Anyone buying a PS Vita next month has one major decision to make that has nothing to do with picking a game: 3G or Wi-Fi only.

At the Consumer Electronics Show today, AT&T announced the data plans for the handheld, the one piece of information we were missing. It's $14.99 per month for 250 MB, $25 per month for 2GB.

Like the iPad, the plans do not require a contract, which means you can flick data on for a single month, if that’s all you’re looking for.

The Wi-Fi model is $249.99, while the 3G one is $299.99

Anyone buying a PS Vita next month has one major decision to make that has nothing to do with picking a game: 3G or Wi-Fi only.

At the Consumer Electronics Show today, AT&T announced the data plans for the handheld, the one piece of information we were missing. It's $14.99 per month for 250 MB, $25 per month for 2GB.

Like the iPad, the plans do not require a contract, which means you can flick data on for a single month, if that’s all you’re looking for.

The Wi-Fi model is $249.99, while the 3G one is $299.99

So basically the same data plans they use for phones.

I'm going to stick with the Wi-Fi, as I'll be playing this at home almost exclusively.

That's some baby-back BULLSHIT!

This is actually quite a nice idea.  I'm getting the 3g model, but I don't know how frequently I will use 3g.  At least now I don't get charged every month.  One question still remains: can it be tacked on to my phone bill for each month or will it be a separate bill?

@SamDrugbringer said:

So basically the same data plans they use for phones.

I only get 200MB for $15 on my iPhone. ಠ_ಠ

I can see why the Vita is doing so badly. I'm going to pay $300 and then pay $25 a month? Seems like a HELL of a lot of money to me.

Can you really hold a Vita like that? Crazy that it comes out next month though.

So I can pay $30 for unlimited LTE on my phone, or $25 for 2GB of crap 3G on a device I might actually have to download things with.

No thanks.

What shitty, shitty prices. I guess they figured no one would buy the 3G model, so they said "fuck it, whatever."

WiFi is plenty connectivity enough if you've already got a half-modern phone anyway. Pinch comes to shove and you *must* get the Vita online you can always set up a WiFi hotspot on your phone and access through that with exactly the same speed as a 3G Vita, surely?

Cool, now stop ripping us off on memory, and I might actually get a Vita.

Wow those prices... why would anyone pay that? Just go with wi-fi.

People are going to spend $600 on one year of PSP?

Surely those people would be better served with a phone and a games console/PC.

Game Boy was better than this modern handheld 'ish. You got a console pretty cheap and there were loads of amazing games.

@Oni said:

Wow those prices... why would anyone pay that? Just go with wi-fi.

Pro athletes, celebrities and the Biebs. Sadly thats who.

You know what I really want to do?

Play graphically intense handheld games over a 3G connection!

YAY!

-_-

I pay $5 for 500MB and I'm in fucking Poland. That's ridiculous.

Pretty much as crappy as the deal in Japan with Docomo. I'm still planning on getting a Vita, but it's gonna be WiFi for sure.

Another reason not to get a 3G Vita. Ridiculous pricing.

@jakob187 said:

You know what I really want to do?

Play graphically intense handheld games over a 3G connection!

YAY!

-_-

Have they even specifically said what the 3G does? I thought you can't play games with it and it's only for using Near and the other StreetPass-like features.

Wow, nails first. Never seen a coffin built that way.

Cheaper to tether...

@CharlesAlanRatliff said:

I'm going to stick with the Wi-Fi, as I'll be playing this at home almost exclusively.

Why not play a PS3 then? Why use a handheld?

This is going to flop big time. Whoever spends money on this device is crazy, it's good but not better than playing games fully on a console or computer. The people that say their going to play games at home on this device, well I ask why. Why not play on the home games machine. The games that come out on this thing won't be better than the one's coming out on consoles or PCs, and the benefits of using it outside a phone will top this obviously.

@Doctorchimp: Because I can't play those games on my PS3.

No thanks, if I end up picking one up, Wifi all the way.

@CharlesAlanRatliff: So Persona 4 then?

Really excited about Vita but couldn't care less about 3G. I've had the Wi-fi one preordered for months now and that won't change.

@Nicky92: Because I like Videogames?

@Doctorchimp said:

@CharlesAlanRatliff said:

I'm going to stick with the Wi-Fi, as I'll be playing this at home almost exclusively.

Why not play a PS3 then? Why use a handheld?

Can't play Golden Abyss on a PS3, etc, etc, etc. I play my PSP at home almost exclusively.

I don't have wi-fi. So obviously I'll get the 3G.

the ONLY thing i want to know if the damn thing will be sim unlocked... apparently thats classified ultra top secret info :(

@Frobitz said:

WiFi is plenty connectivity enough if you've already got a half-modern phone anyway. Pinch comes to shove and you *must* get the Vita online you can always set up a WiFi hotspot on your phone and access through that with exactly the same speed as a 3G Vita, surely?

^^ This (also: I have no intentions of buying a Vita).

