PS Vita price-cut announced for Japan

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT!!!!
Now the game begins!
The cut of 5000 yen is awesome!

Sony is dropping bombs. Wednesday can’t come soon enough

Could be that they need to clear inventory, why else would they price 3G and Wifi the same, if not for a new model which incorporates both?

@3,
Or they will phase out the wi-fi only model soon.

Dragons crown is not dead after all.

@4, Probably the other way around, I see an LTE revision coming soon. Too bad the ridiculous prices Aussies pay for 4G, especially for the very limited coverage that we have.

Our largest mobile network in Aus only gives us 3GB of data on their LARGEST monthly mobile plan that charges $100 ($130) per month, locking you in for 24months. That could be used well within an hour & I think they charge around 15 cents per MB (over $150 per GB)excess usage.

Also, I think their passport system was a decent idea, however their were more efficient ways they could have gotten physical PSP games onto the Vita. An adapter being the first thing to come to mind. The capability of locking a physical game’s identity to a person’s account through some sort of optional activation process being another- I don’t think it should render the PSP game useless, just not capable of playing online through another account like a PC game.

Price cut does not mean anything. I thought PS Vita price was okay. It was like the original price and hardware alone was worth it.

But the question here is “Games” and Vita does not have them. Phantasy Star Online II is amazing thing, but why should I bother for example if it will be released next year in EU/US on the PC!? So PSO2 is the best thing they can offer?

Japanese peeps won’t care unless everyone is ape shit about Soul Sacrifice which for now… they are not.

@CJ,
Really? Unless they are adding phone features in next iteration, it would be useless.

Awesome. Now if this cut was also in other territories and Sony cut the price of the memory sticks as well then the Vita would have a much better chance at succeeding.

Which it should because it’s an excellent handheld marred by poor support from Sony.

Have they reduced the ridiculous price of the memory cards also?

@8, How so? Faster speeds is always better, my problem is the way my local network operators handle it. They don’t charge more for 4G over 3G but they’re still stuck in the early 2000′s for their pricing structure.

Even the majority of our broadband deals have data caps & only last year did we start moving from copper to fibre optics, it won’t be in my area for another year or 2 (current download speeds [for my ADSL2+] peaks at 6MBits on a good day)& my closest CBD for another 3-4 years.

The Vita needs system sellers not PS3 and PSP ports.

@12, and PS2 ports of not the best RPG’s.

FFX HD release… lol.

Hopefully things like Tearaway help to drum up interest. Sony need to get some more first party studios working on Vita.

Unless we want more games like Blops: Declassified..

For comparison, 3ds xl costs 18,900 Yen in japan and is the best selling sku there. Vita is now really competitively priced. Also the fact that the 3ds heavy hitters will only start flowing from april onwards in japan, giving a one and half month leeway for vita, which has SS, One Piece, Atelier, Tales and PSO all lined up for march/ feb.
Really getting excited now! Its a very good chance that the price cut will be announced on Wednesday now.

Another announcement, for 24990 yen, a vita bundle consists of 32 gb card. Thats a really good deal too.
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/02/18/playstation-vita-bonus-pack-comes-with-32gb-memory-card/

http://kotaku.com/5984963/check-out-final-fantasy-x-hd-version-for-the-ps-vita

FFX – screens. Yeah well, don’t know who will buy this.

@7 “Phantasy Star Online II is amazing thing, but why should I bother for example if it will be released next year in EU/US on the PC!?” Why the heck do you need to compare everything and their mother to PC? What has a handheld gaming device to do with a stationary computer with monitor, keyboard and a mouse or in best case a laptop? Shure it needs more games but stop whining like a crybaby all the griggin time!

@17,
You are wasting your time talking to the wrong person.

@Sony246, Shut up your Sony fanboy trap. He is not talking to you. M’kay?
you better answer my question on “why you hacked your PS3″, alright?

@manamana, “Why the heck do you need to compare everything and their mother to PC?”

Maybe because PSO2 is coming to the PC too and I already played the Jap version and Japanese people already play PSO2 on the PC?

Handheld gaming device has to do with a tablet PC or a laptop where you can play it in the future.
Vita need it’s own games, not ports.

^ *Yawns* ^
Anything else to say?

@12

Good point Woe, I thought it was a bad decision for Sony to release games that are already available on consoles.

@Dave,
Shouldn’t you add the details about dragons crown? Thats the only thing missing from the update above.
http://gematsu.com/2013/02/dragons-crown-second-trailer
http://www.destructoid.com/atlus-action-rpg-dragon-s-crown-reconfirmed-for-vita-245660.phtml

“Update: Sony has confirmed to Eurogamer that there are currently no plans to announce a PS Vita price cut for Europe.”

