Who's picking up a PSVita at launch?

[bearxor]

I didn't buy a PSP until two years ago and its been played very little. In fact, I've never even put a UMD disc in the drive. It could be broken for all I know!

I'll wait for some CFW, a price drop and some great emulators. Then I'll consider replacing my PSP-2000.

 

[dpodblood]

Nintendo couldn't afford to drop the price either. They are now taking a loss on each unit. But they will make up for it in software sales. Sony may be able to do the same.

 

[Aikouka]

Nintendo couldn't afford to drop the price either. They are now taking a loss on each unit. But they will make up for it in software sales. Sony may be able to do the same.

Well, I'm not entirely sure if Sony isn't already selling the units at a loss. Although, in regard to software sales... at least the PSP has decent launch titles, and some of them are first-party and actually new games (like Uncharted). Amusingly enough, even with that... I still only have one game pre-ordered.

EDIT:

... and of course, purchasing more games would feel much more acceptable if the memory cards weren't so ridiculously overpriced.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I'm getting the itch to grab a PSP for whatever reason...

MUST...HOLD...OUT...

 

[Aikouka]

Eh, if you want to get a PSP, I would make sure it's one that you can at least put a CFW on. It's nice being able to just play your own games off a memory stick rather than use the silly UMD drive.

 

[JuliusPleaseHer]

I'm honestly curious when I ask to those who feel the Vita is overpriced, what portable device of even remotely similar size is as powerful or more powerful than the Vita and is less expensive? I'm legitimately curious, because I think for how powerful it is, it's a great value for the money.

 

[KentState]

I'm honestly curious when I ask to those who feel the Vita is overpriced, what portable device of even remotely similar size is as powerful or more powerful than the Vita and is less expensive? I'm legitimately curious, because I think for how powerful it is, it's a great value for the money.

I'm getting one, but I understand why people are saying that. Basically, people already spent a ton of money on a phone and throwing $250 at another gaming device is probably not in their budget. It's a shame that more people aren't into it because I'm afraid support might not be strong.

 

[jordanecmusic]

personally i wouldn't even pay $100 for one, let alone $250. i just can't get into portables anymore.

same here. it was bearable when I only played console...but now that I got a rig that can max out any game I want, I just don't play portable games anymore.

 

[tdawg]

I think I'm holding out for when they package MLB: The Show and a memory card. That'd be all I need for my commute.

 

[ponyo]

I just preordered the 3G Launch bundle. The 8gb free memory card and "limited availability" got me to pull the trigger. So I guess Sony marketing worked on me. But I'm not 100% sold yet and might still cancel. I bought Sony PSP at launch day for $250 and I might have used it 20 hours total if that. I don't know how much I'll use this thing.

 

[KentState]

Just saw they are releasing a bundle. I have the first edition on pre-order, but why would I want that over the 3G bundle? Smaller memory card, $20 case and a game I don't care about for $50 more?

 

[Aikouka]

I'm not a fan of that bundle, because I think it's pretty damn silly that they're releasing it a week ahead of the actual release date along with a bunch of games and accessories. So, if you don't get the First Edition bundle, you'll be sitting there with everything but a PSV to actually use the games + accessories with.

Bastards!

 

[KentState]

I went ahead and cancelled my First Edition pre-order. I can wait a week and I much prefer the 3G bundle and was able to pick up a case and dock for less.

 

[dpodblood]

I'm still debating it. The main thing holding me back is that I already have a backlog of games. Do I really need a whole other device?

 

[Aikouka]

I saw that Sony is releasing a travel pouch for it, which looks kind of nice. Although, with how small the Vita Cards (game cards) are... why does it only hold four? :|

 

[Tom]

I'm honestly curious when I ask to those who feel the Vita is overpriced, what portable device of even remotely similar size is as powerful or more powerful than the Vita and is less expensive? I'm legitimately curious, because I think for how powerful it is, it's a great value for the money.

your question is loaded. you don't want the answer, you want to argue that the things you think are important about the Vita make it a good value.

but anyway, I bought a laptop for $250 that can do about a million things the Vita can't do, including playing WAY more games and different kinds of games. A smartphone can do several very important things the Vita can't do, as well as play plenty time wasting games. So can a tablet.

