Sony: Why we Nixed the UMD Transfer System

[RatRace123]

Uh, no, wrong. There most certainly is a market for UMD transfer, and I can safely say that the Vita's lack of one is the hugest factor on my unwillingness to buy one.

Though personally I don't see why we should need a transfer system at all, just make the Vita able to play UMDs and people will be happy.

It can't be that hard, Nintendo's been doing backwards compatibility for its handhelds since the Game Boy Color. But then again, Sony also didn't have backwards compatibility for the PS3 so maybe they just think they're too good for it.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Since I can't find price comparisons for the transfer cost compared to the cost of PSP games in both Japan and outside of Japan, I can't say for certain whether Sony is trying to actually give us a good deal or not.

From what I'm getting, though, this is a really, really, REALLY halfassed way to bullshit their way through a policy everyone hates. Either Sony has a lot of disorganized idiots in control of the PSP department, or Nintendo's planted secret agents in said department to purposely make it fail.

 

[Baresark]

I think their business model is uniquely bad in this sense. While their will certainly be more demand for it in Japan, you should also be working really hard at making it worthwhile for your US customers to switch or justify your ludicrous price tag. You don't offer a service like this just for the good will of current customers, you offer it for the good will of all future customers as well.

It's funny with Sony. They are willing to lose money on hardware for years, but they aren't willing to lose money on customer care. So, in this respect, Sony is fail.

 

[Something Amyss]

Or we could simply not buy the product at all.

Which leads to this:

Like I said before: If the Vita fails in America...

it won't be the Smart phone that killed it.
It will be Sony itself.

Yup. Justify it however you want, but excluding the last, best hope for your system selling from nice deals is just going to hurt you.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Can I finish Sony's idea: there's less money in allowing a transfer system than in reselling vita versions of popular games and encouraging people to pay full digital price for the games they own physically.

For those wondering why we just don't keep our PSPs, we are, but we're thinking long term. They won't be available forever, just like finding fully working atari 2600s or Saturns isn't all that easy. I'm not the largest supporter of digital distribution, but I thought at least we'd never face our game collection being tied to limitedly available hardware again. Sadly, Sony seems to be going the way of keeping the cruth of rereleases and neutering technology for short term gains.

Time was this kind of thing would be a loss leader and form of generating customer goodwill. Instead we get the usual cash grab. Sony, this doesn't encourage me to jump on the vita bandwagon, and encourages me to, when do get it, buy it USED.

 

[Quiotu]

WHY CANT PEOPLE JUST KEEP THEIR PSP?!
You can fit it an a drawer!
people are whining like Autistic kids like always.

Because the value in a system like this is it's portability. Leaving it in a drawer doesn't help when I won't be home when I want to play it, and carrying around two systems so that I can play my old games as well as my new is a very stupid idea.

I doubt there's a lot of people with your attitude. See I was a little pissed when Sony did away with BC on the PS3, until I remembered that there's a PS2 right next to it on my entertainment center. It's a little more space, but Sony decided that since everyone and their mom already owned a PS2, playing those games on another system was redundant and unnecessary. And you know... they were right.

This decision is the exact opposite. The PSP pretty much only sold really well in Japan, and the transfer program would only help people who were early adapters. Besides, aside from the handful of games you still can't get digitally, if you bought all your games on UMD... you're an idiot. A failed media format, a slower play experience, and something everyone knew Sony was going to drop. If you got the games on UMD so you can trade them in... TRADE THEM IN.

I won't be getting everything on my Vita from the beginning, but it's obvious that digital PSP games will plummet in price in a few months time. Trust me, I'm waiting patiently for Atlus to finally get a clue and lower their game prices, and I'll be snatching up several of their titles when it happens. You can hate Sony for not helping the minority, but you're still the minority, and Sony can't please everyone.

