Sony: PSP Go Costs More Because of a "Premium"

[Eldritch Warlord]

Can't help to think that Sony are bad at marketing their products.

Hearken unto this startling insight from Captain Obvious!

(just a joke, no ill intent)

*sigh*

God dammit Sony. You don't tell people that you made it cost more because you wanted it to. You tell them a whole bunch of lies about how you have to recoup expenses, like with the 360 Elite. You need to pay some fucking attention.

At least say: "It's smaller and has more stuff in it, miniaturization isn't free people!"

 

[Jumplion]

I would never buy one of these things. Aside from the price, the digital distribution idea is ridiculous. I'm in the military on my way to Iraq. PLEASE tell me how the hell I'm supposed to get games while I'm over there if it's a matter of digital distribution? Last time, if our internet WORKED, I was lucky to be able to download a 10MB file in an hour. That of course is assuming the download didn't get cut off midway through.

GG Sony, now why don't you just go ahead and leave the market, eh?

....how would you get games in general? You're going to Iraq and yet you're worried about Internet? Please tell me, how would you carry the UMD games around, let alone get those games in Iraq? It's a wonder why we're doing so poorly there!

And I find it really funny how people cream at the pants for Digital Distribution stores like STEAM or the Market Place or WiiWare and say "it's the way of the FuTuRe!@#", and yet Sony doing this is "stupid" and a "waste of time!" In fact, aside from the iPhone, which is debatably a gaming platform, the DSi hardly has anything to do with online and the PSP is the only handheld that works with a store and able to download the games itself off of it.

 

[HyenaThePirate]

I would never buy one of these things. Aside from the price, the digital distribution idea is ridiculous. I'm in the military on my way to Iraq. PLEASE tell me how the hell I'm supposed to get games while I'm over there if it's a matter of digital distribution? Last time, if our internet WORKED, I was lucky to be able to download a 10MB file in an hour. That of course is assuming the download didn't get cut off midway through.

GG Sony, now why don't you just go ahead and leave the market, eh?

....how would you get games in general? You're going to Iraq and yet you're worried about Internet? Please tell me, how would you carry the UMD games around, let alone get those games in Iraq? It's a wonder why we're doing so poorly there!

And I find it really funny how people cream at the pants for Digital Distribution stores like STEAM or the Market Place or WiiWare and say "it's the way of the FuTuRe!@#", and yet Sony doing this is "stupid" and a "waste of time!" In fact, aside from the iPhone, which is debatably a gaming platform, the DSi hardly has anything to do with online and the PSP is the only handheld that works with a store and able to download the games itself off of it.

full of win.

 

[Jumplion]

full of win.

And so is this;

[b][i]I'm not Fat, I'm Premium Sized...
Screw you guys, I'm going home.[/i][/b][/QUOTE]

Do you have a DStan?

 

[Pendragon9]

I would never buy one of these things. Aside from the price, the digital distribution idea is ridiculous. I'm in the military on my way to Iraq. PLEASE tell me how the hell I'm supposed to get games while I'm over there if it's a matter of digital distribution? Last time, if our internet WORKED, I was lucky to be able to download a 10MB file in an hour. That of course is assuming the download didn't get cut off midway through.

GG Sony, now why don't you just go ahead and leave the market, eh?

....how would you get games in general? You're going to Iraq and yet you're worried about Internet? Please tell me, how would you carry the UMD games around, let alone get those games in Iraq? It's a wonder why we're doing so poorly there!

And I find it really funny how people cream at the pants for Digital Distribution stores like STEAM or the Market Place or WiiWare and say "it's the way of the FuTuRe!@#", and yet Sony doing this is "stupid" and a "waste of time!" In fact, aside from the iPhone, which is debatably a gaming platform, the DSi hardly has anything to do with online and the PSP is the only handheld that works with a store and able to download the games itself off of it.

You sir, make many excellent points. You can trade them in for a free internet.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Can't help to think that Sony are bad at marketing their products.

Hearken unto this startling insight from Captain Obvious!

(just a joke, no ill intent)

*Gasp* My arch-nemesis, doctor Troll!!!!!!!!!! *dramatic music*

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

I think the thing most people fail to realize about Sony is that they are in business to make money not happy customers (although happy customers = more money in the long run).

This current generation of Sony products is aimed at one thing - making Bluray the dominant media format. The PS3 was nothing more than a trojan horse to get Bluray into more households, this is proven by the dismal games library and general disregard for gamers. The PSP started out as a trojan horse for UMD, when it became clear that UMD could not beat DVD Sony backpedaled and changed the PSP from a "handheld gaming device/media player" to an expensive PS3 accessory. Removing the UMD drive was the next logical step in pushing Bluray, it's not a coincidence that many Bluray movies come with a digital copy that will no doubt be playable on the PSP GO.

The silver lining if you can consider it so, is that Sony has won thier Pyrrhic victory over HD-DVD and can now finally get around to focusing on the PS3 as a gaming console. The PS3 and PSP GO can definately benefit from this change. But will it come soon enough? Nintendo is still the undisputed king of handheld and with the Wii they are beating Sony at the console market as well. Microsoft has maintained a strong focus on games and has actually beaten Sony to expanding into the casual gaming, movie on demand and online distribution sectors of the market. If Sony doesn't regain some kind of focus in a hurry they will be too far behind to ever catch up.

