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Forums - Sales Discussion - Vita has outlasted the 3ds

smbu2000 on 14 December 2012
BasilZero said:

They are having losses with the Vita, didnt deny that which is probably why  - no scratch that, it IS the reason why they are ripping people off with the Vita memory card prices.

P.S. I dont know, I still find the "Ambassador" program to be a bit of a joke, a few GBA games was it? Not even NDS games >_>?

Actually, the ambassador program is quite nice. Nintendo didn't have to do anything for the early buyers, but it was a nice gesture. I picked up my 3ds at launch (25,000 yen) and I was happy with it, do the free games were a nice bonus I wasn't expecting. 10 NES games and 10 GBA games are nice especially if you are into retro games (like I am.)

This thread just sounds like damage control. 




starcraft: "I and every PS3 fanboy alive are waiting for Versus more than FFXIII.
Me since the games were revealed, the fanboys since E3."

Skeeuk: "playstation 3 is the ultimate in gaming acceleration"

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S.Peelman on 14 December 2012
VGKing said:
Sony's strategy is to make people see the value in the Vita. They are trying to convince people it is worth the $250.

Nintendo is the completely opposite. Consumers don't think 3DS is worth $250......agree with them and drop the price. That's devaluing your own products.

Apple gets away with selling millions and millions $600 iPads EVERY YEAR. Think about that.

Apparently, about twice as much consumers thought the 3DS was worth $250 compared to Vita (and that was during summer months). Something doesn't compute.

For the record, I was one of those people. Got 3DS in June when Ocarina of Time 3D came out. I don't have regrets, I deemed it worthy of the $250. The Ambassador Program after the price cut was just a nice extra that made me feel appreciated by Nintendo.



richardhutnik on 14 December 2012
theprof00 said:

Welp, it looks like vita has survived for a full year.

Its price point only dropped a bit for holidays, and as of two weeks ago, has outsold the 3ds pre price drop. 

It's  debateable, but according to the timelines, both did most of their sales outside of holidays at the higher price point. 3DS launching in Feb 2011 and price dropping in august, and vita releasing last couple weeks of xmas only in japan, releasing ww in late February, and matching the sales right on black friday (160k week).

I say it's debateable because there's debateable issues such as "does a launch during last couple weeks of xmas in japan only really count as holiday" and "does 160k on black friday really vount given the increase was minimal".

Either way, what is important is that Sony managed to hold out, and may likely hold out until late summer depending on the numbers this december and sales when the winter lineup is released.

For reference, WW, it took sony 9 months exactly to sell what 3ds did in 5.

Doesn't look all that grim anymore does it?

You need to see if the reason for lack of sales is the price point.  If it isn't, then there are problems.  It is too early to say anything on this, or even if Sony bothers to cut the price.  I suggest wait and see.  As it is now, I am not sure it is good to start up the son of "aligned launches" like you saw with the PS3 vs 360.



smbu2000 on 14 December 2012
BasilZero said:
smbu2000 said:
BasilZero said:

They are having losses with the Vita, didnt deny that which is probably why  - no scratch that, it IS the reason why they are ripping people off with the Vita memory card prices.

P.S. I dont know, I still find the "Ambassador" program to be a bit of a joke, a few GBA games was it? Not even NDS games >_>?

Actually, the ambassador program is quite nice. Nintendo didn't have to do anything for the early buyers, but it was a nice gesture. I picked up my 3ds at launch (25,000 yen) and I was happy with it, do the free games were a nice bonus I wasn't expecting. 10 NES games and 10 GBA games are nice especially if you are into retro games (like I am.)

This thread just sounds like damage control. 


I dont know, I guess as a gesture it was nice but seriously after a 80 dollar price cut >.>, would of expected more meh whatever, didnt buy a 3DS at the time but I kinda feel for the customers who did and might of had regret. Kudos for those took it with a smile though, I know I would be pissed.
 
As for the thread, I dont know, better than having a 100 threads about the Wii-U dying or the Vita dying. Also a interesting tid bit imo, showing Sony's arrogance l0l.

$80 price cut? Bah, here in Japan the price dropped from 25,000 yen to 15,000 yen! I imagine if the exchange rate wasn't so bad they probably would have dropped the price more abroad as well.

If I had bought my 3ds right before the cut I might have been a bit more irked. I was actually happy they cut the price as I knew it would mean more sales and more software support. Plus I was able to buy my gf's 3ds for at the lower price for Christmas!




starcraft: "I and every PS3 fanboy alive are waiting for Versus more than FFXIII.
Me since the games were revealed, the fanboys since E3."

Skeeuk: "playstation 3 is the ultimate in gaming acceleration"

Scisca on 14 December 2012
MattyPeq said:
Important: post about Europe.

Again with this price drop thing?
Do you realize that a Vita can easily be found (new) for € 150 in shops in Europe? (Not online shops, real shops.)
I see plenty of great bundles. Like Vita + LBP for € 190. That's a Vita for € 150. € 100 less than launch.
And you want a price drop to 170? lol. That's actually more expansive than how much it is NOW.

