When the PS3 first hit the market, it was being sold at a loss, in fact, it wasn’t until recently that Sony’s console was sold at a profit. This time around it seems Sony’s taken a lesson from Nintendo, as the PlayStation Vita is being sold at a profit from the get go.
UBM TechInsights tore apart a 3G PlayStation Vita model and total up the cost of its hardware. According to their findings, the handheld’s components only cost around $159.10 to assemble, with the system’s touchscreen being the most expensive part.
Sony currently sells the 3G PlayStation Vita at $299.99, and according to numbers provided by Eurogamer, it’s well worth assuming that Sony makes just over $178 on every 3G Vita sold.
It’s worth noting that while the Vita seems to be sold at a huge profit, these numbers do not factor in other costs such as marketing, shipping, R&D, etc. We have no idea how much that cost Sony, so one cannot exactly say whether the Vita is remotely close to as profitable as these numbers alone suggest.
If there is one good thing though, it’s that the discrepancy between the hardware costs and the retail price probably helps to cushion the blow of poor sales. With Vita sales declining week over week in Japan, it’s probably not as worrisome for Sony when they’re making almost $180 on each piece of hardware.
The numbers also give Sony some wiggle room when it comes to future price drops. If by chance Sony finds that the Vita is not preforming to their expectations, they have plenty of room to drop the price. In the past, there has been speculation among the gaming community that Sony had to drop features like backwards compatibility from the PS3 in order to lower the system’s price. If that was indeed true, then future Vita models probably won’t require the loss of certain features seeing as it’s already being sold at a profit. Let’s just hope future iterations add internal memory.
The PlayStation Vita launches on February 22nd, 2012.
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Follow me on Twitter @AnthonyMole
Source: UBM TechInsights (Via Eurogamer)
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can somebody say “overpriced crap”?
Can somebody say stfu?
LOL
STFU!!
yep STFU @$$HOLE!
LMAO
I believe Sony is what we call a “business”. It’s this new age concept in which an organization sells something for a “profit”. You should look into it.
So don’t buy it…
It’s not overpriced, it’s trying to turn a profit. It’s cheaply made, yet it has new features. If consumers are willing to pay $300 for those features (and in Japan, it seems like consumers are uninterested), then that’s how much it should cost. When the Vita hits the states, I’m sure we’ll see a price drop within the first 6 months, because frankly, I don’t believe that Americans will pay that much for it either. It’s a Japanese product, and it’s doing poorly in Japan. Could that not reflect on how it sells here?
Agreed, overpriced. Crap, no. I for one will not be buying the Vita since it costs like $300-400 with taxes and overpriced rip off proprietary Sony memory cards that are mandatory since there is no onboard memory on the Vita. Not to mention many games are $50 for a handheld. Sony is delusional if they think they can overprice their stuff by this much when you can get a 3DS for nearly half the price.
@Jen
Yes, you can get a 3DS at half the price but at half the power and features. You get what you pay for. You think the shoes you wear are worth what you pay? Or the tv you watch? You’d be surprised how much things really cost, how do you think these companies are able to produce so much product when so much sits on a shelf?
So…for $100-200 more, you can play PS3 games on your Vita…streaming from your PS3…at home…where your PS3 is.
But the Vita has twitter/facebook, so I guess it’s worth the price, yes?
If you’re buying it for twitter/facebook you should slap yourself to death
I doubt it’s being sold at a very big profit. Don’t forget that retailers buy these things at a lower price than they sell them for…then you gotta figure in shipping costs/R&D costs…their profit, if they’re making any at all, is nowhere near as big as this article makes it.
The Eurogamer article I sourced factors in the price that retailers buy the Vita for, I didn’t just subtract $160 from $300.
“Sony currently sells the 3G PlayStation Vita at $299.99, and according to numbers provided by Eurogamer, it’s well worth assuming that Sony makes just over $178 on every 3G Vita sold.
~It’s worth noting that while the Vita seems to be sold at a huge profit, these numbers do not factor in other costs such as marketing, shipping, R&D, etc.~ We have no idea how much that cost Sony, so one cannot exactly say whether the Vita is remotely close to as profitable as these numbers alone suggest.”
So, Anthony, tell me. Do you read your own articles at all?
“Don’t forget that retailers buy these things at a lower price than they sell them for…then you gotta figure in shipping costs/R&D costs…their profit, if they’re making any at all, is nowhere near as big as this article makes it”
You’re the one calling me out for not including R&D and shipping and the like, which I clearly mentioned in the paragraph you cited.
“The Eurogamer article I sourced factors in the price that retailers buy the Vita for, I didn’t just subtract $160 from $300.”
And you said they factored in the price, but you didn’t show the factored-in figures. You had just shown the 3G System + $20 Memory Card – $160 figures.
And then you said this…
“If there is one good thing though, it’s that the discrepancy between the hardware costs and the retail price probably helps to cushion the blow of poor sales. With Vita sales declining week over week in Japan, it’s probably not as worrisome for Sony when they’re making almost $180 on each piece of hardware.”
So while you did acknowledge the R&D/Shipping/etc, you ignored it in your final estimates.
My final estimates were the Eurogamer numbers, which included the price retailers by them for. Neither they, nor I included the cost of shipping/R&D. I apologize, partly my fault for not being clear enough.
Well, that’s ok then. Just needed some clarification on the subject. Sorry to bother you.
@iDancethroughshadoWs Over priced crap? Um seriously how else could they make a profit? Also your use of words like “crap” doesn’t make sense, since the Vita has pretty great tech for a handheld.
definitely want one just maybe not til the price drops, like the 3ds did, and better games too…uncharted is awesome but not enough to sell me on one
ive watched almost everything on this vita online, and after seeing that… i say this unit is quite nice.. but you wont get your bang for your buck till 3rd party game makers start bring out some A titles… becuz the launch titles are not turning heads… give it awhile..
Why get handhelds? A regular ps3 is cheaper than this thing. I bet iPhone games are more enjoyable, too.
It’s all personal opinion. Example: Personally, I hate “I” products such as the Iphone, therefore, I doubt highly that any type of game or app for any “I” product is anywhere close to as good as anything that would normally come from a device and company such as Playstation and Sony. I’m sorry, but I much rather play something like Uncharted over Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja.
Again, as I stated, it’s a matter of personal taste and opinion. the only thing that will keep me away from a PSV, is the price, which, knowing Sony, won’t drop until about 4-6 months into release.
Not buying mine until Black Friday, hopefully I can get the Vita, memory cards, and games all at an acceptional price.