There have been a lot of complaints about the PlayStation Vita's price, not an entirely unexpected result. Almost anything that's released onto the tech market that has a higher-than-average price gets complaints, something Sony are definitely not strangers to. For a handheld, paying the same price as you would be a new console might seem extravegant, but it all comes down to a matter of opinion.
Cue an analyst, Michael Gartenberg, pointing out the obvious: “Vitas would be flying off the shelves at $79 or $99 each”
His point isn't that putting the console to a ridiculous price point would sell more units – that goes without saying – but that Sony should have created a cheap games machine that could compete with tablets and smart phones: “It almost feels like Sony designed a product for a world where smartphones and tablets don’t exist. It costs more than most phones and the same as most gaming consoles. It is hard to say who is the market for this.”
And that's missing the point: it's for people who want a decent gaming experience on the move, complete with high end tech and high end titles. That sort of thing costs money and making a $79 alternative (how about the PSP?) wouldn't be enough to compete with tablets or smart phones either.