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Posted

from ign and forbes

 

 

Is a price drop imminent?

 

 

It's old news now that PlayStation Vita isn't selling very well in its native Japan. As we already reported, Vita is off to a rocky start, only selling 72,479 in its first week on the market after pushing about 325,000 in its first 48 hours.

 

This precipitous decline hasn't gone unnoticed in circles outside of the gaming realm. In fact, Forbes tech contributor Tero Kuittinen has written a scathing article titled "Sony in Big Trouble with PS Vita," outlining the problems the company is currently facing with Vita.

 

Kuittinen notes that Vita's "second week brought devastation," especially when compared to Nintendo 3DS' second week on the market. Nintendo 3DS was widely believed to have had a terrible start, only more recently pushing bigger numbers now that games players want have finally starting arriving. Yet, 3DS sold 370,000 units in Japan in its first week, and 210,000 units in its second. In other words, it beat PlayStation Vita by 45,000 units in its first week, and a massive 137,500 units in its second week.

 

"That drop off led to steep further sales erosion," the Forbes article notes, "which forced Nintendo to implement an unusually early and steep price cut." This, of course, begs the question if Sony will do the same. Tero Kuittinen thinks that it will. "Sony will likely be forced to cut the price of the PS Vita from 24,000 Yen (~$311) to well below 20,000 Yen (~$259) very soon."

 

But the problems don't stop there. Kuittinen continues, "The upcoming US launch could be a true debacle for several reasons. Sony has decided to price Vita at $250, higher than the Amazon Kindle Fire. The hottest games like the latest Uncharted are priced at $50, while many other major titles are $40. The pricing seems delusional in light of the Japanese response to the PS Vita."

 

However, Kuittinen saves perhaps his harshest words for later in his article. "The 3DS should have been a surefire blockbuster in its domestic market -- the summer softness in Japan may have been an early warning sign of the coming global portable market malaise. The disastrous second week of the PS Vita is the second sign." The reason? The Forbes author argues that the rise of the smart phone and tablet markets are much to blame.

 

But he also argues that Sony should be concerned, as it seems to be on recent word that Sony had no comment when asked about Vita's sluggish sales. "…the portable console market may now have entered an age of permanent, slowly accelerating decline," Kuittinen concludes. "The true test of the industry is the United States, where consumers are embracing games designed for smartphones and tablets. The possible shrinking of the portable game consumer base would hit the runner-up Sony before Nintendo really gets mauled. The rot sets in first at the periphery."

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  • LightningXIII
    LightningXIII

    Wow. Really Sony? This is so cheesy. If people don't want the Vita, then they don't want it. If people do, then they do. Targeting the 3ds isn't improving their sales. Nintendo doesn't target Sony to

  • ...Material goods are very cheap to make. If costs 12 dollars to make a memory card, then it costs more to make a memory card than ti does to make a game disk and packaging. Know why? Because while

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Someone's a Nintendo fanboy.

 

To be fair when you look at the current range of consoles the stand-outs are the 3DS and PS3.

I'd either enter a sweepstakes or just wait for a price drop to get a Vita.

i wouldn't mind getting it but its not like what i did with my DS where i traded it in to help pay for my 3DS im not going to trade in my PSP to get the Vita, i wouldn't mind getting it but like CrownKeeper said ill probably enter a sweepstakes (i even went to Taco Bell to try the thing with the big box, yea didn't win http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/sleep.png surprise surprise) or wait for the price drop, and so far the only game on there im interested in is just the Uncharted game, if they have more games that im interested in that come out than i might get it, however i think if its only the Uncharted game i don't think ill get it, but than again im sure more games that i will be interested in will come to it, i just hope a KH game doesn't come out for it, i might have to miss it if its just that and the Uncharted game that im only interested i need more than just one or two games that are on that system in order to get it, maybe more than three as well but still, just have to wait and see, and hope for a price drop

Rather stick with the good old PSP 3000. It can play UMD's so i'm better off with it so I can play most of the FF and KH games on the Playstation platforms. If you want to get a Vita go with the PSP 3000 instead so you can play everything.

