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UK retailer thinks PSP Go will flop badly; Pachter calls retailer boycotts "foolish" |
Listed in: Interviews, News, Opinions & Analysis, PSP Go Tags: interviews, Michael Pachter, PlayStation Network, Sony, UK
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It seems that Nedgame's open opposition of the PSP Go and Sony's digital download model has stirred up quite an issue. Igor Cipolletta, boss of UK retailer ShopTo, has also expressed doubts about the PSP Go's success, reckoning that the handheld is already "dead before it has arrived."
"I have the feeling that as a format it is almost dead before it has arrived, and it relies far too heavily on a customer base that is prepared to pay more for download content than the equivalent disc based product, and I suspect this market will soon dry up based on the technical limitations of the hardware," Cipolletta told Eurogamer.
Cipolletta also said that while they do have the PSP Go listed on their site, they're not throwing any kind of heavy advertising behind it. The lack of support seems to stem mainly from Sony's decision to do away with the middleman -- retailers. Not just the stores you have to walk to, too, but online retailers as well.
"Sony has decided to cut publishers and retailers for the software of the PSPgo and deal direct with developers, giving them a 70 per cent margin for any items sold on Sony PSN," he said. "I believe if they had lowered that to 50 or 60 per cent, and given the opportunity to online retailers, it would have enjoyed greater success and retailers would attempt to promote the console to the market."
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, however, thinks that these retailer boycotts are just plain ridiculous. Bit weird seeing as how he actually went so far as to say that Sony is ripping people off with the Go at this year's E3. Still, it seems Pachter isn't just defending the Go per se, but the whole idea of digital downloads.
"It's just silly for a retailer to say that they won't sell a big ticket gaming device because they can't sell the games. Consumer electronics stores sell refrigerators and not food, everyone sells iPods and not the music for them; this position is just ridiculous," said Pachter.
"Retailers have to face the fact that games will be increasingly offered over Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, and cope with the outcome. To draw a line in the sand."
Pachter also added that retailers refusing to carry the handheld puts them at risk that "Sony will bypass them for Gran Turismo or Uncharted, in which case they lose."
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Via Eurogamer
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"Consumer electronics stores sell refrigerators and not food, everyone sells iPods and not the music for them; this position is just ridiculous"
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no idea why ShopTo.net is still alive... they cheat so many people, and sometimes use the costumers' credit card info for some of their own business at random times(or whatever)... they have no right to express their oppinion on this when they can't even run a proper shop.
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Y'know store support is pretty important, and SCEE are so bloody useless I'd hate to rely on that bunch of turgid in-bred mutants for my gaming fix through PSN. I don't like monopolies either - in what sane world is Fate Unlimited Code more expensive than Dissidia at retail?
2 weeks to launch and Sony have yet to clarify what their "UMD upgrade" program is, or get any decent titles uploaded to PSN.
This is another launch that has "disaster" written all over it. I love the PSP and all this just makes me rather sad about the whole sorry mess.
Still, October sees Macross Ultimate Frontier released, so I won't be caring one way or another once that hits.
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- The new feature to save the gamestate is also possible to program for all other psp's, nothing new tough.
- Only capeable to download the games is annoying because
you need internet to use the psp go properly
- Downloading the games sucks greatly because the download depends on the speed of your internet
- Its still not clear what happens to once removed games
to exchange it to another game
- To make it solid, they need to prevent software stealing,
something like DRM for the game to use it only on "your" psp.
- So what happens if you need to switch your psp go because of repairs?
- Need to re-download it and brand it to the other psp go?
- Is the download limited to only once?
- What happens if the download fails/broken/damaged?
- Wait days to fix and get a re-download?
- Will the games work on other non psp go's?
- They switch over to M2, so it should be faster?
Sony takes only out the possebility to use Micro SD with adapter!
- The price for M2 is expensive
- The slider is annoying. Bad Quality like the first displays for PSP where you KNOW it will have pixel problems?
- Like you saw in the video, they had to press buttons under the slider to adjust the screens light and speakers
- The analog stick is misplaced, i would go nuts playing like that.
