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Vita Price Drop In Japan Causes Sales To Quadruple In One Week

Well, that's what price cuts are supposed to do.

After Sony slashed the price of the PlayStation Vita in Japan, a great many gamers have come out of the woodworks to nab the fancy portable.

According to GameWatch (as translated by Gematsu ), SCE Japan president Hiroshi Kawano has revealed that sales of the handheld have increased four-fold since the retail cost fell on February 28. Speaking during the One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 presentation, Kawano said sales have quadrupled in just the past week, which is good news. Sony cut the price of both the Wi-Fi-only and 3G models in Japan to 19,980 yen (about $215) and obviously, that has made the unit far more attractive to consumers.

But Sony made it clear that price cuts were made on a region-by-region basis and as such, there is no Vita price drop scheduled for North America or Europe. Price may not be the biggest concern now, though, as there appears to be a serious lack of Vita software slated for 2013 and beyond. Hopefully, though, that'll change soon enough.

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WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

That should kick them in the ass to do it over here too. Ain't nobody buyin' the thing, might as well unless they plan to let it rot until the PS4 comes out and then they can have all that interconnectivity jazz as a selling point.

Dancemachine55
Dancemachine55
11 years ago

EB offered a PS Vita Wifi only model for $199 AUD on Australia Day weekend. I grabbed that Vita quicksmart and never looked back!!

Shame the 32GB memory card was $130, almost as expensive as the Vita itself!! Ridiculous!!

If Sony want the Vita to sell, they need to do a few things:

– Advertise all the great games and unique features of each game that appeal to the core gamer.

– Bring down the price of memory cards if they don't bring down the price of the Vita itself.

– Bundle 4GB or 8GB memory cards with EVERY Vita. I'm really surprised HDD space wasn't built in.

– Advertise FIFA's ability to shoot accurate goals using the rear touchpad, then brag about it to your friends using party chat. THAT is a potential system selling ad right there, and I'm furious Sony has done nothing to promote this!!

– More AAA titles like Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Littlebig Planet and Killzone. I wanna see an Infinity Ward or Treyarch developed CoD on Vita. I want to see a Rockstar North developed GTA or Red Dead full blown spinoff on Vita using their trademarked RAGE engine. I wanna see Polyphony make the greatest Gran Turismo on a portable device! I wanna see Sony San Diago make a God of War game for Vita!! I want to see a Final Fantasy Tactics spinoff or sequel made by Square! I wanna see Monolith make an RPG exclusive to Vita, heck, even Lost Odyssey 2 on Vita!! I wanna see more unique games that take advantage of the Vita's capabilities, like Tearaway, and I wanna see them advertised!! Cleverly!!

Sony is sitting on great hardware with the Vita, and dozens of studios with great talent. They've got a new advertising agency to do their marketing, so let's see how they can show off why the Vita is worth the price it is.


Last edited by Dancemachine55 on 3/5/2013 11:21:46 PM

richfiles
richfiles
11 years ago

I gotta agree. Memory prices are ridiculous. I need another job before I even consider buying another console, and as far as I'm concerned, PS4 and Wii U are on my list before a Vita. That Wii U is on my list before a Vita… Is saying a lot. It's not high on my list… but I want my Zelda machine when that boat sails in… Literally… Because Windwaker HD.

Kryten1029a
Kryten1029a
11 years ago

Drop the price to $200 and the the cards to $50 and watch the sales jump. Once the install base comes up, push the devs to make games for the thing. That's a plan that Sony could run with.
I understand the price for the unit itself-sort of-but I never could get why they went with a proprietary storage medium and made them so expensive. Plus, not even throwing a 4GB card with the package was kind of a mistake.

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
11 years ago

Sony.. please take notice on HOW not to treat the PS4 launch.

daus26
daus26
11 years ago

I'm not necessarily waiting on a price cut, just my GT Vita, but I'm in no rush whatsoever, so please take your time PD.

At the same time, I am really intrigued by the rumored Vita remodel. I'd very much like an HDMI port on my Vita. Please let it be true!

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
11 years ago

I personally want GT6 on the PS3, PS4 and Vita.

___________
___________
11 years ago

wonder, is the sales increase because of new big hits in JP like persona 4, or is it because of the price drop?
im betting more towards the former.
still think it was a mistake to drop the price of the vita, especially so close to the release of lots of big name games.
they were always going to spike the sales of the system, so $ony kinda dropped the price unnecessarily.
should of waited a few months, wait till said games have had their effect, then drop the price.

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