290°

PS Vita Sells Up 4X in Japan

No rumors have suggested a price cut in North America or Europe. In fact, ​Sony president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed that no price drop will be seen in North America in the foreseeable future. With the PS Vita also struggling to gain momentum in the states, a price drop may be a strategy worth further discussion, considering it's positive reception in Japan.

BitbyDeath4061d ago

If true it sure will be interesting if it can maintain those numbers.

Here's last weeks -

3DS LL – 49,317
3DS – 25,412
PS3 – 18,529
Vita – 11,456
Wii U – 9,633
PSP – 8,981
Wii – 1,317
Xbox 360 – 473

Cupid_Viper_34060d ago

This is very good news for Sony and the PS Vita. It's always a gamble when a company decides to cut the price of a product, because if it fails to spike up even after a price cut, you basically have a huge problem on your hands.

DiRtY4060d ago

45k is still poor after a $50 / $100 price cut.
Heck the 3DS outsells the PS Vita almost 2:1 the week after the price cut.

Let's see how sustainable these sales are.

Cupid_Viper_34060d ago

Before I put you on my ignore list....

The price cut went into effect on Feb 28.
Secondly, 45k-50K weekly translates into 200,000k/month, in Japan alone.
and Lastly, even after the price cut the 3DS is still cheaper then the Vita.

now, where was I again? oh yeah...ignored!

BitbyDeath4060d ago

How is potentially beating out the 3DS, PS3, Wii U, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 poor?

DiRtY4060d ago

It is the week after the price cut guys. This is actually a bad sign for things to come.

Soul Sacrifice might keep the sales going for antother 2 weeks or so but in April you will see the Vita below 25k again.

Kingthrash3604060d ago

See man....you are the problem with the gameing community right now. People who like to try and turn good news into bad. The truth is if the vita sold more than the 3ds this week you would have said " well this is only a week, the 3ds will sell more than the vita for the month".
Advice: be happy for all platforms,smile at the achivement of a gaming system that has been struggling. Why do you care about sales anyway... you work for Nintendo? Microsoft? No? Then stfu and enjoy gaming...

Sukebe_Gamer4060d ago

Thank you king for stating that. I completely agree.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4060d ago
Y_51504060d ago

Xbox360 selling less than Wii, ouch..

Oh_Yeah4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

It's Japan? So of course it's going to trail the wii and every other Japanese console. The only American electronic company Japan seems to be fond of is Apple... So unless Apple releases a console American hardware will always do poorly over there.

oNIXo4060d ago

@Oh-Yeah

It's not that Microsoft is an American company. It's because of the games that the Xbox 360 pushes out. It's a console that mostly has shooters, which don't do to well in Japan.

Knight_Crawler4060d ago

This is what gamers having saying since launch Sony, drop the dam price on the VITA and it will sell like the 3DS.

fei-hung4060d ago

Also, from a few articles and photos from Japan, the Vita sold out within and hour or so within a lot of shops and within a day in others. Meaning they could only sell what stock they had and if people wanted more, they couldn't sell anymore.

3-4-54060d ago

Sony - " Dropping prices on consoles/handhelds doesn't work"

Proceeds to watch it work

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4060d ago
FlameHawk4060d ago

I will buy a PS Vita day 1 when its price drops.

joab7774060d ago

I want one before ps4 launches. Its about price but also about games. Persona 4 helped alot but Nintendo has managed to grab alot of ips back from sony and that has hurt.

I do believe that if the pricepoint is right or they package with the ps4 for a great price, they can move them. They wanna do it soon though as they dont want to compete with themselves in November, or Microsoft. And the more they sell, the more developers will want to make games for it.

flyingmunky4060d ago

I'm sure there are a lot of people waiting on the fence with you but I think the price of their memory cards are a larger concern.

I make minimum wage, work part time, and am a student. I still bought the vita no problem, 250$ isn't really that much. I've spent more on groceries, my phone bill is even more than half of that.

Mustang300C20124060d ago

Everyone has a different story.

