Sony has said the PS Vita is “about to come into its prime” due to recent price cuts and its enhanced compatibility with the PS4.
Fergal Gara, Managing Director of Sony UK, has said that the PS Vita is about to become the handheld console it was always designed to be, re-entering the market at a lower price point and scheduled to be a true PS4 accessory.
“So what’s happening now is, you’re getting the price of the console coming down, you’ve got tremendous value offerings around the software – we talked about Mega Packs, we talked about PlayStation Plus and what that does for PlayStation Vita, and now you’ve got Remote Play as well,” said Gara.
Speaking to Videogamer, Gara admitted the PS Vita is “not performing that well”, but part of the problem is that the device was imagined when mobile gaming was not worthy competition.
“Price is part of equation but I think the landscape it entered is vastly different to that which maybe was imagined when the design process for the device started, in particular the tablet and smartphone and freemium-type models,” he explained.
Seeing as the PS Vita faces direct competition from mobile gaming platforms like iOS and Android, Sony announced that it was introducing a price cut for the handheld gaming console. Dropping the price of the PS Vita from $249 to $199 in the US, the handheld console saw a UK price cut of around £100. Gamers can pick one up from £169 nowadays.
“To bring a console out at £200 plus and have software at £30, £40, £50 was a tough ask, even if it offered full controls and a superior gameplay experience. Now I think it might well demonstrate that it’s cheaper than many of those [mobile] devices so it’s tremendous value as a device itself, but content is now available at a much greater value. And of course, it’s now a brilliant device for PlayStation 4.”
Next, read our pick of the best games to buy in 2013.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
