Vita 2012 Predicted Sales Chartz 4.08 mil

[Chark]

Deoz said:

Chark said:
@pokemmonbrawlvg

The PSP launched at $250 and that system did well. Take inflation into consideration and there shouldn't be so much concern over the price. Yes needing a memory card for game saves is an issue causing a $20 addition to the price of the Vita but it is not that significant. It should have been included. I do agree once better titles release consumer opinion will change.

The 3DS was overpriced at launch. The value to consumers was not the greatest and Nintendo's profit margins were much too high. It should have been $200 and today it is underpriced at $179. Nintendo made a terrible error with the 3DS and it's causing problems in the industry.

Smartphones are unique in price because they are subsidized through contracts and most people today view cell phones as a necessity so the increased monthly price of a smartphone is justified, but it is still expensive. Their games are also grossly inadequate currently and device upgrades are necessary to maintain relevance every year or two, very expensive. Same can be said of tablets, whose initial prices are very high compared to everything in the market while still being affected by device upgrades every year or two. But yet they all do incredibly well because they are favored as multi tool devices. The Vita is a multi tool but not to the extent as these devices and it's functionality has not permeated the knowledge of the market yet.

What kind of problems  is the pricecut doing according to you?

Well for starters it cut deeply into Nintendo's profit margins. Their stock and shareholders around the time is a good indication it caused Nintendo a lot of trouble. Despite having returned 3DS first year sales levels to DS, current sales could be better. Now Nintendo is in a situation where they most likely will not be able to cut their price any further, making their system vulnerable again to market lows. All that without the benefit of decent profit margins.

The 3DS price cut has now "established" a precedent that the Vita has to have a price cut as well. This precents a problem since it properly doesn't call for one until later in its lifecycle or when production costs are reduced. The perception of an immenent price cut could lead to consumer opting not to purchase the device. It is hard to quantify this factor but one can agree it is at least effecting the market in some way. Low sale of the 3DS and now low sales of the Vita paint a bad picture to investors, riles up ambitious analysts, and clouds acceptance of the consumer market.

So in total this whole debacle has lead to less money for console producers, game developers, and game industry investors. This is not good for gamers. I can't say what things would have been if the 3DS launched at $200 and avoided a price cut. I'd guess less turmoil and would have avoided the disturbingly low sales the 3DS had and the Vita is having now.