Someone's a Nintendo fanboy.

 

Not sure who you quoting too, but I'm not a fanboy. I own all of this gens (and many gens ago) consoles and I enjoy them all... except Sony products. PS2 was awesome, everything else sucked (PSP was pretty decent though)

  • Author

Hurm,Am going to wait for price drop but i think it has much better line up of games than 3ds did.

Games like

Escape Plan

Gravity Daze

Hot shots,Stardust and Modnation look sweet as well and their some other that interest me

I'd wait awhile, see if the system gets a price drop anytime soon, wait for some more must-buy games to come out, before you purchase it.

Not sure who you quoting too, but I'm not a fanboy. I own all of this gens (and many gens ago) consoles and I enjoy them all... except Sony products. PS2 was awesome, everything else sucked (PSP was pretty decent though)

 

That's funny since you declare what other people aren't. lol

Played around with the Vita recently. Its a pretty good system from what I observed during my brief time with it. Gravity Daze and Modnation were awesome to play (although I felt stupid aiming the girl in Gravity Daze at buildings since you have to literally move the whole system and I was in public).

That's funny since you declare what other people aren't. lol

 

I'm sorry, but you just mindfiretrucked me so hardcore. Elaborate to the young child?

 

3DS is much better than the PS Vita.

 

I think it's too early to be declaring this. The system hasn't been even out for a whole year yet in Japan!

Eh, I am not interested in the VIta. I see no games that interest me, except maybe Gravity Daze (but that doesn't look like it is worth buying the console for). Yeah, it is powerful, but I just don't see the games that I want to play. I hope it does well, as the 3DS and Nintendo need competition so they can stay at the top of their game/

 

There are quite a few 3DS games I want to get, so I wouldn't be able to buy a Vita anyway. Kid Icarus, Kingdom Hearts, Tales of the Abyss, yup it is gonna be a good year for the 3DS.

Hurm,Am going to wait for price drop but i think it has much better line up of games than 3ds did.

Games like

Escape Plan

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=de7kXtE9OzA

Gravity Daze

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y1DR5p8AlI

Hot shots,Stardust and Modnation look sweet as well and their some other that interest me

 

Escape Plan looks like a fun game, but it also looks like a game that will piss me off lol, is that already on the system or do you have to buy the game, Gravity Daze, ehhh im not so sure im ify on it but still there are other games like Uncharted, Little Diviants, im not so sure about that one idk, Persona 4 the Golden, and the Persona game where you fight with Persona 4 characters and some Persoan 3 characters

I might get it but I kinda got over mobile gaming years ago. I haven't played my PSP without it being plugged into the wall in years.

 

Playing games in the car makes me Dizzy

 

and I prefer to watch videos while on airplanes anyway cause it's more relaxing.

I'm sorry, but you just mindfiretrucked me so hardcore. Elaborate to the young child?

 

Well child, you don't seem to remember calling someone a fanboy.

Well child, you don't seem to remember calling someone a fanboy.

 

ooooy, I rememba nao. Nintendo still wins. :)

I'm gonna wait a while for the Vita. Right now, it just doesn't have anything that interests me (the only thing is FFX, but that's coming to PS3 as well so I'll just get it for PS3).

 

I'm going to wait for the price (of the system and memory cards) to drop and if there are some games that interest me (particularly KH and FF), then I'll get it.

ooooy, I rememba nao. Nintendo still wins. :)

 

Of course, they have children like you buying their games. :)

The Vita has been an overwhelming 'meh' from me form the start, but while I thought I might buy it at the start, Sony shot itself in the foot so many time that I'm simply not interested any more.

The overpriced memory cards were the nail in the coffin, and everything that came after that was just frosting.

i kinda want the vita now lol but im still gonna wait on a price drop or if i win it in some contest or something lol

It will be if Type-0 comes out for it instead of the PSP...

