I think the memory prices are too high but they are nothing like what Apple charges. Apple charges $100 for an extra 16GB and $200 for an extra 48GB.
I'm not defending Sony at all but it is not just the memory prices that are pushing people away. If that was the case Apple would never sell a 32 or 64 GB iDevice.
Because Apple has created a culture among it's customers where they're willing to pay a premium for their products. Sony does not have that luxury with gamers.
Amazon ranking doesn't matter if the cards are selling out at the current price point. If you lower the price of the cards then you won't be pushing more cards because you're already selling out.
There is a argument to be made that the prices of cards is making people shy away, but I don't think that argument holds water. Most people I talk to about the Vita say 'What's a Vita?' not 'You mean that console with egregiously expensive memory?' People are used to paying premium prices for memory, and some people aren't ready to jump feet first into the all digital world of 32GB regardless of price.
Selling out doesn't matter if (like somebody already suggested) they only have 5 memories in stock.
Also, marketing is one part of the problem for the Vita, but it's not the only problem (or even their largest problem). Sony can have all the marketing in the world, and the Vita would still probably have the same problem (ask Microsoft how much their billions of marketing is helping the Surface).
Memory prices are generally falling. Who says consumers are used to paying a premium on memory (Apple products not withstanding) Why are we paying year 2000 prices for memory?
Still most people arent concerned about the memory card prices since the retail model is still quite engrained into peoples minds. I bet there are a few on GAF sticking to 4GB still as well and dont care too much about the memory card prices if going retail with all their games.
If Sony wants to stick with the retail model, fine. But Sony doesn't want that. Sony's slowly moving and transitioning over to the Direct Download model, and they should be encouraging that with cheaper memory cards AND on board memory. Also, PSP was almost completely a retail model, and those memory cards weren't nearly as expensive as the Vita ones.
You are wrong. They simply need to lower the system price and people will eat it up. Case in point: black friday deals. Lower the system price by 50 bucks, keep the memory cards at 100 = profit.
Lowering the memory card price wont give them any momentum with unit sales at all (though memory card sales from existing Vita owners would rise). Its a bit of a scam, but most people jump on cheaper unit prices, not the memory card prices. I imagine some people probably had a rude awakening to the memory card prices after buying the console.
Again, if Sony is depending on memory cards as a big part of their profit margin, then I'm sorry, they're in bigger trouble then I thought.
Black Friday is a one off, where consumers are buying irrationally and are pressured by a "time limit".
Permanently lowering the price but leaving the memory card prices enact will probably cripple any positive that would come with lowering the price on the unit. If I was a parent and was thinking of buying a PSVita for my kid (or a broke college student), I'd take a look at the additional costs, and wonder why I wouldn't buy a 3DS instead.
