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[tim.mbp]

I for one am looking forward to playing Legend on Dragoon again on PS Vita.

I guess Legend on Dragoon is one of the compatible titles.

 

[Goffee]

Would it be cheaper for Sony to go with LCD display instead of Oled if they want to reduce the price of the console?

The cost of OLEDs will hit parity with LCDs next year anyway. But whatever Sony does, it will struggle to reduce the cost by huge amounts due to market issues.

 

[Auto_aim1]

True. Is it possible to change the OLED screen to something cheaper by the way? Are there cheaper alternatives that can provide the same resolution?

It's not about resolution, the main advantages of OLED screens are vibrant colours and great black levels. They can go with a capacitive TFT screen in the future but I doubt it. It's one of the main selling points of the system.

 

[michaelius]

No price drop this year ? Damn things could get ugly this holiday season for Vita.

With NFS, CoD, AC, Madden and new Fifa releasing before that ?

 

[spwolf]

do people expect them to say "DO NOT BUY VITA NOW, THERE WILL BE BIG PRICE CUT IN 2 MONTHS SO WE ARE STOPPING SALES NOW"?

there will be for sure a price cut... I hope they find a way to integrate Vita hardware into phone platform, since a lot of people these days might not want both high end phone and portable console.

 

[lowrider007]

I find it hard to see how they will reduce the cost on a new model without making it worse in someway, I think the current Vita in terms of build quality is fantastic, nice weight, feels solid, decent buttons, dat oled, the PSP 2000 just never felt as good as the original PSP imo.

 

[Tiduz]

am i the only one that saw a BLACK vita at gamescom, black as in no chrome on it at all, not even the volume power buttons etc

 

[Kouriozan]

One year too late?

Post-2012 price cut? The system will be dead by then.

PSP had a lot of hype to help sales (OMG a playstation handheld!) unlike the Vita so this is probably tue.

 

[Mileena]

They could start by removing back touch. That was a completely pointless hardware addition.

 

[TheBioLover]

am i the only one that saw a BLACK vita at gamescom, black as in no chrome on it at all, not even the volume power buttons etc

Dev unit, I believe.

 

[ffdgh]

A price cut would have been perfect for the holidays. Oh well hopefully they'll do well in 2013.

 

[LobLob]

They could start by removing back touch. That was a completely pointless hardware addition.

I agree, absolutely. Back touch panel was so stupid. It was like Homer and his car where he put in the bubble glass dome.

 

[7threst]

They could start by removing back touch. That was a completely pointless hardware addition.

Way to improve sales on a title like Tear Away lol!

 

[Opus Angelorum]

A price cut would have been perfect for the holidays. Oh well hopefully they'll do well in 2013.

Nintendo will be smiling from ear to ear at this news.

3DS and Wii U with no competition this holiday.

 

[2real4tv]

better snatch one up next one might have half the resolution.

 

[sajj316]

It's not about resolution, the main advantages of OLED screens are vibrant colours and great black levels. They can go with a capacitive TFT screen in the future but I doubt it. It's one of the main selling points of the system.

I doubt they will change screens. OLED is one of the main selling points and because of that, I suspect a slower burn in cost reduction as the screen is probably one of the most expensive parts of the system.

Does anyone know if the bundle packs comes with a memory card? If so, that's alot of value or $250 (imho).

I think if anything, working on cost reduction for the memory cards will go a LONG way. Also, alot of folks want internal memory. This will add to costs.

 

[Brannon]

What I want is, of course, is video out. It's like they're dodging that issue.

 

[spadge]

I hope there will be a Miku or DJ Max bundle in Europe.

Is there a way to play any pf the PSP DJ Max games on an EU Vita other than having to restore the console every time? I would love to play some as my PSP has died.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I simply dont understand people's hate for the back touch. One of the actual innovative things brought to the system, when more games use it intelligently, the feel of being able to interact with a world from touching the front and back just feels very natural. It can toe the line between too gimmicky and fresh feeling, so thats up to developers to reign in (some feel LBP Vita goes too far), but the stuff in Tearaway and even Little Deviants where you're deforming/interacting with landscapes from the back is great stuff.

 

[jett]

I commend Sony for not giving up on the Vita. Seems they will go down fighting.

 

[GoofsterStud]

Knowing this, I will now wait and see what happens when they reduce the price... I was considering getting one, but that plan is back on hold.

Why would Sony even announce this? Especially if it's that far away? I don't get it.

