Let’s face it - sales of the PlayStation Vita haven’t been as good, so far, as Sony would have liked. This is not a question of opinion, speculation, or rampant Microsoft fanboyism, it’s an unfortunate fact. Some have said that the system is too expensive and deserves a price cut - after all, the 3DS quickly shed its $250 cost and moved into a more reasonable price bracket, so why can’t the Vita? Let’s consider this question for a few minutes.
First of all, the 3DS price drop was not seen as a good thing all around. A few short months after the system launched in the Western World, Nintendo slashed its price by nearly a third. Not only did this show lack of confidence in the system, but it left many early adopters feeling cheated. Sure, Nintendo provided free games from the eShop to those who shelled out the full $250 for their system, but this didn’t please everyone.
It could be argued that early adopters will always have to deal with price drops - it’s an inevitable part of buying any technology when it first launches. However, to get such a major price cut so soon felt like a real slap in the face to those who picked up the 3DS in those early months.
Price cuts generally arrive a year or two into a console’s life. The PS2, for example, didn’t drop in price until it had been on store shelves for a year-and-a-half (note: rather than focus on release dates and prices for every country, I’m concentrating on the biggest market - the US). Microsoft and Nintendo quickly dropped the prices of the Xbox and Gamecube to bring themselves in line with the PS2, but I’m sure they wouldn’t have done so if Sony hadn’t made the first move.
Ah, but since Nintendo made the first move in dropping the 3DS price, shouldn’t Sony bring themselves in line with a similar price cut? In my opinion, no. As great as the 3DS may turn out the be, the fact is that it’s not as advanced a piece of hardware. Nintendo have a different focus from Sony and Microsoft, which is the reason this current generation has seen the much cheaper Wii competing with the far more powerful Xbox 360 and PS3. Since Nintendo are manufacturing relatively low-powered consoles, they have to charge less for them. This is in no way a commentary on the quality of the systems themselves, just a remark on the cost of production.
So what we have here is an extremely high-end, well-received system that isn’t selling too well, and the knee-jerk reaction is to drop the price. The Vita really is an incredible piece of technology, with many of the features found in smartphones that cost twice the price. Also it’s still in its infancy, and is just beginning to reach the point where its cost can be justified.
For a start, the must-have games are only just arriving. Sure, we had some fun sequels and ports in the first few months, but with original titles like Gravity Rush and Sounds Shapes hitting the market, along with massive franchises like Call of Duty and LittleBigPlanet on the horizon, the Vita library is quickly growing into something worthy of the $250 price tag. We’re also getting some cool cross-compatibility with the PS3, such as the LBP2 Cross Controller support and the Cross Buy/Cross Play features in PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. Finally, the massive selection of PS1 Classics is arriving on Vita next week, bringing some old school gaming fun to the system’s lush screen. It seems like a very exciting time to be in possession of Sony’s latest handheld, and it’s only been out for six months.
I know we are living in an increasingly fast-paced society, where short-term gain and instant gratification are more appealing than ever, but demanding a price cut for the PlayStation Vita just seems far too early. I hope system sales pick up soon, though, or Sony may be forced to take drastic measures - reducing production costs (and therefore, quality), just to keep the market appeased. It would be a shame, as they have a really nice little system with a lot of potential.
