Pricing For PlayStation Vita Games - World Prepares For Financial Terror

Looking forward to getting your hands on some lovely games when Vita comes out? Best be ready to extend your overdraft then; prices for the games in Japan have been announced and they're not cheap.

Games will be available via digital download as well as through retail outlets but getting solid copies of your games will come at a premium. Consider Uncharted: Golden Abyss; the over-the-counter version will set you back ¥5,980 (a shade under £50) while the download works out at around a tenner less, coming in at ¥4,900.

Obviously it's very convenient to just pull a brand new game down through the internet pipes but will this impact upon retail sales? If stores aren't making much money on game sales, their support for Vita could go out the window. Sony needs to get the console into people's hands and if shops aren't pushing it could we be seeing the beginnings of another marketing disaster like Nintendo's 3DS?

Also there's the big question of Vita owners forking out nearly £50 for a handheld game. That is ridiculously pricey, even for something as potentially grand as Uncharted. Admittedly Golden Abyss is the most expensive title in the range of early releases - Hot Shots Golf works out at ¥4,980 (£41) and ¥3,980 (£33), for example – but could Sony be pricing itself out of the market? We'll be keeping a close eye on the Japanese launch come December.

Source: Andriasang MCV