By the Matrix, probably the best contribution I've heard all day, and puts the PS3 in a light I didn't think about. In fact your post ranks up there with another favourite of mine:

Generally speaking I keep wondering how Sony manages to stay such a massive and successful company. 99% of the time they come accross like drooling retards.

But then again the scary thing is that I've run into a lot of Japanese/Asian racism towards whites over the years, and they generally seem to see "Caucasians" as some kind of race of inferior morons who have simply managed to stumble into wealth and prominance due to dumb luck and are cluelessly asking to be milked dry. I see this attitude among Asian gamers towards American/European ones as well, and as I've mentioned before from some translated periodicals and such I've seen over the years it seems that keeping something "JApanese Only" rather than selling it to the "Child races" can be a selling point. Not only that but pure profit isn't always the motivating factor in some desicians like this, and racism can play a decent role (ie Japanese empowerment before money).

At any rate, a lot of what is being said over the years seems to be based on the idea of American stupidity. We'll pay a huge price for a PSP-GO which will run entirely on digital downloads and microtransactions (which already annoy people) simply because it's new and they say there is a "premium" involved.

It's right up there with the stupid comments when the PS-3 first came out and Sony was asked how anyone was supposed to afford one and the attitude was basically "Work more hours". Ohhhhkaaaaay.

Over the last few years I can't help but wonder how this company has won the video format war, never mind remaining an industry standard... or heck, why haven't they self destructed?

Right now the PSP is a cool idea, I like the graphics quality and such. But the problem is limited support, and issues like loading times and such. My DS is smaller, and while not as powerful simply works better for what it's intended to do.

The PSP-Go seems to be designed to make the whole idea of a portable gaming system more expensive and annoying. Maybe I'm missing something but given their relative position compared to Nintendo on the portable market already this seems like a lemming-like suicide rush.

>>>----Therumancer--->

I never banked on the idea of 'American Stupidity' but I will extend that to 'Western Stupidity' considering the even higher price tag in Europe for the console. But at the end of the day, are they not correct? They have basically implied that 'you are so stupid that we are going to tell you it's much more expensive than it should be, and you are still going to buy it'.

I also ask if there is any external memory that can be added? Because I understand that 19 or so games is a lot for a portable console, but if these download stations are actually going to be about, and people are going to upload their games to their Go! and someone runs out of space, will they have to delete their games forever, or will they have some kind of memory function that remembers you've bought the game, like Steam? If it's the former, then I have nothing left to say.

I don't get it, Sony. I don't even want one of these things. If it was a phone as well I might be interested. Would ANYBODY want one of these over a 16GB iPhone? I could run Sony better than the jerk-offs who seem to be in charge. They don't make a single gadget any more I want. That's a good trick guys

Welcome to the Escapist, enjoy yourself here.

And I'm going to have to say that at the end of the day, people need to understand that not only is this not for you if you don't own a PSP already, but while the Go! is hideously overpriced, it's pointless trying to defend such a thing.

And the price isn't the point, the point is when Sony are basically telling people 'it's expensive because we said so'. It's not a case of it being expensive because they want it to be, it's the fact that they have the gall to tell us that. Regardless of opinion, everyone can see that's bad PR, and bad for business.

 

[SirCannonFodder]

So Sony acts honestly instead of coming up with some bullshit reason for why they're doing the exact same thing every single other electronics company does, and you're all *angry*? They may have said it in a rather arrogant way, but at least they're being slightly more straight with us than most other companies. The world could do with a lot more of this sort of frankness.

 

[Pendragon9]

So Sony acts honestly instead of coming up with some bullshit reason for why they're doing the exact same thing every single other electronics company does, and you're all *angry*? They may have said it in a rather arrogant way, but at least they're being slightly more straight with us than most other companies. The world could do with a lot more of this sort of frankness.

These words do speak truth, but you forget people get a sick pleasure off of hating Sony. Every thing the company does is an unforgivable sin to these people, and they never wish to change because they refuse to admit that sometimes they're wrong.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

People buy shiny new things. Cost doesn't factor in for these people. SONY knows that americans,asians,europeans will all buy their new shiny thing. So why should they lower the price if they know that people will buy their shiny new thing?

You're referring to the "innovators' and 'early adopters', ok. These people usually have more cash than the early, late majority and laggards, BUT they tend to also look up info. Sony is being their retard self again by simply stating this. I'm sticking to my trusty ol' PSP-2000. Hacked. (I DO buy games though. After demo'ing them with a dl'ed version)

It's reversed?
From personal experience I saw the reverse, the late majority and the laggards tending to look up info prior to buying versus the early crowd that just buys the next shiny thing. thanks bud! Now I got new info on the early crowd.

 

[deathstrikesquirrel]

You see, Sony has figured out that people are idiots who will buy the more expensive shiny thing if they think it raises their social status.

 

[bjj hero]

People should stop pissing and whining about the price.

