Sony Could Sell 12.4 Million Vitas "With A Price Cut"

[vansau]

Sony Could Sell 12.4 Million Vitas "With A Price Cut"

If Sony's willing to cut the Vita's base price by $70, it might be able to sell over 12 million units this year.

Now that the PlayStation Vita's finally launched here in North America, everyone's paying close attention to see how the device sells. On one side, you have people who are claiming <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115896-Are-Vita-Devs-Already-Jumping-Ship>Via developers are already jumping ship thanks to <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115242-Slow-Vita-Sales-Dont-Bother-Sony>low sales numbers in Japan. On the other, you have folks claiming the device could sell up to 12.5 million units this year, "provided it gets a price cut."

That estimate comes from research group Strategy Analytics, which came up with this figure after it plugged in a price of $180. That's a pretty steep cut from the current price (<a href=http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Vita-WiFi/dp/B003O6EATE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330025344&sr=8-3>which starts at $250 and goes up from there), but Strategy Analytics claims that hardware and software sales might be able to bring Sony as much as $2.2 billion.

According to senior analyst Jia Wu, the firm expects Sony will cut the price, similar to what Nintendo did with the 3DS (<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115956-Japanese-3DS-Sales-Top-5-million>which helped shore up sales nicely):

"In the time of austerity, consumers are considerably sensitive to prices, and Nintendo proved that a price cut can save a product.

"Sony now is experiencing the same story in Japan. Sales of the Wi-Fi version of PlayStation Vita at $249 initially exploded, selling more than 300,000 units in the first week of release. But the new console is barely moving 20,000 units per week in its home market after all the hard-core fans made their purchases, mirroring the experience of the Nintendo 3DS."

Wu also noted that Sony's main challenges for the Vita include the fact that the 3G model comes with a $50 premium and additional data plans will turn off many customers, as well as creating unique content that's exclusive to the Vita. The analyst's estimates certainly sound reasonable, but we'll have to wait and see if Sony's able to find the "holy grail" price point and unique content in order to transform the Vita into a gold mine.

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-02-23-with-a-price-cut-ps-vita-could-hit-12-4m-units-in-2012>GamesIndustry.biz

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[Yopaz]

If it gets a price cut then I will consider it. Though I wont buy one before I see Tales of Innocence R being released.

 

[gigastar]

A (potential) price cut already?

I swear it must be a new tactic to announce a slightly unreasonable price that only then fans would go for, then drop it to a very reasonable price a few months after release to turn it into a licence to print money.

Besides, no Monster Hunter, no Vita. It still holds true for the 3DS.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Wu also noted that Sony's main challenges for the Vita include the fact that the 3G model comes with a $50 premium and additional data plans will turn off many customers, as well as creating unique content that's exclusive to the Vita.

In a time where most people have a smart phone, why would anyone buy a different device with 3G? All I have to do is set my phone up as a mobile hotspot and BAM, instant wireless for all my devices.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

A (potential) price cut already?

I swear it must be a new tactic to announce a slightly unreasonable price that only then fans would go for, then drop it to a very reasonable price a few months after release to turn it into a licence to print money.

Besides, no Monster Hunter, no Vita. It still holds true for the 3DS.

I second this.

Monster Hunter is my one caveat to buying a Vita. And they haven't officially announced anything yet, let alone whether it'll get a release outside of Japan.

 

[Baresark]

Wow, what a line of bull. They are just saying things. I love speculation like this. It's just not realistic. Yes, they will most likely get more sales by cutting the price, but there is no way they could even come close to a number by anything other than pure chance. I would love for it get a price cut as much as anyone, it's the sole reason I won't be buying one anytime soon. Also, the idea that any person/people/organization could make this claim is actually quite outlandish. No one has foresight like that, not even hindsight is accurate at all.

Let me explain how this works though, which is why Sony most likely will not do this. There is this little thing called loss aversion, which is hard at work in negotiations. What has been discovered is that there is an asymmetrical aspect of it, just take a look at this graph:

What you'll notice is that people react much more strongly to loss than they do gains. This is human nature, losses hurt more. They will not make a concession of a price drop for the simple reason that it will hurt them too badly. Take into account Sony will not see a profit from this at the current price for at least 3 years (their words, not mine) and you have the perfect reasoning for them not to drop the price. They will choose to just sit it out. And they will have another PSP on their hands. In other words, something that won't sell really well till the next handheld is out. It's also this same loss aversion that makes the losing side fight harder the closer they come to losing.

