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The gaming industry is buzzing with the upcoming announcement of Sony’s next PlayStation, with Sony expected to announce the new console at a press event in New York on February 20. Many of the studios that worked with Sony on iconic PlayStation 3 games are starting to tease their games for the PlayStation 4. Maybe it’ll be called Orbis, maybe it’ll block used games, maybe it’ll have some kind of cool new controller; almost everything about the machine is unknown. What is known is this: Sony already has a relatively new game console on store shelves, and it’s struggling. If Sony doesn’t change something soon, the PlayStation Vita will die a premature death. Its first year on the shelves resulted in terrible sales numbers. Perhaps the new PS Vita model, which is rumored to be included in the presentation on February 20, can change the fate of the device.
Rumor has it that the new PS Vita model will not address the biggest complaint leveled at the device: the high price. The new Vita will be able to connect to 4G LTE wireless networks and cost $299, just like the existing 3G model supported by AT&T in the US. The Wi-Fi model of the Vita will remain on the market for $250. 4G functionality won’t be a major selling point for the console any more than 3G, as only a few games like Street Fighter X Tekken can be played over the network. Based on a patent published Thursday (via NeoGAF ), the new model could allow TV output from the Vita via an HDMI cable port. It can also come bundled with updated console firmware, offering new organizational tools.
The new model may not benefit current PS Vita owners, but the Vita Business Plan changes may. The biggest of these is that Sony will reduce the price of unique memory cards for the PS Vita. The astronomically high price of memory cards—a 32GB card is a whopping $100, while the exact same SD card, just without the proprietary locks, sells for just $25 or less—proves the true cost of the Vita, as many games like Uncharted : Golden Abyss require a memory card for the game.
Cutting the price of memory cards may not be enough for Sony to revive the PS Vita. Anything short of drastically reducing the price of the console will have a hard time growing its audience.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn