Sony Lowers Expectations for 2012 Vita, PSP Sales

Sarah LeBoeuf

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Apr 28, 2011
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Sony Lowers Expectations for 2012 Vita, PSP Sales



Sony's PlayStation division saw a 23.3% loss in year-on-year sales for Q2 2012.

Sony has posted its financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2012, and they're less than ideal. Overall, Sony's net loss was 15.5 billion yen, or $198 million, which is a 42.6% decline from the previous year. The PlayStation division generated 2.3 billion yen ($29 million), down 23.3% from the year before. Though Sony moved 4.9 million PS3 and PS2 systems during the same time period this year, only 3.5 million were sold in Q2 2012. Vita and PSP sales, meanwhile, came in at a combined 1.6 million units sold.

The news isn't all bad, as the $198 million loss is actually an improvement from the previous quarter, when Sony lost $312 million. Sony is still predicting 16 million combined PS3 and PS2 sales by the end of the fiscal year, though the forecast for PSP and Vita sales has been lowered from 16 million to 10 million.

Despite the losses, the report states that "consolidated sales for the quarter increased year-on-year partially due to the consolidation of Sony Mobile, and operating income improved significantly year-on-year." However, "the lowering of the annual unit sales forecast for portable hardware" means that "sales are expected to be lower than the August forecast." Sony is now predicting $83 billion in revenue for the 2012 fiscal year, which ends in March 2013, down from its original estimate of $85 billion.

Source: Joystiq [http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/01/sony-cuts-q2-2012-losses-by-a-third-to-198-million/]

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redknightalex

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Aug 31, 2012
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Mcoffey said:
All I'm saying, knock a hundred bucks off that bad boy, and you've got my attention. Right now, $250 is just too expensive for a handheld.
Having just bought a Vita, and more than happy with it, I think the price point is fine for what I've been given (bought the Liberation bundle). I'm by no means rolling in anything -- in fact, buying the Vita set me back a few paychecks -- but the biggest problem the Vita has, in my opinion, is the proprietary memory cards that are way too expensive. That's a "hidden" and much more preventative cost for Vita sales than the actual hardware itself. If Sony keeps moving towards a digital system, then for crying out loud, use normal SD cards and cut the cost on your consumer!
 

AzrealMaximillion

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kiri2tsubasa said:
Honestly this is sad. The Vita is a very solid unit (hell of a lot more solid then my keyboard)and has some good games on it and is region free.
While this may be true there are not enough games on it to merit the $250 price tag. That and with the Monster Hunter, the game that championed the PSP so very well, pretty much becoming a Nintendo exclusive franchise, there is no big franchise on the Vita to look forward to. Its a shame, I'd have bought one just for a new Monster Hunter. That and all of the JRPGs that Sony usually sneakily puts on their consoles.
 

SomeLameStuff

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Apr 26, 2009
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Problem: Not enough sales of the Vita.

Solution: Monster Hunter on the Vita.

[sub][sub]Do you not want my money?[/sub][/sub]
 

schmulki

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Oct 10, 2012
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"Sony is still predicting 16 million combined PS3 and PS2 sales by the end of the fiscal year"

And the PS2 keeps on chugging along. Amazing, that they can keep selling PS2s (and by they, I mean ones actually coming from Sony, so not even counting the millions of used ones all over the place) at any kind of pace almost a full console-cycle later, and at no point, sit back and think, "I wonder why this console is still selling despite having nothing but gimped versions of new games being released for it for years and what we can do to apply this to our consoles which are struggling?"
 
Jan 22, 2011
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SomeLameStuff said:
Problem: Not enough sales of the Vita.

Solution: Monster Hunter on the Vita.

[sub][sub]Do you not want my money?[/sub][/sub]
It still won't move vita units enough to cover the amount or reasons to buy a psp in japan at the moment. If the vita has any chances of survival it needs to get some decent 3rd party support from western developers and pump out some damn games already. I'm all for Japanese games as well but they are still focused on making psp games due to low cost in development and the fact the market is still alive for that system there.
 
Sep 11, 2009
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Mcoffey said:
Exactly. Over 80 bucks for a 32 gig card is obscene. I paid the same price for my terabyte hard drive!

I totally want to sink my teeth into the vita, but it's initial price, plus the price of the necessary components is just too high right now.
If there's any consolidation, the games on the PSN store are up to 20$ cheaper than their physical counterparts.