I am active duty Air Force and work part time at Best Buy. I don't have a Vita because I know my time will be limited like it was with the PSP when I got it. The issue isn't just price or the economy. It doesn't fit in a lot of consumers lives and it fell in the same issues the PSP had and that is me too ports on the handheld that I would rather play on my 360/PS3. My time is spent more on my consoles, gaming PC, IPad and IPhone.

SilentNegotiator4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

>125 a month?? Do you mean Canadian?

smashman984060d ago

Maybe Sony should drop it everywhere else

I got friends I want to play soul sacrifice with but they won't buy a vita until a drop

Adva4060d ago

Testing the waters my friend. They want to see what the Japanese market reacts first. Q4 2013 is probably when other regions get the price cut.

tubers4060d ago

That would be great.. just near KZM release :)

nigelp5204060d ago

Sony should have added a UMD drive inside increase sales from psp uesers

Cupid_Viper_34060d ago

@ Nigelp520

"Sony should have added a UMD drive inside increase sales from psp uesers"

That's exactly what they did, by continuing to manufacturer and support the PSP. If you want to play UMDs, buy a PSP.

Kos-Mos4060d ago

Yes, of course. The 3DS benefits from it. But these kids answering and disagreeing with you know nothing about business. Nintendo on the other hand do.

Aggesan4060d ago

Nintendo knows business? That's why the WiiU's selling so much then I suppose..?

a_bro4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

so you want to revert back to the main reason why people hated the PSP in the first place?

you know, if you said something like "had they brought that UMD passport service to the west, and allow us to trade out physical content to digital for the vita to increase sales from psp users" then i would not be here waisting a bubble.

besides that the main reason why there are those that are turned off of the vita. cant blame them. especially the whole proprietary memory cards that cost a lot. that needs a price cut. restructure the prices on them. theres no reason why a 16 vita memory card costs an arm and a leg, i understand that its high speed memory, but still, if they want PSN to be big here, then they should do it.

i for one can't wait to get my vita back next week. its come to the point were it has games.

nigelp5204060d ago

38 dislikes no good lol. I was just saying people have large psp game libraries and wouldnt gamers like to brins all their content on the Vita? I know i would

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4060d ago
landog4060d ago

it needs to be $199 with a 16gb memory card and 1 year ps plus, it would sell like crazzzy at that price!

Cam9774060d ago

Why would you even suggest that? You do know it costs Sony to manufacture the Vita, right?

smashcrashbash4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

Yeah and send them bankrupt.$199 with a 16gb memory card and a Whole year of PSNPlus? That would be crazzzzzzy alright. Why don't they just hand them out for free if they are aiming for bankruptcy?

tubers4060d ago

Be reasonable:

Wifi VITA + 4 GB card = $ 199.99

landog4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

ok...i'd go for that, does it come with at least 3 months ps plus>>>>

i want a vita, really, i just need there to be a few more games i really, really want, then i'll grab one, i'll pay $250 no problem if it comes with a reasonable amount of memory and has 5 games i really, really want that i can pick up for $20-$30

Bowzabub4060d ago (Edited 4060d ago )

I'm sure Kaz can send his wife over to scrub your toilet too if you ask nicely! Entitled?

landog4060d ago

i'd let her scrub something

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4060d ago
Show all comments (57)
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.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies12d 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_looken12d ago

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

Cacabunga12d ago

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

just_looken12d 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-6412d 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_Long11d 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.

Einhander197211d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d 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 11d ago
DivineHand12512d 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.

Joe91312d 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_Observer12d 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.

S2Killinit12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

Joe91311d 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.

S2Killinit11d 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 11d ago
Christopher12d 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.

CrimsonWing6911d ago (Edited 11d 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.

S2Killinit11d 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_Mal12d ago (Edited 12d 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.

Christopher12d 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_looken12d 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

Einhander197211d ago (Edited 11d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d 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.

romulus2312d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218311d 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.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d 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.

mastershredder12d 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.

crazyCoconuts12d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
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.

blackblades18d ago

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

just_looken18d 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.

blackblades18d 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_looken18d ago (Edited 18d 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.

Kaii18d 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.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit19d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

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

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

19d ago
Profchaos19d 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

Pyrofire9519d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia19d 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.

Show all comments (13)