AT&T Details Vita's Cellular Data Plans

[Earnest Cavalli]

AT&T Details Vita's Cellular Data Plans

Communications giant AT&T has announced the 3G data plans it plans to offer for Sony's next handheld, and you might not like what you see.

The following nugget of information was tweeted by the official PlayStation account [https://twitter.com/#!/PlayStation/status/156446230552121347] earlier today:

CES update: @ATT announces wireless data plans for 3G/WiFi PS Vita: $14.99 for 250MB, $25 for 2GB -- no contracts

In answer to the question you're all now wondering, yes, those figures are the monthly prices for cellular data access on the Vita. We're going to make the assumption that accessing the 'net via standard WiFi won't count against your download totals -- but, then again, this tweet is all the solid info we really have on how the new portable gaming system will interact with online content.

Oh, and it should also be noted that these monthly rates are in addition to the $300 price tag Sony has promised for the 3G-capable version of the Vita. For comparison, the iteration that can only connect to WiFi sports a $250 retail price. Both versions of the system launch on February 22.

So, who would like to be the first person to slam AT&T for stereotypical corporate greed backed by a marketplace that only avoids the descriptor of "monopoly" insofar as the courts are concerned? It's kind of them to offer these rates without any sort of contract, but the fact that I have to point that out as a positive is really just an indicator of how we've all just come to accept that cellular providers are horrifying examples of capitalism driven to its ethically bankrupt extreme.

Alternately, who would like call me a filthy communist while silently praising the holy memory of Ronald Reagan?

We could really go either way with this one.


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[Dahaka27]

If the Vodaphone price plans are anyting like that in the UK for the Vita it is decided, I am getting a WiFi version.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I'm not paying for the more expensive 3G version, and then still have to pay to use the actual service.


As a great man once said.

'Fuck. That.'

Also, still no Monster Hunter announcement.

It's like Sony don't even want my money.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Edit: Apparently this isn't a monthly plan. So while this is still extremely stupid, it's not as bad as I thought it was.

 

[Krat Arona]

Anyone recall a failed handheld called the PSP Go?

Shame Sony doesn't learn, they could really knock Nintendo for a loop if they had a mind too.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'm not paying for the more expensive 3G version, and then still have to pay to use the actual service.


As a great man once said.

'Fuck. That.'

I believe the complete quote was "Fuck that dopy shit." Or were you not quoting my dad.

The ps3 sold badly enough, you'd think they would've learned their lesson. I knew there was no way I was buying a Vita ever since I realized that the original PSP & PS3 was going to get shit-all firmware support.

So they want us to buy another crappy overpriced piece of hardware that's going to lose more features as hackers learn to exploit them. And they want us to pay an absurd monthly fee for it.

Does the Playstation brand not make any money for Sony anymore? Because it really seems that they've been trying to kill all the great things the name used to stand for.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Can't say that I'm surprised that there's a pricing tier for the 3G network, and that AT&T is being greedy about this.

I'm getting the WiFi version anyways, I suspect that many people will, so maybe they can just drop this nonsense when it falls flat.

 

[ShaneGunWolf]

If I ever buy a PlayStation VITA (and that is one hell of a big IF), it'll be the Wi-Fi Only version.

If.

 

[Kapol]

Well, while I do think the prices are a bit steep, I don't think that $25 a month for 2 gigs is incredibly bad depending on how good of service is. If it were a monthly plan that you had to pay a year in advance, that be one thing. But the 'pay as you go' model is nice. Hopefully they'll have pre-paid cards and such to make it easier. Though I don't plan on getting a Vita anyways.

 

[Lunar Templar]

wow ....

yet one more reason i see this thing tanking, only now, tanking hard

 

[ActionDan]

If this happens to use online gaming with it as well, then 2GB's of data isn't nearly enough. Doubly so if you download games from the PS Store, and those games arn't going to be small in size if the graphics of the Vita are anything to go by.

 

[Kapol]

Well, while I do think the prices are a bit steep, I don't think that $25 a month for 2 gigs is incredibly bad depending on how good of service is. If it were a monthly plan that you had to pay a year in advance, that be one thing. But the 'pay as you go' model is nice. Hopefully they'll have pre-paid cards and such to make it easier. Though I don't plan on getting a Vita anyways.

Yeah it may not seem bad for a kid for the sole reason they aren't paying for the cell phone bill. But think about it from an adult/parent's perspective. Most of an adult's salary is already consumed by insurance, rent, and standard monthly payments. For cell phones especially when you get to the smart phone side which is becoming the standard you are looking at spending at least for your average consumer 40 bucks for the bare bones minute rate plan and 20 bucks for the smart phone plan. Now add the Vita and your up another 15 or 25 bucks. That's a grand total of 75 or 85 bucks a month. That's also NOT including IF you go over on your data plan to which many people will blow through in this HTML 5 media heavy world.

I can tell you from my experience working at AT&T that for young adults and children were always the biggest offenders when it came to data plan overages when they put in the data caps. We aren't talking about an extra ten bucks either but an average of an extra 50-300 bucks a month. Sure the games might not take much data going online but every second you spend using the Vita or iphone or any other smart device watching videos or streaming music that data piles on really quickly.

Let me clarify one thing. When I said 'not so horribly bad,' I had meant that it's cheaper and a bit more open based on the fact you can pay monthly then I was expecting. I had been expecting the plan to be about $20 a month for the 256 megabyte plan, and over $40 for the 2 gig plan. I'd also been expecting AT&T to force everyone into a 2-year contract or similar style of forced payment every month. So when I said that, it wasn't to say that the prices were close to good. It was to say that they were better then I was expecting.

I know how much smart phones cost a month, and how easy it is to go over your cap. That's why I always pay close attention to how much data I have left. It's easy to go over when things use up so much information. Even streaming a UDP video can use up many precious megs pretty quickly. And I doubt that playing video games will be any different. It would be nice if Sony would give us an idea of just how much the average game would take up in terms of data used when playing online.

But I still say that this pricing isn't all that bad, especially considering that it's a model that allows you to choose when you want to use it. If Sony doesn't actually have any method to stop the usage of online play after the device is finished, that will be an issue in itself that will piss off a lot of parents who buy these for their children. But that will happen no matter what price the data plan cost because most parents don't keep that close of an eye on what they're children or doing. It might not be affordable to some of course. If that's the case, then pick up the wi-fi model. That's what I'd do anyways. It's cheaper and frankly I don't need 3G on my gaming device because I barely use the 3G on my phone anyways.

 

[weirdee]

I'm pretty sure AT&T somehow signed a deal with the devil in order to convince a long line of companies that it would be a GREAT idea to give them exclusive service provider contracts.

 

[Kojiro ftt]

You sir are a communist. There is nothing unethical here. They aren't forcing you to pay $100 a gallon for drinking water. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. When nobody buys it, they will lower the price. That's capitalism. It works.