HomeMain MenuNewsJB Hi-Fi Cancels All 3G Vita Pre-orders

JB Hi-Fi Cancels All 3G Vita Pre-orders

JB Hi-Fi, Australia’s largest electronics retailer, has cancelled all pre-orders of the 3G model of the Playstation Vita. The reason for this is because JB Hi-Fi has a contract with Telstra, arguably the largest telecommunications provider of Australia. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has decided to go ahead with UK provider Vodafone, who has also set up agreements with Australia. Since the two telecommunication providers are in fact in competition with each other, JB Hi-Fi had no choice but to cancel all pre-orders of the 3G model.

An email to all customers was sent with minimal complaint (which does say a lot about how sales could potentially end up with the 3G model). This is what it said:

Unfortunately, we have now been forced to cancel this item from your order, or cancel the order if it was a single item order (this may take up to 24 hours to update in your order history). However, you can still order the Wifi Version.

A rep on the fact that there was minimal fanfare on the decision:

[This is] the first call we’ve had about the decision, so we don’t think it’ll make too much of an impact.

It seems that there was no discussion on the matter, since it was forced upon them. This is quite a big blow for consumers as JB Hi-Fi usually has a cheaper price when it comes for gaming. The only reason that this could be a questionable decision is because the European/PAL model is not locked to a network. Sony Australia could have made a deal with the top three telecommunications providers of Australia (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone) and allow the 3G model to be sold at a wider audience. Then again, the deal was made in Europe after all.

Joshua Spudic
Joshua Spudic
Josh is the name, writing is my game... well my degree will say that. But, when uni gets me down (and it does), there is no better way that to grab a chair, sit back and slicing up some DarkspawnI started my gaming interest back in the good old 16 bit era with the Sega Mega Drive and Sonic The Hedgehog 2. I was roughly five years old. To this day I still try to fire up the dusty companion and speed through the wacky and bright levels, jumping on some Badniks, collecting those damn Chaos Emeralds. Then I moved onto Sony's disk based console the Playstation (thanks to my uncle). Since then I have picked up each of Sony's consoles from the 5th to current generation that has been released in Australia (with more to come).In terms of writing about games, I am quite new to the field. I started out late last year with my own blog before deciding to move to greener pastures. I have written a few reviews for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable. Features as well. I hope I can flex my muscles while writing with Capsule Computers.If I'm not gaming, however, I'm writing narratives. I am currently trying to kickstart a high fantasy novel (which, hopefully, turns into a complex RPG) that I want done in five years or so. My passion of writing has been there for a long time and has flourished as I grew. I'm into the fantasy genre, both games and novels, and thoroughly enjoy a deep and complex RPG, whether it comes from the East or West.Oh and anime is awesome!