Sony PLEASE, don't mess up the PS4 release. Learn from this....

 

[sechsterangriff]

Looking at just the hardware (specs and build quality) they're obviously asking for a fair price (IMO). It's everything I could want from a handheld right now. It would only be better if it was just as/more powerful than a current gen console.
The hardware has the potential do so much more than games, they really need to open PlayStation Mobile to apps.

I understand that people aren't used to pay this much for a handheld, but I think the value is there.

 

[gogogow]

Is there a way to play any pf the PSP DJ Max games on an EU Vita other than having to restore the console every time? I would love to play some as my PSP has died.

I have no idea, I don't have a Vita, yet. I still play all of my DJ Max/Miku games on my PSP-1000/2000. So happy I bought a 2000, a pre-1000-E model, before Sony halted the production for Europe.
Maybe someone else here can help you out.

 

[GoofsterStud]

better snatch one up next one might have half the resolution.

Then it'd be really easy to skip the PSV altogether.

Great for the pocket.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Knowing this, I will now wait and see what happens when they reduce the price... I was considering getting one, but that plan is back on hold.

Why would Sony even announce this? Especially if it's that far away? I don't get it.

Sony PLEASE, don't mess up the PS4 release. Learn from this....

Sony: Vita will one day be cheaper.

"Those" Potential Consumers: This is new news. I will wait until it becomes cheaper!

People that can point to every electronic device becoming cheaper to buy over longer periods of time: NO FUCKING SHIT.

You either want the system now to play the games at that specific time or you don't.

 

[Tobor]

I simply dont understand people's hate for the back touch. One of the actual innovative things brought to the system, when more games use it intelligently, the feel of being able to interact with a world from touching the front and back just feels very natural. It can toe the line between too gimmicky and fresh feeling, so thats up to developers to reign in (some feel LBP Vita goes too far), but the stuff in Tearaway and even Little Deviants where you're deforming/interacting with landscapes from the back is great stuff.

I hate it. I have large hands and there is no way to hold the Vita comfortably without accidentally touching the back panel. I wouldn't buy any game that requires it, and turn it off in the settings in any game that requires it.

 

[Canis lupus]

The cost of OLEDs will hit parity with LCDs next year anyway. But whatever Sony does, it will struggle to reduce the cost by huge amounts due to market issues.

Do you have a source for that? I just read a week ago OLED screens are still 8-10x as expensive as LCDs.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I hate it. I have large hands and there is no way to hold the Vita comfortably without accidentally touching the back panel. I wouldn't buy any game that requires it, and turn it off in the settings in any game that requires it.

I assume you just have very large fingers rather than entire hands, and can't curl them up into place underneath the system or simply have them hover not touching it? You dont need to cup the whole system at from the back, seems perfectly easy to just hold the system with thumbs, index fingers, and the ridge of the palm between them.

Alternatively there are those grips with the dualshock style prongs.

 

[Father_Brain]

GamesIndustry.biz has its own Yoshida interview, where he says similar things and also seemingly contradicts his own recent comments on third-party support:

Q: The conference yesterday seemed to be well received. What was your agenda? What message did you want to communicate?

Shuhei Yoshida: Our focus was to feature PS Vita. One big criticism we got from E3 was where's the PS Vita, where are the PS Vita games? We spent too little time talking about it, so that was a big focus going into Gamescom.

We were very happy to announce five new titles from Worldwide Studios, as well as the new Ratchet & Clank game - so that's six new titles. PS Vita, PS3, Move, PSN, they all got new titles, so we were able to cover all of the initiatives that we have

Q: Has the Vita suffered in that respect? It's very impressive hardware, but it can do so many things that making sure people understood it struck me as a key challenge.

Shuhei Yoshida: We're getting really good feedback from the media and consumers...about the hardware features, as well as the games that try to take advantage of each new input method. With that feedback, our developers can be smarter about how to use the new features the Vita offers.

Q: Is the Vita as popular as it should be?

Shuhei Yoshida: In terms of the reactions of the people who have already bought the Vita, we're very happy. They are happy with the hardware. In terms of the sales, we'd definitely like to see more. There are millions of people we're sure will enjoy playing PS Vita games. Our job now is to decipher what's preventing these people from making the jump. Our priority right now is definitely to bring more content.

Q: Is that why the Vita hasn't sold as well as you'd like? A lack of content and services?