@HadesTimes: No, you're not going to "have" to pay $25 a month. That is unless you want your Vita connected to the internet 24/7, in that case the data fees are as reasonable as they are for any smartphone/tablet.

You're getting a lot of machine for the money. I don't think it's unreasonable for that device to cost $250 plus whatever the cost for a memory stick. It's up to people to decide if you'll use it enough to justify spending that money. The device alone isn't making Sony any money either way.

Just when you think AT&T can't push the envelope for sucking, they up the ante!

@langdonx: But you're a crazy person.

How many spin-off games are you going to handle though? A persona 4 director's cut, uncharted spin off by not naughty dog, Wipeout, Ridge Racer (I'm assuming).

I don't really see the value of the library.

I don't have wi-fi. So obviously I'll get the 3G.

@Doctorchimp said:

@CharlesAlanRatliff said:

I'm going to stick with the Wi-Fi, as I'll be playing this at home almost exclusively.

Why not play a PS3 then? Why use a handheld?

There's been studies that have shown that most people play handhelds almost exclusively at home. There's a certain convenience factor involved with being able to carry it wherever in the house. On the toilet, in bed, in the living room while simultaneously watching TV, etc.

@l3illyl3ob said:

@Doctorchimp said:

@CharlesAlanRatliff said:

I'm going to stick with the Wi-Fi, as I'll be playing this at home almost exclusively.

Why not play a PS3 then? Why use a handheld?

There's been studies that have shown that most people play handhelds almost exclusively at home. There's a certain convenience factor involved with being able to carry it wherever in the house. On the toilet, in bed, in the living room while simultaneously watching TV, etc.

That's also a huge reason why the handheld market started to wane.

I noticed that when I played my GBA SP. So I stopped buying a DS, PSP, or these new ones. The people who still want handhelds aren't nearly enough to support it.

@TehJedicake said:

I don't have wi-fi. So obviously I'll get the 3G.

You can get a cheap Wi-Fi router for less than $50. That's two months of 3G, but you get to keep the Wi-Fi afterwards. The 3G model is not a good option, especially if you intend to use that 3G as your only online connection.

From what I've seen of it, I don't need yet another device tethered to a data plan (multiplayer games on handhelds are generally sparse and to pay to access Twitter/Internet/Music/XMB seems moot). For the new version of Sony's portable offerings, the $250 model will be just fine, even with charging extra for memory cards - this has been Sony's business model since the PS1 (remember when you only got 15 blocks of memory per card?).

I play my PSP way more than any other console as I'm a Father of Four and I'm not going to kick the kids off the TV to play video games. I also have a 2 hour(total) commute each day, prime gaming time and my PSP has served me well. The Vita will do the same. Between the PSP and my DSIXL I get in a whole lot of gaming each day.

WiFi is plenty connectivity enough if you've already got a half-modern phone anyway. Pinch comes to shove and you *must* get the Vita online you can always set up a WiFi hotspot on your phone and access through that with exactly the same speed as a 3G Vita, surely?

You would think Sony would want these on contract so they could subsidize it with data plans to make them cheaper. That way the 3G model has the lower price listing but has a higher price over the term of the contract.

use your phone as a mobile hotspot and go with the wi-fi only version, at this rate, an iPhone will actually be cheaper, then what does the vita have over it?

@Doctorchimp said:

@langdonx: How many spin-off games are you going to handle though?

My point wasn't "I want to play spin-offs", that's what the etc, etc, etc, etc part was for. I guess I should have included Escape Plan or that dungeon crawler game in my list. My memory sucks too much to think of more titles. My point was -- PSV will likely have titles unique to it that you can't play anywhere else. I'm an old man... I drive to work, and I drive home. Where else am I going to play the PSV exclusive titles I want to play?

@Benny said:

use your phone as a mobile hotspot and go with the wi-fi only version, at this rate, an iPhone will actually be cheaper, then what does the vita have over it?

Good games?

This is going to flop big time. Whoever spends money on this device is crazy, it's good but not better than playing games fully on a console or computer. The people that say their going to play games at home on this device, well I ask why. Why not play on the home games machine. The games that come out on this thing won't be better than the one's coming out on consoles or PCs, and the benefits of using it outside a phone will top this obviously.

@langdonx said:

@Doctorchimp said:

@langdonx: How many spin-off games are you going to handle though?

My point wasn't "I want to play spin-offs", that's what the etc, etc, etc, etc part was for. I guess I should have included Escape Plan or that dungeon crawler game in my list. My memory sucks too much to think of more titles. My point was -- PSV will likely have titles unique to it that you can't play anywhere else. I'm an old man... I drive to work, and I drive home. Where else am I going to play the PSV exclusive titles I want to play?

That's kind of where I'm at.

I'm not an old man, but I am in fact driving to work/school. So I don't necessarily find myself sitting down and waiting everyday for something, but eh I'll just skip it. I'm already busy missing out on titles on platforms I own without adding another system in the mix.