Discouraging Playstation Vita Details

itwbennett writes "Sony's new handheld gaming system, the Playstation Vita, launches in Japan in two weeks, and the latest report from Andriasang has some interesting details, including Sony's decision to go with proprietary memory cards. Sony says this is both for security reasons and to ensure a consistent experience for all users, but that 'doesn't explain why they're charging such enormous sums for these cards,' says blogger Peter Smith. 'The caveat here is that we haven't seen official pricing for the cards, but game retailer Gamestop lists them at $120 (!!) for a 32 GB card, $70 for a 16GB, $45 for 8 GB and $30 for a 4 GB.'"

First

[Anonymous Coward]

which is why I don't buy Sony anymore...

"Security"

[ksd1337]

"Security" = trying hard to make sure consumers can't jailbreak their own devices.

How long until they're hacked?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony loves proprietary formats and the market is awash in cheap storage. This is a way to make memory valuable again, but I won't be surprised if someone is demoing a way to use SD cards on the thing within a year of launch.

Ahem...

[Moheeheeko]

'doesn't explain why they're charging such enormous sums for these cards,'

Because they can.

Third Party Adapter Market

[Anonymous Coward]

This just means that someone in China will be making money off selling an adapter for microSD cards.

Re:How long until they're hacked?

[rwven]

The problem is that in today's market, with so many viable alternatives for mobile gaming entertainment, the insane cost of memory is going to be a deal breaker for most users.

Sure it has pretty graphics, but that's almost certainly going to be the one-and-only thing going FOR the Vita. I can't think of a single other argument in support of buying one of these.

Re:"Security"

[sohmc]

This isn't so much about security as it is about a consistent revenue stream. They're following the "Gillette" model where they take a loss with their actual product, but make up the money in the sale of accessories.

Sony is notorious for this. They have memory sticks that only work with Sony products. This is why I will never buy a Sony product.

This is Sony

[Anonymous Coward]

The reason they're doing this is because fuck you.

Re:"Security"

[what2123]

The difference with Gillette is that they sold you a product that did exactly what you wanted it to. Sony seems to keep selling things that do something one day, then as if it was a game, take away features to make it less-usable then the previous day.

Re:"Security"

[Starteck81]

"Security" = trying hard to make sure consumers can't jailbreak their own devices.

Anyone who is surprised by this has obviously forgotten the whole root kit episode. Sony, I buy as few of your products as I can now.

Don't Like it...

[jellomizer]

Don't Buy it.

It is only a Video Game System. No one is forcing you to get one.
I'm sorry I feel little pity for people who cry Foul because their Video Games cost too much.

Sony is not the only one.

[sacdelta]

The only difference between the iPhone 4s 32Gb and 64 Gb is 32Gb of memory. The difference in price is $100. Are you all going to vilify Apple the same way for not including the ability to insert SD cards?

Re:First

[Firehed]

It's not like it should come as a surprise to anyone that Sony has chosen to create yet another proprietary format (and attempted to lock it down beyond simply being incompatible with anything else). They got away with it in the '80s and '90s because they actually made good hardware and the concept of interoperability barely existed. The only time they've had any real success with it was Blu-Ray, and I'm sure that hasn't seen the adoption they'd like since legal download services so shortly after its introduction, and their attempts to force it down everyone's throats have certainly been expensive. Today the reverse is true - their products tend to be sub-par and we increasingly expect stuff to work across our devices, but they're still stuck in the past.

Re:Sony memory sticks...

[Mordermi]

Is Sony even relevant? The sales of the PS3 have almost caught up to the Xbox 360, even with being released a year later. Yes, the Playstation Move is really lacking.. But Sony is still a big player in the game.

Re:"Security"

[Golddess]

Sony seems to keep selling things that do something one day, then as if it was a game, take away features to make it less-usable then the previous day.

I dislike Sony as much as anyone else here, but OtherOS is the only thing I've seen like what you've just described. What other things have they taken away from products after purchase?

Re:Gouging

[medlefsen]

So what should a free individual do when they don't like what a company is doing? Maybe refrain from purchasing from them? Maybe tell friends and advise them to not buy from them either? Maybe even go on to a web site and post about it? Tell me when I start suggesting something unreasonable.

I'm not sure how this happened but at some point poeple got confused and started thinking that because companies are set up to always maximise profits we shouldn't be allowed to criticize any of their attempts to do so. There is a difference between wanting government regulation and using your right as a free person to criticize the actions of a company.

Sony is being anti-consumer and as a consumer that pisses me off. Other companies have found ways to make money without resorting to the lock-in BS that Sony prefers. I will not buy from them, and I will say why very loudly so that they and everyone else knows exactly why they aren't getting my business.

Re:Good thing

[sd4f]

And sony also has to following to its name;

Minidisc
UMD
Atrac
SACD
memory stick (incl. MagicGate)

Sony loves proprietary gear, probably more so than any other company, they seem to persist with them a lot, and quite a few of them have been failures, atrac in particular, if they didn't persist with atrac and tried to make a digital music player people actually wanted, i doubt the ipod would have been a success.

Re:Good thing

[pionzypher]

Vita would use NGV memory cards due to size, weight, lack of noise, and other factors..

I'm fairly certain that few people would find a micro-SD card too heavy or too big. Also, I can't recall what noise my micro-SD card makes... anyone?


Every one of those reasons is spurious. Let's just call it what it is. It's Sony being Sony; and that's ok.

Re:Profit

[The Mister Purple]

Everything's legal in China, it's the American way!

Re:"Security"

[antifoidulus]

It doesn't matter, they have set a precedent that is incredibly off-putting. If they didn't want to put it in future products, fine whatever, but the fact that they would go and intentionally disable a product I already paid money for is unforgivable. Imagine if you bought a swiss army knife then after you already paid money for it the company came and demanded that it be allowed to remove the screwdriver from the knife... yeah the knife still works for the most part, but now it does less than it did when you paid for it, and the company went out of its way to do so. So what is to prevent them from removing features in the future? Maybe they don't want to support the 3g modem on the vita in a few years, just push out an update that removes that functionality. No problem right?

Re:"Security"

[Golddess]

True, but they didn't break into your house and replace your old PS2 with a slim, did they? Your old PS2 still worked the same as it did the day you bought it, right?