Sony Declares PlayStation Vita Price Cut in Japan

UPDATE: Sony informed Eurogamer this morning that it had no information about a UK price reduction.

“The price cut announced today is solely for the SCE Japan region,” a spokesperson stated. “We have no announcements to make at this moment regarding pricing within our own region.”

ORIGINAL STORY: Sony Japan has declared a price reduction for both models of its challenging PlayStation Vita handheld.

The Vita will now cost merely 19,980 yen (approximately £139), down from 24,980 for the Wifi-only model.

The price is applicable to both the Wifi-only model and the more costly 3G version.

Sony Japan’s boss, Hiroshi Kawano, made the announcement during a live-stream that is still ongoing and focused on the handheld. All Japanese Vita owners will receive a free week of PlayStation Plus, with access to games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss. A new “Ice Silver” Vita variant is also on its way.

Vita sales were typically around the 15,000 per week mark in Japan and sometimes below 10,000. In contrast, the Nintendo 3DS has been consistently selling around 70,000.

The Vita is still more pricey than Nintendo’s 3DS XL (18,900 Yen), but now only slightly so.

Eurogamer has reached out to Sony concerning a European version of the price cut.