I just copied this from a post I made on the 3DS forums, because I didn't want to type it all out again. If you are too lazy to read the entire post, at the bottom I summed up my thoughts (I will bold it so you can find it easier). Also, sorry if there is a thread like this, I didn't see one when I searched "vita", and I couldn't remember a thread about this, so I figured it was safe.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

I finally got some time with a Vita to form a real impression of it, and I also got to demo Gravity Rush, as it was the only Vita game that sparked interest for me.

 

The system itself is much bigger than I imagined. I was expecting it to be slightly bigger than a PSP, but I was surprised. I definitely don't see it fitting into many pockets, unless you have pants with especially deep or baggy pockets. It is also very light for its size, and to me it almost felt a little too light, though that probably doesn't matter to most people, I just prefer things have a little weight to them. The system's size is probably due to the large screen, which brings us to the next category.

 

The screen is large, and I must say that I liked the size. I have never had problems with the DSLite or 3DS screen sizes, and I still don't, but the Vita's screen size was very satisfying. However, the "amazing" OLED screen failed to impress me, I didn't really see what was so special about it being OLED. The colors didn't pop out at me and punch me in the face, I wasn't left awe-struck, it was just a screen. The touch controls worked, and I don't have any complaints about them except that they leave the screen very smudged up, which does detract a little from the experience.

 

The buttons and analog sticks are next. To start with, they are incredibly small. All the pictures I have seen of Vita's have made the buttons and analogs seem bigger than they really are. To be honest, I don't see any reason to have them as small as they are, as it seems that there is plenty of room to accommodate larger face buttons and analog sticks. The analog sticks are small, I would say that they are similar in size to the PSP nub. They have little resistance and limited range. It feels strange at first, but I got use to them while playing Gravity Rush fairly quickly. Sometimes while trying to hit the far left face button (I think it was the square), I would hit the analog stick, which might cause trouble in some games, but I doubt it will be a huge issue. The D-pad is, well a D-Pad, nothing special. The shoulder buttons were nice, and I found nothing objectionable about them.

 

I didn't get to try out the back touch pad, but it is also fairly large and I could see myself accidentally activating it during games, as to hold it comfortably my fingers are always in direct contact with the touch pad. All I can say about it.

 

The home screen was meh at best. It was blue with bubbles that represented the apps and games and was controlled completely by touch. It didn't go out of its way to be very aesthetically pleasing, but it did what it was supposed to.

 

Gravity Rush was nice. The story seems interesting enough, and the premise is certainly original. Gameplay was good, and my only complaints I would attribute to my unfamiliarity with the system. The art style looked great. The graphics were definitely not PS3/360 quality, but they looked pretty good regardless. It was a bit jaggy, but not as bad as most 3DS games. Overall, I think that Gravity Rush is a good game, and that those excited for it probably won't be disappointed.

 

My final verdict is that, the Vita is a pretty good product. This is coming from someone who was completely prepared to hate it, and was trying to find as much wrong with it as he could. Some aspects of it I think are... "over-hyped" for lack of a better word. I, personally, am still probably not going to purchase one. However, if you are interested in the games coming for it and are willing to pay the price for everything you will need, I see no reason not to get one.

 

One more thing, the game boxes are really cool. I can't explain it, but their size and shape is just... interesting. *Sorry for insanely long post.*

I want to get this system...it's wierd, I fell in love with the 3DS the moment I saw it at E3....but that love has turned to the Vita. I'm definatly getting one once I get a 3DS. *w*

The handheld seems OK from when I tried it out at GameStop so now Kingdom Hearts is all it needs in order for me to rush out and buy one. :)

 

(At this time I still see no other Vita games that interest me) :mellow:

I haven't got to try it out yet, but I don't plan on buying one anytime soon, since there are no games that interest me yet. I don't really understand the purpose of the rear touch screen either.

 

I was looking through some reviews on ign, and it seems the Vita launch games that were best reviewed were the downloadable ones. So if you get a Vita, I'd recommend picking up a PSN card to get some games.

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