Our iPhones and Androids are reasonably decent game gadgets that do thousands of other tasks and can be used to call the office. So how many of us will pay $250 and up for a device that’s exceptional at just one thing?
Sony’s video game business has gone a long time between hits. The company dominated the home video game console market with its relatively cheap PlayStation 2. Then came 2006 and the PlayStation 3. It was the most technically advanced console on the market, but its $600 price tag scared away shoppers. Today, you can get a PS 3 for $250, but Sony’s share of the game market still lags behind Nintendo Co.’s Wii and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360.
The entry-level PS Vita costs $250, same as a basic PS 3 and $100 more than Nintendo’s 3DS hand-held game machine. The Vita’s price makes sense at first; this thing’s a monster. It’s about seven inches long, three-quarters of an inch thick, and weighs nine ounces; quite a load, especially if you’re already toting a smartphone.
All that extra space is stuffed with advanced technology. The Vita has a GPS location chip, it supports 3G cellular data courtesy of AT&T Inc., and then there’s the monster processor and an amazing OLED (organic light-emitting diode) video screen. I’m a sucker for OLED technology, which delivers richer color contrast than the usual liquid-crystal display screens.
But then you notice that the base model Vita lacks a vital accessory: a flash memory chip for storing saved games. You’ll pay about $20 for a four-gigabyte flash card. And Sony insists you use the company’s proprietary “memory sticks,’’ which cost more than the commonplace SD memory cards.