 

[DaxStrife]

A price cut definitely would make the device more attractive, but I can't buy it at either price because I simply don't have the budget for it; lots of people are still going through hard times, and a new system with new games can be outside people's spending limits. That's why the iPhone is doing well as a game platform: the games are much cheaper, and the device itself has a high function outside of just games and apps as a phone and music player.

 

[marurder]

Won't happen, because of mismanagement and how they are cutting services for it because of poor sales already. They won't even get close. Sure they will sell more. But it's reliant on other services - which are lacking.

 

[Quiotu]

A (potential) price cut already?

I swear it must be a new tactic to announce a slightly unreasonable price that only then fans would go for, then drop it to a very reasonable price a few months after release to turn it into a licence to print money.

Besides, no Monster Hunter, no Vita. It still holds true for the 3DS.

I second this.

Monster Hunter is my one caveat to buying a Vita. And they haven't officially announced anything yet, let alone whether it'll get a release outside of Japan.

Monster Hunter is a system seller only in Japan... there's not a lot of people like you two, sorry. Otherwise why did Freedom Unite sell less than half a million here, and over 4 million in Japan? Monster Hunter sold better on the Wii in the US than it did on the PSP... that's really sad.

Also, if you're buying a $250 handheld for one game, you're stupid. I bought 4 games when I bought my Vita, and that's not counting the ones I downloaded. I mean it's your money, but... it's kinda silly.

On topic, $180 for the 3DS has Nintendo losing money, Sony's finances would bleed like a statue of the Virgin Mary if they matched prices. Don't be delusional.

 

[antidonkey]

Eh......I've not been in the handheld scene for ages. The Vita would have to be at $150 before I'd even consider buying one. Even then it'd have to be closer to $100 before that consideration became serious.

 

[GonzoGamer]

The price has something to do with it but I also get the feeling that I'm not the only one losing faith in the playstation brand.
If the vita doesn't get better firmware support than the ps3 or psp, it's just going to be another big waste of money...
for anyone who isn't interested in hacking the thing.

Also: have you tried it? Those analog sticks felt like they were going to snap off. The rest of it feels pretty solid though.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Sure, I could go for that.

No need to spend more than $250 if you only want to play two or three games.

 

[FallenTraveler]

I would love that, that would be an instant, unrelenting buy for me. Even if it was just 200 that would still be a buy. I'm talking the wifi model too. I would run out and buy that thing if they offered it for 200. Now, those memory cards are still a bit of a problem, but that's alright, I can live with that.

Damn I want a Vita

 

[VoidWanderer]

I was never overly interested in the Vita, but after seeing the astounding graphics for the device, I actually am wanting one. When I started (on a demo model) Virtua Tennis 4, I was astounded by the clarity and crispness of the Title Screen.

Bastards...

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

If it was under $200 I might even buy it. It would be nice to have a handheld gaming system. Never had one.

 

[babinro]

The Vita offers nothing of interest to me...price cut or not.

That said, it seems to me to be in the companies best interest to sell a console/handheld at a below market value/loss in order to gain long term revenue from software and add-ons.

 

[superdynamite]

$249 is a great price. I bought the 3G for $299 and @ $299 I think it's still cheap.

 

[superdynamite]

The Vita offers nothing of interest to me...price cut or not.

That said, it seems to me to be in the companies best interest to sell a console/handheld at a below market value/loss in order to gain long term revenue from software and add-ons.

The VITA is a phone (skype), a PS3 and an IPad all rolled into one. It's really great. You should check it out.

 

[Beautiful End]

Well, yeah! Look, I understand the expensive price when it launched. They were testing the waters, so to speak, and they wanted to get that profit from the hardcore gamers. Okay, done and accounted for. Now, do the price drop.

What I hate about it is the AT&T plan. Most people are interested when they hear the Vita is 3G compatible, but they quickly lose interest when they hear only AT&T offers it. And then the 3G version comes with that, a free demo if you get the 3G activated and a memory card. The Memory card alone should be a default item on bundles. That's $35 worth for the 8GB memory card. Add that to the Wi-fi only version and its a great deal.

So yeah, obviously Sony is pushing people to buy the 3G version. It's more profitable. But most people can see right through that. A nice price drop might do the trick, though.