Vita memory card prices announced for US

By Fred Dutton Published 28 November, 2011

$120 for top 32GB version.

PlayStation Vita's proprietary memory cards will cost US gamers at least $29.99, with prices going all the way up to $119.99, according to GameStop.

The retailer is selling the basic 4GB model for $29.99 (around £19), an 8GB card for $44.99, 16GB for $69.99 and 32GB for a hefty $119.99 (around £77).

UK prices for Sony's cards have yet to be confirmed, though GameStop's numbers should offer a guideline.

As previously reported, most Vita games will require a memory card for you to save your progress, with some not even booting up unless one is installed. A card is not included with a basic Vita purchase.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 6 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Gojiratron #1 6 months ago

    Ouch!

  • Rodster #2 6 months ago

    Sony did Nintendo inform you that you are NOW competing against smartphone apps @.99 - $5.99? Maybe you didn't see that article. Let me know when you have that massive price drop like the 3DS. :)

  • Vitor #3 6 months ago

    Ugh, this was such a hassle back in the original PSP days. Third parties soon filled the gap in the market though but man, were the larger sized official micro-sd cards crazy expensive back when that thing launched.

    Way to gouge consumers yet again Sony.

  • Shikasama #4 6 months ago

    But it has Twitter!

  • Turfschipper #5 6 months ago

    120 dollar, hmmm, it seems to me that is a normal price to get fucked.

    (dont know, just guessing, ;-) )
    Edited by Turfschipper at 28/11/11 @ 23:55

  • Street89 #6 6 months ago

    That's £30 for the 8GB and £45 for the 16GB. Just thought I'd inform the thickies that Eurogamer are trying to attract with this 'shocking' news.

  • -cerberus- #7 6 months ago

    That's a hefty sum I'll be saving along with the price of a console I won't be buying. Thanks, Sony! :)

  • Malek86 #8 6 months ago

    Maybe I just missed it, but I still haven't heard the official excuse on why some games need to save on external cards. Space can't be that much of a problem, surely they can spare a couple megabytes.

    Maybe they need to install or decompress some data from the cartridge?

  • osh #9 6 months ago

    This just totally negates the 'cheap price' of the Vita.

  • sfp_noodle #10 6 months ago

    Sony are selling ths console at a big loss so it's clear how they are intending to recoup those costs now. I'm interested in picking up a Vita but in all honesty I just want to use memory cards to save game data and download the occasional demo. A 4-8gb card should be more than enough for most people. I can't imagine too many will bother picking up the higher end versions anyway.
    Edited by sfp_noodle at 29/11/11 @ 01:17

  • orangpelupa #11 6 months ago

    OMG that price... even nintendo release wii and 3DS with standard SD Card... (or is it mSD?)

    btw is vita not have internal flash memory?
    even 3DS, PSP, cellphone, have internal flash memory right?


    or maybe vita have it but savegame is disallowed to be saved there?

  • chrisc #12 6 months ago

    @Street89 Are these projected prices inclusive of VAT, or do we need to add an extra 20%?

    I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict: £19.99 for 4Gb, £39.99 for 8Gb, £74.99 for 16Gb and a bargain £149.99 for 32Gb.

    Got to make that profit from somewhere!

  • chessboxer #13 6 months ago

    Are these the RRP that have been set by Sony or is this Gamestop just taking a stab at how much they think these will cost?

  • coolbritannia #14 6 months ago

    You all need to work harder to afford these excellent Sony gaming products! It's like 2006 all over again....

  • Pwnsweet #15 6 months ago

    @coolbritannia
    +1

  • dave.k #16 6 months ago

    Oh Sony ... haven't you yet learned the futility of not adopting standards?

  • smelly #17 6 months ago

    LOL! Well good luck with that one sony.

    .. I'll get interested in buying a vita when you inevitably find out no-one wants to pay that sort of money for a memory card - and release one with a 4gig one built in.

    $30 for a 4 gig memory card! I just bought a 16 gig card for $10!

  • dagas #18 6 months ago

    Holy cow! I bought a 4GB stick for my PSP years ago at around the same price they are charging for the 4GB now when prices should be lower.

