PS Vita downloadable game prices could be cheaper than retail

If comments made by an unnamed PR spokesperson are to be believed, Sony will embrace a sensible, if non-standard pricing model for PS Vita software. Full downloadable titles for the upcoming handheld may be considerably cheaper than their physical media-based counterparts, they claimed.

Gaming news site Thrifty Nerd purported it spoke with an anonymous rep at a PS Vita event who revealed the unconfirmed pricing details. The worker let slip that retail Vita games will cost $40, while the downloadable versions will hover at less than $25.

Recently, Sony Europe chief Jim Ryan told gamesindustry.biz that Vita software prices will be more “tailored” than the company’s previous portable offerings. Ryan decline to go into detail, leading to healthy speculation that gamers could end up spending up to $60 on select Vita games.

Sony isn’t the only game company looking into charging more for their products. Capcom’s “Resident Evil: Revelations,” a brand new entry in the long-running horror series, will ship for Nintendo’s 3DS handheld next year with a $49.99 price tag – $10 above the normal cost for 3DS games.

Disregarding the source entirely, the info is still grain-of-salt territory. Downloadable game prices on consoles remain similar, if not identical, to physical copies, so the idea Sony would decide to buck that trend and potentially anger retailers in the process is a little farfetched. But with the Vita’s entry point artificially inflated thanks to the necessity of a memory card, a small concession for downloadable game buyers would be welcome news. (via Joystiq)