This is utter lunacy. There should be enough built-in memory or alternative methods for me to be able to save my games and download a few patches. As long as I'm able to save my games for the time being, I won't cry. I'll just get my system and wait it out until the price on the SD cards drop to a reasonable level.

You can't do that. There is no internal memory. You MUST buy a card to use the system.

With systems like the N64 and Playstation (and to a lesser extent the PS2 and Gamecube) proprietary formats could be justified being that you really didn’t know whether the other formats that were available would survive. Today, I think the main reason they’re used is because memory cards (in particular proprietary memory cards) are a very high margin accessory. With that said, if I was Sony I would have used a better excuse and I would have probably claimed that it was for piracy prevention (or something).

You have got to be joking right? I can't even save my games?

Even my Gameboy could save games internally and now a system 4 generations later can't save games without a memory card that isn't included with the system? I don't know if I should be facepalming or crying. I personally haven't used Sony handhelds before and have stuck to Nintendo's but this is dreadful customer service because it essentially increases the price £30ish just to be able to save your games, which is mandatory.

At first I didn't realise what all the fuss was about, but I think I am starting to realise the ridiculous amounts of fail involved in here.

well just wait a while, their sales will be atrocious and then the prices will hit rock bottom (except maybe in Japan :p)

I predict built-in storage as in psp go on a future revision of the vita.

Nah, don't worry, you'll still be able to save in the game cartridge on some games, but you'll need the card to be able to play other ones and to download stuff from the psn.

Kind of a touchy issue. YES, it stealthily inflates the price of a vita if youre a real gamer. But again YES sony's been burned so bad that developers are scared to make psp games and they want to make some money again on their next console..

Vita is cheaper then almost every tablet on the market except Amazon fire and some chinese knock offs and also cheaper than huge majority of smartphones.

You would but mass consumer would feel ripped off.

As X360 showed us low entry cost and as many hidden costs is better business model.