$896. That’s how much Brazilian gamers will be forking out for the PS Vita once it becomes available in the South American country. The staggering price was uncovered by Kotaku Brazil, citing sources “close to retail”.
The Kotaku Brazil post states that the price isn’t even for the 3G version (the more expensive model), which it believes Sony won’t be releasing there.
Sure, $350 (Wi-Fi) and $420 (3G) for the Vitas here is nothing to sneeze at, but you can’t argue Brazil has more than enough ammunition to justify importing overseas units. Going by the post’s comments, this is exactly what many are planning to do.
For comparison purposes, the Nintendo 3DS was R$1199 ($651) before the price drop and R$799 ($435) after.
According to a Gamasutra story on Brazil’s gaming market, the country places extremely high taxes on non-essential goods (especially games and consoles) and most people get their games from sites such as Play Asia. A piece by GamePolitics reports prices can be “up to three times more” than the US. Given what we’ve seen here, that’s not hard to believe.
The Vita Brazilian will cost R$1,600, say our sources [Kotaku Brazil, via Save and Quit]
Quirkhall
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:33 PMWhile that may be unjustifiably high, it does not excuse our own region mark-ups.
Fenixius
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:36 PMWell said. It just shows that Sony are dicks everywhere.
Average
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:49 PMFenixius logic: All companies have high prices in a country, Singles out Sony.
backflipkgo
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 5:47 PMI’m sorry, was this article about other companies?
StuM91
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 5:52 PMNo, but that comment was implying sony are the only company being dicks.
Jethro
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:49 PMAs the article says, it’s to do with the the extremely high tax on non-essential goods. Not really Sony charging that much, though I’m sure they do raise the price for different countries….
Ape
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 1:01 PMSorry, did we miss this part?
“…the country places extremely high taxes on non-essential goods (especially games and consoles)”
Phoenixes
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:36 PMOh wow this comment I don’t even –
Glenn
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 7:02 AMNo, I’m fully inclined to agree with Average… The article clearly states the problem is the taxes applied by the government, yet you single out Sony.
Kid
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:39 PMYou can see the trend though, but this shouldn’t be happening anywhere. Whether it’s an act done by Sony or not, someone is making way to much profit here.
PlimpyD
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:52 PMI just found the most excessive markup I’ve ever seen this morning. The Alienware Aurora starts at $1999 in the US and $3999 in Australia. I nearly threw up when I realized this and I’ll make sure I never buy anything from Dell in Australia and I’ll highly recommend others don’t either. I understand there’s different taxes and prices heavily depend on the market in that region but this is beyond a joke.
PlimpyD
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:54 PMOK… the second most excessive markup I’ve ever seen, Brazil’s pricing has slightly soothed my rage.
N7 jpicard
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:37 PMSony loves to dig its own grave.
thejiveman
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:48 PMDid you read the article?
mattroe
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 9:10 PMI’m sure he did. I think he was referring to Sony’s tendency to make their consoles expensive… all over the world.
Ross
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 4:03 PM“the country places extremely high taxes on non-essential goods (especially games and consoles)”
So many people seem to read before they post on this site. I was half expecting someone to bitch about the $896 price at the start of the article, thinking the author meant that was our local price point lol.
Glib
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:42 PMI thought that that $896 was for us for a moment.. That was mean.
mchaza
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 1:21 PMAustralia (WiFi): $350 = 29,000 Yen
Japan(WiFi): 24000 Yen
A 5000 Yen increase = $60
Australia GST = $35, so we have a price increase of 25 dollars over Japan
Roughly the same with the Euro as well, but the big different is the US, with there 100 dollar decrease, now thats because they cant raise the price to the desired price of 350 because they are afraid it wont sell, so like Nintendo and SONY they will be taking massive hits on the currency exchange losing alot of money on the US versions, so to make up for it they need the US version to sell like hotcakes.
So SONY isn’t exactly screwing us over, its mostly being screwed over by the US consumers demanding an unrealistic low price for their products. Where as we in Australia dont do that, well not entirely yet at the moment.
Alinos
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:37 PMGST isn’t 35 dollars just so you know
it’s more like 32.
since
RRP = Price+10%GST on price
GST is actually 1/11 of the retail price.
It’s being pedantic sure, but the larger the numbers get the more noticeable the numeric difference is
Alinos
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:44 PMThe question is also.
Is America getting the good price because they won’t pay more.
Or are they getting what would be a standard price and the rest of us are being forced to deal with higher pricing because we always do.
I mean they estimate the cost at USD160 construction for the vita. The 3DS was pegged at USD100.
Sure like anything there are marketing/R&D costs to consider which is why it is sold at a far higher price. But if that is the case at least 25-50% of the 100 dollar price hike in australia is going to be profit.(Since logically shipping etc would already be covered by the shipping component of the original US 250 price.)