Shuhei Yoshida: Yeah. The good thing is that the one thing we can't change is the hardware features, but they are very well regarded by people. But in terms of new content and new system and service features, we can add that, and we can work with third-parties to get more. We're getting a very good feeling when we talk with third-parties companies, and of course we're developing our own titles. And for the people who are hoping that the PS Vita becomes more affordable, we are creating new bundles and adding new value to the package. We're hoping that this Christmas more people will jump over to the Vita.

 

[Tobor]

I assume you just have very large fingers rather than entire hands, and can't curl them up into place underneath the system or simply have them hover not touching it? You dont need to cup the whole system at from the back, seems perfectly easy to just hold the system with thumbs, index fingers, and the ridge of the palm between them.

Alternatively there are those grips with the dualshock style prongs.

It's not comfortable to hold it the way you describe. Besides, I have a solution already. I won't ever buy a game that requires it, and turn it off for everything else. Problem solved.

 

[GoofsterStud]

Sony: Vita will one day be cheaper.

"Those" Potential Consumers: This is new news. I will wait until it becomes cheaper!

People that can point to every electronic device becoming cheaper to buy over longer periods of time: NO FUCKING SHIT.

You either want the system now to play the games at that specific time or you don't.

There is no reason to announce the info though... It makes it appear more drastic and worthwhile to wait.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

GamesIndustry.biz has its own Yoshida interview, where he says similar things and also seemingly contradicts his own recent comments on third-party support:

...the one thing we can't change is the hardware features, but they are very well regarded by people.

That's interesting.

 

[Tevious]

They really should have put internal memory in the Vita. Even if it was only 4GB. I don't think people would be bitching so much about the $250 cost if they didn't HAVE to buy ridiculously overpriced memory too. I realize they are probably trying to make up for a loss on the system itself, but they went too far. They should have at least gone no higher than this:

4GB - $14.99 (or maybe they shouldn't have even bothered with this one)
8GB - $29.99
16GB - $44.99
32GB - $59.99
64GB - $74.99 (They should really make this one, but not if they're going to charge $150 for it)

Secondly, they REALLY need to update the PSN more often with prices. I'm not sure how it works, but it seems like Sony and publishers have little communication and publishers probably have to submit all kinds of paperwork to have sales and discounts. They need to take some ques from Steam. Maybe provide publishers with management tools to adjust prices as they please and not just on Tuesday.

I'm pretty sure there hasn't been ONE Vita game discounted yet outside the initial 5-10% off. I want to go all digital, but I caved in for MK9 for $10 when the digital version is still $39.99. I think a lot of people would jump on the Vita if they had more reasonable prices for old PSP games too. And people would maybe double dip on their UMD games if PSP games were cheaper, just like people do with PS1 games.

 

[Lime]

Honestly I'd be more interested in getting my former UMD PSP games to transfer to a Vita than getting a price cut. This is the one thing holding me back from purchasing the system.

Obviously both prospects would be nice (along with memory card reduction).

 

[Panajev2001a]

I think Sony could cut a tiny bit into their margins by including in every model produced from now on a small 1 GB memory card. Enough to wet your PSN appetite, but also for your game saves.

It would not cut into their accessories' sales either IMHO.

 

[cw_sasuke]

With NFS, CoD, AC, Madden and new Fifa releasing before that ?

Yes probably and i mean ugly compared to other systems - of course Vita will sell better than it did this summer, but i doubt this lineup will allow for higher sales at that price point. Not just the 3DS but also the new iPhone 5, iPad mini, WiiU, price drops for Ps360 will take peoples money.

 

[test_account]

You think OLED screens are the cheapest? Of course there are cheaper alternatives. Look at Sony phones, S-LCD at 720p. Though S-LCD is gonna look like shit compared to OLED. If Sony are gonna change the screen tech, they should at least use S-LCD2 (HTC One X).

I have no idea. I was wondering if there was an cheaper alternative that offered the same resolution on the screen. I havnt been following the tech advancements around small screens. Do you know how much cheaper those LCD screens are?

 

[Yopis]

Knowing this, I will now wait and see what happens when they reduce the price... I was considering getting one, but that plan is back on hold.

Why would Sony even announce this? Especially if it's that far away? I don't get it.

Sony PLEASE, don't mess up the PS4 release. Learn from this....

If anything they will say (we gave them nice hw,with a great price with vita. They still want cheaper.) PS4 cheap build quality confirmed. Hell why not bump down whatever internal specs they are shooting,for . People forgot gaming is an,expensive hobby.

