Should Sony Double Up with a PS4 and Vita Bundle?

Push Square: "With the PlayStation 4's capabilities discussed and reinforced during GDC, the company's handheld is shaping up to be an increasingly integral part of the next generation console's ecosystem. But with the platform holder eager to reiterate the importance of Remote Play, and with buzzwords such as cross-buy and cross-save certain to grow in importance over the coming years, would the company benefit from bundling its forthcoming machine with its fledgling handheld?"

[LOGICWINS]

"Throw an already-expensive Vita into the mix, and you're looking at the recipe for an RRP that could even eclipse the PS3's infamous $599USD."

Doubt it. People buy bundles like this for value. Assuming Sony drops the Vitas price this summer(which they will), it'll be $199. The PS4 will be somewhere between $399-$449.

Buying in a bundle, I see the price being $499.

[reef1017]

I hope they do bundle the two together. Because I want a vita but I refuse to pay $250 for a handheld.

[LOGICWINS]

"People thought the vita would be 400-600 dollars"

Then those people are dumber than a banana peel. Sony would have never been stupid enough to launch the Vita at $400. That would have been ludicrous. Even at $250, we can see that its struggling. Imagine what would have happened if it launched at $400.

$200 has always been the intended sweet spot for the Vita. The $50 premium was for the hardcore Sony fanbase who Sony knew would scoop Vita up at an inflated price. For everyone else, $150-$200 was the intended price point.

EDIT:

And please, don't give me that

"But bu bu people spend $200-$600 on smartphones" argument

The market for smartphones across the globe is INFINITELY bigger than the one for dedicated portable gaming devices. The bigger the market for a product, the more willing people are to pay top dollar for that product.

Smartphones have become status symbols...portable gaming consoles aren't. Smartphones are more popular worldwide, there is more marketing behind them, and the perceived value of a smartphone(for most consumers) is far greater than that of a portable gaming console.

Don't believe me?

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mo...

More units sold than the DS and PS2 combined! Keep in mind, this is only ONE line of phones. This isn't factoring the sales of the other 120+ Samsung phones and not factoring in iPhone, HTC, Nokia, Windows phone OR Sony Ericsson sales.

PLEASE..for the last time,

Stop comparing these two markets.

[MysticStrummer]

"People thought the vita would be 400-600 dollars."

No. They didn't.

You have a twisted view of what it means to be on welfare.

[LOGICWINS]

"More units sold than the DS and PS2 combined!"

Meant to say PSP...not PS2. Still, I think I've made my point quite clearly.

[NastyLeftHook0]

i agree about the bundle, i would buy it.

@thirty3three, dont insult people who are on welfare telling them to "grab " there checks like animals. my best friend is a vietnam vet who lost his left hand and his eyesight and he fought for your freedom and people treat him like crap because he is on welfare.

[Ritsujun]

Nintendo should. A Wii U + popcorn bundle.

[ApolloTheBoss]

You can always try Ebay. I was lucky enough to grab one for less than $200 with a 8GB and in GREAT condition.

[GribbleGrunger]

What is it with some of you and Logicwins? He's spot on with that lengthy post. I don't always agree with him but I take every post he makes separately and don't let any previous disagreements effect my replies in other threads. Argue with the thinking, not the man for goodness sake.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I would just like to throw in a little something about the Vita's price.

You guys forget that the 3DS was initially priced at $250. So people were speculating the Vita's price to be around $300-$400(lol @ the person who said $600). $200-$250 for the Vita at the time was considered wishful thinking as that just wouldn't make sense from a true realistic stand point when you take into account Sony's pricing history and the tech packed in the Vita. That's why people were surprised and happy when Sony matched the 3DS' price point. For an obviously more powerful handheld to be the same price as it's competitor certainly is a shock.

But then Nintendo lowered their price and all of a sudden $250 no longer looked like a steal for the Vita.

[rainslacker]

As I recall the $250 Vita price tag was applauded when it was announced. Was a pretty positive side to it's whole announcement and upcoming release as well.

Sony could have gotten away with a $400-500 Vita if it had been a phone also, but it would likely be subsidized the say way smartphones are now.

I agree with Logic. Can't believe I'm saying that :) When Sony inevitably drops the price(probably at E3, or near the PS4's release), it is very possible that those that have been holding off will finally pick up the system. The fact that most of the criticisms of the system are now moot will only make it more attractive.

The only thing I can see keeping people away at a $200 or less price is the memory card prices, so it would be wise on Sony's part to make them more in line with what the actual market price for memory is going for. I do however fear that it may keep that stigma of being overpriced for them, and no doubt people will push that issue further than they should.

OT: A bundle would be great if there is value in it. If you can get a bundle for less than it costs to buy them both separate, it could be great marketing. For people willing to drop $400 on a console, they could be tempted to spend another $150 or so to get the bundle. Prime opportunity for Sony to really push Vita sales through the roof.

[LackTrue4K]

i would love to see that bundle!!!
And at stores, place them right up/next to the Wii u!

:P

[iPad]

If it were up to me, I would release two bundles:

PS4 + Killzone (maybe another DS4...) - $499 LE
PS4 + PSVita + Move controllers LE =$599 LE

Then a 2TB PS4 at $399 and a 1TB PS4 at $349

[Peppino7]

I'd buy it at the right price.

[dedicatedtogamers]

I don't think a bundle is an answer (which would have a high price and would likely just sit on the shelf and give headaches to retailers).

The answer is simple: make a PS4/Vita combo LOOK attractive. Duh! Advertise, Sony. I know it's SOOOOO hard for you to do, but advertise. Show off the capabilities of a Vita/PS4 combo. Also, make a commitment to really push cross-buy and remote play. Stop being wishy-washy. People might buy the Vita just so they can play their already-owned console games on the go. BUT you actually have to put effort into it, Sony, and start adding cross-buy and remote play to more titles.

[rainslacker]

Offering some sort of rebate for getting both is a pretty decent idea. It saves the trouble of marketing a separate SKU, and helps advertise the Vita to anyone who purchases a PS4. Particularly helpful is that they can really push the PS4/Vita integration to entice more people to want a Vita.

@die below

It's not appalling. The PS4 and Vita are looking to be heavily integrated with one another. At it's core they are separate machines, but when put together they can deliver a completely different experience.

[die_fiend]

An appalling idea. Handhelds don't offer the same experience as consoles and are very different markets

[Nilemonitors13]

I completely agree with your thoughts, but I think that if the ps4 was 450$ people would still buy the bundle for 550$, maybe even 600$, I know I will, specially if it is a revised vita with an hdmi port, I already have 2 ps vitas, (one I bought for my girl), anyways, it is a great portable and believe me when I say that those that talk sh** about it just can't afford it. For the future of portables buy the ps vita and 3ds, I wouldn't want a future without buttons on portables.

[tubers]

Make the good value bundle OPTIONAL.. problem solved.

[a_bro]

they can do a bundle and cheapen it if they want.

[nevin1]

I dont think its worth it if promised features dont happen.

[LOGICWINS]

Personally, I'd rather have just the PS4. Vita has some great titles, but if you think about it, all the best PSP titles came to consoles at some point(Peace Walker, GOW: Origins, Persona 3 etc.) Its safe to assume that the same will happen with the Vita.

I'm just not that type of a gamer. When I game, I like to relax on my bed via surround sound headphones and game on the big screen.

I plan on picking up a PS4 sometime next holiday.

[porkChop]

I think it's a smart idea to have an optional bundle with both systems considering how closely integrated the 2 systems are. It would help Vita's sales a lot, that's for sure. If they can get a baseline PS4 and a WiFi Vita + 8GB memory card, all for around $549, I think it would be very successful.

[admiralvic]

It's actually a terrible idea. Not many people know the Vita exists (due to terrible marketing) and bundling it, even in limited bundle would do NOTHING but tell people that the Vita is nothing more than a PS4 accessory and that it's basically a Wii U.

[Supermax]

I think it's a good idea I'd even say take a loss at a great price to intice more people to buy

[dantendo]

YES!! While only 10% of consumers would buy it, who cares??? Extra sales for sony, and a savings for the consumer. I have wanted a vita for some time and have not pulled the trigger, this bundle would be a must for me....

[GribbleGrunger]

I don't think it would make sense immediately, no. It would make more sense to put out a PS3/Vita bundle instead.

[Xer0_SiN]

why not? if the vita will be utilized as an independant controller, i dont see why not. i wouldnt mind another vita lol.

[profgerbik]

I see no reason why they couldn't. The amount of money people are probably going to spend at launch on the PS4 and games will probably exceed the price of the PS4 and PS Vita anyway.

If they can put it in a decently priced bundle and people know they are still saving on the Vita, I know those bundles will sell.

Could be an easy way to advertise the Vita also even if they don't really sell a ton. People who really don't care about it or have no clue about it, will see those bundles and it will spark more interest in the Vita alone just from that. As people will see them bundled with their precious PS4.

[Nilemonitors13]

I think that if by selling about a million of these "limited edition bundles" it would equal to obviously another million vitas, which in turn would entice devs to make more games, and that in itself would equal more vita sales. I think this would be great. Im a very happy vita owner and I support it as far as putting down 50 dlls for a friend to buy it, aswell as buying one for my girlfriend. PS love

[refocusedman]

For everyone who needs a memory card best buy online has them on sale for 29.99 for a 16 gig which i believe normally goes for 60. From what I can tell most best buys have exhausted their stock but, try to find a store that price matches and you should be able to get this deal.

Ive posted this before but I wanna make sure as many people can take advantage of this as possible!

[Shacojin]

Look out for a launch PS4/Vita bundle announcement at E3.. Sony will market the shit out of it. BF4 on the go.. I'm all for it!

[KingKevo]

They Should. They Will. I'm going to get it!!

[gpturbo81]

what an overpriced piece of shit this would be

[hot4play]

Agree. But i think its not gonna happen soon (mainly due to price). I think a few years down the line when both the PS4 and Vita's manufacturing costs are significantly lower, Sony will "relaunch" the system or release an bundle SKU that will compete with the Wii U.

Think about it, just like the PS3's lifecycle was extended with Sony releasing the Move to compete with the Wii. The PS4's install base would be a lot bigger then and the Vita would be relatively "dirt-cheap". This would allow Sony the opportunity to bundle the Vita with the PS4, making it the official controller for the system.

Remember that Sony has already done this kind of strategy before with the PS1 (changing from the original controller to the first DualShock controller).

If Sony does this, they would effectively extend the PS4's longevity and standardize the use of a touchscreen controller on all their systems --- allowing for new ways to play and eating away at the Wii U's marketshare. Wii U games would be easily ported to the PS4, plus games would be a lot better because of the more powerful hardware and the better touchscreen controller (sorry Vita's OLED capacitive touch beats Wii U's crappy resisitive screen)

2015 - PS4 Slim + PS Vita bundle for $399 --- MAKE IT HAPPEN SONY!

Plus! You can still use the Vita as an actual PORTABLE machine that has its own set of exclusive games (Soul Sacrifice, FFX HD, and im sure many more in the future)

[Bowzabub]

Yes