  • Velios #19 6 months ago

    I'm as hyped about Playstation Vita as I am about eating my own feces.

  • cawley1 #20 6 months ago

    What a crock of shit, I had not even considered this, as assumed (dumb!) that it would use MS ProDuo like all the other Sony gear!

    Clear the markup on the memory is to offset the price of the console, although sure we will see some kind of bundle at launch.

    Not overly bothered about Vita launch, but now everyone moaning about 3DS prices, who appeared to think Sony were going to give stuff away for next to nothing will get a rude awakening...

  • Pacmaninov #21 6 months ago

    This is just too expensive for a piddling amount of memory
    The price point of the launch ps3 was understandable - the tech in the console was beyond its years (blu ray players at the time were selling for more than the price of the ps3)
    This is just bull de la crap

  • Scimarad #22 6 months ago

    And they were doing so well...

  • Beano #23 6 months ago

    $120 for 32GB is crazy - I know Sony needs to make money somewhere, but jesus!

    Sticking to 4GB or 8GB then - should be fine for a start since I'm buying most games on psysical carts and only using it for save games and DLC.

  • TopKatt #24 6 months ago

    Well that's decided it for me, I'm still going to get a Vita, but I'm going to cancel my preorder and wait. When I can get the device plus card for £200 or thereabouts, I'm in.

  • Pacmaninov #25 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:50:53 12-12-2011

  • killuminati2911 #26 6 months ago

    Soo an entire 2 tb HD NOW costs 120 and a single 32GB Vita memory 120... mmh.. way to go in killing a baby born console in the cradle Sony...

  • Beano #27 6 months ago

    @killuminati2911 Comparing HDD storage with flash storage is not relevant, but I fully agree that $120 for 32GB is WAY to expensive.

    EDIT: But are these even the official prices? I don't think the memory sticks will be cheap, but $120,- is almost half the price of the console itself in the US.
    Edited by Beano at 29/11/11 @ 08:02

  • TelexStar #28 6 months ago

    @killuminati2911 - You're comparing oranges to intergalactic space apples there, just a bit. I get your point but the physical size of a 2tb drive is much large than the 32gb card that slots into the Vita.

    I'm not defending Sony necessarily. I'm sure they are ramping up the price but not sure it's as much as people think given the size of the media.

  • elstoof #29 6 months ago

    What happened to this?

  • barat #30 6 months ago

    So it doesn't have any built-in free storage space at all? I was hoping for at least 16 GB...

  • azic #31 6 months ago

    Just decided I won't be getting a vita now.
    Why make up a new fucking card.

    What's wrong with what we have in the SD/Micro SD area.

    No, fuck that 100 odd pounds for 32gig. I can get 2 TB drive with moving parts and all sorts of sexy bits for a ten pounds more, or a bit more and I got a 120gb SSD.

    Sony always kill it.

  • Toaster05 #32 6 months ago

    Sony have form for pulling this kind of shit so it should come as no suprise.

    Proprietary media is what they do best (by that I mean forcing the customer to adopt another bullshit standard that no other company will touch) Vita was priced quite nicely but as always there is a price to pay with Sony products.

    That said will I pony up for one? Probably.

    RIDGE RACERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

  • abigsmurf #33 6 months ago

    I love how lots of people are pointing to Apple and smartphones as proof that charging so much for memory is a bad idea.

    A quick check shows that Apple charge a £80 premium for just 24gb of flash. Apple almost certainly use a cheaper form of flash memory and it isn't replaceable as well.

  • silversun #34 6 months ago

    Does anyone know if you can hook up vita to tv like with the psp?
    With the high cost this will all be i know i now waiting till the second model as i hope it has better features.
    I do intend to buy it but just not this version of it.

  • Beano #35 6 months ago

    Proprietary media is what they do best (by that I mean forcing the customer to adopt another bullshit standard that no other company will touch)
    I don't think it's a standard at all since Sony are not licensing it to other companies or using it in other devices. It's a way to hide the true cost of the Vita hardware. Most consumers read the $250 price tag but ends up paying $300-$350 because of required accessories.
    Edited by Beano at 29/11/11 @ 09:24

  • Beano #36 6 months ago

    @silversun Vita does not support TV connection - that has already been confirmed.