 

[Pie and Beans]

There is no reason to announce the info though... It makes it appear more drastic and worthwhile to wait.

Observe the difference:

SONY PRESS CONFERENCE AUGUST 2012 THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

[Yoshida takes the stand]

Yoshida: The PS Vita is going to be cheaper to purchase at some point, but not in 2012! Thank you, goodbye!

Eurogamer Interview with Yoshida

Interviewer: Price cut this year?

Yoshida: No, but cost reduction is something our engineers are always working on.

Yoshida gives better interviews than "no comment" especially since GAF's normal reaction to "no comment" is "OMG ITS ABOUT TO FUCKING HAPPEN ANY DAY NOW, HOLY SHIT YESSSSSSSS"

 

[Currygan]

the last resort. At least they acknowledge it's a pricing issue

 

[Mung]

Is it news to you guys that the price will drop at some point? It's like 'I'm gonna wait now'!

The simple question is whether you want to play the games this year or not..
If not, then wait, or skip.

 

[ShadiWulf]

well im glad Yoshida was so open about it, seals my decision to just get one soon as possible then. There's quite a few games that I want to play, but part of me has been waiting for a price cut, too. but... not willing to wait till sometime in 2013

 

[Panajev2001a]

ridiculously overpriced memory

Considering that, unless the opposite is proven, these cards have the same (relatively high) R/W speeds as their game cards have (developers would hate it if the memory cards sucked in that sense, well especially regarding Read speed), we can conclude that they are not el-cheapo Flash memory.
Also, look at the price premium consumers happily pay for high speed cards and especially built-in flash memory in devices like iPad and iPhone (where going from 16 GB models to 32 GB models is about $100, so even more expensive and not less expensive)... I think it is not exactly fair to say that they are ridiculously overpriced.

Still, I think they should include a small 1 GB or so memory card with every unit sold. They can afford that and it would save them a lot of public criticism. Not all because people shit on the system criticizing the lack of games when the system has quite a lot of games out, but I think PS Mobile will be a great help there too .

 

[Dreams-Visions]

It looks like a terrible (non) move, but it could convince people waiting for a price cut to stop waiting and finally get it. Maybe.

Hardly.

People have more options than ever to kep them content. If a price drop is the goal.

 

[jerpdoesgames]

Been planning to buy a Vita anyways, just wondering when. I should probably have a more recent look at the list of games out/on the way -- all I've been interested in so far has been soul sacrifice and maybe hope that monster hunter 3rd/whatever the last psp one was comes out in NA and still has the forward compatibility for dual analog/etc. support.

I'd pay a extra just to get TV-out in a way that doesn't reduce performance or have compatibility issues (no modded vita/remotejoy equiv).

 

[Father_Brain]

the last resort. At least they acknowledge it's a pricing issue

I continue to think that it's more a software issue, and that Sony could cut the price by $100 with no impact beyond a sizable initial bump and a modest increase in the weekly sales baseline, but hey. Not like we'll ever find out.

 

[Don'tBeWeird]

Well reducing the price is great and all but it won't great effect if people still don't know what a Vita actually is.

Advertise the fucking thing and you'll get results.

 

[Father_Brain]

Well reducing the price is great and all but it won't great effect if people still don't know what a Vita actually is.

Advertise the fucking thing and you'll get results.

Well, at least in the UK, Sony is spending a sizable amount on holiday marketing.

Sony used its Gamescom press conference to effectively relaunch its Vita handheld for Christmas.

And as part of the revamp, it will spend more money on marketing Vita this Q4 than it did over the platform’s launch earlier this year.

To improve the console’s slow sales the platform holder will launch a series of bundles featuring the biggest brands in games: Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, FIFA, LittleBigPlanet and Need for Speed.

“We’re currently putting the finishing touches to our campaign, and throughout peak we’ll be spending more marketing money than we did during the launch period,” SCE UK’s senior product manager Ian Vinten explained to MCV.

 

[jaypah]

At least he's honest, but now people on the fence will wait..(like me)

I have to wait anyway. Between the games coming out and the WiiU launch I just don't have the funds. But it's starting to look like I might get one for Christmas, which will still be well before the price drop. Man, I'm so impatient.

 

[topplehat]

Well reducing the price is great and all but it won't great effect if people still don't know what a Vita actually is.

Advertise the fucking thing and you'll get results.

They should do both, really.

I guess we can all wait until next year to get our Vitas then!