Sony never met a proprietary format it didn't like. Beta, Minidisc, Bluray, Memory Stick. Joining it is the PS Vita Memory card. Like all other Sony formats, it's incompatible with other devices, completely unnecessary, and as we learned this week, very expensive.

Sony announced four size formats for the new PS Vita Memory Card. It will range from 4gb to 32gb and be priced between $30 up to a whopping $120 for the 32gb model. By comparison, commonly used SD cards in the same sizes range from $6 to $70. Sony's own failed Memory Stick Pro Duo cards retail at $95 for 32gb. This makes Sony's Vita cards the most expensive flash storage cards around.

Contains gold, platinum, and unobtanium... which is my theory for the high price

Like the PSP before it, the Vita has no built in storage. As PC World correctly points out, this bumps the true cost of the Vita to at least $320 with tax factored in. That's even before you buy any games or accessories. In other words, Sony is repeating the same mistakes it made with the PSP.

With companies trying to push downloadable games over retail copies, I find the high markup on storage puzzling. It made sense when there were no alternatives, but the iPhone and Android have changed the game. It's certainly not going to convince people to drop retail.

Source: PC World

Images courtesy of PC World and Meme Generator