Features - QOTW: will you buy PlayStation Vita?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I had a look at the Playstation Vita specifications.

It has a quad core which is probably similar in processing power to the one in the Eee Transformer Prime and the iPad3. It has a GPU which looks to be twice as fast as the in the iPad2 and iPhone4S. These have the most powerful GPU of ANY tablet or phone.

It has 128MB of dedicated VRAM too unlike any tablet or phone. It has as much RAM as an iPad2 and iPhone4S. It also has a OLED touchscreen too.

It wouldn't surprise me if the iPad3 ends up with similar specifications for the CPU and GPU.

On top of this it has proper keys too.

This console obliterates ANY current tablet or phone for gaming and you can get one for £230:

http://direct.asda.com/Playstation-V...qqaal&istBid=t

http://www.play.com/Games/PSP/4-/185...3|prd:18571343

How many phones with an OLED screen for under £250 have a 960X544 screen??

This consoles has better specifications than every tablet and phone out there and people want it for 10p or something??

[Terbinator]

Technically it is great.

But the cost of games, the cost of proprietary memory cards (which are needed to even play a game - so entry price without games is actually £245 for 4GB) and the fact they borked it by lack of 1080p output means it falls short really when comparing to tablets and so on.

Of course, it doesn't work as a phone, either.

[jim]

There's no way I would pay the prices they're asking for modern-day portable consoles. It would actually be cheaper to buy a PS3 than a Vita... what?

I understand why it costs what it does, but it doesn't make me any more inclined to actually spend that amount.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Retracted.

Check post 22.

[ik9000]

Handheld gaming? Pff. Why would I spend money on that when my old nokia 610 has this game called snakes?

[Doherz]

After reading the projected cost from a tear down of the vita that estimates the unit price to be $160 and the with UK price working out at $357. Take 20% VAT off of that and sony are charging us $285. $115 profit per unit profit in the UK and thats before memory cards. Ha I'm not being milked for money like that. Anyway just look at that fantastic 18,000 sales they had in the last week in Japan.
Either they nail the launch in february or they will have to cut the price because those sort of sales numbers will kill Sony's chance to compete with the 3DS on any level.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

After reading the projected cost from a tear down of the vita that estimates the unit price to be $160 and the with UK price working out at $357. Take 20% VAT off of that and sony are charging us $285. $115 profit per unit profit in the UK and thats before memory cards. Ha I'm not being milked for money like that. Anyway just look at that fantastic 18,000 sales they had in the last week in Japan.
Either they nail the launch in february or they will have to cut the price because those sort of sales numbers will kill Sony's chance to compete with the 3DS on any level.

Didn't know that the parts cost $160!! You know how much R and D and labour will be on top?? Any estimates??

However,I assume you are also including the other costs too??

Retailer margins.

Import duties.

Transportation costs.

These eat into the $125 margin.

But still, its seems Sony is not subsidising the units,which is the reason why I thought the games and bits would cost more. But even then it is hard to say.

[Doherz]

Don't know that the rules on links are, so just take it off this post if shouldn't be here.

Here's the article: http://www.ubmtechinsights.com/teardowns/sony-playstation-vita-teardown/?pi_campaign_id=13825

I'm not entirely sure if the source is reputable, however IGN seems happy to run with it on it's front page and it was on destructoid as well.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Don't know that the rules on links are, so just take it off this post if shouldn't be here.

Here's the article: http://www.ubmtechinsights.com/teard...paign_id=13825

I'm not entirely sure if the source is reputable, however IGN seems happy to run with it on it's front page and it was on destructoid as well.

Here is a breakdown of the material costs:

http://www.gamezone.com/news/materia...ts-159-to-make

For some reason,that company in the link you provided did the breakdown but I could see no costs.

According to Sony they make a loss on each unit:
http://andriasang.com/comw7e/vita_loss/

TBH,I would be intrigued to see how much the other costs are!

[3dcandy]

I think the biggest problem is that people are actually moving away from carrying multiple devices, so the hardware doesn't really matter. Most older gamers are more likely to go for games they can dip in and out of, kind of casual games if you want a la angry birds genre so having great hardware matters little. Thus, many smartphones will suffice and the Vita is made redundant. It's just another platform that looks like it will fall by the wayside in the long run...

[Saracen]

Will I buy one? Not any time soon. I don't know what the prices are, but knowing Sony, it'll be at a premium. But until and unless it's well-established and obviously here to stay, I'm not buying regardless of price, because I'm not prepared to risk ending up holding a dodo if it flops and gets canned. Meantime, if anything, it'd be a Nintendo if I wanted a games machine, or gaming on a phone or iPod.

[Rob_B]

I want one, it will destroy any iPhone/Android phone for 'proper' portable gaming so I'm not sure why that is even an arguement, it is however too expensive for me.
So the answer is a reluctant 'No' although it IS lovelylovelyshinyshiny!

[CampGareth]

I want one having owned the PSP (a portable games console from 2004 that phones are only just catching up to). At the start yes it was expensive and all your games were on some weird format that wouldn't work with anything else, but that was later fixed and I can see the same happening again. People will probably work out a microSD to <weird format> adapter and they'll probably find a way to run android on it too.

Maybe I'm unusual in that I think of games consoles as investments, but compared to phones they're certainly more worthy of the title.

[Jedibeeftrix]

the Vita is a truly amazing piece of hardware, so I do really want one.

the problem is, i'm not much of a console gamers, and if i did buy one it would spend most of its time on the shelf........... looking amazing!

but still on the shelf.

[wasabi]

Wrong website for target audience I suspect. I thought the Nintendo DS would be DOA and was completely wrong. Only advantage (and it is a big one) it has over competing midrange Android devices is the dedicated gaming controls.

[abaxas]

Wrong website for target audience I suspect. I thought the Nintendo DS would be DOA and was completely wrong. Only advantage (and it is a big one) it has over competing midrange Android devices is the dedicated gaming controls.

Agreed,

If it was called the 'Microsoft magic p122 enema 14000dsp gtx 570' , hexus would love it.

I'll buy one when there is a game I want to play.