Sony officially announced that the NGP portable games console has been renamed the PlayStation Vita, and gave it an American, European and Japanese price. But where does that leave us here in Australia?
Mark over at Kotaku has a Pepsi Max-fuelled stab at what we can expect to pay here in Australia when the Vita’s official local pricing gets announced. He reckons that Sony is going to buck the trend of its previous console launches and give us a good deal, at $349 for the Wi-Fi version and $399 for the 3G. His reasons are based on the strength of the Aussie dollar, and the need for Sony to try and regain favour with its fan base.
But I disagree. When it comes to Sony, Australia pretty much falls under the European banner for all intents and purposes, which means its best if we look at the European pricing model. Even the local press release only included European pricing information.
€249 is roughly equivalent to $A340. Which makes Mark’s prediction pretty much bang on. Except for the inevitable Australia tax you can expect with any gadget purchase. For that reason alone, I’d expect the Vita to sell for at least $379, but more likely $399, which is in line with previous markups on gaming consoles.
Only time will tell though. What do you expect?
[Kotaku]
lamboman007
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:21 PMlol, Pepsi Max fuelled stab :P
NateDogg118
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:32 PMi guess we can just hope that they arent region locked… And really if it isnt im happy to order my games from the States… it ends up costing less anyway!
Its a global market publishers!
Andreas
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:44 PMI expect a good old Aussie raping as per usual with all products. $499 is my bet.
Joedy Ssmith
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:49 PMWhy can Apple and Nintendo charge us reasonably for hardware, yet Sony and Microsoft rip us off. The euro and AUd are worth more then the USD. Stop ripping us off
Ha
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 9:52 PMI can’t tell if you’re being serious or not. Picking Apple and Nintendo were not good choices.
3DS in America – USD$249, here – AUD$348
iPad 16GB Wifi in USA – USD$499, here – AUD$579
And although if you look at just the console by itself from Microsoft or Sony they are about $150-200 more here, when you look at a bundle there’s really only about $100 difference, just the same as Apple or Nintendo.
Jordan
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 4:32 PMAustralia gets raped on everything that eventually comes our way no matter what it is
damo
Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 9:13 PMsony annoced that its only to 249 for wifi and 299 for 3g and i dont care about my spelling
Isaac Cammarano
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:50 PMi will probably just get it from a us site online a ship it over here, but i think wi-fi version will be $299
Dan
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:51 PMI think the wifi only model will sit around or under that of the 3Ds, so $350-$349. I see the 3G going for $420-$430. Yet I’ll be interested in seeing what features will be active on a 3G connection. Trying to play a FPS online on a 3G connection? I can’t see that happening.
Chris
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:25 PMYeah but on a next g connection it could just pull it off!
Phone calls would be a good thing also… But I have a feeling that will be a home brew add on later :)
Mick
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:36 PMThat depends what GSM bands it will support. It wouldn’t be to bad on Telstra’s NextG network if supported.
Chris
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 3:57 PMYep we will get torn a new one, like we always do! If they were smart they would make the difference just not enough to warrant buying it overseas but I guess we will have to wait and see
Mik
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:05 PMi guess we can just hope that they arent region locked…
This is Sony we’re talking about, they invented region locking…
Jubbin
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 5:00 PMTrue.. but don’t forget the PS3 is like the only console to be able to play games from any region.. aka unlocked.
Oddie
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:08 PMSo the wifi only model costs $249 in the US? If we pay $349 for it then that will include ~$32 tax. So we pay ~$70 more than them. Could someone please explain to me why we’re paying more?
David B
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:40 PMEB Australia has a price of $338 on their website. Don’t know where that price comes from though.
http://www.ebgames.com.au/psp-153020-Sony-PS-VITA—WiFi-PSP?utm_source=website&utm_medium=skin&utm_campaign=PS_Vita
stevjosco
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:41 PMI predict the Vita will be under 200AUD… by Christmas when Sony try a last ditched attempt to claw back portable gaming from Apple and Android.
Matt
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:56 PMI totally agree with that. I was thinking $349 and $400 myself. At $250 I’d buy one, but for now I’ll stick with my PS3.
Jubbin
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 4:59 PMI bet they’ll price it the same as the Nintendo 3DS tbh (for wifi).. so $350 and $400. Ouch.
Ad
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 5:01 PMWhat do I expect?… lots of people will import from the States. If the dollar stays the way it is currently USD$249 = AUD$235. So even with shipping it wont go anywhere near AUD$350.
Wardski
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 5:08 PMI encourage Aus retailers to mark up the prices thru the roof, because if they do, I’ll just get it cheaper from Hong Kong or where ever…
Aus retailers screw their customers every which way they can. No wonder retailers here want tax increases on internet shopping..
Fkem I say…
Zengster
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 8:41 PMHmmm let me guess…it’s $249 in the US…so price increase of at least 100%+…so probably around $400. F**k Australian pricing I’m buying from elsewhere let’s just hope the PS Vita is not region locked.
Josh Adams
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 10:58 PMEB Games has the PSVita listed at ebgames.com.au for $338. This is awesome.
Dennis
Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 5:32 PMIf they are less than $300 I will buy one just to look at. I wont even play it.. heck I barely play the PS3, Alienware or 360 anymore but i love fiddling with this shit when it comes out!
Anything over $300 and Im throwing money away..
Nick
Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 3:02 PMRealistically they should be charging us pretty much the same as the Americans. i.e. $250 and $300. but I wouldn’t complain about $50 extra
Tom
Friday, July 8, 2011 at 11:31 PMThe Aussie dollars high at the moment, might be able to get one from America for a bargain
tj.junniaa
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 9:40 PMthe aus dollar is like much more higher than the american dollar. so should it be cheaper in australia not america
Corey Bell
Monday, September 5, 2011 at 6:31 AMI want a PS VITA now though Im a damn fool for buying a 3DS granted master quest on Zelda OOT was great fun and Ridge Racer was cool,But when the Nintendo Roadshow pulls up at Southland In Melbourne on the 24th of September Im going to give them a piece of my mind.Come quick Sony Im losing my faith In Japanese corporations.
Leon
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 6:50 PMI think the handhelds that are selling for about $300 ish is going to meet tough resistance here, just like the 3DS, there will be hardcore gamers that will buy it as a status symbol but I do believe most won’t because its more expensive than a home console
Joe
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 5:01 PMOnce again we’re asked to pay $100 dollars over the cost of the American version! I’d gladly pay an extra 20% or so to support Aussie businesses but not nearly 50% more.
Given that is already selling badly in Japan, I can see it tanking here unless the price is dropped. However, you can get a 3DS in some stores for $189 now, which is more in line with the worldwide price. Guess I’m not going to pick one up on day one.
God only knows how much the memory cards will cost over here!