Many of you were calling for digital PlayStation Vita games to be priced lower than their cartridge counterparts. Your calls have been answered! That’s how it works in Japan and that’s how it should work here, right? Although precise price differences weren’t announced, Sony has confirmed that digital buyers will save money by going digital. Here’s a quote from a “Sony representative” snagged by Shacknews:
I can confirm that there will be a discount on the downloadable PS Vita titles from PSN. Exact details have not yet been revealed, but be on the lookout for an announcement in the very near future.
Like many of you have said in the past, it makes sense for digital downloads to be cheaper than cartridges. The costs of physical media, shipping, retail space, etc. are eliminated by going digital and consumers should be able to enjoy the savings. That said, I wonder if Sony’s retail partners are pissed about this and if their pissed-off-edness will limit the digital discount.
Any guess as to how much cheaper digital Vita games will be?
Ten percent I'd guess.
That would be nice. My friend suggested $35 digital vs. $40 for a cartridge.
Yeah I can't see it being much more than the Gamestop new used vs brand new price difference haha.
If it's only the difference between buying new and used at GameStop, I'll keep buying the retail copies (assuming I can still trade them in).
It still irks me that new releases are $59 in-store or $59 online.
It'd be nice if more followed suit
If this is, say, anywhere between a 10 and 15% price reduction, then it could attract consumers looking for used games since it's about the same. That would only work at launch, though, unless they dropped the prices of digital copies just like they do normally (which makes sense, really). In fact, if all goes according to "plan", this idea could put a sizable dent in the used games market for the PS Vita and possibly other Sony gaming systems. If every company did this, what would happen to used games, I wonder…?
Oh yeah, and PS (pun intended), I pre-ordered a PS Vita and a copy of Uncharted: Golden Abyss. I'll be getting both around launch, so I'll probably put something up about both on one of the article comment sections. Anybody else here pre-order, or am I unusual?
Our dear friend Bleahy brought up the point of Vita memory cards being expensive and cutting into the digital savings. He's wise beyond his years…and height.
I still have Bleahy as a friend on PSN, he must not know it's me.
Eh, the memory cards are actually no more expensive than the old PSP ones anyway. Even so, it is annoying to need to pay for something that you should not have to deal with (one reason the DS line is so beloved), though I expect many third parties will develop cheaper alternatives. When I bought my first 4GB MemoryStick Pro, it was $50. Later, I purchased an 8GB MemoryStick Pro for $20. It really comes down to who made the product, and who's selling it. For instance, a memory card bought at Target is MUCH cheaper than the same one bought at Walgreens.
I'm still weary about it, I think I'm going to go visit my local vita social club some time to get some hands on time and make decision soon.
Can somebody please tell me how this thing is officially pronounced? Is it "V-eye-tuh" or "Vee-ta"?! It's really driving me nuts.
-M
It's the latter.
Vee-tuh
And I gotta da vee-tuh
I think that's what iron butterfly meant…those guys were really ahead of their time. They got theirs like in the 70's or something. I have to wait until March
That was an awesome reference.
why, thank you sir
I wouldnt normally post a thank you, but Lunias is kind of on my tail for that RPAD.tv 10th place trophy.
Yes sir, I am. Better watch your back, I've been polishing my Assassin's Creed skills lately with my homemade Animus. Leaves me with a killer headache, though.
My band teacher told us about that song a while ago. He said it sounded weird because the entire band was high when they recorded it. So, how does that relate to the Vita…?
the name of the song is Inna Godda Di Vida…Vida sounds like Vita
Although now, i may sing that song after i procure my vita
No, I meant the "high" part. Just speculation, really. And was that really the name they came up with, or was it "In the Garden of Eden" (so I've been told)? The title I mentioned is what they had planned, but due to the high-ness of their singer(s) it came out wrong. So which one is it?