Sony in Big Trouble with PS Vita

[garyopa]

Forbes Magazine, Leading Financial News Mag Predicts Major Price Cut



After the second week of sales in Japan for the PS Vita being so bad and such a major drop, Forbes is predicting only one thing Sony can do. SLASH PRICES!

We all have heard about the 'horrible sales' of the PS Vita in Japan, first week 320k, second week 70k, and now Forbes is jumping in with its report, and basically they are predicting the only way out for Sony, is major 'price cut', just like Nintendo did with the 3DS, and that seemed to work, as the 3DS is outselling the PS Vita 6 to 1 now!

Sony will likely be forced to cut the price of the PS Vita from 24’000 yen to well below 20’000 yen very soon. The upcoming US launch could be a true debacle for several reasons. Sony has decided to price Vita at $250, higher than the Amazon Kindle Fire. The hottest games like the latest Uncharted are priced at $50, while many other major titles are $40. The pricing seems delusional in light of the Japanese response to the PS Vita. The older PSP handheld console has been a bigger hit in Japan than it has been in the US market. The tablet and iPhone market penetration rates in America are higher than in Japan – consumers may well be more reluctant to splurge on expensive, proprietary handheld consoles. The launch of the Kindle Fire at $200 has changed the US consumer electronics pricing environment.

I believe Japan could well be the last stronghold of portable game consoles. Even though the 3DS stumbled badly during its early months, Nintendo revived the console with a steep price cut and nearly simultaneous launches of three major franchises near the end of the year. The 3DS should have been a surefire blockbuster in its domestic market – the summer softness in Japan may have been an early warning sign of the coming global portable market malaise. The disastrous second week of the PS Vita is the second sign. Sony clearly had some anxiety about the Vita’s launch – it built it massive early support via an extensive line of launch titles. Despite the fact that Sony’s PSP has been a big hit in Japan, the PS Vita is foundering badly out of the gate – the ancient and heavily discounted PSP outsold the brand new Vita by 40% during the Christmas week. Much is now riding on the Vita debut in the US market in February.

I argued last week that PS Vita could mark the end of the era of portable game consoles. There is no doubt that Nintendo’s 3DS is going to sell at least 20 Million units globally over the next couple of years. But the portable console market may now have entered an age of permanent, slowly accelerating decline.The true test of the industry is the United States, where consumers are embracing games designed for smartphones and tablets. The possible shrinking of the portable game consumer base would hit the runner-up Sony before Nintendo really gets mauled. The rot sets in first at the periphery.

Sony has approached the PS Vita launch in America with arrogance, pricing the console and games high while opting to debut the device during the slow retail month of February. Mobile app sales more than doubled during the Christmas of 2011 – solid triple digit volume growth. In the meanwhile, even in the Japanese heartland of video games, video game software unit sales are set to decline by double digits in 2011.

So will Sony agree with the 'sales experts' and 'drop the price' before the Feb. 2012 launch in the other regions, or tough it out and see if their little portable decides to start to 'fly off the shelfs' like a new console should when launched!

NEWS SOURCE: Sony in Big Trouble (via) Forbes

Our thanks to 'Stevetry' for submitting this news tip to us!

[iLLNESS]

sony will launch the ps vita at normal price.. after the us launch, japanese prices will drop.. then possibly us prices to follow.

the idea that the market is dead is just stupid though. 3ds sold the most out of all gaming devices this month..

sony just doesnt know what the consumer wants anymore and thinks that people who already dont really want it are going to pay top dollar for it.

[Ichijoe]

Consequently they can ditch their proprietary Memory Card Format and use MicroSD like they should've done from the start.

They could allow multiple accounts on said device(s), and not lock said media to said Device(s), and or Account(s) (or lack thereof).

They really need to accept the fact that nobody is prepared to drop the Cash on a Vita Game, when they could get a PS3 / X360 or a brand new Wii System for an albeitly bit more, but certainly for less the the price of Two Vita Games.

These are some of the areas where S0NY need to do better.

But even if they gave the Vita away it would still fail with all the restrictions that S0NY have imposed on that System.

[MaxLouarn]

No one know how long it will take, but it won't be 10 years.
Sony is expecting 3 millions vita in 2012.
Apple expect 200 millions iphone/ipad, Android will be 300+ millions.
I think numbers speak for themselves.
Something else too, if you have a kid, give them an ipad with $100 of games & apps, and a 3DS/vita with $100 of games. You have your answer for what is going to work in 1 hour. Thanks to our jobs, our kids all have ds/psp/ipad/ipod touch etc. at home. And ds/psp have been collecting dust for a year or more. They don't even take them on week-ends anymore. I personally have no doubt the portable market is over for a pure gaming product. Anyway, it is not the only thing that smart phone/tablets are going to revolutionize in the next few years.

[billysastard]

Something else too, if you have a kid, give them an ipad with $100 of games & apps, and a 3DS/vita with $100 of games. You have your answer for what is going to work in 1 hour.

do that in a years time again and see the kids still able to buy new games that work on their handheld whilst their phone / pad have already been outdated and wont run the new games, then once again you'll see which is the better buy., same for thee year after and the year after that and probably another year, who knows, by then phone / pads may have developed game controls (and no doubt handheld game prices as the games grow to compete).