  • spidermanalf #37 6 months ago

    I look forward to the 99p bit of chinese plastic that means I will be able to use my generic micro sd card!

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #38 6 months ago

    Im not sure Gamestop putting up some place holder prices so they can start pre orders before anyone else, counts as an official price announcement.

  • ballshock #39 6 months ago

    I guess ill just wait for cheaper ones, by that time vita will be cheaper anyway

  • Kalime #40 6 months ago

    a few confirmed facts:
    these are the real prices (don't ask me how I know, I just do)
    these are meant to compensate for selling the console at a loss (a PS3, the size of a PSP, for 250...)
    if you look at the most succesful portable electronic devices (iPhones/pads), I think you'll see a similar trend in terms of the price charged for memory

    I'm not endorsing I'm just saying the reality is that those really committed to vita will still buy it despite this memory pricing. like some of you, some consumes won't be willing to buy Vita altogether anymore, but actually that's a fairly reasonable portion of those who were really intending to buy in the first place.

    Finally, probably the most important thing, downloadable games come at a discount... so yes memory is expensive but it's a long term investment.

  • Kalime #41 6 months ago

    forgot to mention these are 100% proprietary format, so there won't be third party, only counterfeit...

  • Tallon4 #42 6 months ago

    I love to buy a Vita but with some games and a memory card, this is getting way too expensive for me :/

  • DirectAim #43 6 months ago

    lmao for a 32gb card I could buy a 3DS and zelda!

  • lucky_jim #44 6 months ago

    @abigsmurf
    You seem to be the first person to mention Apple in this thread. Where are these people you refer to?

    Edit: And as for Vita, this is certainly enough to put me off getting one anywhere near launch time. If my experience with other consoles is any indicator, I'd be buying a LOT of downloadable stuff, and I'm not willing to let Sony take the piss out of me like this.
    Edited by lucky_jim at 29/11/11 @ 10:27

  • coderkind #45 6 months ago

    If the console plays an awesome game of Street Fighter (d-pad excellent, frame rate, online) then I'll probably buy the console. Otherwise I can wait a year or so.

  • Street89 #46 6 months ago

    @smelly I don't understand why everyone is going so crazy over this? SD card's from Nintendo for the Wii were expensive when they came out. XBOX 360 branded usb sticks were ridiculously expensive. A third party company will save the day on this one. Just fucking chill out.

  • Beano #47 6 months ago

    "I don't understand why everyone is going so crazy over this? SD card's from Nintendo for the Wii were expensive when they came out. XBOX 360 branded usb sticks were ridiculously expensive. A third party company will save the day on this one. Just fucking chill out."
    The big difference is you are forced to buy Sony's Vita cards since this is not a standard card like SD cards or USB sticks.

  • abigsmurf #48 6 months ago

    @lucky_jim

    Sorry they said "smartphones" rather than Apple in this thread. Amazingly enough though, there are people outside of this thread!

    How many months (years?) have we had of stories heaping praise over how "Apple revolutionised the games industry" and idiotic analysts claiming gaming companies would make more money making apps?

  • Chino86 #49 6 months ago

    It will be a move to help combat piracy by adopting a completely closed format. Too many times have I heard people say when using the PSP “Let me get my other card”. I fear this is the first real cost paying people have to pay due to it.

    Either way, there must be a reason and it will be good to have Sony comment. It is a very weird move as they have been adopting standard formats in almost every area since the PS3. SE phones now use USB and standard Headphone jacks and their Walkman’s don’t need any software at all allowing you to simply drag and drop files in Windows itself for example.

    Sony haven’t created a proprietary format since… Blu-Ray, which in itself was made with others. No wonder as they are bloody expensive to create, especially at a time when Sony is not in the best financial situations. One big point is if this was the “old sony” they would be promoting this format as the next big thing. They aren’t and are keeping it very quiet which lead me to think it is piracy being the driving force here.

    Also I bet the memory read\write speed on these will be fast, faster than the open standard we have (which are getting quite old now), an important consideration for DLC and patches for games.

