We’re really excited about the Vita. The console looks to be both powerful and innovative, with no shortage of great games. Unfortunately, our wallets aren’t quite as ecstatic. We do hope the Vita is a success, but is March really going to be the best time to get it? We break down 5 reasons why you may want to restrain yourself from picking it up at launch.

5. Price Drop

Sure, an impending price drop is always a good reason to hold off on buying a new console; even the best have seen their price slashed. But the PSVita price cut might come sooner than you think. The 3DS, an agreeably impressive device, dropping $80 within months should be your first warning. If Nintendo, who’s DS constantly dwarfed the PSP, can have its successor stumble out of the gate, what chance does the Vita stand? Furthermore, the Vita is already faltering in Japan, where it launched months ago and has sold a measly 500,000 units. With all the odds stacked up against the Vita, how long can Sony really hold out not making the price competitive with the 3DS?

4. No Internal Memory

What is this, 2004? There’s no excuse to not launch a premium gadget without internal memory. Clearly, Sony is adamant about not letting the Vita’s sticker price slip over $299 as both models come with no internal or external memory. If you want your Vita to have a reasonable amount of storage, it’s going to set you back between $310-$360 with a 16GB card. Is a handheld system really worth more than a PS3?

3. What about your phone?

Practically everyone has a large display smartphone these days. Just step into any movie theatre around the country for proof (you bastards). Sure, our phones can play Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, but have you ever had a look around iTunes/Android Market for some of the more advanced games? Just take ShadowGun or Infinity Blade for proof. Both look like early 360 games. If you have or plan to get any recently released phones such as the iPhone4S, Bionic or Razr, you can already play these graphically incredible games. What if more developers take notice and games like this become the norm? Would you really want to carry around a game system when your phone is already in your pocket?

2. Redesign

There’s always a chance that the Vita takes off and they decide to redesign it to boost sales. Hell, even if it flops they still might (looking at you, N-Gage QD). The Vita is a nice looking system, but is the PSP frame really going to be the end-all of portable Playstations? Plus, if 3D ends up being the major selling point of the 3DS, Sony might need to rerelease the console with 3D to compete. Nintendo is releasing a second slide-pad peripheral and you just know a 3DS redesign including it is imminent. If Nintendo can get away with it, so can Sony. If they add a necessary feature like Nintendo is going to, you’ll know you want to buy it. Why not wait and only have to buy the Vita once?

1. What if it does fail?

If you decide to pick up a Vita at launch, you may end up owning a brick. If the Vita tanks at launch, it’s going to lose a lot of favor with developers, which means less games. Sure, there are plenty on the horizon, but if the sales end up being too low, Sony could outright abandon it. We honestly hope that this doesn’t happen, but we hoped that with the Dreamcast too, and...well, let’s just say there won’t be a Power Stone 3 anytime soon.

Written by: Dack