Honestly, with all the "vita is d00med" threads and what not, I'm amazed it's sold as much as it has. Why you say? Well think about it. If you had a choice of two handhelds, albeit with different games, and one was almost $100 more than the other, which would you pick? The bottom line is there isn't any one game that's a MUST PLAY on the Vita or the 3ds. There are quality games on both handhelds. So when deciding which to pick up, price becomes a main selling point. 

I currently don't own either handheld. I do however own a DS lite and a PSP-3000. Both are great consoles, although I spend a bit more time on my DS due to pokemon addiction... With that said, when I eventually decide to get one of the next gen handhelds, I'll likely go with the 3ds. As a middle class consumer, I honestly don't need to be spending $250 on a handheld system (vita) when I can get a 3ds for $169. It seems silly. Yes I'd love to play P4: Golden, Uncharted, and LBPvita, but there are many same-quality games on the 3ds, so it comes down to price.

Sony needs to act fast in order to save the Vita. I understand they'd be selling at a loss, but if DRASTIC chances are not made, then the 3ds will completley blow the vita out of the water. If Sony comes with a small price cut, Nintendo can easily counter that. I think the Vita at an attractive price of $169.99 will sell great and actually compete with the 3ds, convincing more developers to work with the handheld.

What are your thoughts on the need a Vita price cut? How soon do they need to lower the price, if at all??? 

it definitely needs a price cut and Sony knows it, so they seem to be unable to afford it at the moment.

Perhaps somewhere mid 2013 and hopefully without having lost too much 3rd party support.

early next year

I don't really agree that they have to lower the price as soon as possible. People on gaming forums always get caught up with the idea that it's all about some kind of race and that if you don't sell the most units then you "lose", but that's not really how business works. Sony's first priority with the Vita has to be making it profitable, due to the financial problems of the company at large. The second priority has to be luring PSP developers to the Vita--looking at you, Namco Bandai.

That being said, the Vita won't sell in the west until it gets a price cut and I think they're going to do it as soon as it's feasible. If the lower the price in conjunction with the release of one of the bigger titles, like Killzone or Soul Sacrifice, then I think it might provide a nice boost.

I would love to know what kind of dialogue they're having with Japanese developers. Yoshida said that they've expanded their efforts in that area greatly, but unfortunately we probably won't see the fruits of that labor until late this year or perhaps 2014.

Price is a major factor in the sales of the PS-Vita but it is not the only factor ...

If you go back to 2011 before Nintendo reduced the price of the 3DS it was selling at about 80,000 to 120,000 units per week while similar non-holiday PS-Vita sales are around 40,000 to 50,000 units per week. Essentially, at the same price the PS-Vita is selling at roughly half the rate the 3DS was.

Personally, I think the PS-Vita has a significant demographic problem and also an existential problem. The demographic problem is that, while the PSP was initially marketed towards adults, the PSP's biggest market was teenagers who played their device at home and I suspect these gamers are far more likely to choose a new tablet or phone over a dedicated gaming machine than most other demographics; and their existential problem is the question "Why should the PS-Vita exist. What does it really provide that you can't get elsewhere?"

even with a price drop, Vita still won't compete with 3ds. Vita will see a strong increase in demand though.

a price drop is needed, we'll likely see a drop to $199, or $179.

PSVita launch 1 year ago i think  if they make a price cut in august they still can make profit

ps: i expect a 50$ price cut not 100$

I agree we should take these "vita is d00med" threads seriously.


In other news 3DS is also selling below where it should be.

It reached 25 million hardware sold in exactly the same amount of time it took the DS -- 94 weeks. It's selling quite fine.

Nintendo does not have to counter any price cut the Vita makes. The damage is done; the 3DS has already blown the Vita out of the water. The Vita has sold much more slowly than the 3DS sold pre-price cut. It will take more than an $80 price cut to save the Vita, and frankly, Sony can't even afford that much. I think a permanent $50 price cut and packaging every Vita sold with an 8 gig memory card going forward would be a good start.

Vita needs/should have been a lot of things

- Should have kept this look (with a few changes) 

- Should be $199

- Should have stolen Dragon quest or kept monster hunter 

- Should of had Naughty Dog working on a New IP for Vita (and out around launch) 

- Should have been called PSP2.  People just think its a new psp like psp go

- Should have been able to BC psp games

- Should have come out before last xmas. 

Vita would have been a hit.