    So piracy and memory read speed are the most likely reasons. Still bloody expensive though! There should be retailer bundles. I expect to be able to pick a Wi-fI one up for around £250 with included card and game.

  • zuul #50 6 months ago

    Awesome, they are once again going with proprietary overpriced crap?

  • Beano #51 6 months ago

    @Chino86 Piracy has nothing to do with it. PSPs are only able to run pirated games and homebrew if using a hacked firmware. If (or rather when) Vita is hacked, piracy will work from the Vita memory card also since files will be copied via USB.
    Edited by Beano at 29/11/11 @ 11:43

  • callum9999 #52 6 months ago

    This is the ONE thing stopping me from getting a Vita. If it used microSD I'd buy one on launch day.

    I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of other people felt the same - this is a massive step back from the "look how great we are for using an open, standard storage format in the ps3".

  • Chino86 #53 6 months ago

    @Beano A fair point but by making it a closed system, i.e. you can only get these cards for these prices, it would have a marked effect on piracy as well as a preventing any weird R4 type DS cards. I wonder if they is anything special inside the cards...

    Why I thought it could be piracy is it just doesn't make sense for Sony right now to be doing this for the reason of "we need more moneys lol". As I said a big difference here is they aren't promoting or making a song and dance about this new card format. This is a key thing when it came to Sony's old formats, each one they fully believed and wanted to become the next big standard in that area, which in turn would make them lots of moneys. They aren't though and there simply must be another reason, which I'm now thinking read\write times and possibly size constraints.

    The arguments that this is how "they are recouping the cost" also doesn't make sense. Why would they spend significant amounts of extra money making a completely new card type and a reader for said card when they could just throw in a standard SD card reader, save the large amount of money and then sell it at the same price?

    Just doesn't add up...

    Like I say though, here's hoping for bundles! :)

  • Beano #54 6 months ago

    "The arguments that this is how "they are recouping the cost" also doesn't make sense. Why would they spend significant amounts of extra money making a completely new card type and a reader for said card when they could just throw in a standard SD card reader, save the large amount of money and then sell it at the same price?

    Just doesn't add up..."
    Actually it does.

    Since Sony are the only ones producing and selling the cards, they can sell it at an inflated price (which they do) and there are no competitors since they are not licensing the technology (like MemoryStick Pro). They are not even using the format in other Sony products or making card readers for it.
    Sure it would be slightly cheaper for them to just use a SD standard, but then they couldn't control the card prices and make 100% money on it. Makes perfect sense.

  • Yuroko #55 6 months ago

    Sony, It's a great product, lots of good ideas but an expensive memory card debacle all over again. I wish you the best of luck but I'm out.

  • callum9999 #56 6 months ago

    Hopefully someone can find a way to make a microSD to Vita converter card like with the MemoryStick Duos.

  • manic_mouse #57 6 months ago

    Why doesn't it use Memory Sticks like the PSP? I got a 16Gb one for like £20! :( Unhappy.

  • Sid-Nice #58 6 months ago

    Memory may be beautiful and yet
    What's too painful to remember
    We simply choose to forget
    So it's the laughter
    We will remember
    Whenever we remember
    The way we were...

  • Nismo400R84 #59 6 months ago

    Am sure i read somewhere these prices are just the guide prices by gamestop and not the official prices from sony

  • riseer #60 6 months ago

    @Rodster It's not so much games,just 120 dollars is crazy for a 32gig card..will grab a 16 gig then as i cry paying for it..

  • Bilstar #61 6 months ago

    Wow, that's not good.

  • Lamb #62 6 months ago

    I got a 32GB Lexar Class 10 Micro SDHC card for £40 a couple of weeks ago for my half price HTC Flyer.

    Why would I want to pay double for proprietary memory cards that are probably Class 2, slow as a motorway traffic-jam like the previous in-house memory cards for the Go. Where it would take forever to transfer a game to it.

  • Zombie-Hamster #63 6 months ago

    Still need to see the UK prices but right now this has got every chance of putting me off buying the Vita in the short term. Just shocking costs considering the price of other storage media.

    Sorry Sony, I've been behind you all the way on the Vita so far but this is a bit of a show stopper for me.