Go suck a dick then Sony.

“Meanwhile, a Phantasy Star Online 2 bundle was announced for Japan, including a copy of the game and a console. It also comes in at 19,980 yen, releasing March 28th.”

Now this i would buy if it included a memory card as well.

I’m pretty sure the price cut is coming to other regions, they’re probably going to announce it at a later date.

^ yeah same..cant wait for Feb 20..I think Sony is about to bring it

@23,
Did you really thought they would confirm a worldwide price cut to a gaming site and not announce it on Wednesday?
In japan, it will help since games are coming, but I don’t think same results will be achieved in the west without a heavy hitter like GTA or something like that announced.

Well of course they have to say there are no plans.

That’d ruin the announcement of a price cut on Weds if there is one coming.

@16 At least get a pair of glasses and learn how to read!!!

“Note that they were taken from a standard definition stream and are not in HD.”

@CM,

@23 They SHOULD make these things global announcements in this day and age. Making Japan exclusive price cut announcements does nothing but piss people off.
But it seems Sony is still stuck in 1999 when these sort of announcements would never reach western ears.

@30
This event wasn’t for western audiences. That is why the meet wasn’t even subbed in english.
Surely you can wait for 2 days, can’t you?
An announcement on 20th feb will reach more western ears , plain and simple. Take out your pitchforks after that.

I typically never bother to comment, but this is very exciting. I’m personally a sucker for monster hunter type games, and everything shown here was pretty much like it. Toukuden, Soul Sacrifice, God Eater II, PSOII, heck even that gundam game looked pretty fun.

Mark me pleased.

I’ll get a vita the day Sony don’t shaft me up the ass for a frickin SD card…

How are the Vitas Load times?

It has been a while since I last had one in my hands and I only played Dungeon Alliance and Uncharted. Friends system. I recall the load times being longer then I would have liked, is that the case for all of the games?

I had a really nice PSP3000, but freaken hated the load times. Playing games like Madden and and a few others where so bad playing them was a chore. But, Phantasy Star Portable one and two where pretty decent loadwise. Loved those.

My interest in Vita is growing. I could use it with PSN+. I can play RO, DA, DC, and ofc PSOII. The price needs to drop, and I think it will.

But, can anyone speak in a non fanboy or anti fanboy way and let me know what the load times are like?

@OG The load times vary for me, Gravity Rush loads fast and fine but some of the older games I have [Mostly PSP games; FFtactics] takes a while longer. Nothing painful though.

I have no games on Cart so I can’t speak for those load times.

Thnx friendlydave.

@OlderGamer,

If I remember correctly, most games have relatively short load times (Gravity Rush, Ninja Gaiden, MGS HD). The PSP games as #36 said, load longer, likely due to emulation hurdles the system has to jump through.

In my opinion, it’s worth a buy if the price drops. I bought an open boxed one for $200 USD and felt that it was worth it. The SD cards, as everyone knows, are pricey. However, you technically only need the SD for PSP games, unless you really like digital distribution for new games.

PS: The vita has an awesome youtube app, for some reason.

If I get one it would be in a strong part for PSN+. So a lot of storage would be important. However I just looked at Gamestop, they want 100usd for a 32gb card. That is crazy. Very prohibitive.

So:

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-vita/consoles/playstation-plus-instant-game-collection-playstation-vita-bundle/107056

+

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-vita/accessories/32gb-playstation-vita-memory-card/98472

equals 400usd. To be fair I could spend less, but I want what is included. Esp the PSN+. But the question is; is the total price worth the total package? Like I said a price cut seems likly, maybe that will help.

@OG,
Load times vary. But they should not be a problem imo.
About cards, I just work off an 4gb card and its perfectly fine.
The trick? Backup everything on pc/ps3. I have around 45gb of games+demos on my pc, and thats excluding videos, songs and so on. I really think 4gb is the best choice.

I hope they announce a LTE version and make it thinner plus upgrade the camera to 8MP (I mean this is SONY they do make cameras,8MP should be minimal).

@OG
Load times tend to vary from game to game, some are better than others. Take PS+ into account and budget for a decent size card (16Gb is about right). You can switch stuff in and out as needed but the beauty of any handheld is being able to carry stuff around with you. Hopefully they rework the card costs as it is prohibitive.

Sony is getting agressive lately. I kinda like them when they are angry. I’ll be getting Soul Sacrifice and God Eater 2. Toukiden looks great too.

@42 I have a 16GB too, works fine for me too. It’s enough for me. But they indeed should cut the price of the cards or give free games, free PS+ months with them or something like that.

@34 Tell me more about your stepmother, is she a milf? Does she like crossword puzzles? Does she know the etiquette of a DP?