Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Sony is gearing up for the big release of the PS Vita in the U.S. in just a few weeks time, and it appears that retailers are already battling for their launch-day positions against one another.  One retailer has gone as far as to discount its bundle by $50.

The Sony PlayStation Vita is releasing with what has been dubbed the PS Vita First Edition Bundle in the U.S.

The bundle has been the most popular among gamers who have decided to pre-order the handheld.

The entire package consists of the Sony PS Vita itself, along with a 4GB memory card, limited edition case, the PS Vita game Little Deviants, and more.

The majority of retailers have been selling the bundle for the price point of $349.99.

Radio Shack has made a bold move though as readers have notified us that the handheld is now up for sale for $299.99 on their web site.

Those who pre-order the bundle per Radio Shack will have their bundle available on February 15, 2012.

There is no word yet as to whether or not other retailers will be following suit by dropping the price point of their handheld bundles on launch day.

Regardless though, it appears that RadioShack.com is now the front-runner for the cheapest bundle on launch-day for the Sony PS Vita.

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Sony is in an interesting position with their next-generation handheld the Sony PS Vita.  They have a handheld that the public is certainly interested in, but is struggling in sales due to its high price point.  Whet we have learned though is that Sony is in a position to drop the price of the handheld in a big way.

The Sony PS Vita released in Japan in December in two models.  The 3G model sells for the equivalent of $300 in the U.S., while the base model sells for $250.

These are the price-points that the next-generation handheld will retail for on February 22, 2012 when the handheld releases in the U.S. and Europe.

When the PS Vita released in Japan, a big deal was made over the somewhat lackluster sales immediately after launch.  Sony, however, seemed to be perfectly fine with the sales, and here is why.

UBM TechInSights has done research and has discovered that the 3G Sony PS Vita costs Sony only $159.10 for them to manufacturer.

This means that Sony is turning a profit or $140 on every 3G Sony PS Vita they sell.

This is a huge change from when the Sony PS3 released, as it was expected that Sony was incurring a loss on every console sold.

So what does this all mean?  What this means is that the reason Sony is perfectly fine with the PS Vita sales, is because of the mark-up.

Sony is in the position where they are going to charge this price point for the early-adopters of the handheld, making a considerable profit.

Once these consumers are tapped out, they could easily cut the price of the PS Vita to under the $200 price point and still be making money off of the handheld, all while they continue to profit off of accessories, the PlayStation Store, etc.

Sony is clearly thinking long-term with their next-generation handheld, and they are displaying patience in the fact that they have yet to drop the price.

It is clear based on the research by UBM TechInSights that Sony wants to make money off of the handheld in the short and long run, and due to the high mark-up, they simply do not need to sell as many PS Vita handhelds to garner the profits they may be seeking.

In the short-term, expect Sony to stay the course, but what this means is that in the months ahead, expect Sony to be in a position to aggressively price the PS Vita to further grow their market share.

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Sony is getting ready to enter some critical years in terms of its role and place in the gaming industry as they continue to do battle with Nintendo and Microsoft.  Will Sony announce the PS4 at E3 2012 though?  They would be genius if they did.

Let’s go back in time when Sega was gearing up for the big launch of the Sega Dreamcast console.

They had all of the makings of a huge hit on their hands.  The console was competitively priced, the controller input itself was highly unique.  The memory cards had a cool little built-in LCD screen (sound familiar?) and the launch line-up appeared stellar.

There was one problem with the Sega Dreamcast launch, gamers knew what they would get if they just waited, they would have had the Sony PS2 a year later.

Lets fast-forward now to the situation at hand.  Nintendo is getting ready to launch the Wii U, and gamers are going to be greeted to the next-generation of consoles yet again.

Sony is in an interesting position at E3 this year.  They could let Nintendo have the spotlight to themselves, or they could show gamers why it may be worth waiting for the PS4 to arrive.

By announcing the Sony PS4 at E3 2012 this year, they would showcase to gamers that the next-generation starts when Sony says it does.

