While the PlayStation Vita may still be struggling to make a commercial impact in many regions across the globe, the system is really maturing into an extremely attractive device. Removed from the software drought that plagued the platform at launch, there’s now plenty to play on the handheld, including some stellar indie releases such as Hotline Miami and Thomas Was Alone.
Despite this, Sony’s yet to find a successful method to get the console into enough homes, but it’s something that it plans to work on over the coming year. As part of an annual report posted to the platform holder’s corporate website, the firm noted that it aims to “secure sales and profit growth through various hardware initiatives and the release of compelling software titles”.
This could mean a price drop at GamesCom, but we’re not sure that that would help the company’s bottom line. Instead, we’re expecting a lot more bundles like the PlayStation Vita Mega Pack to launch leading into Christmas, which is pretty tempting – especially when the download voucher actually works.
Compelling software is one area where there won’t be too many concerns this holiday, though. In addition to the slew of indie titles on the way – Lone Survivor, PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD, and more – big releases such as Killzone: Mercenary, Tearaway, and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate are also on the horizon. And then there’s the small matter of PlayStation 4 remote play...
[source sony.net, via dualshockers.com]
Comments 28
Bundle it with PS4.
PS4 + Vita + 1 game for each for £499.
i.e. PS4 + Vita + KZ Shadow Fall + KZ Mercenary for £499. If I had neither, I'd buy that in a second. Games are personal taste, but they can release various packages.
Hardware initiative - add a micro SDHC slot They're very very tiny, I'm sure they could find the room. Sony themselves makes a nice one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Class-Memory-SR32UYA-TQMN/dp/B00BW6KCTU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1374419006&sr=8-8&keywords=sony+sd+card
They absolutely must do something about the memory situation. There are so many good downloadable games now that you need the storage space to play them. I wouldn't be surprised if people were being deterred from buying stuff off the PS Store simply because of how expensive the memory cards are.
I mean, I would love to upgrade to a 32GB, but it's just prohibitively expensive.
@rjejr It wouldn't help current Vita owners and it also would make Pirating must easier.
@get2sammyb I agree, since I prefer Retail over Digital, but some games like Atelier Totori Plus only releases as Digital and other like LBP get best Pre order deal on PSN.
It would be all find and dandy, if 32 GB cost like $50 or less, but $81-$100 is to expensive for 32GB.
Now that PS4 titles can be streamed to vita, it should be a very compelling purchase for gamers.
@Paranoimia I don't see anyone buying that bundle. The main reasons people aren't buying Vita's is because of memory card price and it (apparently) having no games.
So bundling it with the PS4 won't do much to change that fact and idiotic perception. Sure people could buy it for Remote Play, but other than that, a bundle would be a waste of time.
Probably just some terrible bundles. I'll believe when I see it.
I vote for the ps4 bundle. Ps4 + vita for the same price as the xbox1
@Squiggle55 So what your saying is they should just sell the Vita for $100 bucks? Keep in mind that the Vita is every bit as advanced as the ipad which runs $400 and up, so your basically saying Sony should just give it away for free. I don't think a PS4+Vita bundle is a bad idea, but $500 is just insulting. truth be told the Vita is worth every dime of $300.
Reasons I think it's not selling is for one the PSP wasn't properly supported even though it had a 70+ install base and people still haven't forgotten so Sony kind of missed there opportunity to make their mark. Two unlike the generation where the PSP came out, people have smart phones and tablets now that actually have some decent games at dirt cheap prices most of them are even free, but overall I think the Vita is a really nice handheld, it's just caught in the middle of two generations and hasn't found it's place yet.
@get2sammyb @get2sammyb Your right about that. $100 for a 32 gb memory card is just ridiculous. Nowadays you can buy a 2TB portable hard drive for that same price or even a Ouya.
Yeah I'd be pissed, after spending $250+100+50 for a Vita, on top of the $600+100 for PS3 and a big hdd. That's frigging $1100 just for hardware and a year of PS+. Definitely would Iike to see something more impressive happen with Vita, but it wouldn't effect me whatsoever, would it? There's no way to win for Sony or the folks who forked it over "too quickly" inside the current model. Such... potential!
Sorry, but I still don't see the memory cards as that big a problem. Certainly not "prohibitively" expensive. £54.99 for 32GB on Amazon UK, You can get loads on one of those. I've got quite a bit on mine, and it's not even half full.
The smaller PSN games don't take up much space, and if you buy 'full' games on cards via online retailers, you don't swallow up huge chunks of storage at a time. Plus, once you've bought a few 'full' games at retail versus PSN prices, you've saved enough for a 32GB memory card anyway.
