It might be hard to believe, but E3 is less than 7 weeks away. There’s obviously going to be a huge focus from Sony on the PlayStation 4 and its new features and games, with the PS Vita and PS3 getting some attention as well.
As we ramp up to E3 2013 and the craziness it brings, one question we wanted to ask the PSLS staff is “Do You Think The PlayStation Vita Will Get a Price Drop to $199.99 at E3 2013?”
Anthony Severino – Drastic (@Sev_Anthony)
I’m going to go with a more drastic price cut, to $179.99, with bundle options for $199.99. The PlayStation Vita just isn’t selling, and Sony needs to become more aggressive with the marketing at a much more appealing price point. Only problem is, can they afford it and the marketing effort just ahead of the losses they’ll likely incur with each PS4 sold, and the marketing that needs to go into a new home console with such competition.
But even more than the system price cut itself, Sony needs to drastically reduce the cost of the PlayStation Vita’s memory. I feel that’s more a limiting factor with the Vita, more so than the hardware itself. Everyone knows that to really get the most out of a PlayStation Vita, a 16GB or 32GB is necessary. It’s not even worth owning anything lower than the 16GB, as it’ll fill up so quickly—even faster if you’re a PS Plus subscriber. So unless they plan on bundling a larger card with the system or reducing the price significantly, even a price drop on the hardware won’t do much to save the system from mediocre sales.
Cameron Teague – AMAZING (@Cameron_PSLS)
Sony needs to learn from Nintendo and the 3DS and drop the price. I also feel like Anthony in that it should be a really aggressive price drop, maybe even as low as $150. But more importantly than the Vita price and the huge need to lower the memory price, Sony needs to release more games. Not just any games though, the Vita needs some true system sellers. Right now there are a lot of nice games or good games, but there are not enough AMAZING games that you have to run out and buy a Vita for. Of course, all of this starts with selling more Vitas, something that should happen with a price drop to the Vita and the memory cards. At some point Sony has to realize that selling systems at a loss is better than not selling them at all.
Chandler Wood – Pennywise (@FinchStrife)
Sony is in a precarious position right now. They are working on giving the PS3 a stellar sendoff, trying to get ready for the PS4 launch at the end of the year, and then they’ve got their incredible little handheld system that seems to be getting less attention and support than the previous iteration. They are trying to support too many platforms (PS3, PS4, PSP, PSV, Move, Wonderbook) and some things are failing to get enough support and attention.
Will there be a price cut? I am honestly torn. There either needs to be a price cut or a drastic shift in full support to the Vita, especially as an integral part of the PS4 and the PlayStation Cloud. Hell, let’s do both. Chop the price and give consumers more reasons to own one. For me, my Vita was worth every penny I spent on it on release day, but I have been hard pressed to sell anyone else on the idea of getting one. Help me change that Sony.
Dan Oravasaari – Productive (@FoolsJoker)
I don’t think Sony will be doing a price drop for the Vita just yet, as even a price drop itself will not be enough of a push to revitalize the device. During E3 we will see a few new games announced, but I imagine most will be compatible with the PS4, while the others will be shown off as bundled products and special edition Vita systems.
Heath Hindman – 死ing (@RPGLand)
Sony is nothing if not extremely arrogant, and for this reason, a Vita price drop is unlikely in the near future. It happened in Japan, but really, that also has something to do with the exchange rate evening out, not purely Vita’s abysmal sales.
I’d predict that Sony sees PS4 as a light at the end of the tunnel for Vita, and that its inevitably forced-in and yet, underused remote play and other gimmicks will shift units. It’ll be like every other handheld feature that Sony hypes up: sounding great on paper, but suffering from inconsistent, low-grade execution and thereby, having minimal impact on sales. The price will be cut eventually, but I don’t think it will happen before the arrival of the PS4.
Jason Dunning – Mercenary (@Jasonad21)
While I hope they announce a price drop to $199.99 at E3, I don’t think it’s actually going to happen, mostly because I doubt they’d want to do the drop away from the launches of their big games. So, I’m going to predict that we’ll see a new price tag for the Vita at gamescom 2013, and a Killzone Mercenary system bundle the following month at the new $200 cost.
Jesse Meikle – Lacking (@Jesse_WM)
I would love to say that, yes, the Vita will absolutely get a price drop at E3, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Sony are completely unpredictable (and often irrational) with their decisions regarding price cuts (or lack thereof). That being said, I’m presuming after all this time of poor sales, that the price will be reduced by at least $50 in order to hopefully move Vitas.
Louis Edwards – Dropping (@ftwrthtx)
I can’t see Sony dropping the standalone price for the Vita, but I could see them selling some bundles with PS+, extra memory cards or other accessories, and some games. Adding PS+ by itself gives the new owner access to the instant collection, so that adds to the overall value. Memory card prices do generally drop over time, so I am expecting their memory cards to come down some in price.
Sebastian Moss – Existential (@FoolsJoker)
I’ve given up hope of Sony even remembering the PS Vita actually exists. They’re going to come on and announce a price cut to the PSP, mark my words.
Do you think the PlayStation Vita will get a price drop to $199.99 at E3 2013? Let us know in the comments below.
