there's a headline I was starting to think might never be written! :)

stuna14093d ago

It's also safe to assume that the announcement of the PS4's functionality with it, has helped in some regards.

knifefight4092d ago

March is definitely going to be big for Vita in Japan.
http://www.gamerevolution.c...
^ As said, here as well:
"This, plus the launches of Phantasy Star Online 2 and Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus should lead to a big jump in Vita sales on next week's charts. The releases of Tales of Hearts-R, Soul Sacrifice, Dead or Alive 5 Plus, One Piece Pirate Warriors 2, and a portable Atelier Meruru should keep the system's performance respectable all month long."

We've seen the prelude, now March will show how the machine can do with a lower price and appealing software.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4092d ago
miyamoto4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

So the battle begins in Japan...

PlayStation sends a message that it is still the Platform for Hunting games

http://gematsu.com/2013/02/...

Enjoy Hunting!

PS.
This proves that price point is the number 1 factor in Japan.

200K next week confirmed?
Assasin's Creed: Black Flag Vita this year?
PS4+PS Vita bundle next year?

Gonna be exciting!

bryam19824092d ago

so it has begun buaaaaah! cool i love my vita i am thinking of buying a new one cuz my kid have my old one all scratch and dirty please price drop for americaaaaa c'mon sony lets do it baby

Ddouble4092d ago (Edited 4092d ago )

I would not go as far as 200K. Dengeki said they only shipped 30K of the new ice silver colour.

So if those sell out, plus sales of the other colours then expect at least 50K.

Remember Sony is also pushing Soul Sacrifice hard and that comes with it's own special SKU so people might be waiting on that as well.

3-4-54093d ago

Another point for Logic.

Now if only somebody could slap some sense into Sony NA.

TongkatAli4093d ago

Dude, they're bleeding money on it why do you think the memory cards are that expensive ? For fun ?

SilentNegotiator4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

They would have to be on something to think a pricecut wouldn't make a difference in the West.

They should have rolled out a pricecut at the Playstation meeting, instead of giving Vita another year of slow sales and thus keeping developers scared off even longer.

GraveLord4093d ago

The portable market in Japan is very differnt from the one in EU/US. A price cut in Japan could increase Vita sales by millions this year, while one in America could only increase it by a few hundred thousand. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's all about the games. Sony was smart to time this price cut with games like Phantasy Star Online 2 and the upcoming Soul Sacrifice.

Denethor_II4093d ago

We all remember the articles about the PS3 being still born and what not, whatever happened to all the Xbox trolls that once ruled and littered this site?
Anyway, now we're seeing the same with Vita, with people like Cliffy B saying 'Sony should give up on Vita'. It's obviously going to sell, give it a rest.

Apollosupreme4092d ago

Price cuts usually mean they're also prepping for a new and improved product to fill that price point. I expect a new Vita by Xmas that will have some new bells and whistles.

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4092d ago (Edited 4092d ago )

Perfect timing before ps4..

They should promote ps4 + vita sales! Buy a ps4 now and save $70 on vita when bought together..

Apollosupreme4092d ago

Bundling them together at some point would be an excellent idea.

Tei7774092d ago

I don' t think this is the case actually. The Japanese price cut has been very strategically timed to to coinside with all of the Vita's biggest releases. Starting this week with PSO2 the Vita has a least one major flagship title being released everyweek of march. Next week its soul Sacrifice, then Gundam, then One Piece. There are also a ton of other notable titles but the above are the biggest I think.

They didn't offer this cut in west because they have no software to support it and they we will probably never have a month as strong as this in west. To be honest I thinking over here sony's flagship title is the ps4 lol

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4092d ago
Sanquine904093d ago

LOL I laughed. Kaz is cool!:D

SandWitch4093d ago

LOL WTF, why are all WiFi models sold out and 3G models not if price is the same?

These must be a great portion of geniuses there in Japan

oONinjavitiSOo4092d ago

Well you can tether your ps vita to your phone. Might be why they aren't. Besides you can't use multiplayer games over 3g only social functions.

Baka-akaB4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

why would there be a frenzy on 3g version ? You can't play with it and most people in japan got 3g and beyond capabilities on their phones . They obviously dont care and dont have to

Sanquine904093d ago

Justice! Hopefully the price drop comes soon in EU and NA

OlgerO4093d ago

I just realized something, every person that owns a Vita will buy a PS4 over a xbox 720 because of the remote play option. So the existence of the Vita will help PS4 market share

theDECAY4093d ago

That's assuming that all the Vita owners out there right now aren't already going to be early adopters for PS4.

abzdine4093d ago

great! a lower price was what Vita needs.

majiebeast4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

Psvita+8GB card+1-3 month card for psplus, would sell for sure. I love my Vita i have it since launch it deserves more succes its a amazing device.

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140°

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night DLC Adds Free Gameplay Modes

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has received a bunch of new DLC, including two new gameplay modes, for free.

90°

20 Best Survival Games of All Time

From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.

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culturedvultures.com
Vader823d ago

No 7 days to die is criminal

210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel5d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow5d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1824d ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie4d ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

4d ago
Hereandthere3d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

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Notellin4d ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

4d ago
Hereandthere3d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

ApocalypseShadow3d ago

Lying to yourself is unbecoming.

Article link tells you all you need to know in Sarah Bond's own words.

Hereandthere3d ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

ApocalypseShadow3d ago

At least you and others get it. Note drank the Kool aid and asked for seconds thinking it was refreshing.

Most don't even know how it all played out but it's there in black and white for all to see. Microsoft brought it up for years until the MLB forced Sony's hand. It was a win win for Microsoft. Kill one reason to buy a PlayStation or kill the game by dropping it in a cheap service to kill Sony's sales numbers on PlayStation.

OtterX4d ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

Cockney3d ago

They chose well, Sony gave them the backing to pursue their dreams with no restrictions even tho their games especially dreams have very niche appeal. Media molecule and Sony deserve respect for this in an age of risk averse publishing.

RNTody4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno4d ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Inverno4d ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

4d ago
fsfsxii4d ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno4d ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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