(Take a look where they demonstrate the game and use the analog stick)
It looks strange how he holds the psp go. I bet if someone would slap his shoulder, the psp go would fall down because he cant hold it properly!
- The L and R buttons are under the slider, bad positioned as well
- The display got the same size, smoother pixels - not looking so crispy might counterfire with some games and end in much less quality! (like firsts psp 300X)
- Using non standard usb cable. again some bad sony only product. it would better off with micro usb instead.
- Much or less its still the same psp like we already know.
Only that the announced features make it also a FLOP!
So guys, think about such things before you say WOW - a new PSP.
I bet the guys showing off the psp go in the video where paid to say its soooo good.
They didnt impress me and looked not well amused promoting it in the video.
I felt like, this is a new psp and can this wooooow isnt that great?
Don't forget, sony wants money, they know how to rip it off, if you let them fool you.
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you mention downloading and why that would cause the psp go to fail but you forget that the whole point of the psp go is to be portable. that's why they got rid of the UMD. so actually this would be the main reason people would buy a psp go not something the deters them from purchasing the item.
then you continue and ask some questions which of already been addressed like how many times can you download a game; the answer is infinite and you down load the same game on 5 different psps--the go and older models (we've been able to download psp games on PSN for ages way before the psp go). and games are attached to you psn account. however, you do make a good point about replacing your go and what happens to your games.
and regarding the mem stick, that really isnt too much of an issue unless your a data whore cause honestly 16 gigs is a ton of space and if youre around a computer or a wifi connection, all gots to do is connect your ***** babyboy.
everything else is speculation cause you haven't seen or felt an actually psp go to if it feels comfortable or looks any different from the other psp and what not. and where else they suppose to the L and R buttons?
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--i guess he makes sense sometimes afterall..
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Paying more for less, no thanks SONY!!
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- Fine you can save gamestates with homebrew, nothing new. But it make sesne for the go b/c the game is always going to be on the internal drive. like wh@ an iPod touch and it's games does. IF YOU HIT UP SONY"S FORUMS and TELL THEM TO INCLUDE TH@ FEATURE AS AN UPDATE for UMD PSP's, it would be alot convenient.
- Try telling th@ to ppl who live their lives on the internet around wi-fi sigs everyday lazy to leave their own houses, they don't have a prob wit it. It's made for those ppl's convenience, no one said a PSP GO could work for everyone.
- LOLWUT? u mean connection distance from the router th@ gives off the Wi-Fi signals? Even if th@ doesn't wuk, USE A COMPUTER, IE8 or Firefox, playst@ion(dot) com, download "Media go" and install it into computer, playst@ion store, Connect PSP GO and usb to computer, Download game, transfer 2 PSP. IT'S TH@ SIMPLE!
- ....... I don't even know wh@ da heck dat meant.
- you're right, th@s wh@ they need 2 do.
- BACK IT UP ON UR COMPUTER!!!
- Dats wh@ backing up all ur data is for, so u don't have to.
- And even if you didn't bak em up and have 2 download them all over again, you have a download history th@ never goes away and previous purchased downloads are permanently free under the same account.
- unless u drop ur psp to when it turns off, or interrupt the download, th@ shoudn't happen.
- ummmm, WHAT???
- OF F**KIN COURSE, THEY ARE ALL PSP's and GO wasn't meant to replace previous models. Shows how much you did your homework! LOL.
- You're right about Sony skipping the micro SD nd going to m2. I'll giv u dat.
- Ask someone to get it online for cheap for you or do it urself.
- You have horrendous taste in unique design to not like the sliding screen. EVERY LCD SCREEN WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE PIXEL PROBLEMS, EVEN DEAD PIXELS!
- You'd be stupid to have a problem with that...
- 1: That's true. It would feel akward and uncomfortable, but hey wh@cha gonna do? 2: th@s why ppl should find the sensible use in using a wrist strap. To prevent the PSP from falling.
- Another stupid complaint...
- Another stupid complaint...
- I could understand the reason behind Sony's choice of perripherals on da Go. The proprietary usb port was kind of a bad idea.