Not only that, but they would be able to utilize the PS4 to further showcase the PS Vita technology, which will likely work in a cooperative fashion with Sony’s next-generation console.

This would give them not only an edge over Nintendo, but also the Xbox 720, what we will call the Xbox 360 successor for now.

Sony may not be able to get out of the gate first with the next-gen consoles, but they will show gamers why they are worth waiting for.

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Nintendo is preparing as a company to once again show why they are the leaders of the gaming industry, as they gear up to release the successor to the highly-popular Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo Wii U.  Nintendo has many hurdles it is facing though with the Wii U, and we have highlighted our top five reasons why we believe Nintendo has to keep the price point below $300 at launch for it to truly be a success right out of the gate.

5. Recent History

In recent years, the gaming industry has shown that consoles are having a hard time coming out of the gate when the price point is at too steep of a level.  Sure, they garner sales from the hardcore early-adopters, but not the mass market.  Recent history has shown that the Sony PS3 struggled at its price point of $600 out of the gate, the Nintendo 3DS struggled with its high price point, and most recently, the Sony PS Vita struggled due to its price point in Japan.  Gamers want to purchase new consoles, but they are clearly not willing to, at a mass market level, spend more than what they deem reasonable for the new hardware.

4. Mass Market Appeal

Nintendo enjoyed so much success with the Nintendo Wii due to the fact that it was a mass-market product that launched with a price point of $250.  This allowed both hardcore and casual gamers to jump on the release of the console right at launch.  A price point of $300 at launch for the Nintendo Wii U ould allow Nintendo to accomplish this yet again, as they would be able to truly make the Wii U an impulse purchase in a sense and what that is attainable by the mass consumer come the next holiday shopping season.

3. Extra Costs

Nintendo has stated that the Wii U tablet controller is going to be pricey, and one would have to guess that by pricey, they mean most likely around $100.  There are going to be many gamers out there who want to pick up more than one controller at launch, and asking them to spend an extra $100 on top of the price of the console makes it that much more important to keep the cost of the console itself low.

2. Head Start

Nintendo will be jumping the gun on both Microsoft and Sony in terms of starting the next-generation of consoles.  The key for Nintendo long-term is to build up as large of an installed user-base as possible with the Wii U.  This will ensure the long-term success of the Wii U, allowing it to be more appealing to third-party developers and publishers, as well as the consumer due to its popularity.  Failing to get a big enough head start will allow the Xbox 360 and PS3 successors to surpass it quickly, as they will both likely be technologically superior from a hardware standpoint.

1. The App Store Factor

Nintendo has not hid the fact that they are launching a full-fledged app store with the Nintendo Wii U.  Nintendo sees profits in this type of digital store, but these profits will only be seen if they have users on there purchasing items.  These additional profits will allow Nintendo to keep the price of the Wii U console itself low, as they will be making more money on the back-end after purchase.  To grow this app store, they need users, and keeping the launch price below $300 will ensure that.

What are your thoughts, what price point should Nintendo launch the Wii U at and why?

Houston (ChatterShmatter) – WWE is set to showcase a huge Monday Night Raw to start the year 2012.  Tonight, they will unveil who is begind the “It Begins” cryptic promos.  As they stated last week, “The End Begins” tonight on Raw.

There have been many rumors as to who will be revealed as the man behind the promos which have been running on Raw for over a month now.

There are many reports that these promos signal the return of Y2J himself, Chris Jericho.  If it turns out to be Jericho, expect a very different, re-invented character than we have seen in the past.

If Jericho does return, this will likely build to an eventual WrestleMania match between the two to co-headline the card with The Rock vs. John Cena.

Jericho has stated he will not be on Raw tonight, but we will see.  Other rumored names include The Undertaker, Kharma, even Brock Lesnar who just announced his retirement after his loss at UFC 141.

Either way, WWE has done a fantastic job with these promos and they have built a huge amount of hype going into 2012.

