Pachter: “Vita’s Too Expensive For Most”

[drop2]Michael Pachter, analyst for Wedbush, has said that the PS Vita is “too expensive for most” and that the 3DS XL is “not all that compelling for the consumer”.

Speaking to VG247, Pachter said that the latest Nintendo hardware update, which we thought was pretty great, won’t have much of an effect on the weak sales of portables.

“The larger format is not all that compelling for the consumer,” he said of the XL.

“And although I think the XL will help sales, I don’t think that the impact will revive weak sales of handhelds overall.”

And speaking of weak sales, he doesn’t think the Vita will do much either.

“Vita’s too expensive for most, priced pretty much the same as the PS3 everywhere,” he said. “While I think the Vita is a good value and a great device, when compared to the PS3 it’s pretty expensive.”

“Also, there is not much of a library of Vita games,” he added, suggesting that the software levels are still too low, “so sales will probably be slow until we see more content.”

Yup.

46 Comments

  1. You can get a ps3 for £160?

    • Not long to wait now. And it’ll probably be even cheaper than that! ;)
      Best price I’ve noticed lately though is the 320 slim at Shopto for £178.

      • i want a red one at that price

      • Now you are moving into 3G Vita territory, the red slim which is a slick looking beast is cooking at £240 :O

      • Yeah haha. i’ll just see if my current ps3 dies

    • I got one for £170 last year actually, just before the price drop

  2. I think this guy just has a stab at what consumer are thinking, and 50/50 he’s right or wrong. I hope he doesn’t get paid lots.

    • It’s pretty much like horoscopes. You predict something awfully vague that applies to a huge chunk of the population and you have your forecast. Although I do have to say that he got it spot on in my case.

      The VITA is too expensive(costs more than a PS3) with expensive games and expensive accessories. As for the XL, well meh, the bigger screen is probably cooler, but my friend has a 3DS and I’d rather get one used or new for less than an XL. They should have really included another analogue stick to sway customers.

  3. Is it really just the job of an analyst to point of the blatant obvious?

    • *out

    • Nope, there is A LOT more to it.

      Sure Mr. Pachter makes some funny comments sometimes, but don’t misjudge the man, he knows how the gaming market works, what numbers the different companies needs to hit, who owns what, who can buy what and so on.

      You don’t get a job like his, if you don’t know how to advise your customers properly.

  4. For once I agree with him. Vita is too expensive and the library of games is too small right now. That’s why I haven’t bought one anyway.

    • Pretty much.

    • He’s spot on. The smart phone market has shaken things up considerably and Nintendo/Sony are struggling more this time around. Add to this that Sony didn’t really get it “right” with the PSP either so the Vita is off to an even more troubled start.

      Additionally, whilst it’s not fair to compare apples and oranges, people do. People will see this little bit of (lovely) hardware and think “wait a moment… this is nearly the same price as a PS3”, etc. Those comparisons hurt. The reason why people don’t see them with mobiles is because of contracts.

  5. I’m sick of people saying the Vita has no games. It has games in just about every category with more coming out. Pachter is just another douche

    • To be fair, its hasn’t got that many decent games to make me want to buy one, even if I could afford one.

      • That’s the point. There may not be the games that are right for you but that doesn’t mean there are no games. The 3DS has no games that interest me but that doesn’t mean there are no games for that either.

        Saying there are no games for you is one thing, saying there are no games on the system is another. I have been very happy with the selection of games so far and I’m looking forward to the rest of the years releases

    • I think there is a “reasonable” amount of games out, especially when I consider my Vita isn’t my main console. If it were, then perhaps I’d think differently. I actually think there is a good balance of cheap pick-up-and-play games and games with more longevity. I’ve finished over a handful of games in their entirety and still haven’t touched MGS or completed more than 20% of Everybody’s Golf.

    • My Vita is still waiting for RPGs to come out.
      I bought all the PSN Final Fantasy games when they were on sale. I hope they get that compatibility patch out soon.

    • getting tired of the no games story as well if you do not have one yet there are loads to try.

  6. teeheehee… wedbush….!

  7. The Vita seems to me to be a reasonable price for the tech involved, certainly it’s cheaper than my new phone was! :) The reason I don’t have one or plan on getting one is because it’s too locked down. Indirectly this does relate to the games available of course, but it’s all the other apps the hardware would be capable of running but isn’t allowed to.

  8. Vita is reasonably priced but it does lack games. I’m not paying £30 for a game that was made for PS3 but ported to the Vita!

    • This.
      £30 for a port of a 2yo PS3 game you can get for under a tenner is a farce.
      I don’t mind so much for IPs

      There are some good pick up and play titles for cheap, MotorStorm is a particular bargain, even with the dlc its less than £10

  9. I hate it when Americans complain that the Vita is too expensive, the Wi-fi version in the UK is more expensive than the 3G version in the US.

    • What use is that to him, though? He’s not worried or commenting about that. If it’s “too expensive” in the US then it’s hurting even more for us back in Blighty.

      Either way, he speaks a lot of truth this time.

  10. To be honest, and I think this is the first time ever….I actually agree with him.

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