That's not a Vita for 150 Euro. That's still 190 Euro. You can't just substract the retail price of the game, that's not the way it works. Especially when it's a 1st party game.

Sony has to wait with the price drop now. A cut alone won't do a thing apart from generating massive losses. The Vita has been gaining grounds recently and Sony has to hope it'll last for now and cut the price when a big game is released. It wasn't the price cut that saved 3DS, it was the cut combined with 2 Mario games. Sony should cut the price when they release something big. The release of Killzone would be big enough, but only if Kojima announced that Phantom Pain is an exclusive MGS for Vita. A good KZ + expectations of MGS + a cut would give Vita a huge boost. Considering Sony has already announced the prices of Soul Sacrifice bundles in Japan, we shouldn't expect a pricedrop until some time after that game hits the market.



Wii U is a GCN 2 - I called it months before the release!

My Vita to-buy list: The Walking Dead, Persona 4 Golden, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, TearAway, Ys: Memories of Celceta, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, History: Legends of War, FIFA 13, Final Fantasy HD X, X-2, Worms Revolution Extreme, The Amazing Spiderman, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - too many no-gaemz :/

My consoles: PS2 Slim, PS3 Slim 320 GB, PSV 32 GB, Wii, DSi.

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NightDragon83 on 14 December 2012

So it took the Vita double the time the 3DS was out pre-price drop to outsell it pre-price drop, and that's supposed to be a success?

Meanwhile, post price-drop the 3DS is wiping the floor with the Vita. No matter how you try to twist and turn it, things aren't looking all that good for the Vita. Not even being bundled with two of its biggest games of the holidays could help it.



On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.

tbone51 on 14 December 2012

How long did it take to pass the pre-price cut sales???



JazzB1987 on 14 December 2012
Izo said:
Very good points. Can't wait to see what a 170 vita can do versus a 170 3DS.


Not exactly much better. In Germany  Amazon constantly sells vitas for under 170euros  (compared to the standard 250).  And europe and germany  being  Sony fanb*y territory that is.

For Example:
Yesterday December 14th  Amazon sold the PSVita Wifi version  with  Little Big Planet for 157 euros.  (yesterday since we already have it December 15th here) 

and it didnt went out of stock or whatever  since nobody cared lol...

and you have to remember that people need to buy archaic memory cards  to save their games LOL  so thats extra costs.



I am also pretty sure the 3ds will also have a price drop when the Vita gets an official one. 

P.S.
The 3ds XL for example right now also offers 1 free 3DS game (Prof. Layton, Mario 3D Land etc.   when you buy the XL and register before january 15th.)






hsrob on 14 December 2012
BasilZero said:
hsrob said:
BasilZero said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:
I'm a little confused here, to be honest, by the thread title and the OP. What are we talking about, exactly?


Outlasted in terms of when a official price cut was implemented comparing from one system to another.

This thread makes little sense.  Since when has sales to pricecut been a useful or reliable metric of a system's success?

All you have shown is that Sony is less willing or able to drop price than Nintendo, who in turn were unwilling to tolerate such low sales.

Consoles exist to sell games, if you can not even sell enough systems to make people want to make games for your system you are dead in the water.  As for price drops devaluing a product, you simply can not compare consoles to phone/tablets and Apple's model. This whole premise is based on the fact that the consumer agrees with the manufacturer's assessment of a product's value.  Apple is oft-sited as a successful implementation of this philiosophy but for every time this works there examples where it doesn't e.g. Sony TVs.  A relatively high-priced, 'premium' product with good technology, Sony refused to drop prices to match competitors in the face of declining sales. The result?

He's not talking about whether it is successful or not in sales or software library, he is talking about how the Vita has outlasted the 3DS when it comes/came to how long it took each one to get a price cut. 

3DS had a price cut already which was official, PSVita hasnt (should of but Sony hasnt done it).

I understand what he is saying but my point is it doesn't mean anything.  Furthermore he's not just saying that it has lasted longer without a pricecut, he is attaching significance to this fact.

"Either way, what is important is that Sony managed to hold out...................Doesn't look all that grim anymore does it?"

I might as well make a thread suggesting Nintendo's 3DS fortunes are looking up because it is the fist current gen handheld to sell in silver. The two are not logically connected.



Scisca on 14 December 2012

I think that what Nintendo did with 3DS also hurt Vita. I know many people were saying they don't want to buy a handheld early just because of that. They were expecting that many gamers would wait with the purchase so that Sony would cut the price fast just like Nintendo did. Now Sony has passed that point, they stuck with the price long enough to win over that thinking, but I think everyone has heard such arguments early in the life of Vita.



Wii U is a GCN 2 - I called it months before the release!

My Vita to-buy list: The Walking Dead, Persona 4 Golden, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, TearAway, Ys: Memories of Celceta, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, History: Legends of War, FIFA 13, Final Fantasy HD X, X-2, Worms Revolution Extreme, The Amazing Spiderman, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - too many no-gaemz :/

My consoles: PS2 Slim, PS3 Slim 320 GB, PSV 32 GB, Wii, DSi.