Even though the Sony PlayStation Vita comes with a number of features that will appeal to gaming enthusiasts including its excellent screen and good game lineup, the price tag of the Sony (TYO:6758) game console may hold back its success in the market. This was reportedly revealed by Jia Wu, a senior analyst from Strategy Analytics. Wu indicated that the situation faced by the Sony PlayStation Vita is similar to the one faced by the Nintendo (TYO:7974) 3DS.
Following its introduction into the market, the Nintendo 3DS enjoyed excellent sales which went down a few months after due to its price tag along with a poor games lineup.A similar trend is slowly shaping up with the Sony PlayStation Vita as average weekly sales in Japan is at 20,000 units, which is significantly lower than the 300,000 units that were sold in the first week of availability in the market.
The price tag of the Sony PlayStation Vita was seen as the reason for this reduction in the sales of the device.
Wu added that during these times consumers are quite aware of prices and it was already demonstrated by Nintendo that reducing prices will help in the sales of a product. The price of the Nintendo game console was reduced to around $170 that resulted to an increase in sales by as much as 260 percent. Due to this, sales of the Nintendo 3DS has reached the five million mark in Japan because its price tag was reduced.
A reduction in the price of the Sony PlayStation Vita may allow the company to duplicate the success of Nintendo. Wu indicated that sales of the Sony PlayStation Vita exceed the twelve million unit level for 2012 if its price tag is lowered to around $180.This would translate to a revenue of over $2 billion.
However Sony should also take into consideration that the price reduction of the Nintendo 3DS came after some months after. This strategy may be followed by the company with the Sony PlayStation Vita when it will reduce the price tag of the mobile game console.
Much of the current sales of the Sony PlayStation Vita were due to early adopters who would purchase the device within thinking about its price tag.