These next four months are massive for the company, as they are set to showcase The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 28 in Miami, FL, and will also launch the WWE Network that same weekend.

Tonight, the Road to WrestleMania officially begins thanks to this amazing level of hype WWE has built for tonight.

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – The Sony PS Vita has been hit with some very negative news reports over the past few weeks since it launched in Japan.  Due to a steep drop in sales during its first week of launch, many have predicted doom for the next-gen Sony handheld.  It is time to take a deep breath though everyone, the Sony PS Vita is going to be just fine.

To recap, the Sony PS Vita launched in Japan and managed to sell through 320,000 units during its first few days on sale.

This may seem like great news for Sony, but the bad news came when it was revealed that the remainder of the launch week saw sales of only 72,000 units.

This resulted in doom and gloom predictions for Sony and the Sony PS Vita just a week-and-a-half after the new next-generation handheld launched.

Putting things into perspective though, the Sony PS Vita is entering a very new gaming environment from a handheld perspective than was the case when the first Sony PSP launched.

Gamers have a lot more options in the Apple iPad, iPhone, the Nintendo 3DS, and many other options.

The only Sony PS Vita units that Sony was going to sell at its premium launch price point were going to be to the hardcore, dedicated PlayStation fans.

This had to be expected on the part of Sony, and was surely worked into their plans.  This could be exactly why they launched the PS Vita at the price they did.  Sony has sold through a good chunk of its launch stock, so it is not as if they expected to sell millions of units during launch week.

What Sony has managed to do is launch the Sony PS Vita in Japan to a good, solid user-base of gamers.  This allows Sony to get the bugs out and prepare for its worldwide roll-out in February in the U.S. and the U.K.

Sony will launch the PS Vita at an odd time for a launch in North America and Europe, after the holiday shopping season.

This may have been planned though for a purpose.  What this is going to allow Sony to do is to garner a good user-base of hardcore early-adopters, and then drop the price of the handheld in September.

A price drop in September 2012, dropping the Wi-Fi version of the Sony PS Vita to $200, would make it far more mainstream than it will appear at the $250 price-point.

By the time September rolls around, they will likely bundle a game or two as well to further entice gamers.

This may come across as desperate to some, but this is likely all part of Sony’s plan.  They did a very similar sales strategy with the Sony PS3, and over the long-term enjoyed success from it.

Further digital sales of games over the PlayStation Network will also help Sony garner revenue they did not experience as much in the past.

It is time to breath, Sony had to expect this from the Sony PS Vita, and although it may not seem like sunny days are ahead, the PS Vita will have a huge 2012.

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Happy New Year to all, and as we enter New Year’s Eve, we take a look at the top 10 quotes people will be throwing out on Facebook, Twitter, and in-person with those they celebrate with on this always memorable night.

10. “New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.” – Charles Lamb

9. “Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right” – Oprah Winfrey

8. “An optimist stays up until midnight to se the New Year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Bill Vaughn

7. “One resolution I have made, and try always to keep is this; To rise above the little things.” – John Burroughs

6. “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.” – Unknown Author

5. “I’m a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit rounder, but still none the wiser.” – Robert Paul

4.”New Year’s Day…now is the accepted time to make our regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual” – Mark Twain

3. “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!” – Joey Adams

2. “The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk.  This drunkenness culminates on New Year’s Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you’re married to.” – P.J. O’Rourke

1. “Remember, second chances don’t expire at midnight.” – Unknown Auhor

Happy New Year everyone!

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – The Sony PS Vita is getting closer and closer to its release in the U.S. and the U.K. on February 22, 2012.  The catch though is that it has already released in Japan, and gamers are trying to justify the price of importing the Sony PS Vita.

The Sony PS Vita was set at a very high price point of $550 on many import sites when it released in Japan a few weeks ago.

This put the PS Vita at a price point that was more than double the price of the Sony PS Vita when it releases in February 2012.

The U.S. and U.K. markets will get a Wi-Fi version of the Sony PS Vita for $250 on launch day, while the 3G version will cost $300.

