UK High Street retailers say PSP Go is exciting, but download-only model and pricing are still causes for concern |
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UK High Street retailers have said that while the PSP Go -- and the PSP series in general -- has a lot of exciting things coming for it, Sony's decision to opt for the decidedly non-retail friendly model of download-only games is a definite cause for concern. That, and the reportedly high price point.
“There are a number of exciting things coming to fruition on the format and it feels like Sony are almost re-launching it," said Play.com's Keith Sharpe. "Potentially the next two years could be very good for PSP, especially with titles like GT5 (ed: he most likely means Gran Turismo) and LittleBigPlanet on the way.”
HMV's commercial manager for games, Jonathan Hayes, however, points out that despite the PSP Go's great promise, there's still the matter of how Sony will address the retail problem.
“From E3 we all thought that the PSPgo looked like a great new console at a size that makes it truly portable,” he said. “Our concerns are obviously with the non-retail model of downloading games."
“However even if Sony do give retail a solution there are still questions to be answered on the RRP which needs to be below UK£ 200,” Hayes added.
CHIPS' Don McCabe added that so far, customer reaction to the PSP Go has been negative. "I can’t see anybody going for it if Sony confirm a high price tag. If we get customers through the door we will sell it, but that remains to be seen.”
Sony, on the other hand, assured retailers that they're still a key part of the company's plans and that they'll still be supported "in terms of the PSP-3000":
In terms of the 3000, weÂ’re undertaking an unprecedented amount of activity throughout the summer and Christmas periods, highlighting the new range of colours, and for the first time in a long while, a range of first and third party software titles that really showcase the power and full potential of the PSP hardware.
IÂ’d argue that this commitment, from a marketing, sales and PR perspective, demonstrates our long term investment in the platform, and we see retail as a key part of these plans.
Related articles:
- Japanese retailers flustered by PSP Go: But we're partners, right Sony?
- PSP No? Independent UK retailers not yet stocking PSP Go
Via MCV
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Comments [refresh]
i did not know sony was working on "third party software titles"? I can only guess that development tools wont be available to the general public and the titles will be expensive and only available through psn (probably).
any game that isnt made by the makers of the console is considered third party, which is majority of games
i just immanently thought applications
All third party titles have to be approved by Sony first though before they can be launched. Like on the iPhone, but unlike on the iPhone, only big companies are allowed to develop. But thats how they keep all the crap off it.
It looks like Sony's relaxing it's quality control because they reducing the price developers pay for the SDK and allowing smaller up to 100mb games and homebrew type apps, but only allowing you to buy from the PSN store just kills off my interest in Psp go.
It'd be interesting if retailers took the stance that basically, "first you take away the profit margin on the hardware by setting a high price point, then you take away the profit margin by not using us as software distributors to go download only - well then lets go download only too and see how well your potential customers can download hardware."
who would buy a pspgo
think about the games are all going to be really expensive becasuse there the only people you can buy them from think about this for example
if one shop sells a game for 19.99 another shop will try for 18.99
bassically becasue there not competing with people to sell the games at a price pwoplw will pay they can charge what they like
we might even get a scenerio where the umd is £20 and on psn is £30 or 40 becasue they cannot buy from anyone else
oh and i saw 2 psp 2000 in very good condition being sold for £80 at gforce in clydebank in scotland you can sell them if you add cfw on ebay for £150 im really tempted to go there tomorow morning and buy um both
(i think they have had them for a long time cause i think there just trying to get rid of stock
(sos for long post)
most internt companies have hidden things in contract called a fair use policy for bt thats only 80gb a month
which is only arround 2.5gb a day average which isnt a lot
so this would be anying to most people who have a pspgo casue they can only get a limited number of games in a month
PSP GO is going to suck!!! PSP 1000 and 2000 all the way!!!!