Jethro
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:44 PMYou have to remember with 23million-ish people, Australia is quite a small part of the global market. It’s physically impossible to sell the same number of units to us here as to the U.S. Basically they can sell more units with less margin and still retain a good profit.
Jem
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 6:19 PMAmericans get paid less than half what we get paid in Australia. So all this whining about how we get ripped off, well, it goes both ways.
Denz
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 9:01 PMI really dislike this argument. Yes Australia has higher wages, but we have higher taxes as well. Not to mention our sky-high real-estate and utilities cost, among other essential living expenses. Australia is one of the most expensive countries to live in the world after all.
Just because we get payed more doesn’t mean we have more money to spend…
Gizmaluke
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 7:57 AMWell we do have more disposable income. We are in a very lucky situation (check http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2011/12/08/australian-exceptionalism)
Anyway, back on topic. Played a few games on the vita a few weeks back when I was in Japan. Would have saved a bit buying it there but didn’t bother. Chances are it will be cheaper to wait for a price drop before great games come out. Nothing that really grabbed me is available so far. But then I stopped being a day one hardware purchaser a few years back. They are pretty good though :)
p tear griffin
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 1:25 PMplease dont buy the vita its a pice of crap AND I LOVE SONY!!
kksl1der
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 1:27 PMThe Wii U will probably cost about $600 max.
dmag87
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 1:41 PMSorry Sony, you nearly had me, but I know this beautiful device will just end up sitting somewhere in my house, collecting dust. The cost of this is not justifiable when reports have shown it only costs US$160 per Vita. I don’t care about the tax stuff, or the exchange rates, all I’m predicting is this thing will bomb hard at $350 with no games and no memory card (which is what it will be like after these launch promotions end). I’ll hang in there for a price drop. Call me when they’re $250. Right now I’m enjoying Resident Evil Revelations on my 3DS, and really can’t get excited about a watered down Uncharted after beating Uncharted 3. I don’t hate Sony, I really hope they succeed and continue making dedicated gaming handhelds, it just sucks how they’ve handled certain aspects of this Vita, especially the pricing.
buckE182
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:09 PMI really don’t understand all the complaints for the pricing of the Vita. Do people realise that their smartphone would cost them $800 plus if it were not for the ability to put it on a plan? People complain like crazy about $350 yet an iPhone 4S outright is over $800…doesn’t make sense. Maybe Sony should try something different and actually get a decent deal going with Vodafone where consumers purchase a Vita on a plan similar to a mobile?
I personally can’t wait for Feb 23. I’ll be picking up my pre-ordered Vita and enjoying every minute of it. If handhelds fail, we will all be stuck with just smartphones with crappy touch contrls. I love my Android phone, but if it was my only option for portable gaming, I’d be very sad. I will take a dedicated handheld with physical buttons and full priced games over Angry Birds any day.
BTW, isn’t the RRP for the 3G Vita $419.95…not $450?
Available in Australia from AUD$349.95 (RRP) and New Zealand from NZD$449.95 (RRP) for the Wi-Fi model, and AUD$419.95 (RRP) and NZD$549.95 (RRP) for the 3G/Wi-Fi model respectively
Source: http://au.playstation.com/ps3/news/articles/detail/item421562/PS-Vita-release-date-and-price-announced/
Logan Booker
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:23 PMI was quoting prices from our own article, which doesn’t seem to be correct. I’ve corrected the price, cheers.
Cyp
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 1:03 AMVita is not a phone so don’t compare it to iphone but to ipod touch which costs $199 for 8 gigs and you can get good games for a dollar.
thyco1
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:32 PMI really do feel sorry for Brazil and othe countries that have to pay stupid prices for goods and services. Its once the main reasons why Pirating is so big in laces like brazil and asia (excluding japan)
N0NEoftheAB0VE
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:50 PMAlso explains why Megadrive was so popular there well beyond it’s lifespan in the rest of the world!
Bam
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:33 PMThe only thing that would make me buy one of these is: a new Loco Roco Game.
[Razor]
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:48 PMRemember how much a Day 1 PS3 cost, barring combodeals or whatever? Give or take, it was roughly AU$1000.
Now, if you were paying attention back then, do you remember how much it cost Brazil?*
$3000.
*I might be confused with Taiwan, which also had a high price
bill
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:06 PMI actually remember my local target had it for $1200 for a short while, glad some people remember what it cost, everyone says they were never that high in aus
thyco1
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 5:07 PMi remember when the first playstation came out. both it and the sega saturn were 700-800 AUD and the old Sega CD was 1000k
[Razor]
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 7:01 PMI made a follow up comment here about how after doing some research I couldn’t find any country that cost $3000 for a PS3 on launch day, but I am sure it existed because I made a note of it. So, take that with a grain of salt.
But the PS3 was definitely ~$1000 here, because its a ridiculous price.
[Razor]
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 7:05 PMOkay I researched harder and it turns out that Brazil had a rerelease of the PS3 in 2010, the 120 GB model for $1000. When it was originally launched worldwide though, Brazil did get it for $3000. At least, according to other people commenting on other articles on other websites, as far as I can tell.