 

[Michael Connell]

Thanks, Sony for saving me 300 bucks

 

[Quiotu]

BTW, I still think this is Sony spinning the information on behalf of their publishers. If you look at the transfer program, about 1/3 of PSP's titles were transferable at all. I doubt there was a single large publisher that agreed to let their games be part of it. What Sony's saying is partially true from a business perspective, but in reality the program was a failure from the beginning because no other publisher played along.

Now, Sony can't just throw their publishers under the bus; that's probably the quickest way to lose all support for the Vita. So here's Sony basically trying to explain the circumstances that doesn't alienate either the fanbase or the publishers. Sony can't point the finger at the publishers, sites like this can't because there's no physical proof... but the writing on the wall is there.

It's why I still can't hate Sony for this. Sony supported the plan, but no one else did... especially the publishers. Sony's just playing cleanup now, trying to sweep it under the rug and hope it's forgotten in time.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Like I said before: If the Vita fails in America...

it won't be the Smart phone that killed it.
It will be Sony itself.

off to a fine start aren't they, if i wanted one before (hint: didn't) this would defiantly killed any interest.

said it before, and I'll say it again.

I.WILL.NOT.BUY.A.GAME.I.ALREADY.OWN.AGAIN.JUST.BECAUSE.YOU.THINK.YOU.NEED.MORE.MONEY

and that's really all i have to say about that

Dont you already have your psp?
why cant you keep it?

its not just about the Vita, its about the PS3 as well, since they're doing the same thing there as well with the PS2 games. can't plug the disk in, but you can download them.

so yeah, sony can go to hell now
(and this is from some one that used to love the PlayStation)

 

[Lunar Templar]

ACK!!! lag induced double post

 

[Meight08]

Like I said before: If the Vita fails in America...

it won't be the Smart phone that killed it.
It will be Sony itself.

off to a fine start aren't they, if i wanted one before (hint: didn't) this would defiantly killed any interest.

said it before, and I'll say it again.

I.WILL.NOT.BUY.A.GAME.I.ALREADY.OWN.AGAIN.JUST.BECAUSE.YOU.THINK.YOU.NEED.MORE.MONEY

and that's really all i have to say about that

Dont you already have your psp?
why cant you keep it?

its not just about the Vita, its about the PS3 as well, since they're doing the same thing there as well with the PS2 games. can't plug the disk in, but you can download them.

so yeah, sony can go to hell now
(and this is from some one that used to love the PlayStation)

BUT YOU STILL GOT A PLAYSTATION 2 HOW LAZY ARE YOU?!
Im serious what is bad with having to keep your ps2 on your shelve?!

 

[DTWolfwood]

its ok to keep using your PSP peeps. Nothing says you need to buy a PSV. lol

I once owned a PSP. I bought all of 2 games for it. And due to lack of use for it, I gave it away to my sister. SO going into the new system launch i have no baggage of left over UMD games.

Assuming of course i actually give a damn about portable gaming. I drive to work, and using a PSV or 3DS while at work is shunned upon to say the least. So the only time i would use a Portable is when im sitting on the Ivory throne. (now if they made the PSV waterproof, Then it would be a must buy. Nothing like watching a movie/gaming while in the bath!)

 

[MysticToast]

I love how as soon as there's a story about anything Sony does, the users here are so quick to jump in and proclaim how evil Sony is. I'd be willing to bet if Nintendo or Microsoft did something similar, no one would bat an eye.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Like I said before: If the Vita fails in America...

it won't be the Smart phone that killed it.
It will be Sony itself.

off to a fine start aren't they, if i wanted one before (hint: didn't) this would defiantly killed any interest.

said it before, and I'll say it again.

