PlayStation Vita drops to £169

NewsPublish Date 16/07/2012 - 4:12pm GMT+1

Sony handheld going cheap in Play.com's summer clearance.

PlayStation Vita has been reduced to £169.99 as part of Play.com's Summer Clearance promotion, the lowest price the unit has ever been sold for by a mainstream retailer.

Both the Wi-Fi version and Wi-Fi/3G versions of the unit have seen significant reductions in the promotion.

The Wi-Fi unit is being sold by Play for £169.99, offering a £60 saving on the £229 RRP.

Meanwhile, the 3G version, which usually retails for £279.99, has been reduced to £219.99.

The new price undercuts Nintendo's upcoming 3DS XL by a fiver. Play currently has the 3DS XL available to pre-order at £174.99.

PlayStation Vita has struggled to capture an audience since it launched in February, with sales reported to have stalled across the globe.

In May, Sony announced a temporary price promotion in France offering a €50 rebate to new buyers.

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pblive @ thedanyrand

9 of the Vita games on my list are exclusives' unless you mean completely exclusive franchises, but that's a bit too much to expect for any console in its first year.

Posted 12:55 on 18 July 2012

The issue with Ridge Racer is that it doesn't have a proper single player mode, it's just lots of single races. The content issue is sorted as you can now get the bundle for less on PSN than the original game alone was selling for.

I do like the handling and graphics though, it pretty much does what you'd expect for the current price.

Posted 12:53 on 18 July 2012

tvr77

When you list the games out like that it does look kinda meaty.
@pblive is ridge racer really as bad as its made out to be and is the content really as low as people say. I keep hovering over the purchase tab but im just not sold on it yet.

Posted 12:50 on 18 July 2012

munkee

Yeah, the "no games" thing doesn't really stand. I didn't go digital with my Vita. I'm buying mostly cartridges. My 8GB card is doing fine.

So far I have:
Everybody's Golf (cartridge)
Rayman Origins (cartridge)
Metal Gear Solid HD (cartridge)
Wipeout 2048 (cartridge)
Unit 13 (cartridge)
Motorstorm RC (Data)

..and GT (PSP).
I still have a PSP with Locoroco, Patapon, etc.. on it. So, I'm unlikely to get many PSP games.

Thats a decent amount of good quality titles for a young console. I still haven't got around to picking up:

MvC3
Gravity Rush
Ridge Racer (Is there much more content out yet, PB?)

I also borrowed Uncharted: GA and quite enjoyed it. But, doubt I'll buy it.

Four and a half months into its life and thats a pretty impressive collection building already. There's also a few good games announced and some inevitable games that will be released to look forward to.

The hardware install base is clearly swaying developers against working with the hardware right now. But, if more people purchase then more games will come.

Posted 23:29 on 17 July 2012

thedanyrand @ pblive

The thing that makes it for me when I say a lack of games is I want exclusives more than anything. For me I would want about 3 of those games in your list. Not knocking it there are more than 3 that I think are good games or even ones that I would play. When it comes to what I would want to play on a Vita over my consoles though its about 3. I hope the Vita picks up steam with the price drop cause I do think as a machine its got a lot of potential but Im more towards the casual than the hardcore gamer I guess so to me it hasnt sold me yet.

Posted 23:25 on 17 July 2012

pblive @ thedanyrand

for me, there are plenty of games out there already.

My vita currently has:
Uncharted
Mortal Kombat
Escape Plan
Virtua Tennis
Everybody's Golf
Star drone Extreme
Resistance
Gravity Rush
Motorstorm RC
Ridge Racer
Reality Fighters
Modnation Racers
Wipeout
Hustle Kings
Rayman Origins
Unit 13

Plus some PSP games I can't be without or want to replay:
PixelJunk Monsters
Motorstorm Arctic Drift
Locoroco 2
God of War
GTA LCS
Gran Turismo PSP
Tekken 6
Capcom Classics Remixed and Reloaded
Sega Megadrive Collection

Plus some minis.

Posted 18:42 on 17 July 2012

tvr77 @ pblive

ok, thanks

Posted 18:31 on 17 July 2012

pblive @ tvr77

There was no problem, I used the backup tool on the Vita itself with the PS3 on a 16GB card, then just transferred it all back to the 32GB card. It did take a long time, though.

Posted 18:29 on 17 July 2012

thedanyrand

Im with Endless in that I have a psp and played through a lot of the games. I loved mine so I think I will like the Vita but I dont want to buy it to replay games I have or to play minis. My fear is that people will give up on the Vita before it gets a solid library of games. I feel like since the launch I havent heard anything about the Vita or its games. I dont want what could be a really great handheld console to be a victim of being pushed out without a good backing to keep it selling and keep it viable.

Posted 16:41 on 17 July 2012

tvr77 @ pblive

Can i ask, when you got your vita did you start off using a smaller memory card and then switch to the 32gb card. The reason i ask is because i'm thinking of doing it myself as my 16gb is maxed out. Assuming you did switch up did you have any problems copying your game saves etc. Also was you able to put whatever digital games you had onto your new card without any issues. I just wanna make sure im not going to lose anything. Thanks

Posted 14:48 on 17 July 2012

dav2612 @ Endless

I upgraded from a PSP.

Posted 09:24 on 17 July 2012

Endless @ dav2612

What if you just upgraded from a PSP to a Vita? You've played all the PSP games you wanted to death already so you get the new system with the hopes of some newer, bigger better games and what you get are a few good games and some ports of games you've already played or finished elsewhere.

I think the main reason we got rid of ours was because most games on it were out for the 360 and for cheaper. And my wife is a cheevo whore :)

Posted 09:12 on 17 July 2012

dav2612

The lack of games criticisms are a touch harsh for me. It's only been out a few months but there is a vast number of PSP titles and Minis all of which can be played, surely there is always something that someone can play until the next 'proper' Vita game is released? I've certainly got no shortage of games to play on mine.

Posted 09:02 on 17 July 2012

tvr77

I agree with dav2612, i still enjoy my vita a great deal, i got three retail games and 12 digital. I play it everyday but i would like to see some more releases not just for myself but to get other gamers interested all it needs is lots of system sellers and they should do ok but they need to be vita exclusives.
I gotta say folks that price is so so worth it for a piece of kit like the vita.
(the netflix app the U.S has would be nice too)

Posted 08:44 on 17 July 2012

pblive

Not everyone is going to like the Vita, handhelds in general are a more specialised audience, the Vita is a great console though (as is the 3DS) and the games out at the moment are varied and fun, I've already filled my 32GB card up.

I think launching in February didn't do it any favours, since most of the big AAA releases would be at least 6 months away, but Sony did fairly well getting some good titles out there and the PSN store is already fairly packed with titles.

Posted 00:00 on 17 July 2012

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