Fergal Gara, managing director for Sony Computer Entertainment UK, has conceded that PlayStation Vita’s original price point “was a tough ask” for punters given the influx of smartphones and tablets at the time.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com in regards to whether PS Vita’s price held it back, Gara commented, “Price is part of the 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.”
“To bring a console out at £200+ and have software at £30, £40, £50 was a tough ask, even if it offered full controls and a superior gameplay experience.”
"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 [last week], we talked about PlayStation Plus and what that does for PlayStation Vita, and now you’ve got Remote Play as well. So in short, I think it could well be about to come into its prime and prove its distinctive worth, whereas it maybe struggled a little bit alongside the burgeoning tablet revolution."
PS Vita’s price was slashed last week at Gamescom from $249 to $199, while over in the U.K., the 3G model has been reduced from £279.99 to around £169. As a result of the cuts, Gara believes the handheld may finally receive the shot in the arm it needs.
“Now I think it might well demonstrate that it’s cheaper than many of those devices so it’s tremendous value as a device itself, but content is now available at a much greater value,” he said. “And of course, it’s now a brilliant device for PlayStation 4.”
PS Vita has a number of high-profile titles on the horizon, including Killzone: Mercenary, Tearaway, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate and heaps of new Indie titles.
Do you think PS Vita’s original asking price was too expensive? Or do you think it was spot on given the value Sony’s handheld offers? Sound off in the comments section below.