Sony Reportedly Hard At Work On Cheaper, PS Vita Slim Model

Victor D'Angelo Jr. • Jan 24, 2012 • Comments ()

Sony just released the PS Vita in Japan and it already appears that they are getting looking to the future, involving the release of a thinner, cheaper Sony PS Vita Slim.

The PS Vita launched in Japan back in December and since then has been receiving a mixed response, not only from gamers but also from the media who have been analyzing the handheld gaming industry, sales of the PS Vita thus far, etc.

Much of the debate over the success of the PS Vita has centered around its price point, as the PS Vita will launch in the U.S. in just a few weeks with a price point of $250 for the base model, and $300 if you want your handheld to be 3G enabled. The 3G version will require at AT&T contract to make use of its mobile data capabilities.

The general belief among gamers, as well as the majority of the industry as a whole, is that Sony will likely drop the price of the PS Vita heading into the highly-important holiday 2012 shopping season, dropping the price to a much more reasonable $200. Research has shown that the 3G model only costs $160 to produce, so one would think that this is not out of the realm of possibility.

It now appears though that Sony already has plans to not only drop the price of the current PS Vita, but alter its design entirely, similar to what they have done with the Sony PlayStation, PS2, as well as PS3 in the past.

The rumor is that Sony is working on a Sony PS Vita Slim, a thinner and cheaper model of the PS Vita that will be more portable than the current version of the handheld.

Sony PS Vita designer Takashi Sogabe took part in a roundtable discussion with ComputerAndVideoGames.com in which he revealed that Sony is working on a thinner PS Vita.

He described a constant battle with engineers to make it smaller, and seemed to be pretty positive that future versions of the handheld are on the way.

This was a very interesting interview and one that shows that Sony may not see the PS Vita, in its current form, as the be-all and end-all of handhelds.

So for our gamers who have already held a PS Vita, what do you think? Is it too big, would a PS Vita Slim work with this handheld or would it be too cramped?

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Sony just released the PS Vita in Japan and it already appears that they are getting looking to the future, involving the release of a thinner, cheaper Sony PS Vita Slim.\n \nThe PS Vita launched in Japan back in December and since then has been receiving a mixed response, not only from gamers but also from the media who have been analyzing the handheld gaming industry, sales of the PS Vita thus far, etc. \n \nMuch of the debate over the success of the PS Vita has centered around its price point, as the PS Vita will launch in the U.S. in just a few weeks with a price point of \$250 for the base model, and \$300 if you want your handheld to be 3G enabled. The 3G version will require at AT&T contract to make use of its mobile data capabilities.\n \nThe general belief among gamers, as well as the majority of the industry as a whole, is that Sony will likely drop the price of the PS Vita heading into the highly-important holiday 2012 shopping season, dropping the price to a much more reasonable \$200. Research has shown that the 3G model only costs \$160 to produce, so one would think that this is not out of the realm of possibility.\n \nIt now appears though that Sony already has plans to not only drop the price of the current PS Vita, but alter its design entirely, similar to what they have done with the Sony PlayStation, PS2, as well as PS3 in the past.\n \nThe rumor is that Sony is working on a Sony PS Vita Slim, a thinner and cheaper model of the PS Vita that will be more portable than the current version of the handheld.\n \nSony PS Vita designer Takashi Sogabe took part in a roundtable discussion with ComputerAndVideoGames.com in which he revealed that Sony is working on a thinner PS Vita.\n \nHe described a constant battle with engineers to make it smaller, and seemed to be pretty positive that future versions of the handheld are on the way.\n \nThis was a very interesting interview and one that shows that Sony may not see the PS Vita, in its current form, as the be-all and end-all of handhelds.\n \nSo for our gamers who have already held a PS Vita, what do you think? Is it too big, would a PS Vita Slim work with this handheld or would it be too cramped?\n