With just one day to go until the official release of the PS Vita we thought we would take a look at some of the prices from the biggest stores and online retailers in the UK, which is perfect for those who held off on pre-ordering theirs. Certain gamers thought buy getting in early they would avoid disappointment but it seems as though the likes of Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Amazon and Play.com have plenty of units to go around – Sony just hopes consumers are willing to part with their cash on yet another new handheld console.
Upon looking we can see that the prices are pretty similar and it’s only when you start to look at the different bundles that you see varying prices. Looking over all the deals it seems as though Play.com has the best offers, as they have the Wi-Fi only model with a free card for £212.99 and the Wi-Fi/3G model with memory card for £262.99.
The next closest is Amazon; they are offering the Wi-Fi only model for £209 and £259 for the 3G version, although we have to inform you that there is no memory card with this offer. The others are pretty similar, Asda will charge just £197 for the Wi-Fi only model and Tesco £219.99, both have the Wi-Fi/3G version for £269.99. Sainsbury’s, Game and GameStation will be charging their customers £229.99 and £279, so you will have to decide which store is more practical for you.
While these prices may not offer the best incentives to choose one store or online retailer over the other, it’s the bundles and other offers that count. Asda do not have any bundles but they will give you £100 off the price off a PS Vita if you trade-in your Nintendo 3DS.
Currently Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Amazon have no such deals on, which could hurt them in the short term becasue consumers look to save a few pounds by purchasing a new handheld console, memory card and game together – maybe as the popularity grows for the device they will start to offer bundles or other such offers?
We thought we would look at the same bundles from three different retailers to give you an idea of how different their offers are and it’s no surprise to see both GameStation and Game are selling the Wi-Fi only model with an 8GB memory card and Uncharted: Golden Abyss for £269.98 while Play.com has the same bundle for £242.99 with free delivery.
It’s easy to see Play.com currently has the best offers but their bundles do vary and they may not be what you are looking for, then again how can you ignore the online store because they seem the best all round. Have you managed to find a store taking part in a midnight launch event for the PS Vita?