If you have ever bought a pair of Nike/Addidas/DC/Vans/McBeth/Converse trainers. You have payed well over the cost of production for the brand.

The same if you have ever bought Vasace/Volcom/Atticus/Burbury/etc clothing. You payed about 10 times more than you would have if you had bought a comparable item in primark/walmart/Asda.

You are paying for the brand, paying over the odds for purely aesthetic/status reasons.

Its the same with the new PSP. Its new, its shiney, its got a SONY sign on it. Either buy it or don't

I personally wont be paying that much for something I'd only ever use when taking a shit.

 

[irrelevantnugget]

People buy shiny new things. Cost doesn't factor in for these people. SONY knows that americans,asians,europeans will all buy their new shiny thing. So why should they lower the price if they know that people will buy their shiny new thing?

You're referring to the "innovators' and 'early adopters', ok. These people usually have more cash than the early, late majority and laggards, BUT they tend to also look up info. Sony is being their retard self again by simply stating this. I'm sticking to my trusty ol' PSP-2000. Hacked. (I DO buy games though. After demo'ing them with a dl'ed version)

It's reversed?
From personal experience I saw the reverse, the late majority and the laggards tending to look up info prior to buying versus the early crowd that just buys the next shiny thing. thanks bud! Now I got new info on the early crowd.

Actually... that would make more sense, but I'm thinking it depends more on whether it's so-called high or low involvement media. But at any rate, the info that is out right now, doesn't really reflect all that good on Sony.
Late majority and laggards will have a bigger pool of info to look into before they purchase, but the innovators and early majority their behaviour are usually based on brand awareness and preference, and again, since Sony hasn't really been all that, err... courteous towards the consumer, I'm thinking (and actually hoping) it'll backfire on them big time.

 

[Vash108]

I think it's kind of funny. People are shouting for PS3 price drop and Sony knows it, and they come out with a new PSP which is even more expensive. It makes me wonder how much Sony even listens to their customers.

not a lot, were still waiting for voice chat outside games.

I am with you there.

 

[CyberAkuma]

If SONY sold the PSP Go for the same price as the old PSP 3000, then the PSP3000 would drop in price immensly, which isn't what SONY wants. So, naturally they overprice the PSP Go with 80-or-something-bucks so that the old PSP3000 has the same price as before.

It's called phasing out an old product and it happends regulary everyday ith clothes, electronics, computer hardware, etc.
You don't want your stuff that was concidered Hi-End, brand new and fresh a couple of months ago to drop from the shelf and sell it all out for ridiculously cheap prices. NO, of course not.
SONY doesn't want peple to buy PSP3000 for less than $100, Apple doesn't want people to experience the iPhone experience for less than $100, so this is the normal way things go.

Dealing with phased out old products is a very important market dynamic and handling things like SONY is doing is really not unsual in any form or way. They always find ways (even if ludicrous and completely ridiculous) of explaing to people how come the new product is so much superior to the old one and hence justify the price.

No big surprise there.

Sony really needs to drop the elitist mentality. That is reserved for Apple only.

 

[murphy7801]

sonys short on cash this looks like a quick recovery method

 

[antibonk]

I think I will keep my PSP 2000. I have no need for a PSP Go, when my current psp works just fine, and has custom firmware loaded.

 

[Raurik]

What about the 16-gig flash drive ? You know, the one the standard PSP doesn't have?

Memory's cheaper than a UMD drive, fewer parts.

To add to Commander Breetai's point though, they also added bluetooth and a built in microphone. Not to mention the new design cost some R&D.

 

[Raurik]

They're really not asking for that much more than the DSi considering they're offering a competent internet browser, bluetooth tethering, the ability to play movies, music,photos, and games. I'm not trying to be the PSFanboy on this, but I've gotten bored with my DSi and so I've spent some time debating with myself if the PSP GO's price was worth it. The final straw was free GT and a new MGS, but that's not really the point at the moment...

Early buyers will get a free copy of Gran Turismo. Take that $40 out and it cuts the psp's price difference in half. Hell, it cuts the difference between a DSi and a PSP GO in half. If you compare the PSP GO with the iPod touch 16 gig, the PSP is cheaper. FTR, I will not compare the psp with a 1st generation ipod touch as the psp go is a new system so compare likes yada yada..
They both play music, video, games, have online store, support skype, fun fun.

I have an iPod touch 32 gig. (goodbye month's worth of salary)
I can promise you that you pretty much have Taito, Gameloft, Firemint, and Capcom to thank for the only games worth owning right now. Big developers are getting more and more into it than they used to be but it will probably be another generation of the ipod before we see regular support from big names. The psp, however, has square enix releasing a new Kingdom Hearts and Dyssidia, there is Kojima productions working on their third title for the console, little big planet is about to be downsized, already mentioned GT, Rockband is being bundled with Best Buy PSP GO, etc, etc. Big names are used to the PSP because it has been widely received as a gaming console. Not the Multi-format Entertainment Device (MED) that it is. So when it gets stacked against something like the DS it gets hit for being too expensive when I look at it and say, "No. The DS is the one overcharging for their product."