what i dont get is that they are pushing digital downloads. They say every game will be avalible day 1 online (and i think i saw a JP game being cheaper if you bought it online) How do you expect people to even bother with it when you make them spend over 100$ for a damn good size memory card? Everyones going to say screw it and buy the cards and continue to trade them in and buy them used. I know i will.
One could reason that for anybody who purchases a large amount of games, if the online prices are significantly cheaper, that the 32GB card will pay for itself over time.
Everyone says a good gaming computer is super expensive but eventually the deals you'll get on Steam and, let's face it, the ease of piracy will probably pay for the extra costs over time. It's kinda the same reasoning you could make for a 32GB/$120 card.
the problem is that, especially with how people are today (instant gratification and all) will not go "well it will be worth it later down the line". most of the common consumers wont even think twice after seeing those prices, regardless of how good it might be worth it. It really seems like a plain old stupid move by sony yet again. If they were launching a more expensive version with a big HD build in, i would tottaly get it, but they dont, so i cant understand it. They really need to learn that jacking prices =/= more money for them, this was a big problem for them on the ps3 launch, so i thought they learned (heck same for the psp)
Those are all very different situations. The PS3 was extremely expensive because it was using the newest technology. Blu-ray players were expensive as hell when the PS3 released, and it has one built in. On top of the other price upping bits of the PS3, and the need to profit, the price got a bit out of hand. In recent years, prices have dropped pretty drastically on the technology used in the PS3. The price has dropped, sales have gone up. Sony acknowledged their mistake using technology that new and have said they don't plan to try that again. It was a bad move.
The PSP suffered a marketing set back as a system, since Sony was trying so hard with the PS3 in the west. If it had been as popular as it was supposed to be, the memory card prices wouldn't have mattered. People would have purchased them anyways. It got a little worse when Sandisk marketed pro-duo cards, since they were a new entry into the market offering cheaper cards. Sony didn't drop prices though, oddly enough. I guess they were hoping for the brand to sell the card. They screwed up there, since in recent years, people have started to care a lot more about the money they spend. Sandisk is a well known brand too, so at that point, it's either preference or price driving you.
For the Vita, the memory card prices make perfect sense. You need a memory card to enjoy the Vita. The Vita comes with no built in memory. If you buy a Vita, that memory card's price is inelastic. You would still buy it even if it cost more because you need it to enjoy the Vita, and there
are no alternatives. In the end, it's all a luxury, so the price will prove elastic in time with the introduction of alternatives. For now though, their memory cards will sell fine for those that don't want to wait. It's a rip off, but economically, it's one that makes sense.
This thing cost $100 when it came out, and at the time it was cheaper than getting a 4GB Memory Stick Duo.