Ad
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:52 PMI seem to recall reading about a PS2 costing around $800 in Brazil – a couple of years after the PS3 was launched.
Needless to say, there’s supposed to be a thriving black market for games there, I wonder why?
Michael Barnes
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:24 PM$800? Its like they want it to fail in Brazil. Hell. Even $350 is too much here. $300 would be okay.
Steven Bogos
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:35 PMHey guys in China their internet filtering is horribly restrictive but the Australian firewall won’t be as bad as that so it’s pretty good right?
Stupidest logic ever. This thing is already failing harder than the 3DS did in Japan, they need to drastically lower the price or it will be dead in the water
Ben "BlueMaxima" Latimore
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:40 PMBackwards logic – charges high prices for games; encourages piracy because consumer doesn’t WANT to pay more
beredan
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:54 PMIll seeya later sony when the wifi version finally hits 250
BRIK
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 4:11 PMWhile I am quite excited for this, I think I’ll wait for a deal. I’ve never once bought a console day one because I know there will always be a price drop within 6 months.
Riavan
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 4:16 PMI’m calling this on failing hard. The psp was going the way of the ghost before monster hunter gave it a revival in Japan.
Josh
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 4:19 PMWon’t matter to Brasillians. They’ll just import from paraguay. Bought a bunch of stuff there a few years ago for 1/3rd the Australian price.
4len
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 5:13 PMSometimes it’s nice to jump on Kotaku and watch generic members of society who have no understanding of business costs jump in and explain how these prices are ridiculous! You people are fucking idiots… There’s a good chance they could stand to drop it here by a further $50, of that I’m sure given what I’ve seen. But there’s no doubt at that point it’s a dedicated loss..
Suck it up, you don’t like it, don’t buy it… Shut the fuck up and move on. :)
It’s a gaming console, not Petrol or Food, HDFU!
TuxMask
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 6:02 PMSometimes it nice to go to Kotaku and see Corporate staff posting as the general public.
Begone cancer.
N0NEoftheAB0VE
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:57 PMWhat’s funny though is people WILL harden up and move on and again PSP,V,etc won’t sell in great numbers – it’s already happening in Japan – Sony should be thankful they have all this instant consumer feedback on their products, they have a chance to salvage the Vita but it all comes down to price.
vaizard01
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 5:36 PMi really dont think the pricings are that bad when you have to consider the all over picture Sony is being made out to be unjust in their prices yet they still have to compete with company’s like Nintendo and apple and when you consider that most portable devise gamers are casual then you might be able to understand why they are doing this ps vita is a gamer devoted system and nintendo unlike sony uses less expensive parts in their systems in graphic capability’s your really buying a system that far outstrips Nintendo ds’s also most casual gamers are using apple products simply because they work into their everyday life more easily and if the main part of your life is managed and kept by your iPhone or ipad your really not going to buy a system like this full stop plus you have to consider that not all these units are going to sell an so they have to cover overheads plus groups like Harvey Normans and Eb are going to inflate the price by about 80% as is their company policy and so Sony have to strike a bargain price which all groups will be happy with and they have to sell at around that price in that region if they want to be able to distribute their products with those groups so in actuality most company’s would be buying each unit of Ps vita at around $175 Wi Fi and $205 3g its as simple as that if you want the pricing lowered ask the distributor in that region not Sony
SuperKlue
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 6:54 PMYou need some lessons in sentence structure. That block of text is impossible to read.
[Razor]
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 7:17 PMOh yeah. So, Brazil, you guys.
I have a friend over there. Apparently, there are huge import taxes on technology.
He had to have his tablet illegally smuggled out of the country to get it repaired and then smuggled back in again, otherwise it would have cost him excessive amounts of cash.
Boomzzilla
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 7:34 PMUnforunataly $350 is just the tip of the ice-berg,
$350 vita console
$50 memory card
$30 headphones
$140 a couple of games
So really a it’s more like $600 for a functional vita setup.
Ridort
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 11:48 PMHeadphones? I hardly think that’s mandatory.
oggob
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 8:54 AMTrue, I have plenty already, plus I pre-ordered, so I get a set for free as well! and aside from the memory card cost, that same argument can be used when the 3DS was released.
michael
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 9:40 PMyou could save some money by buying everything off the US psn, which isn’t too hard with ebay selling cards and what not.
Matt
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 11:14 PMsigh…
For anyone wondering SONY are actually loss leading on the Wi-Fi model and profiting on the 3G model. Overall SONY expects to make a small loss on PS Vita hardware for the platforms first 3 years while profiting off software sales (yes this factors in there projected price drops)
Also concerning Japanese sales – PS Vita is doing fine, wait until the end of 2012 and then comment on Vita Japanese sales, since the platform will have Monster Hunter and a few other big Japanese games.