Sony: PSPgo's Failure Was a Success

[Phenakist]

This was released? I didn't actually notice. I assumed all this talk for the last few months was just a bad joke... I didn't think Sony were stupid enough to actually release it...

 

[Jared]

Intresting straegy although not sure its one that is profitable...I hope they found out what they needed to know mind you otherwise they might do it again!

Well, suppose it goes and proves it. People like Physical Media!

 

[SavingPrincess]

-IronicSnip-

The hilarious part is that what people "like" about physical media is the used games market so they can pay less for games. What people like about the other PSP's is custom firmware so they can pay less (or nothing) for games.

"We here at Sony have found great success in our theory that people like playing little to nothing for our games. Consumers just aren't ready to pay full price for their gaming libraries."

Well sh*t I could have told you that without the expensive hardware release and industry joke.

It the classic "if we don't talk about it and ignore it, it's not true" stance. The PSP Go was a failure, but not for the reasons they're acknowledging.

The PSP Go was Sony's experiment in a sense of forced DRM, but unlike Steam, the pricing and benefits were awful, so not even the lure of ten free games that people may or may not want could bring customers to the platform.

This ain't rocket science people.

 

[Crimsane]

Haha, the PR guy's motto. "If at first you don't succeed... redefine success."

 

[Morthas]

So going back to the drawing boards and putting an extra analog of some sorts could not be included in this experiment? Yeah that's not what your customers want...right..

 

[Nazrel]

For whatever reason, games bought online shamefully cost the same amount as their physical in-store counterparts.

The majority of the cost of a game comes from R&D. Mass production is a relative pittance.

What about the shop's profit and transport costs? Sony's basically looking to get a bigger slice of the profits through its system, rather than providing a fair service to its customers. Avoiding the store's overheads is THE KEY POINT of digital distribution :/

Relative was the operative term.

Mark up is about $5, don't have the exact figures on shipping, divided by the number of games shipped it probably wouldn't be much.

Not to mention they're not actually making a profit till they pay off that 40 million dollars it cost to make the game in the first place.

 

[Wicky_42]

For whatever reason, games bought online shamefully cost the same amount as their physical in-store counterparts.

The majority of the cost of a game comes from R&D. Mass production is a relative pittance.

What about the shop's profit and transport costs? Sony's basically looking to get a bigger slice of the profits through its system, rather than providing a fair service to its customers. Avoiding the store's overheads is THE KEY POINT of digital distribution :/

Relative was the operative term.

Mark up is about $5, don't have the exact figures on shipping, divided by the number of games shipped it probably wouldn't be much.

Not to mention they're not actually making a profit till they pay off that 40 million dollars it cost to make the game in the first place.

I'm not talking about physical production costs, I'm talking about how much it costs to sell products off a shelf in a store as opposed to files from a server, and how Sony seems to be trying to pocket the difference without letting on just how much cheaper that is (remember, the shop's cut is enough to run the store and make their business profitable - that's hardly a pittance

 

[Woodsey]

Yeah, my arse was that the plan.

Anyway, I think they're reading it wrong to begin with - half the reason people didn't want the thing was because there was no way to play games that they'd already bought a physical copy of.

If all computers are suddenly designed without a disc drive, I'm not going to be impressed when the 50 discs I've got are rendered useless; I love the idea of downloading games, it's easier and I do it most of the time. I still need that disc drive for my older games though.

That and the faults you mentioned in the article are the main reasons the thing didn't sell. Oh, and I've never owned one but why haven't they put 2 analogue sticks on yet? It makes things so awkward.

 

[Rect Pola]

Making lemonade from lemons, are we Sony? You should have known the instant game makers refused to lower the price for digital games this thing was DOOMED. But you did it anyway and are wiser for it. What you've learned remains to be seen, but I'm sure you've learned something.

 

[NamesAreHardToPick]

PSP Go was $50 cheaper than a 16GB iPod Touch when it released and didn't need to be docked to a computer to buy games for it. It was less than a PSP3000 + 16GB memory stick... and unlike Nintendo's sucker customers there's no new game format or features making someone who bought a PSP already *require* an upgrade. It wasn't the deal of the century, but come on.

What was the market reaction? Like everyone was GLENN BECK. WAAAAAAAAAAAAH. WE LOOOOOVE THOSE UMDS! YEAH WE ALL SAID HOW THEY WERE SOOOOO STUPID BACK WHEN THE PSP LAUNCHED DUUUUUUUUUUUH NOW ITS ABOUT FREEDOM! DON'T TREAD ON ME WITH YOUR DRM!

People are gonna hate Sony no matter what they do. That's the lesson.

 

[Nazrel]

For whatever reason, games bought online shamefully cost the same amount as their physical in-store counterparts.

The majority of the cost of a game comes from R&D. Mass production is a relative pittance.

What about the shop's profit and transport costs? Sony's basically looking to get a bigger slice of the profits through its system, rather than providing a fair service to its customers. Avoiding the store's overheads is THE KEY POINT of digital distribution :/

Relative was the operative term.

Mark up is about $5, don't have the exact figures on shipping, divided by the number of games shipped it probably wouldn't be much.

Not to mention they're not actually making a profit till they pay off that 40 million dollars it cost to make the game in the first place.

I'm not talking about physical production costs, I'm talking about how much it costs to sell products off a shelf in a store as opposed to files from a server, and how Sony seems to be trying to pocket the difference without letting on just how much cheaper that is (remember, the shop's cut is enough to run the store and make their business profitable - that's hardly a pittance

I just told you the stores cut, $5. Most of games stores profits are from used games now days where their margins is much higher.

