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Japan retailers don't cut Sony PS Vita price. Bomba averted?

Didn't see this posted anywhere, unless I missed it?

The battle between Japan's handheld computer games consoles is hotting up, with news that the prices of the Sony PlayStation Vita have been slashed by many retailers following a slump in demand.

After a successful opening week in which the successor to the Sony PSP sold almost 325,000 units in Japan, sales have nosedived, with just 72,479 being bought in its second week.

As a result of this, retailers in Japan have decided to cut its price, with many fearful that sales were unlikely to pick up.

With most Japanese consumers opting for the cheaper WiFi only model, stores have slashed as much as 20 per cent from the price of the more expensive 3G model to encourage buyers.

For Sony, this news was made all the worse by the fact that Nintendo's latest handheld console, the 3DS, continues to sell incredibly well.

A staggering 482,200 3DS units were sold in the same week that the PS Vita sold just 72,479, the Metro reported.

Nintendo of America, meanwhile, announced this week that over 4 million 3DS have been sold so far, putting it ahead of both its record-selling Wii and DS consoles in the timeframe that it has been available.

http://www.insidejapantours.com/jap...sony-ps-vita-price-as-nintendo-3ds-dominates/

Edit: Looks like this is false and has been debunked. I was looking at Google's finance page, and wrongfully assumed that the stuff they posted would be accurate. Sorry! Mods - please lock! :(
 
many japanese folk (such as the 8-4 crew) saying they haven't seen a single discounted VITA.

this article doesn't quote any stores, examples, prices, etc...
 

AColdDay

Member
Maybe if they ignore the part where it says the 3ds sales are surging, which places a big hole in that theory.

Even I doubted Iwata when he claimed that smartphones have minimal impact on handhelds, but Nintendo seems to be rebounding well.
 

ElRenoRaven

Gold Member

I wouldn't say doomed but that isn't good. I know some are going to blame the time of dedicated handhelds being dead but I don't think that. I think Nintendo and now Sony priced themselves out of the market. I think people saw the prices and were like fuck this. I really do think that at the end of the day it is coming down to the prices people are willing to pay for a handheld console and it's software and accessories.
 

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Only the 3G will get a price cut up to 20% from certain retailers.
 

Cygnus X-1

Member
1279369297132.gif
 
It was only commented in the 8 opened threads about the death of Vita, in the last 48 hours, and at the end the source only talk about ONE store that TEMPORARY discount 3G model to the same price of Wifi. There is no a global 3G price cut from japan retailers.
Thank you. Seriously. Thank you. Can't stand sites reporting this and the Nikkei Trendy rumours.

Also, where did you find that site, OP? Is not even gaming related, is it?
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
Didn't this happen with the 3DS initially?

I'm sure it'll be fine and this is just an isolated incident.
 

[Nintex]

Member
It was only commented in the 8 opened threads about the death of Vita, in the last 48 hours, and at the end the source only talk about ONE store that TEMPORARY discount 3G model to the same price of Wifi. There is no a global 3G price cut from japan retailers.

I'm going to keep this post in my pocket as I start counting down.
 

elohel

Member
It was only commented in the 8 opened threads about the death of Vita, in the last 48 hours, and at the end the source only talk about ONE store that TEMPORARY discount 3G model to the same price of Wifi. There is no a global 3G price cut from japan retailers.

thats what i thought too, that this was an isolated thing lol
 
...I wonder if Vita owners are beginning to get an idea of what 3DS owners went through in terms of press coverage back in early-mid 2011...
 

SmokyDave

Member
Might be worth changing the title to "Are Japanese retailers cutting Sony PS Vita price?" and leaving the topic open.

This subject isn't going to go away any time soon.
 

[Nintex]

Member
...I wonder if Vita owners are beginning to get an idea of what 3DS owners went through in terms of press coverage back in early-mid 2011...

I could handle the coverage and I agreed with it. Paying 350 euro for a 3DS + Pilotwings with one map + 30fps Ridge Racer 3D had to be the third biggest scam of the year.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
3G requires a phone contract, doesn't it? I can see why many people (myself included) opt-in to the wifi only model.
 
3DS was also discounted at specific retailers when it was selling badly. This doesn't mean shit.

Except - as with the 3DS - it possibly means exactly what you've just written. It's not irreversible, it's not nationwide and it doesn't "doom" the system, but it's not particularly good news to be getting out there just after launch.

[Nintex];33988563 said:
I could handle the coverage and I agreed with it. Paying 350 euro for a 3DS + Pilotwings with one map + 30fps Ridge Racer 3D had to be the third biggest scam of the year.

Well, I paid just under £180, got SSFIV and Pilotwings (which I loved) and that plus DSiWare kept me going for a good wee while, so I didn't think of the launch too badly. I could see the merit in the complaints about poor launch lineups and an apparently early launch causing havoc with things like the eShop, but the wider negative coverage of the system seemed ridiculously premature and ill-founded - just as the early coverage of the Vita may well be.
 

Foffy

Banned
Lol @ the "well, that was quick" posts. Nice to know who actually reads and who just jumps on thread titles.

I'm not assuming all retailers are cutting the price. I'm just a bit surprised some are doing so as quickly as it appears to be happening. Maybe it's common practice in Japan.
 

ranmafan

Member
3G requires a phone contract, doesn't it? I can see why many people (myself included) opt-in to the wifi only model.


It doesn't, I got the 3g model and didn't need one. I also haven't seen any discounts of the vita around anywhere. And I just bought my the other day from Amazon Japan which was the cheapest place I could find it anywhere at just about 2000 yen less than original price.
 

[Nintex]

Member
Except - as with the 3DS - it possibly means exactly what you've just written. It's not irreversible, it's not nationwide and it doesn't "doom" the system, but it's not particularly good news to be getting out there just after launch.

It took about 2 months for the magnitude of failure of the 3DS launch to sink in and about 2 weeks before Vita was dead. 3DS had an easy first few weeks because on the back of Layton it did pretty ok'ish in Japan and was the 'fastest selling Nintendo thing' in the EU and US because initial pre-orders were high. After that pre-order buzz was gone it sank like a stone.
 
It doesn't, I got the 3g model and didn't need one. I also haven't seen any discounts of the vita around anywhere. And I just bought my the other day from Amazon Japan which was the cheapest place I could find it anywhere at just about 2000 yen less than original price.

In Amazon Japan the console is 2000 yens cheaper?

Time to open another thread!
 
[Nintex];33988676 said:
It took about 2 months for the magnitude of failure of the 3DS launch to sink in and about 2 weeks before Vita was dead. 3DS had an easy first few weeks because on the back of Layton it did pretty ok'ish in Japan and was the 'fastest selling Nintendo thing' in the EU and US because initial pre-orders were high. After that pre-order buzz was gone it sank like a stone.

I suspect the Japanese launch would have been more quickly jumped on if it hadn't been for the Tōhoku earthquake. I think that muddied the waters around the quickly-stagnating sales (I was certainly part of discussions in Sales-Age threads where I and others thought it was having an effect) and it made it easy to play "wait & see", even if other systems weren't showing quite the same decline.
 
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