Well, yes, out of context, it does look like I asked that question. But, in the context of the post you excised, it was clearly rhetorical, posed in order to allow me to make a point; which, in this case, was that I didn't really care if was a problem for Sony or not because I got to play a ton of games on Vita for, essentially, nothing. I originally paid the PS+ sub for the PS3, after all. So, good times, and so on.

Also, to be fair, the games offered on the Vita service are not at all as you describe (the italicised part of your post above).

And does anyone think they are 'ripping off Sony' by paying for a subscription service? Really?

Well put it this way, you pay $50 for hundreds of dollars worth of games/content/discounts

Well, yeah, of course. But it's a special case. The Vita is scarcely even a year old. And, sure, those are some of the best (and best-selling) games on the system. But that's a relative thing. The system itself is a terrible flop, so those games have hardly lit the world on fire. Now they're just trying to get something going for their ironically-named handheld. Since a price cut wasn't in the cards, and it will take time if they're ever going to get system-selling games for the thing, leveraging some of the popularity of PS+ was a cheap and easy enough thing to try. The best way to get attention for that is to slap some of the very best stuff up there, and since they're all first party games anyway, that's just what they did.

And since I keep seeing people here, on NeoGAF, and elsewhere referring to games they pay for as being "free games", yes, I do think that some people really do feel that these are, in fact, free games. If people keep asking, "How can Sony afford to do this?" then it kind of indicates a failure to appreciate the fact that Sony is for the most part just finding a way of monetizing old games (most of which have a lot of DLC) and those that have bombed. So good for Sony.

Let's say the average Vita games sells for $40. Retail and manufacturing take their cut, so that the publisher and Sony get only $20.

Your $50 subscription is the equivalent of 2.5 games. Now factor in that you can't play your games without the subscription, that you'll be on it for 5 years and that you'll be buying overpriced Vita accessoires.

Actually i expected people would want to buy it for this exact reason.

I have a friend who has done just the same, he was not one bit interested in the vita and then when he got ps+ on his ps3 he went and brought a vita because of all the vita games sony has been putting on the ps+

Further down the line though you may want a game. and seeing as you would have the console you will be more inclined to buy it. plus there is still a yearly fee which they are getting from you

As soon as I start getting any 'free' games or discounts or cloud space for the PS4/next PlayStation, I'll want to buy it too.

Already own Vita + PS3 and indeed I get more stuff from PS Plus than I manage to play. Yet, I still buy some new games at retail / digital, the games I really want.

PS Plus is more of a bonus - cloud saving + lots of games for really cheap.

Another nail in the coffin for retailers, no sale and no second hand market

I want a Vita, but not for the reason you'd expect

so the reason i expect is not for playing games on it? or you got the games but you don't want to play them?