Estimated PS Vita bill of materials : $159.10

[Shinobi-san]

Chark said:

Solid-Stark said:

It seems like there is possibly room for a $199 price point (which you explained).

They should release a Vita bundled with a 4gb card for $199 and keep that price for 3 years. Phase out the 4gb card and make the 8gb $20, 16gb $40, and the 32gb $70.

And finally, most importantly, keep a steady stream of new releases.

P.S. Give early adopters a free SCE game on PSN

Early price cut method ala 3DS is a terrible business move for a company's credibility. It didn't do Nintendo any favors despite the high sales of the 3DS afterwords. It would especially look bad for Sony right now. There are a variety of ways they can encourage sales without drastic measures. Holiday bundles, 4GB bundles (to aid phase out), PR moves with big software releases. Dropping the Vita's price right now will remove Sony's ability to leverage a price drop in the future. A price drop would cause Vita to start selling at a loss, it is too early for manufacturing costs to shrink, which is one main deciding factor in dropping price. The only region that might receive a price drop early would be Japan since they are paying more than the rest of the world. North America has the cheapest price point right now and will be the last to recieve a price drop, or will recieve one if price drops are alligned globally. The earliest we will see a price cut on the Vita will most likely be between E3 2013 and holiday 2013.

EDIT: Though I could see a 2013 March price cut if they feel they need to early, and if sales return to lows after the holidays. They could leverage a price cut during the slower months to boost sales of a Sony IP.

Nice post Chark. I fully agree with your opinions on this.

People calling for a price cut now are not thinking long term. Sony needs to ride the storm out for now...and then push sales by offering great bundles, and most of all offering software that makes people want to buy the system irrespective of its price.

I say Sony should delay a price cut for as long as possible. Same applies for the PS3 at the moment. No price cut needed this year, just a good bundle or two.

I actually dont even think a price cut will solve the VITA problem, so they could end up in worse situation than they are already in. That is, loosing more money on each console sold (or making less profit) and selling at similar sales levels like they are now. You right when you say Nintendo made this mistake, they cut the price of the 3DS waaay to quickly...sales were bound to pick up once the big hitters started releasing.They might have even turned a profit this last financial year had they not cut the price.