Even with the high price of memory cards I still saved money on it after 4 or so games. And seeing as you can easily backup your games to your computer I do not see the need for a second card. Then again, if you want to use multiple PSN accounts, you have a problem.

I can see why people are put off by the price. If you don't already have a Vita, this is a huge first-time investment. I just hope the Vita survives until it sees a price drop, because when it does, we're probably going to see a huge boost in sales. I hope.

It's sad to see the Vita doing so bad, because it truly is a great piece of hardware.
 

Sylveria

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Nov 15, 2009
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Cecilthedarkknight_234 said:
SomeLameStuff said:
Problem: Not enough sales of the Vita.

Solution: Monster Hunter on the Vita.

[sub][sub]Do you not want my money?[/sub][/sub]
It still won't move vita units enough to cover the amount or reasons to buy a psp in japan at the moment. If the vita has any chances of survival it needs to get some decent 3rd party support from western developers and pump out some damn games already. I'm all for Japanese games as well but they are still focused on making psp games due to low cost in development and the fact the market is still alive for that system there.
I'm still befuddled by this logic that western development is this golden goose. AC3 is coming out for Vita. There's a COD game coming out for Vita. All the 2013 sports games out of EA have a Vita release. There's the Lego games and even a Diablo style Silent Hill spin-off. Hell, Uncharted was one of the Vita launch titles.. and no one in the US or Japan gives a shit.

There's plenty of western devs doing Vita games, but the west does not know how to make games for handhelds and never has which is why the vast majority of what the west is giving the Vita is ports and shovel-ware. Really, if you have or had any hand-held systems at all, take a look at how many games you own that are from western based studios.

On top of that, the Vita's price-point is still ridiculous.
 
Jan 22, 2011
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Sylveria said:
Cecilthedarkknight_234 said:
SomeLameStuff said:
Problem: Not enough sales of the Vita.

Solution: Monster Hunter on the Vita.

[sub][sub]Do you not want my money?[/sub][/sub]
It still won't move vita units enough to cover the amount or reasons to buy a psp in japan at the moment. If the vita has any chances of survival it needs to get some decent 3rd party support from western developers and pump out some damn games already. I'm all for Japanese games as well but they are still focused on making psp games due to low cost in development and the fact the market is still alive for that system there.
I'm still befuddled by this logic that western development is this golden goose. AC3 is coming out for Vita. There's a COD game coming out for Vita. All the 2013 sports games out of EA have a Vita release. There's the Lego games and even a Diablo style Silent Hill spin-off. Hell, Uncharted was one of the Vita launch titles.. and no one in the US or Japan gives a shit.

There's plenty of western devs doing Vita games, but the west does not know how to make games for handhelds and never has which is why the vast majority of what the west is giving the Vita is ports and shovel-ware. Really, if you have or had any hand-held systems at all, take a look at how many games you own that are from western based studios.

On top of that, the Vita's price-point is still ridiculous.
I'll be blunt by saying this then, the vita is intended more for a our market because the psp slowly started to die off in 2010. This is when major western developed stop making games for the system and people got fed up with the system because of low sells on huge titles and many others I don't feel like listing at the moment. Keep in mind japan is pumping out 15-20 games a year on the psp that will never see the light of day in america now because of the business failure of the psp in the states "such as final fantasy type 0, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome psp, La Pucelle Ragnarok, valkryia chronicles 3 and more licensed tie games that I care to list".

Sony needs to take a step back and understand what the hell it's doing. First off if you buy the vita you can-not accesses all of your umd games or even get a discount here "japan only". They need to add an attachment or external umd drive for the vita to play your older games. like you stated the price point is crazy but worth it for those who have the money to invest in a vita and make you go this is worth my 300 dollars.
 

Darmy647

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Sep 28, 2012
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Pros:Great piece of hardware with some ok games.
Cons: EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE HERE CAN BE DONE ON THE FRIGGIN PS3
Conclusion: I got a 3ds to get different games. Same reason I'd like a Vita with different games. Not trying to be picky at all, but I'd just like some truly worth it games. So far the vita is getting earth defense force and Soul Sacrifice. Slowly but surely its beginning to win me over. I just need a few more vita only titles and call me won over. Come on sony, i REALLY want to own it.