[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]According to a recent interview with Eurogamer, Sony does not plan on reducing the price of their oft-criticized handheld gaming device the PS Vita this year.
Worldwide Studio Boss Shuhei Yoshida seems to feel that it is too soon to consider a price reduction for a gaming device that has been on the market for less than a year. Instead, Yoshida hopes that new titles like LittleBigPlanet and a new Call of Duty game will spike sales while Sony considers how to cut manufacturing costs in order to cater to customers (and their insistence on a price cut).
Yoshida knows customers want a price cut, and mentioned, “Of course, cost reduction is one area our engineering team is working on. But we just launched the platform earlier this year. It takes time to do so. At a certain point in the future we would like to address the pricing issue for some of the people who are waiting. But this year we are trying to add value by creating different types of bundles. We announced we will provide LittleBigPlanet PS Vita bundle pack. That’s affordable for people who are looking for a good deal.”
Of course, bundle deals are not always the best. Sure, some customers love the idea of getting a game along with their console, but I’m not sure it will be enough to entice those who do not already own a Vita to go out and get one before the eventual price cut.
There has been a lot of talk about why the Vita has not been as successful as Sony hoped, but many articles have cited the lack of worthwhile games, and then the lack of support for preexisting games as a significant problem. Yoshida responded, saying, “…We see lots of feedback from consumers saying they would like to see more content, they would like to see their favorite franchises coming to the PS Vita.”
At least Sony is willing to bend to the will of their fans in some respect, and I am certainly looking forward to seeing how the PS Vita develops by the time 2013 runs around.
What do you guys think about the lack of a price cut for the Vita this year? Are you willing to buy one once bundles are introduced, or are bundles not enough?