Tag: PSP

Longtime reader, contributor, and friend of CG, wco81, posted a link to this article which points out PSPgo flaws compared to Apple’s iPhone/iTouch platforms. You guessed right, price point of games is a central issue.

Sony says serious gamers will always prefer pushbutton controls to a touchscreen. I think they’re right. I played the sword-and-sorcery game Hero of Sparta on an iPhone and on the PSP Go, and it was no contest. Whether running from enemies or slaying them, it was easier and more fun on the PSP. But the PSP version cost me $6.99. The iPhone game is priced at $1.99. PSP games often cost more. The iPhone version of Madden NFL 10 costs $9.99, but the PSP version is $39.99. A Sony official said that the PSP version has a lot more features; I’ll take his word for it. Still, few consumers will long tolerate such a price gap.

I mostly agree with the overall point of the article, gaming is more fun with buttons, but Sony is screwing itself in a big way by pushing proprietary memory sticks and pricing points that a multiple times more expensive than games on Apple’s portable gaming platform.

There will always be something said for Nintendo and its Mario experience, but why not look towards what EA and others can do on the iTouch? I just do not see how some of the more “serious” games (sports, rpg, platformers) can work on the iTouch, but I also do not see Sony’s higher prices being sustainable for long.

Another problem for Sony is that the negative news just keeps rolling in; stories like this one from the Australian edition of PC World are a dime a dozen.

In a span of four years Sony squandered its position as console leader and is quickly make a run at making its PSP platform (Go or regular) an also ran in the probably gaming market. While I believe Sony can recapture console market share and its leadership position, I am not so sure about the future of the PSP. While I have been an adamant supporter of the PSP, I have grown weary of the lack of direction and the price point of the games.

OK, you have to admit that this is sort of, kind of, almost funny.

It would appear that no one, not even Sony has anything nice to say about the new PSPgo. GamerTell thinks they know why Sony is so silent on the PSPgo – because it is doing terrible.

The PSPgo debuted October 1, 2009. It’s been out for nearly two weeks and Sony has yet to start gloating about the system’s sales. There were no first two- or three-day sales figures reported. Sony hasn’t even released first-week sales figures. This leaves consumers to wonder whether or not the PSPgo is really doing all that well.

Let’s be honest, other than writing about the excitement of the forthcoming system, and the anticipation of getting something new, I have not really had a whole lot of kind words for the PSPgo. I doubt that will change until I get one. Like I said, I am being honest. The price point completely sucks.

Is the PSPgo already in trouble? In the UK that could very well be the case. According to Worth Playing, the new Sony handheld has already received a price cut.

Barely three days after its launch, the PSPgo has already received a £25 price cut at major retailers such as Amazon.co.uk, Game.com, HMV.com and Play.com.

Assuming this news is correct, that PSPgo must be a total flop in the UK. A price cut at this point is not only unprecedented, but it also shows that the unit was overpriced simply to help retails gain some margins with the absence of physical games to sell for the PSPgo.

Then we have this bit from PSPWorld …

So far we have only anecdotal evidence to go by as we wait for more detailed hardware sales numbers at the end of the month. But among those retailers that have agreed to stock the PSP Go, sales do not appear to have been brisk after those customers who pre-ordered picked up their machines. Without a launch party to speak of or a much needed UMD transfer program, the device does not seem to have strong backing from Sony in North America. One retail store manager writes that ‘so far this thing has been a colossal failure. Since launch we sold one (1) PSPgo. That’s three days of sales and only one unit sold. We sold 20 DSi’s the day it launched, for comparison.’ Other accounts from stores around the United states have been similar.

American chart tracking publication VGChartz estimates that the PSP Go would around 30,000 units during its first week on sale in the United States. These are decent figures, but certainly nothing to get excited about when compared with the Nintendo DSi or the recent success of the PS3 Slim.

If these numbers hold up, it will be a huge blackeye for Sony. Not only was the price point not acceptable, but Sony screwed the pooch by not offering a UMD trade in or transfer program. Throw in the fact that PSPgo does not even offer longer battery life and you have no reason for current PSP owners to “upgrade” to the PSPgo.

Looks like a major flop is looming for Sony. Of course there is probably some 10-year program, but I digress.

As we are on the eve of the North American launch of the PSPgo, I question how well this “upgraded” system well sell. As is often the case with game reviews, the negative aspects seem to garner a louder voice than the favorable reviews.

In the case of the PSPgo, as I looked on N4G last night and this morning, the negative sentiment seems to be mounting. For example,

• Sony fans reject PSP go price
• Devil’s Advocate – PSP Go: Why Sony are missing the mark

It is apparent that much like the PS3, Sony believes that the PSPgo can be priced at a “premium” however, unlike the PS3, which at least offered Blu-ray and backwards compatibility across the entire PSX and PS2 library of games, the PSP has no such premium factors. The PSPgo does not even offered improved battery life, which to me seems to be a travesty.