 

[Wicky_42]

For whatever reason, games bought online shamefully cost the same amount as their physical in-store counterparts.

The majority of the cost of a game comes from R&D. Mass production is a relative pittance.

What about the shop's profit and transport costs? Sony's basically looking to get a bigger slice of the profits through its system, rather than providing a fair service to its customers. Avoiding the store's overheads is THE KEY POINT of digital distribution :/

Relative was the operative term.

Mark up is about $5, don't have the exact figures on shipping, divided by the number of games shipped it probably wouldn't be much.

Not to mention they're not actually making a profit till they pay off that 40 million dollars it cost to make the game in the first place.

I'm not talking about physical production costs, I'm talking about how much it costs to sell products off a shelf in a store as opposed to files from a server, and how Sony seems to be trying to pocket the difference without letting on just how much cheaper that is (remember, the shop's cut is enough to run the store and make their business profitable - that's hardly a pittance

I just told you the stores cut, $5. Most of games stores profits are from used games now days where their margins is much higher.

Oh, right - I get you now. Miss-read or something. I seem to find the savings from buying Amazon vs highstreet more like £7 than £3 - maybe they're just more greedy around here?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Actually, no. Their biggest problem was people who think that because there is no box and manual, it should cost less. This is a big steamy pile of bullcrap to anyone (if I may quote Borderlands) with two brain cells to rub together, but so many people seem to think hosting something on the internet for people to download is free. And sadly, Sony can't do anything to combat consumer ignorance. Even this article seems to think that "games should cost less with no box lolololol!"

If it really is the case that direct downloads cost the store just as much as a physical copy does, the one actual benefit I see over a boxed copy goes away -- which makes the failure of the PSPGo an even more obvious result of its release. A lot of people like having the box and the manual; if it's not cheaper to download, and the convenience factor boils down to getting it online within the hour -- instead of online within the week, or in person instantly as it is with physical copies -- then it's no wonder this sort of thing isn't taking off. I know I like looking at my shelf o' games...

(Yes, I know Steam is doing quite well, but isn't that largely due to the frequent sales and the generally low prices?)

 

[poiuppx]

I get the logic, to a certain degree. It wasn't a win-win, it was a win-Plan B. If the GO suceeded, hey, more money. If it bombed, then Plan B is to learn from that bombing. Except... that's kind of BS. They did EVERYTHING under the sun to make it seem more attractive. That's less gathering data and more trying to make sure whichever executive originally pitched this idea didn't end up spending a week in the company dungeon.

 

[poiuppx]

How is Sony still alive.

Seriously.

Um... they're called the PS3 and the normal PSP. Oh, and all those other electronics and stuff the rest of the company produces. I hear they may also own a music label or something, but that's probably just rumor.

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

Now they are put in a position where they KNOW people don't want all digital, but might still go that path, much like the iPhone. People don't complain about not having physical media for their iPods, why do they care, almost 10 years later, that their PSP doesn't have a disc? People are weird.

If I may, I believe the reasons are threefold:

First, iPod games and such are significantly cheaper than console games, handheld or otherwise. This generally means people have lower expectations and are more likely to make impulse buys without much fear of regret.

Second, there's no real physical alternative for iPod content, but there is/was for the PSP. From my experience, people will feel more let down if they are granted something that's then taken away than if they never had that something as an option to begin with.

And Third, a lot of people like to be able to have some artifact of their purchase if it's going to be something they'll remember fondly later on. iPod stuff seems to commonly be focused around brief boredom breaking rather than longer-term appeal.

I personally like digital distribution, but only when I've either got no alternative or it's much cheaper. If I had to choose between digital and physical and there was no major price difference or major inconvenience, I'd almost certainly take the physical.

I completley agree with you. I much prefer having disc in hand, but with the way things going, and have been, all or mostly digital looks like how it is going to be. Steam has already softened people up to making major game purchases completely digital. Plus XBL and PSN have had full games available for awhile now. If a new PSP or DS is all digital, I think it would off set some, but a lot of people would just take it in stride: "You mean I can carry 15 full games ON my system anywhere?" I really like both ways personally.

 

[Nohra]

How is Sony still alive.

Seriously.

Um... they're called the PS3 and the normal PSP. Oh, and all those other electronics and stuff the rest of the company produces. I hear they may also own a music label or something, but that's probably just rumor.

T'is a joke. ;P

Really though, the company keeps making some very foolish choices. It's rather amusing watching them fumble sometimes - they could have learned plenty about the PSPgo by using more focus groups instead of mass producing them and putting them on shelves.

 

[Danpascooch]

Leave it to Sony to tell you failure was their goal.

I knew Sony was a pretentious group that never shouldered any fault (ever since they blamed the poor sales figures of the PS3 on "society in general" (load of shit, the point is to CATER TO CONSUMERS not the other way around idiots)) but I never expected them to come right out and say "failure is success"

What a load of shit.

Well I will wait for them to say this again when they file for bankruptcy. If they continue this idiotic attitude.

God, you're an idiot, don't you see? Sony WANTS to file bankruptcy, it's all part of their "plan"

I thought that was obvious

PLAN:

1.) Fail with a Digital-Only portable gaming device
2.) File Bankruptcy
3.) ???
4.) Prostitution?
5.) ???
6.) PROFIT!

(BTW in case somebody really dense reports me, the "idiot" thing was a joke)