| radishhead said: (Regarding Vita) Are you expecting a price drop at E3? If so, how much? If not, when will the price drop? Is it the right decision? |
Without clear numbers from Sony in the last financials, I would say it is doubtful but not impossible. My guess is that Sony would rather at this point promote the value added/available to the Vita through games and software and generate sales that way rather than discount it. If Sony is smart, they'll play the long game on the Vita and add value, rather than go for the short-term gains of selling more units via a price break. Generally, it's harder to recoup a loss that it is to suffer a small profit.
If Sony had been offering costs and sales, then I would have assumed that they were nearing their profit goal for the device and possibly might have gone with a price cut sooner, rather then later to generate needed sales. If they can wait it out, then they can still sell the unit at a marginal loss or profit (depending what the situation is) until the games/software is there to generate the sales they need without cutting prices.
As you mentioned, they are more likely to bundle rather than price cut, and it would be reasonable to assume the discounted price would be $20-$30. I would certainly assume there will be value bundles for the holidays, but if the Vita sales tank (they're actually not horrible at the moment), then I think Sony will have to act to ensure developers stick with it.
The best thing Sony can do is stick with its current price scheme, but add value to the device with games and software. If necessary, bundle to off-set costs, but only cut the price dramatically if developers talk of cutting their losses.
