A leaked Target flier hints that Sony may drop the PlayStation Vita’s price at GamesCom. The paper-based advertisement (pictured above) puts the flagship portable’s base cost at $199.99, some $50 less than its recommended retail price. Adding further fuel to the fire, the promotion is dated for 18th August to 24th August, which just so happens to be the week of the platform holder’s press conference in Cologne.
It could be a coincidence, of course, and this could merely be an effort to clear out some stock. Still, with Killzone: Mercenary, Tearaway, and the PlayStation 4 right around the corner, now may be a good opportunity to hook some new consumers with a price drop. The big question is: are you ready to bite? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source forum.blu-ray.com, via joystiq.com]
Comments 24
I will buy my third vita then
The biggest problem I have with the Vita is the price of the memory cards currently £55 in the UK for a 32gb card. For that kind of money I could buy a external 1tb hard drive for my Wii U or buy an internal 1tb hard drive ready for my PS4 I have on preorder. If Sony could lower the price on memory cards or even let third parties make them the Vita might sell better.
@Farmboy74 Yeah, it's a huge issue. You can actually get the console for a reasonable price here in the UK. We actually did an article about it recently:
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2013/05/talking_point_sony_must_solve_the_playstation_vitas_memory_woes
I'm still not sure what the solution is, though.
If the ad didn't call it a sale, I'd be more inclined to believe this...but in my experience, leaked ads showing price drops usually announce them as such, not as sales. Not saying it couldn't happen...just this seems like pretty shaky evidence to me.
@get2sammyb, great article which highlights what I think is the Vita's biggest problem. Maybe as a solution they could release an SKU with 8GB on board ala PSP GO or one with standard micro SDHC cards?
Anyway back on topic, could Gamescom be where the PS4/Vita bundle gets officially announced or a new Vita model as described above?
@Farmboy74. Maybe both?
@Sanquine, I think both would be great and reaffirm Sony's commitment to the Vita.
@Farmboy74 i hope for a major price drop 150 euro for a vita + 8 gb memory
@Sanquine, that it would make it in the UK £129 a price reduction of £40 if you go by Amazon Uk pricing. It would be a very aggressive stance from Sony and would give Nintendo a run for there money with the 3DS. An 8gb card would be better than none, but me being cheeky would like a 16gb card as I must have at least 8gb in PSP downloads on my PSN account!
My mate just brought a Vita from game with the 8GB Memory card game bundle for £170 - Bargin saying I paid £230 at launch with no memory!
well it's R2000 here in ZA with a game and 4gig memory card and the usual 2 download tokens. Thats about 200 dollars and a charger is included in the package unlike a 3ds(That did blow my mind! and returned it)
Memory card prices are hurting the sales not the system itself. At $250 its easily arguable as the best bang for dollar in terms of power and actual triple a library for games.
@ViciousDS
I think the price has something to do with it, just not too much by itself. $250 isn't too bad but knowing you'll have to spend $250 plus upwards of $30 for memory before even buying a game makes for quite a bit of sicker-shock.
Right now Sony is doing what many companies have done in the past, in advertently priced themselves out of the market. Nintendo just has a certain knack for finding the right balance between content, perfomance, and price, thats why they've done so well. The 3DS not selling at the same price shows its not the Nintendo name thats sells handhelds.
@Farmboy74
Totally agree. I bought my Vita day 1, and was expecting it to follow in the footsteps of the PSP, which I used to own. But My 4gb memory card is full, and I refuse to pay more than $40, MAYBE $50 for a 32gb card. And even that is twice what standard SD cards cost.
As a result of the high price of memory cards, I refuse to upgrade, which results in me not having room for any more PSN purchases. I spend AT LEAST $25-$40/mo on VC and indie games on the Wii U eShop, and around $20/mo on the 3DS eShop. I'd spend around the same on PSN if I had a 32gb card to store it on, so Sony's actually losing hundreds of dollars a year from me because of their stubborn refusal to lower the price.
I've had $40 credit on my PSN account for MONTHS, but won't spend it until I upgrade to a 32gb card. Let's hope they wise up and cut the prices in half sooner rather than later.
@JaxonH,yeah with Sony sticking to their own proprietary sd card at an inflated price has I think hurt the Vita, which is a shame. Cutting the cost of memory cards in half would be a good move if Sony are unwilling to cut the price of the Vita.
Yeah, I recently picked up a Vita because EBGames (GamesStop) did an internet deal of $200 for Wifi,and $250 3G (with LBP game ). First really good deal I have seen in Aus. Point being, that price made a different for me, and would I believe for many other people.
Memory cards are just insanely small and expensive. I filled my 16(14)GB card in 2 days from downloading some free games and other demos to try things out, before buying. With some demos being 2-3GB each, it does not take long!
it's not the console price thats bad, it's the memory cards. try again, sony
The sale price may point to a price drop as Target (and Best Buy, TRU, Kmart, etc.) have been doing more GCs than actual price cuts for the Xbox and WiiU. Not saying it is a price cut, but a sale on a console rather than a GC gives hope to those looking for it.
Yes, yes and YES!
Drop the price of those overly overpriced memory cards as well.
If the 32GB card is not dropped to the still-ridiculous-but-slightly-insane price of $59.99, I'm giving up any slight hope of this machine being around 2 years from now. The price of the Vita is a problem as well but these memory card prices are the biggest issue and it is unbelievable that this has not been fixed yet.
@Gamer83 Memory cards.... When i first bought the vita i felt like a loser... i forget to buy a memory card..
Sony won't drop the price on the Vita is fine, but they should really drop the price on 32GB memory card and discontinue the 4GB card.
@Farmboy74 I completely agree. It's been a bad move for Sony that has put many people off.
$200 would be a sweet spot for many. Sony's been serious about winning people over, so I can see it happening.
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