It's all very well saying that SD memory costs a fraction of a Vita card, but that's irrelevant as it's not SD memory. Even so, it's only 3 short years ago that 16GB of SD memory would have cost you around $60. Ten years ago, $100 would only have got you a 256MB SD.
@artemisthemp - "It wouldn't help current Vita owners and it also would make Pirating must easier."
I think it would definitely help current owners b/c Sony would be forced to lower the price on the current cards. What new Vita owner is going to pay $80 for them when they can buy the SD cards cheaper? They would probably all be clearanced out at a very big discount.
@rjejr My point about making Pirating easier still stand with SD Card.
The PS Vita is really in a pickle. I've grown VERY frustrated with Sony and my PS Vita. I am just going to invest in the PS4. If Sony and third parties focus on high quality home console level games (i.e. Killzone Mercenary) then I might stick with PS Vita but until then no. I don't care a poo about iPads and "dirt cheap" games. I am a harcore gamer who was wants well crafted games with high quality graphics.
The Vita doesn't sell because the general consumer goes into a store and sees the Vita display with 7-8 games with 2-3 of those on clearance. Until Sony can better market the Vita as a portable with all of its games for sale through download from PSN, the average consumer will never know that there are lots of great games available for it.
I bet there are lots of people who'd love to play a game like Guacamelee, for example, but it's only for download, and Sony hasn't done a good job in getting the word out that there are a bunch of great games like this available...but only through download. Get on those Marketing people, Sony!
@Paranoimia That's a Great idea! If I only get that on my birthday. *sigh
my only issue is vita is sony needs to get more games to the west...phantasy star online 2,two tales series and many others..
@rjejr Agree!
@get2sammyb Yep. Memory and price (esp memory prices) are the reasons I haven't taken the plunge. Though AU pricing is worse (as always with Sony) than other regions.
Get some more retail games out there, do something about those memory cards, and get a couple nice bundles out just in time for black friday. Sony pushes digital games on the Vita and yet they insist on making them so expensive. I don't care if they cut the price or bump up the storage sizes as long as they find a solution.
Since PS Plus is all be required for PS4 they might as well bundle in vita. Angling it as a portable PS4 out the box plus all the free vita games you get with PS Plus anyway is a good deal. And if the XboxOne is going to be $499 they might as well throw in vita.
Start by lowering memory card prices or better yet bundle each vita with a 32GB memory card and keep the Vita's price where it is. Better yet lower both prices.
What are the transfer rates like on these Vita memory cards? I had a Pro-HG Duo stick for my PsP that had speeds of 15MB/s Write and up to 50MB/s read. I remember noticeing a nice boost to the PsP's overall performance over the standard Pro-Duo. The Vita numbers similar? Seen as a 32GB Pro-HG Duo stick costs £55+, the pricing is similar to a Vita's memory. If it deos indeed have high transfer speeds its a good thing a Micro/SD slot is not used due to the fractured class system of that memory type. I can only imagine how much the Vita would suffer if being used with the lowest class SD memory with its paltry Read/Write speeds.
@artemisthemp - "My point about making Pirating easier still stand with SD Card."
What games are going to be pirated? The 3DS comes w/ a 2GB SD card, the 3DS XL comes w/ a 4GB SD card, and I never read about pirating being an issue on the 3DS (only on the Ouya ROMS, but that has nothing to do w/ SD cards.) The only thing I read about the 3DS is all the good games coming out on it and how many units it's selling.
Explain how pirating is going to hurt Vita sales. Are all the companies making games for it going to stop making games for it if the install base goes up because it has an SD slot?
The way the Vita is selling pirating should be the last of Sony's worries.
If they want to make sale all they have to do is do a 3ds style price drop OR make the proprietary memory cards a lot cheaper. Oh yeah, and put some good games on there. even if you can't get good new games, take a hint from Nintendo and port some of your most revered titles from older consoles like what Nintendo did with Ocarina of Time.
Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are their best selling titles for their systems, so what they should do is make Remastered collections with multiple games.
Sony needs to start advertising Vita in order to bring more games like some series for the first time in spite using game engine to port from a year or two ago on PS 3 that may sell w/ updated roster in sports games. Madden NFL, NHL, Pro Evolution Soccer, WWE 2K series, revitalized FIFA series, and action/RPG games that are out for PS 3/4 but not Vita got to have promos for the Vita on order to gain more sales. Also, price drop a bit on memory cards by five to ten bucks on higher gigs that will generate sales on there as the current prices is pretty expensive.
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