Import hopefuls though can rejoice in the fact that today, the price of the Sony PS Vita has dropped considerably.

You can now import a Sony PS Vita, the Wi-Fi model, for roughly $460 on many of the big import sites.

This puts the Sony PS Vita at a much more reasonable price point for potential consumers.

The games are now all that cheap still, as Uncharted Golden Abyss will be priced at $75 on many of the import retailers’ sites, but the fact that you will be able to play and enjoy the game 2 months before the rest of your gaming friends may make it more than worth the couple of hundred dollars extra.

Even at the price point of $460 for a Sony PS Vita import, it still comes in at cheaper than buying a new Apple iPad 2 in the U.S., as well as several other gadgets.

With the new price point of $460, you could have the next-gen Sony PS Vita handheld, Uncharted Golden Abyss, as well as a memory card for $550, and be in gaming bliss.

So what do you think gamers, can you justify the price of importing a Sony PS Vita?

Fright Night 3D

Blu-ray Review
Disney / Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Released: December 2011

Fright Night was originally released back in 1985, but like just about every other horror movie in existence, it has gone through a re-make.  This has brought us to this latest release from Disney, presented in both 2D and 3D on Blu-ray.

The 2011 remake of this cult classic horror movie is fairly well-done as it is an enjoyable and fun horror flick.

Fright Night put vampires on the map in terms of the film industry, and that is the premise that the remake went off of here from start to finish.

This vampire film is high on action, and has enough suspense that you will definitely be jumping up at times in excitement and fear.  The lack of character development does cause some concerns though and may turn viewers away.

Those who purchase Fright Night know what they are getting themselves into, they are not expecting an Oscar-worthy story, but they will get a fun horror popcorn flick.

The release of the 3D Blu-ray combo pack is well-done as it includes both the 3D and 2D discs of the film.  The DVD and Digital Copy are also included here as a third disc, adding some nice value overall.

The video quality of the 3D release is very strong as the 3D is used appropriately to improve the viewing experience overall.  Good black levels compliment this gritty film from start-to-finish.  A good 3D transfer on Blu-ray per usual from Disney.

The audio quality is equally as impressive here as the use of the front and rear channels creates a nice theater-like atmosphere.  Good deep bass throughout to showcase the action sequences.

As for the extras, this is the area where the release is most lacking, as there really is nothing to keep viewers coming back beyond the film.

Fright Night 3D on Blu-ray is a nice release from Disney that will please fans of the original who didn’t get a chance to see the remake in theaters.  For what it is, this is an enjoyable popcorn flick, just do not expect to be blown away.

ChatterShmatter Final Score: 7.4 out of 10 Chatters

Boston (ChatterShmatter) – Survivor South Pacific is gearing up for its big finale this Sunday on CBS, but who do you think will take home the prize and actually win Survivor and the $1 million that goes along with it?

Survivor South Pacific has proven to be one of the most entertaining seasons of Survivor in the history of the long-running reality TV series.

The season started with Ozzy and Coach each acting as the captain of a team, and now as we near the end,  these two are still in the game and very much so have a chance to win it all.

The final contestants in camp include Coach, Sophie, Albert, as well as Rick.  Brandon, after being voted off this past Thursday, will go head-to-head with Ozzy at Redemption Island for a chance to get back into the game.

Here is how we see things playing out this Sunday on CBS, we will see how close we are.

We expect Brandon to pull off the upset and actually beat Ozzy this Sunday at Redemption Island, re-entering the game.

Once he gets back in the game, my expectation is that Coach and Rick will team up with Sophie to attempt to eliminate not only Albert, but Brandon as well.

Coach may be looking to take Rick and Sophie with him to the final 3 due to the fact that he believes he has the best chance against those two.

Do not expect Albert to go down quietly though. He has been plotting a move against Coach for weeks now, and Sunday could be his time to shine.

If he can manage to convince his tribe, Albert may end up with Rick and Sophie at the final 3, and our expectation is that Albert will win Survivor South Pacific.