Sony's Sorry Attempt at Marketing the PS Vita

When I was thinking back to products that had been released both successfully and catastrophically in my lifetime, I found that many of them were electronic products. I think this is simply because in the last hundred or so years, technology has advanced so rapidly that there have been an overwhelming number of new electronics to be invented and released. But not all of these products can be winners, and it's relatively easy to point out the losers based on the products' lack of attention to consumer behavior and how it motivates people to make purchases.

Back in February of 2012, Sony released the PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) in the United States. It was meant to be an update on the popular PlayStation Portable (PSP), released in 2005. But the product, though highly anticipated, flopped within months of its release. I read several articles on the PS Vita and it seems the main reasons for the flop were the available games and the price point. These reasons can be attributed to consumer behavior, and specifically that of the "gamer" market. 

When a video game console is released, much of what draws to the console is what they are able to do on it (understandably). This means that for the release to be successful, it must be accompanied by several promising release titles. New games that are exclusive to the coming console are what draw in the avid gamers. They want to be among the first to try the new games, and especially new titles from their favorite series. Unfortunately, the PS Vita did not have the all-important aid of popular and anticipated release titles. And since it had only a few attention-grabbing features that weren't already present in the PSP, the product just didn't pan out.

An obviously important aspect of any product release is the price point. In the gaming market, however, it seems gamers are willing to spend more money on a console if they know they're going to get something exclusive or special out of it. But the PS Vita's release price was just under $300. Even for a full-size console, that is an extremely high price. Given the lack of promising release titles and innovative new features offered by the PS Vita, this price was just not justifiable among gamers, who ultimately decide a product's worth among other consoles. The release also fell just a few months after Nintendo dramatically lowered the cost of its Nintendo 3DS to $169, and that product offered 3D gameplay, a feature the PS Vita could not rival. The PS Vita sold only 2.2 million units in the first six months, compared to the Nintendo 3DS' 3.6 million in its first month alone. 

It seems that Sony disregarded the tried and true behavior exhibited by the gamer market with its release of the PlayStation Vita. Sony has a huge fan base surrounding its PlayStation line, but even hardcore fans of the console series could not get behind the release of this product because it simply didn't appeal to the ideals of the gamer: innovation, firstism, and playability. And on top of that, Sony failed to readjust the price to compete with the increasing popularity of smartphone and tablet gaming, which is considerably cheaper. And even following a slight price drop and the introduction of an exclusive title in the Call of Duty series, the PS Vita remains a huge flop, and ultimately, an embarrassment to both Sony and the gaming community.

-Saige