I know that here in New Zealand aboy 50% of the country dont have broadband. And thats not because we are poor, its because alot of the country is rural and broadband is not avalible. And satelite costs $90 a month for 5GB!!! Its total bull*****. And when you think about it, the consumer is paying TWICE for a psp game. First the money to Sony and then money to their ISP to download it!
that would never happen because sony WANTS people to buy the pspgo. if what you said ever happens, no one would by a pspgo simply because games are too expensive.
@shanky
how much money do you have that you would be downloading so many games in a month that you use over 80gb? i dont know about you, but most people have a limit to how much they can spend..
here's some math:
average game is let's say about 2gb that's 40 games one can download a month. now let's say each game costs around $20, that's $800 worth of games...
get it, got it, good.
@mikal
get a psp3000
@mikal and shanky
duh
Obviously there are marketing the PSP go to a more digitally savy market. Basically Japan, NA and Europe.... Japan is almost entirely broadband, with some of the fastest average speeds for internet in the world. NA also has broadband in all major cities....if you live on a farm I doubt you care about the Go.
As far as bandwidth goes....as someone said you are not going to be downloading that many games. Not to mention, standard cable here gives you a 80 gig a month for $30, extreme is 150gig a month for $40 and you can get unlimited bandwidth for $50......
like mikal i kive in new zealand and only get 10gb a month to use for broadband but thats enough to reguarly get new games.
the reasons i have and cfw on all my psps is homebrew and the ability to carry several games on my memorystick. but the psp go is going to make the carrying of multiple games so much easier but in a smaller size. plus there will be no need to have a pc involved.
also micro sd cards are so much cheaper than memory stick pro duos.
i see nothing but benefits when it comes to the psp go
yep thats true....pity the psp go uses micro memstick pro duo not micro SD
Until Sony confirm a price for the unit, it's going nowhere in the UK. Logically they'd keep the price low to encourage people onto their download-only model and then recoup through the games, since online is the only place you can buy them.
But this is Sony, and they've decided to fleece people with their usual weak excuse of "premium" price point - once all the early adopters have emptied their wallets, the Go! unit will drop in price. But by that time we'll probably be getting ready for PSP2.
I'd actually be happier if I didn't think that the UK was footing the bill for the rest of the world, as usual. Surely a minor increase across all regions would be fairer. If I do get one, I'll ask a friend to pick me one up in the States. With PSP2000's going for £80 retail in some UK stores, £230 looks ridiculous.
Of course there are causes for concern.
1) games are cheaper in shops. They take a hit on one set of games and charge more for others - some shops will have cheap DS games but charge a bit more for PS3/360 games. And over time the price drops. Will PSN games drop too?
2) They're not cheaper. When I bought a boxed LocoRoco 2 it was on the PSN for the SAME PRICE. Download games should be cheaper since the retail outlet doesn't make any money, there are no transport costs. It's just a server which are very cheap to run.
3) the average connection speed here is slow or overpriced for a fast connection.
Oh there are more but I'm giving up. I'm not buying one and I strongly believe a DD only device is a bad idea at the moment.
psp go ***** yourself - *****, this is *****
and total fail.
1. ds games will always be cheaper than ps3/360 games. that's just fact. psn games should drop in price. why, see (2)
2. it would not be fair that people who own a pspgo get cheaper cost of games because the own a pspgo. eq. dude does not have broadband connection so he buys his game @ $30 new only to find out that if he bought his game online he would have saved money cause it would have cost less. i dont know about you, but if i was that dude, i'd be pissed and probably not want to support sony products. so prices should be equal according to retail price. but i hear you; it'd make sense that the digital copy is cheaper because of obvious reasons like there to packaging and stuff you mentioned.
3. can't argue that. i get 200gb a month for $34CAD. so i'm set
i think it's a perfect time to introduce dd only device considering the tech we already have. and for sony, i think, they want to be ahead of the pack, per say, cause the brand has always been a pioneer in technology since the getgo. and i think the psp is catalyst for such.
I think it will fail! I mean come on, download only! I see problems with this!