[Ichijoe]

And yet what's the One feature that currently missing from the Vita 3G Model that everyone would welcome?

Could it... be... a Phone to make calls on?


No I don't see Phones as the be and end all, at least not right now, but before the fall of this Decade?

Yes I do....
Nintendo will likely still have the next version of their N3DS Handheld, but they'll be the only Ones that'll be able to get away with that, like they always have (had). S0NY on the other hand, not so much...

[mattias800]

I've ranted about it before; Vita is Sonys last dedicated gaming handheld.

After that, it will all a phone running Android, like Xperia Play.

[BlckAdr]

do that in a years time again and see the kids still able to buy new games that work on their handheld whilst their phone / pad have already been outdated and wont run the new games, then once again you'll see which is the better buy., same for thee year after and the year after that and probably another year, who knows, by then phone / pads may have developed game controls (and no doubt handheld game prices as the games grow to compete).

What you are actually saying is that the games for the pads evolve BUT the VITA dont, its the same old hardware with the same old limitations.

Also you are misstaken inbelieving that here wont be lightger NEW games to that still will run on the PADs.

Simply put: The main article have it figured out whats happening in the world. You might not like that, but thats just life for you.

[DEDDOA]

I doubt we will see a Sony led price cut for at least the first 6 months after the european launch, they will try to cash in onthe early adopter market then price drop in time for christmas sales to start, with a big FU to early adopters, that was their PS3 and and PSP policy.

But lets face it, if they can't even get the price of a PS3 officially under £150 this late in it's product cycle then theree is no hope for a new product. I am really dreading what price range they plan to put the PS4 in.

[MadonnaProject]

Sony are their own worst enemy.

The vita has the best rep and excitement of any hardware in recent memory upon reveal.

Then, in usual sony fashion the noose of their rope got tighter and tighter around their customer's necks. Seems they still believe anyone would take their abuse and keep buying their systems.

Since then every bit of news about the vita was negative like one account, proprietary cards etc etc, and this is what its lead to. You're to blame sony.

[Squirrel61]

Within 3 years time, Sony will be more than happy that they have the Xperia Play, because it will be the only thing that keeps them in portable gaming. Unless they're doing their best to kill that too.

[garyopa]

Within 3 years time, Sony will be more than happy that they have the Xperia Play, because it will be the only thing that keeps them in portable gaming. Unless they're doing their best to kill that too.

They already did, they bought out the 50% stake that Erisson had, (remember the Xperia Play, only appeared because it was a Joint-Venture between Sony & Ericsson) without the 'phone company side' knowledge and marketing and general know-how-in-how-to-do-business, Sony by themselves in handling it are doomed to fail again!

[DEDDOA]

They already did, they bought out the 50% stake that Erisson had, (remember the Xperia Play, only appeared because it was a Joint-Venture between Sony & Ericsson) without the 'phone company side' knowledge and marketing and general know-how-in-how-to-do-business, Sony by themselves in handling it are doomed to fail again!

I am trying to think happy thoughts with reguards to the SE phones since the Sony full take over, been a fan (for want of a better term, tho it's more of a case of sticking with what works for me and SE phones have done that since my S700) for the past 8 or so years and would hate to have to switch to another brand as I hate shopping for phones so just go with the current SE flagship phone (well until O2 replaced by broken X10 with a downgrade to a PLAY that is, well downgrade for me as I want a phone first with a decent camera, not a mobile app store with a time laggy camera, still more of a phone than the iPhone mind you). I really really really really hope they just bought SE out but the same people are running the show as I would hate to see sony add theor own special brand of **** up to the phones.

[JonathanD]

I doubt we will see a Sony led price cut for at least the first 6 months after the european launch, they will try to cash in onthe early adopter market then price drop in time for christmas sales to start, with a big FU to early adopters, that was their PS3 and and PSP policy.

But lets face it, if they can't even get the price of a PS3 officially under £150 this late in it's product cycle then theree is no hope for a new product. I am really dreading what price range they plan to put the PS4 in.

As disillusioned as I am with the PS3, the PS4 would have to be just about free for me to want one.

The hardware wasn't to blame Sony made a great machine.

I too am wondering how Sony is going to release a PS4 at any reasonable price point.

This is why sales are sooo important in relation to price, you can only lower a products price very low like the PS2 did because economies of scale. (The more you make the cheaper you can make them for but making them is only useful if they actually sell.)

Had the PS3 been a mega success the price by now would have been much lower.

[JonathanD]

I am trying to think happy thoughts with reguards to the SE phones since the Sony full take over, been a fan (for want of a better term, tho it's more of a case of sticking with what works for me and SE phones have done that since my S700) for the past 8 or so years and would hate to have to switch to another brand as I hate shopping for phones so just go with the current SE flagship phone (well until O2 replaced by broken X10 with a downgrade to a PLAY that is, well downgrade for me as I want a phone first with a decent camera, not a mobile app store with a time laggy camera, still more of a phone than the iPhone mind you). I really really really really hope they just bought SE out but the same people are running the show as I would hate to see sony add theor own special brand of **** up to the phones.

You know Sony has that whole reverse midas touch thing going on right now.... lol just kidding there HAS to be some one some where inside of Sony who can do something right.

Maybe the whole experia thing is it