It looks like there is fixing [how about that Southernism?] to be an onslaught of Minis titles for the PSP, mostly in the name of the about to be released PSPgo. I wonder how much these will cost and how well they will sell? If they sell like hotcakes it completely kills my theory about the PSP being a gamer’s platform. All of these seem more appropriate for something like the iTouch platform.

I just read this bit from TheSixthAxis:

Got a bunch of UMD-based PSP games in the bottom of your cupboard? Planning to upgrade your current PSP for one of the new-fangled PSPgos? Then you are going to be disappointed. You will not be able to transfer your games from your UMDs to your ‘go as Sony had suggested you would at E3.

An SCEA spokesman has told Kotaku, “We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time”.

So there you have it. One less reason to upgrade from your still-going-strong PSP-1/2/3000. Of course this news has less impact on those new to the PSP platform who will be picking up a ‘go when they are released next month.

That pretty much seals the deal for me. I was strongly leaning towards not upgrading on release day, but now that I know there will not be a UMD trade-in/conversion incentive, I am going to hold off. Yes, my PSP-1000 is as heavy as a brick, but it would be a financial sink if I attempted to dump the PSP and UMDs on eBay in order to upgrade to the PSP and then re-purchase some of my library at full retail price in digital format. What a travesty.

For now I have made a decision to hold off on the PSPgo. I have been agonizing over this decision for a while. It came down to two simple points.

Size may matter; so does endurance
My PSP-1001 works fine, and while I would like an upgraded slimed down sexy goddess of portable goodness, there are no overriding advantages of switching to a PSPgo. If the battery life was improved, I think I would make the switch.

Double Jeopardy
Sony has not announced a UMD trade-in or upgrade program. If Sony had a clear strategy for UMD owners to switch to digital content, I would be much more willing to move forward. As it stands now, why would I want to pay full price or darn near close just to play the digital content on the PSPgo?

Waiting Game
I am not in a rush to pick up a PSPgo, but I would like one at some point. For now I will continue to take a wait and see approach. At a minimum I need to take stock of my current UMD library and see which games are keepers, and which ones can be moved. One of the problems with PSP games is that they hold little to no value on eBay, which makes the switch to digital content down the road all the more painful (i.e. expensive). This fact alone makes me feel more comfortable with switching to digital distributions down the road. I am a hoarder (i.e. building a game collection), but I also tend to make liberal use of eBay to move older, unwanted games. For all intents and purposes, the PSPgo brings that practice to a screeching halt, which makes it all the more disappointing that Sony has not announced some sort of pricing incentive for digital over UMD.

Notice that I did not list the $250 price point as an issue. To me that is not the problem; it is the price of going digital that is keeping me from clicking on the shopping chart. A price drop to $200 or a more aggressive bundle is not going to convince me to switch to the PSPgo.

I should have been a girl; I will probably change my mind later today.

I think it is almost time to make a decision on the PSPgo. I know I have said that several times before, and the fact that I still have not preordered one probably gets to the heart of the matter. I was reading IGN’s PSPgo Guide earlier this morning and the opening paragraph jumped out at me straight away.

It’s worth noting that the PSPgo is not intended to outright replace the current PSP-3000, but will instead be marketed as the “premium” version of the PSP.

I think that is one of the problems I have with an “upgrade.” Sure, I could spend $250, but I doubt I would get much on eBay for my original PSP. I would also have to dump my 10 or so games on eBay, which would come nowhere near enough to match the cost of “upgrading” to digital replacements. Not to mention the fact that some of the games I would want to purchase may not even be available in digital format.

The nail in the coffin may be that there is no “cost of recovery” path available for digital downloads. In other words, no eBay selling for unwanted games. Of course that music to Sony’s (and their third party publishers) ears.

I am still talking myself out of it …

So there you go; no real discounts for PSP Go early adapters. I missed this while on vacation, but just found the reference (via the PlayStation blog … bet they did not intend me to trash it in this way).

Sony will release a standard PlayStation Portable bundle on October 20 which will include a disc copy of Gran Turismo, the company announced.

The $199.99 package features a Mystic Silver PSP, the game, a downloadable movie voucher, 2GB memory stick and a voucher for 10 songs from Sony Music Pass.

Consumers can also purchase a standalone version of Gran Turismo on disc or through download on the PlayStation Network for $39.99. That version will release October 1, along with the revamped PSP go handheld.

I get it, but I do not really get it. I see this trend – no discount for digital only owners. I really thought Sony would see the light and offer some sort of discount for going digital, but that would be too much to ask.