Sony Will Lose Money on Vita Hardware Sales

[Logan Westbrook]

Sony Will Lose Money on Vita Hardware Sales

The platform holder hopes to start making a profit after three years.

While technology gets cheaper and cheaper every day, it's not free and no one needs telling that more than Sony. After years [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110431-Sony-Looking-to-Cut-Cost-of-Console-Development-for-PS4 ] spent clawing its way back to profitably due to the vast sums of money it spent making the PS3, it's set to potentially repeat the process with the PS Vita.

The Wi-Fi only Vita will retail for the same price as the 3DS - $250 - despite having a lot more crammed under the hood than its dual-screened rival. PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai said the mobile gaming market was expanding rapidly thanks to tablets and smart phones, and that that Sony expected to start making a profit on the Vita hardware within three years. He said that Sony was hopeful that the Vita would outsell its predecessor, the PSP, which has shipped 70 million units.

Sony has had some funny ideas about what an appropriate price for handheld devices is in the past - the PSP Go and its "premium [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92735-Sony-PSP-Go-Costs-More-Because-of-a-Premium]" price point instantly spring to mind - but this seems a much more sensible, not to mention successful, strategy. Having a more competitive price point will help get the device into peoples' hands and, hopefully, buying games, which is where Sony will actually make its money on the Vita.

The PS Vita is scheduled for release by the end of the year, although Sony's US boss Jack Tretton said that it might be delayed in some territories.

Source: Reuters [http://jp.reuters.com/article/topNews/idJPJAPAN-21584220110608] via Andriasang [http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/06/08/vita_loss/]






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[Quiet Stranger]

Wait so the Wi-Fi one is better then the 3G? Also what's the difference between the two?

 

[DrScoobs]

I predicted this to my clan a few days ago. sony realised that making a profit off its hardware sales wasn't the way to go with the ps3, and it is better to stay competetive with ninty and microsoft even if that means initially losing money. nearly everyone is gonna buy uncharted with their PSV (yes I am calling it that) and if sony announce even more exciting launch titles, then they could earn back all their lost money on day one

 

[Jonny49]

I would have thought that Sony need all the money the can get their hands on since the hacking fiasco.

 

[harvz]

sony loosing money on a new console? never...
if i buy a new handheld, itll probably be this but i will have to play it in my mansion on mars.

 

[Baresark]

Wow, and you would think these guys would actually learn from past mistakes. At times, when a company has large amounts of resources, they invest that resource poorly because they have so much of it (Look at Donald Trump). Releasing a handheld system when people are using smartphones more than ever is risky anyway, but to sell it without making a profit too, that's just ludicrous. You could make a substantial step up compared to the PSP and still sell it profitably. What's worse is, by the time they may become profitable, it'll be un underpowered peice of hardware again. If you look at the Xperia Play (the playstation phone), it is technically better than the PSP in ever single way, why not concentrate on that platform more?

I have no respect for these guys at all anymore. I haven't even gone to collect my free shit from the PSN outage, I'm completely over it.

 

[RA92]

You know, hardware might be expensive on the PC, but at least it's a self-sustaining platform and doesn't take risks that might blow up in the face and put an entire platform in jeopardy.

At any rate, I actually rather like the Vita (apart from the stupid name). Here's hoping it'll succeed and have a steady stream of WipeOut content.

 

[ryo02]

wasnt selling at a loss common once upon a time?

 

[The Hungry Samurai]

It's nice to see a hint of the Sony sans hubris we used to know in the early days of the ps. This could be a sign of good things to come

 

[nadesico33]

Considering that they packed more advanced hardware into the shell than the current-gen smartphones, and those still retail at $600-$700 off-contract, selling at a loss is the only way to be remotely competitive. The real question is more how much of a loss are they taking.

 

[z3rostr1fe]

When will Sony EVER not lose money on their device? It's like begging us to buy it so they would recoup the losses much earlier. Well, we will see.

 

[JediMB]

Same with the 3DS - I'm waiting for the inevitable 3DS Lite.

There won't be a 3DS Lite, according to Nintendo.

I'd like to think we could expect a 3DS+, though. With a better battery in it, and maybe better screens.

EDIT: Maybe a 3DS XL?

 

[ozium]

They wont make any money in the UK. its $410 for the 3G model here.

 

[teebeeohh]

i hope this works out for sony, i may not like them but this seems promising.
btw why do people keep bringing up playing on your phone, doesn't this appeal more to people who are more involved in gaming than playing angry birds and bejeweled?

 

[Andronicus]

Wow, and you would think these guys would actually learn from past mistakes. At times, when a company has large amounts of resources, they invest that resource poorly because they have so much of it (Look at Donald Trump). Releasing a handheld system when people are using smartphones more than ever is risky anyway, but to sell it without making a profit too, that's just ludicrous. You could make a substantial step up compared to the PSP and still sell it profitably. What's worse is, by the time they may become profitable, it'll be un underpowered peice of hardware again. If you look at the Xperia Play (the playstation phone), it is technically better than the PSP in ever single way, why not concentrate on that platform more?

I have no respect for these guys at all anymore. I haven't even gone to collect my free shit from the PSN outage, I'm completely over it.

So, what you're saying is, you lost all respect for Sony because...

...because they're putting more advanced hardware into their devices than they can afford? They want to give the customers all this technology cheap? How dare they!

They don't get make profit from consoles. They recoup losses from games.

Specifically, games sold in Australia.

 

[SovietX]

Same with the 3DS - I'm waiting for the inevitable 3DS Lite.

There won't be a 3DS Lite, according to Nintendo.

I'd like to think we could expect a 3DS+, though. With a better battery in it, and maybe better screens.

EDIT: Maybe a 3DS XL?

And then a 3DS XL Lite with extra crap no one wants/needs but will buy it anyway.

 

[Griffolion]

Since Sony themselves have deemed Vita to be less investment heavy, i think they've learnt that lesson. So I think they'll be seeking to at the very least not make as bad a loss on the hardware per unit. Maybe even a small profit, but a quad core Cortex A9 won't be cheap. Looking at the pricing, it's definitely going to be competitive with the 3DS. Plus there's over 40 titles in development, so with a strong installed game base it's going to be an attractive platform, which i'm guessing is what Sony is gunning for.

 

[Buizel91]

Same with the 3DS - I'm waiting for the inevitable 3DS Lite.

There won't be a 3DS Lite, according to Nintendo.

I'd like to think we could expect a 3DS+, though. With a better battery in it, and maybe better screens.

EDIT: Maybe a 3DS XL?

And then a 3DS XL Lite with extra crap no one wants/needs but will buy it anyway.

Probably upgraded E-Shop, Better Internet connection, More stuff for the camera, better graphics, updated and better 3D, Better Battery life and anything to do with Hardware.

I want a 3DS simpley because Gameboy/Gameboy colour games can be downloaded via the E-shop. Pokemon Yellow in 3D? Hell yeh!

OT: Wow, Sony are really braking their backs to give us better stuff...well they have earned my respect, good on you Sony.