Some gamers who like the games will buy the Vita, maybe it will sell well. But the really big market for consumers isn't about single purpose gaming devices, there's too many other multi-purpose devices that can play games well enough.

 

[tornadog]

I am a gadget freak and I will definitely get this no matter what. How long I will keep it is a different matter. My real concern is if I buy this now for 250 and 2 months down Sony drops the price to 199 or something, then I will feel robbed. Right now, I am hoping some other gadget comes out in the meanwhile that will keep my attention away from the Vita. Thats how I was able to avoid the 3Ds, because the Asus Transformer came out around the same time.

 

[tornadog]

could it really be? Best Buy shows First Edition preorders for 299 a whole 50 bucks less than retail. Sale or Price mistake??

 

[Aikouka]

could it really be? Best Buy shows First Edition preorders for 299 a whole 50 bucks less than retail. Sale or Price mistake??

Maybe people started complaining about how awful of a price it was. Without looking up prices, I think $299 is actually a slight deal if you want the game and the 4GB memory card.

 

[PClark99]

Probably going to pull the trigger I have some reward cash I can burn and would be out only about $42 for the 3G launch bundle combined with Uncharted.

Hmmmm.....

 

[mmntech]

Maybe people started complaining about how awful of a price it was. Without looking up prices, I think $299 is actually a slight deal if you want the game and the 4GB memory card.

That's debatable. I don't think there's a market for portables selling at the price of a tv top console. Remember the PSP sold at the same price point and did quite poorly after the initial novelty wore off. They dropped the price pretty fast.

I think it's also a mistake to discount smartphones from the mix. Ultimately it all boils down to what offers the better value, and it's the iPhone and it's Android counterparts.

 

[Aikouka]

I didn't even notice that Sony changed the 3G Vita around. Apparently it's now a bundle with a free month of 3G (250MB version), a free game (after you use the free month of 3G) and a free 8GB memory card. Amazon stated that all original pre-orders of the 3G will be automatically upgraded (since the non-bundle doesn't exist anymore), but they haven't changed mine in the system. :hmm:

I think it's also a mistake to discount smartphones from the mix. Ultimately it all boils down to what offers the better value, and it's the iPhone and it's Android counterparts.

I was reading IGN UK's review, and it seems the main "competition" that they used against the Vita was the iPod Touch. I think it's a fairly valid comparison as the iPod Touch might be a weaker device hardware-wise, but it does have a pretty large game catalog and they games are typically between $1 and $5.

Smartphones are an interesting comparison, because they are certainly more expensive (considering the carrier discount), but the fact is that most of us own them regardless of their gaming potential. It's kind of like buying a PS3 as a blu-ray and Netflix player and getting the ability to play PS3 games as a bonus.

 

[rageofthepeon]

Between having a smart phone and a laptop for my mobile needs I don't see how a Vita would fit in. Having a second charger and being able to run netflix/mp3 player/youtube/web browing pretty much anywhere is very nice. If I feel like playing games then it's time to boot up my laptop and browse my Steam/GOG library.

Haven't used a handheld since the gameboy advance days. While I love Sony and Nintendo I don't see the NDS/Vita being very profitable. Sony admitted their digital camera sales were dying due to smart phones. I see the same with handhelds as smart phones and tablets become more powerful.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/sony-admits-point-and-shoot-cameras-are-dying-launches-new-ones-anyway/

 

[Aikouka]

I think the Nintendo DS still did well because of its relatively low price point, and in some ways, smartphones weren't as common back then. I think the Vita and originally the 3DS are simply too high of a price point for most parents to justify it serving as a form of "electronic parenting".

 

[Rage187]

I see them dropping it to $199 shortly before E3, with it hitting $179 by year end. I don't think the price of the console itself is the problem, it is the ridiculous price of the games.