14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has admitted that it wants to provide multiple price points for developers that are bringing their experiences to the PlayStation Vita, in order to better rival the existing mobile gaming market on smartphones and tablets.
While dedicated handheld games consoles like the PSP or Nintendo 3DS have had fixed prices for their games, with only a few exceptions, environments like the iOS App Store or Android Marketplace allow developers to regulate their own prices, resulting in great games, like Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, to cost just $0.99 (0.79 Euros).
Speaking about the pricing strategy for Vita games, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz that the company wants a more “tailored approach”, in order to not alienate regular mobile gaming consumers.
"I think it would be safe to assume we will take a more tailored approach than perhaps we've done in the past," he said, admitting that it would be "foolish and naïve to ignore what's happening" in the current mobile market.
At the same time, however, Ryan echoes previous comments from the company, confirming that it wants to prove to customers that the gaming experience on the Vita is a proper, next generation one, as opposed to existing mobile phones or even powerful tablets.
"It's our challenge to ensure that the gaming experience that we provide is closer to that TV console experience than it is to your [$0.99] thing that you've downloaded on your iPhone," he added. "If we do that and we provide great value to the consumer on games like Uncharted, I think the possibility to sustain historic console type price points is there."
PSP games usually cost around $30-40 (30-40 Euros), while new Nintendo 3DS titles have a price tag near the $40 (40 Euros) mark. Bigger titles, however, like the upcoming Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS, want to charge even higher, being priced at $50 (50 Euros). In the meantime, only very few high quality mobile games cost over $5 (5 Euros).