- The Go is a revival of the PSP from it's dead years of shortage of Top-Quality games and mostly crap games done with little to no effort and most important of all, Devs fearing piracy of their games.
After reading all you have wasted your precious time typing, it only shows th@ u don't know squat. Either th@ or u are a fanboy. So remember, Do your HOMEWORK B4 U GET SUPEROWN3D!!!
PS. Micro$oft has already taken the title of moneyhungry rip-offs. Sony doesn't come very close to being th@ low.
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games have always been available with the console.
the games keep these places open.
digital distribution will kill these places unless they start adding their own premium on the price of a console
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Its pretty much true that its gonna flop. Do you wanna know why? Its pretty much a given. Not UMD's but it doesnt have a 4.3 inch screen but a smaller screen and truth be told, even Sony could have kept the screen at 4.3 and the PSP GO would still be SMALL and have crispness aswell during gameplay.
250 dollars should have been for previous PSP iterations, if Sony was gonna go this way, which they did with fat PSP but then retailers complained that the 250 dollar price tag is outrageous and there not selling any after awhile.
Oh yes about PSP fat, because it was 250 dollars, after awhile of not selling any, retailers were originally gonna take it off store shelves or else Sony would have to drop the price and what do you know, they brought out PSP SLIM and dropped the price to 200, which made retailers happy because they werent losing money from it.
Its so sad that you guys dont remember the retailers threatening Sony to drop the price on PSP or else they would drop the handheld altogether.
I remember that from 2006.
PSP didnt sell very well because of the 250 dollar price tag and people bought the DS instead. Sony doesnt think very well.
PSP GO at 250 is gonna end up as bad as the fat PSP and retailers will start threatening Sony after awhile, it happened with the fat PSP and it will happen with the 250 price tag.
Retailers said back then that a handheld for 250 dollars costs too much for a costumer and they would rather buy a DS LITE.
PSP GO, funny thing is, its just 5 year old tecnology in a new package with a new name.
By the way, downloadable games on PSP is a great idea but lets just say, the world isnt ready for the PSP to go Digital download only.
It was a stupid move, even if they wanted to compete against Apple, they should have added more to PSP GO!
250 dollars would have done a good deal for PSP GO, IF IT HAD ANYTHING NEW IN IT! Lets see shall we. Most handheld devices have touch screen and OLED screen in them. 250 dollars for a 5 year old handheld in a new design. Hmmmmm. Oh its 5 years old, if you count japan, Japans had PSP out for 5 years ever since december of 2004 or was it October.
John Koller, new world idiot at the helm.
Well have fun with PSP GO but again, after 2-3 months of it being out, it will stop selling like hotcakes because its 5 year old tecnology. Eventually all retailers will complain about the 250 dollar price tag again just like the old PSP.
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And whats with all the downvoting going on? They're releasing a PSP that costs £220. That's kind of ridiculous. An Xbox Pro costs £200! It's only £30 (a game) less than a PS3. It's going to crash and burn here.
I'm going to bookmark this link, and once the sales start showing that its performing badly I'll link back and do a "HA HA" thing. I encourage any others doubting the success of this device to do the same.
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youre dumb
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Best Buy sells iPods. And CDs. And iTunes lets you rip music from CDs into your iPod. And into other devices where protected iTunes music can't go. No loss of business there.
GameStop sells games. They also sell systems, but it's dependent that people come back and buy games. They sell PSP Go, they can't sell the games for it, and they end up losing something in it.
Systems alone don't pay the overhead. It's like buying a car. Many dealers have traditionally taken a loss on selling a new car, and make their profits on the subsequent maintenance and repair costs. The big buy is the hook, the smaller follow-up purchases are the payoff.
It's a dangerous precident, if the trend of buying things online while sitting on your fat @$$ on the couch takes off then good old brick & mortar stores will start to disappear to cut back on overhead. And I don't know about most here, but I prefer to browse my merchandise with my bare hands and eyes. I *hate* online catalogs.
$&@% I hate Michael Pachter. Even when he gets a good idea his followup is completely frigging flawed. Will someone fire and beat him already?
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