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Soundwave on 17 November 2014
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MikeRox said:
Soundwave said:

No the main difference is Sony basically just used off the shelf components for the Vita, the Vita is basically just a dated iPad 3 chip and standardized RAM. They even axed the OLED screen for the new model. 

Nintendo insists on highly customized hardware components along with expensive hardware gimmicks (3D screen/dual screens, touchscreen controller, etc.). Like the Wii U for example uses a very propietary CPU, and very customized GPU with heavy empahsis on low power usage ... but that makes the chip expensive because it's a very specific part, not something that uses just off the shelf components. 

Anyways though to the OP's point I don't think Vita is "saved". There's too many other ways for kids to play Minecraft. 

So you're saying that massive price cut for the 3DS in it's first year never happened? Even with off the shelf components, the fact that the Vita is a generation ahead of the 3DS means any first year price drop would have been accepting losses on hardware sales. Sony didn't do that. Nintendo did with their souped up N64.

As for OP's point, anyone seriously thinking the Vita is "saved" at this point is dillusional. The thread was in jest because MS officially have the biggest Vita game behind Sony's biggest title and FIFA.


Cutting the price that sharply early on hurt Nintendo badly precisely because they inisted on using such a exotic component (a 3D screen), you can't ask suppliers to take a loss on a component like that. They will give you much more leeway if you ask for a break on say a heavily mass produced component. 

Sony basically used not only off the shelf parts for the Vita, but they also basically force Vita users to have to buy overpriced propietary memory cards that they make a fat profit margin on. So there's that too. 

IMO Nintendo cut the price in part as well to ensure that they would retain exclusivity on Monster Hunter, because I think Capcom was rethinking that with the 3DS' early performance. So in the long term, that move effectively killed Sony's handheld chances. 

Nintendo should actually use off the shelf components for their next handheld (ditch the dual screen thing too). They will be able to get something that absolutely destroys the Vita in performance by 2016 for a reasonable cost.