Sony Reportedly Hard At Work On Cheaper, PS Vita Slim Model

AlanJohn

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Sony just released the PS Vita in Japan and it already appears that they are getting looking to the future, involving the release of a thinner, cheaper Sony PS Vita Slim.

The PS Vita launched in Japan back in December and since then has been receiving a mixed response, not only from gamers but also from the media who have been analyzing the handheld gaming industry, sales of the PS Vita thus far, etc.

Much of the debate over the success of the PS Vita has centered around its price point, as the PS Vita will launch in the U.S. in just a few weeks with a price point of $250 for the base model, and $300 if you want your handheld to be 3G enabled. The 3G version will require at AT&T contract to make use of its mobile data capabilities.

The general belief among gamers, as well as the majority of the industry as a whole, is that Sony will likely drop the price of the PS Vita heading into the highly-important holiday 2012 shopping season, dropping the price to a much more reasonable $200. Research has shown that the 3G model only costs $160 to produce, so one would think that this is not out of the realm of possibility.

It now appears though that Sony already has plans to not only drop the price of the current PS Vita, but alter its design entirely, similar to what they have done with the Sony PlayStation, PS2, as well as PS3 in the past.

The rumor is that Sony is working on a Sony PS Vita Slim, a thinner and cheaper model of the PS Vita that will be more portable than the current version of the handheld.

Sony PS Vita designer Takashi Sogabe took part in a roundtable discussion with ComputerAndVideoGames.com in which he revealed that Sony is working on a thinner PS Vita.

He described a constant battle with engineers to make it smaller, and seemed to be pretty positive that future versions of the handheld are on the way.

This was a very interesting interview and one that shows that Sony may not see the PS Vita, in its current form, as the be-all and end-all of handhelds.

So for our gamers who have already held a PS Vita, what do you think? Is it too big, would a PS Vita Slim work with this handheld or would it be too cramped?



:arrow:Source
 

machomuu

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I don't know how to feel about this. I mean, it was just released, the DS Lite wasn't even released this fast (of course, this doesn't mean the slim will be released soon, though it does mention the holidays). I think they're being rash about this decision, they should wait until it's released internationally and see how it fairs before thinking about a Slim.
That said, this is good on the consumer side of things, but I don't know what this will due to PSV sales...
 

mr deez

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The fact that the raw materials cost $160 does not necessarily mean $200 is realistic as that effectively writes off the huge cost of r&d. searching for ways to make a smaller version at less than $160 makes lots of sense though.
 

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They're "working on it". That means you'll see it in a year or two. R&D takes time, and from what I've read about Vita teardowns, there isn't much "space" there left. It'll take time to miniaturise the entire unit, even if the specs are fixed.
 
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Guild McCommunist

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I hope it's as sucessful as the PSP Go!

If it's anything like the Go (minus the digital distribution only) then I'll buy the crap on it.

I don't know how much they'd save but they could cut the back touchpad. It's the most useless thing on the system. Maybe cut out Bluetooth too, IDK if that'd save a whole lot though. I'm assuming a "cheaper" model would come from when the hardware is cheaper to produce. I seriously doubt a remodel would come out this year.
 

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

Sure I wouldn't want to spend $250 on a handheld, or have one the size of Vita, but if there are enough games to back it up, I could care less about that.
 
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Xuphor

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It doesn't effect my decision, I'm still getting it on launch here. Frankly, considering I'm big on "homebrew" (Can't wait for a proper N64 Vita emulator), I think it'd be best for me to have the oldest version possible, as they are usually the ones to get true hacked stuff first.
The only reason I MIGHT consider getting this around Holiday 2012 is if if has HDMI out, and the Vita is showing no signs of being hacked yet.
 

Guild McCommunist

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.
 
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Valwin

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.

exclusives that nobody wants ?
 
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xist

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^Please. How is that not trolling? (Question not implication)

Sony have had some fantastic exclusives over the years...
 

emigre

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.

exclusives that nobody wants ?

Like Pilotwings?
 
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machomuu

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.

exclusives that nobody wants ?
Yup, like Uncharted, Persona 4, Gravity Daze, BlazBlue...y'know, all the unpopular crappy games.
 
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Foxi4

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.

exclusives that nobody wants ?
*cough cough* Uncharted, *cough* Gravity Daze, *cough cough* Bioshock, *cough* Persona 4, *cough*, Wipeout, *cough* 2012 looks better for the Vita then what was available for the 3DS in the same time-frame. *cough* Nintendogs and Zelda being the only block-busters. *cough*

Damn fanboy allergy. I need to *cough* keep my distance.
 
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machomuu

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Sony... maybe it's not about the hardware. Maybe it's about the software.

I really find it silly that people think Sony has an issue with software. They're able to compound a rather large amount of exclusives with strong third party support. It has the software to back it up, the issue is that it just doesn't have software that Japan wants at the moment. Once big Japanese titles start rolling around, we'll see how it fairs then.

exclusives that nobody wants ?
*cough cough* Uncharted, *cough* Gravity Daze, *cough cough* Bioshock, *cough* Persona 4, *cough*, Wipeout, *cough* 2012 looks better for the Vita then what was available for the 3DS in the same time-frame. *cough* Nintendogs and Zelda being the only block-busters. *cough*

Damn fanboy allergy. I need to *cough* keep my distance.
I dunno, I think 2012 looks great for both systems; though the PSV seems to have the better line-up.
 

xist

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The advantage the Vita has is imports. Whilst PSN accounts will be annoying to handle (but possible) it'll still be do-able to import game cards between regions and use them (which is a massive pro point)
 
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