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BLOG – Sony. Corporate Geniuses or Money Grubbing Bullies? Thoughts on Vita’s Memory Card Pricing.

From a business perspective, I can understand why Sony does the things they do.  They are Sony after all.

But from a consumer point of view, I am… how can I put this, not the biggest fan of Sony’s immoral ways.

Besides the retardly high price of the PS3 and PS2 upon launch, Sony also likes to nickel and dime the consumer (and when I say nickel and dime I mean $20/$50 bill the consumer) by forcing them to buy their proprietary memory card units: the Memory Stick Pro and Memory Stick Pro Duo.  They could just as easily utilize SD cards, a widely accepted media storage format, but they like to charge ridiculously high prices for their brand of portable memory.  This is exactly why I refuse to buy a Sony digital camera and even Sony TVs.

As pissed as I was dropping a nice chunk of change on a memory stick for my PSP, I am even more upset about their Vita memory stick pricing.  Just like the PSP, the Vita will use a new type of memory stick that only the Vita can read.  Because of this, Sony controls everything; again, I understand this move from a business perspective, but it is a total dick move for the consumer.

Get a load of this –  Vita Memory Stick price:

4gb = $25 (wow, for cereal!?)

8gb = $40 (I can buy a game for $40!)

16gb = $70 (yeah, sure, ok…)

32gb = $120 (umm, yeah right. Try again.)

Screw you guys, I'm going home.

In a quick summary, THESE PRICES ARE INSULTING!

Further, Vita games, in terms of scope and design, are only going to grow.  Meaning, bigger games require bigger file size.  Simply put, if you plan on actually using your Vita, you are going to need at the very minimum an 8gb card but most likely a 16gb to even use basic features.   Further, the Vita features no internal memory, forcing you to purchase a way over priced memory card.

 

It is almost 2012 and the popularity of SD cards runs for right around $1 per 1gb.  Here is a Class 10 32gb card for just over $1 per gig.  But in Sony’s mind, they feel the need to charge 4x the amount!

I have a 4gb Mem Stick Pro Duo in my PSP right now and I am constantly fighting for storage space with all my game saves and few downloaded PSN titles.  This problem is only going to grow with the Vita.

Sony is going to be facing some difficult times.  With the 3DS just picking up a lot of steam thanks to Mario 3D Land and the upcoming Mario Kart and with just about everyone living with a mobile device attached to their hands, Sony should be trying to make their products as cheap as possible.  In the age of $0.99 for quality full game downloads, are people really going to plunk down an extra $100 for a stupid memory card?

Just because you are controlling the Blu-Ray format doesn’t mean you can control every other form of portable storage media.  Hey Sony, remember the betamax?  Or what about the minidisc?  Oh yeah, and who can forget the UMD, the PSP’s main format?  (And why is it called Universal Media Disc when only the PSP can play them?  Yeah, awesome marketing there Sony!)

Do I want to spend $120, half the price of the hardware itself, on a memory card!?  Absolutely the F$$$ not.

<Getting the mega phone out and pulling a Cartman, “How would you like to suck my balls, Sony??!” >

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