How cheap do you expect?

This is about the PS Vita and the price drop. Mainly my problem with any of this is that people ask for a price drop so often but the PS Vita has been on sale and clearance so many times now it might as well be a permanent price drop. You never see those same people in those articles celebrating that but instead just the same people in other articles asking for price drops over and over again with no intention to ever buy one either way.

Places like Japan aren't seeing sales like this on the system that often so it makes sense why they already have their permanent drop.

My biggest gripe with any of this is the fact that people are expecting to get the PS Vita as cheap as the 3DS. Now I am not saying it never will be but right now, really? The 3DS sells brand new for $169.99 and people are expecting to buy a PS Vita for $179.99? It would be more fair though to compare the price to Nintendo's latest revision the 3DS XL. Currently it still sells for $199.99 new and somehow getting the PS Vita for cheaper makes sense to anyone? It doesn't make any sense to me.

I don't mind so much people asking for a price drop itself. It is just that what many of you are asking for the PS Vita right now just doesn't add up. If Sony did manage to sell the PS Vita for $179.99 so early on kudos to them I guess, cause there would be no reason not to own one then if it cost less than a 3DS XL will cost you.

Regardless of that though I don't think they will. I own both a PS Vita and 3DS XL but to even consider the PS Vita on the same level as the 3DS from a hardware perspective makes absolutely no connection to me. The PS Vita cost a little more simply because it does a lot more than a 3DS will, it is just built with better components also. The OS on the PS Vita alone warrants the extra $50 dollars and that isn't including just about every hardware aspect on the thing that is better than what you will find on any handheld gaming device out.

You would think it already being so cheap and barely anymore than what you would buy for one of the most popular handhelds brand new, the 3DS XL.. That would be enough but somehow even that is not enough for anyone.

Anyway just doesn't make much sense to me. People beg for a price drop for this thing but every time it is on sale or clearance there aren't that many people there talking about that. To make matters worse, then you have people asking for the price to drop to be lower than what the 3DS cost right now, knowing that already has had a significant price drop and still almost cost as much as a PS Vita.

I just can't seem to understand the logic in how people come up with this stuff or why people find the device itself expensive other than the memory cards. On a side note, you don't need a big memory card and I get tired of people acting like you do. Retail games still exist and believe it or not you can have just as much fun and get by playing games just fine with retail games with a 4GB card. I did for a long time until I found some 16GB's on sale.

Again not saying it never will drop that low, it could drop lower than that in the future sure, just like I am sure over time the 3DS will get cheaper also. Right now though it doesn't make any sense for Sony to price the device cheaper than others with devices offering less in features and hardware than what the PS Vita currently does.

[JackOfAllBlades]

Best Buy now has a New 3G Vita with 8GB memory card for 199. http://www.bestbuy.com/site...

[Christopher]

Needs to be much lower. I got the AC LIberation bundle (game + Vita + 4GB) for $179 in December. I'm thinking they need to get it down to $99 for just the vita ($129 for 3G) or $149 for a bundle.

[zeal0us]

Well features and hardware specs isn't helping the PSVita to sell. At the price its at it's losing more than hardware sales its losing games to it competition. For example one its predecessor(PSP) best system seller, Monster Hunters, has moved to Nintendo.

[ZodTheRipper]

Only people who don't own a Vita say price is a problem ...once you've got it, you see the value in it. It's system selling games that are missing right now. It's a really tough decision to buy the Vita at the moment ...but once you've done that, you'll fall in love with it and just wish for Sony to support it more. And the more people make that decision, the more reason Sony and of course all other developers have, to support it ...just look at the support the 3DS is getting.

[zeal0us]

Part of the reason the 3DS is where its at is because of the price cut Nintendo issued. I hate to say but it's time to stop ignoring the elephant in the room. Overall the Vita isn't doing well. Sony need to realize its not only competing against Nintendo but also a rising mobile gaming market.

[OhMyGandhi]

Zod,
most people see great value in the HARDWARE of the psp vita.

It's the software that gets people worried.
I joined the ill-fated ship that was the original PSP-100. I loved a handful of games, but in the long run, could have I skipped out on it? you bet your ass.

[ABizzel1]

@zod18

"Only people who don't own a Vita say price is a problem"

Well that's kind of obvious, people who already own a Vita have no concern over pricing, but I agree with them. I bought the Vita at launch, and I could have waited at least until the Assassin's Creed Black Friday bundle.

The new $199 price is good for the Vita, but the problem still remains is that to get the full use out of your Vita you need PS+ and a 32GB memory card which is where the price starts to jump.

There's a Walking Dead Bundle, which comes with the game and a 8GB memory card for $199, which is a great entry to the Vita, but if it's a download version then your memory is almost gone.

The $199 price is fine, but the memory cards needed a 50% price drop, not 20%.

My 32GB is full already.

[Nicaragua]

I think its the memory card bit that strips the vita of its value, it should come with at least 4gb built in.

I also agree that its bollocks how people make out that you need the 32gb card, ive got the 16 gb and I think thats more than enough as long as you arent a massive lazy chod.

[BillytheBarbarian]

I'm waiting because I'm patient. I just want some sports and those go cheap quickly. Once vita hits 150 I'll get it. No rush.

[PopRocks359]

I don't expect anything. I'm waiting patiently. $150 for the Wifi version is what I would find ideal. If they offer $200 with a copy of Tearaway and a free memory card, then I'll just get that.

[rainslacker]

Sometimes lowering the cost of your product to match a competing product actually lowers the perceived value of said product. If Sony were to come out and lower the price of the Vita to the same price, or less, than the 3DS, people not in the know may perceive it as an inferior(or comparable) system. The Vita itself is definitely better spec wise in every way over the 3DS. 3DS does seem to have better support though.

What most people don't understand is there is a great deal of market research that goes into the pricing of a product. They look at how many they can sell at a given price. They look at the perceived value of the product at a certain price. They look at how the price will be effected by competition. All that along with manufacturing costs plays an important role in how much a product will be on the shelf.

If Sony decides to drop the price, I honestly think it would come down to $219.99(US). It's more than a 3DS so the perceived value of the system is there, but not so much more that people wouldn't turn away from it for the cheaper option. Bundle in a game(something 3DS doesn't do a lot of), pack in a 4-8GB memory card, and call it a day.

I do agree though, there have been plenty of chances to pick up a Vita new for as low as $179.99(if not more). It did sell on Amazon at that price pretty well, but for those that didn't pick up the system then, you really have no place to criticize.

People expecting the Vita to be priced cheaper than the regular 3DS should just be prevented from having children. Sony is obviously not so desperate to get Vita sales.

More compelling software that appeals to a broader group of people would benefit the system a lot more than a price drop. A few system sellers wouldn't hurt either. Put a price drop and system seller together, and it's a match made in heaven.

[Pillsbury1]

I manage just fine with a 4 gb memory card I got off eBay for 9.99$. I transfer gAmes from my ps3 to vita when I want to play them or download them from my download history. We have seen sales explode when the vitas price drops in other markets, it just needs to hit the sweet spot in price.

[dredgewalker]

I think the sweetspot could still be $200 for a newer model. But I'd prefer a memory card price drop along with higher capacity cards than a new vita model. Any person who owns a vita along with a psn plus account wants this.

[Cam977]

The price IS the issue, every time I go on my VITA I have a really, really difficult time selecting the game I want to play.