I.WILL.NOT.BUY.A.GAME.I.ALREADY.OWN.AGAIN.JUST.BECAUSE.YOU.THINK.YOU.NEED.MORE.MONEY

and that's really all i have to say about that

Dont you already have your psp?
why cant you keep it?

its not just about the Vita, its about the PS3 as well, since they're doing the same thing there as well with the PS2 games. can't plug the disk in, but you can download them.

so yeah, sony can go to hell now
(and this is from some one that used to love the PlayStation)

BUT YOU STILL GOT A PLAYSTATION 2 HOW LAZY ARE YOU?!
Im serious what is bad with having to keep your ps2 on your shelve?!

of course i still have it, after the bullshit of not making the PS3 reverse compatible what choice did i have. hell, the PS2 is the only console i have now (need to update that bit), its where all my GOOD games are -.-. but that's not the point, they're ripping people off by making them buy games they already own, sure I still have my old systems, so this won't actually effect me doesn't mean it doesn't piss me off, and it dose effect weather or not I'll get another, Sony system

 

[Sewer Rat]

WHY CANT PEOPLE JUST KEEP THEIR PSP?!
You can fit it an a drawer!
people are whining like Autistic kids like always.

And... Reported!
Some people would need the extra cash from trading in their old PSP to be able to justify buying a Vita, it is a very legitimate complaint. So before you decide to inappropriately describe us all as "autistic kids", try to think about why someone might be upset a little bit rather than not at all.

EDIT:
For those of you saying that this is like NES owners complaining that SNES couldn't play their games. It is not the backwards compatibility that is the problem, it is the denial of service. The service exists, but it is being denied to certain customers in favor of corporate ease. This is bad customer service and adding another shovel of dirt to a console that is already in trouble sales-wise.

 

[Quiotu]

WHY CANT PEOPLE JUST KEEP THEIR PSP?!
You can fit it an a drawer!
people are whining like Autistic kids like always.

And... Reported!
Some people would need the extra cash from trading in their old PSP to be able to justify buying a Vita, it is a very legitimate complaint. So before you decide to inappropriately describe us all as "autistic kids", try to think about why someone might be upset a little bit rather than not at all.

EDIT:
For those of you saying that this is like NES owners complaining that SNES couldn't play their games. It is not the backwards compatibility that is the problem, it is the denial of service. The service exists, but it is being denied to certain customers in favor of corporate ease. This is bad customer service and adding another shovel of dirt to a console that is already in trouble sales-wise.

So I'm curious... what do you think would be worse service: getting rid of a broken service, or selling it as a service to US and Europe only to let people learn only 1 of their 4 or 5 UMDs are even on the transferable list? The service is BROKEN... would spending $10 to transfer one of your handful of PSP games be enough to change your mind, if the rest weren't allowed? You're awfully frugal if it does.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Like I said before: If the Vita fails in America...

it won't be the Smart phone that killed it.
It will be Sony itself.

off to a fine start aren't they, if i wanted one before (hint: didn't) this would defiantly killed any interest.

said it before, and I'll say it again.

I.WILL.NOT.BUY.A.GAME.I.ALREADY.OWN.AGAIN.JUST.BECAUSE.YOU.THINK.YOU.NEED.MORE.MONEY

and that's really all i have to say about that

Dont you already have your psp?
why cant you keep it?

its not just about the Vita, its about the PS3 as well, since they're doing the same thing there as well with the PS2 games. can't plug the disk in, but you can download them.

so yeah, sony can go to hell now
(and this is from some one that used to love the PlayStation)

BUT YOU STILL GOT A PLAYSTATION 2 HOW LAZY ARE YOU?!
Im serious what is bad with having to keep your ps2 on your shelve?!

Lack of shelf space, I mean I only have room for so many of my consoles and it's not that we don't have shelf space it's this.

I have 50+ ps2 games I own and am still working on beating (I got a ps2 later on in it's life), none of them will play on the PS3 I have (Again late to the party). The only way to play PS2 games on my PS3 is to rebuy them on the PSN. Now this wouldn't be so bad but the problem is that the PS3 could play PS2 games before with no problems. Why should I pay to play my PS2 games on a system that had the function before hand? It's not keeping the system it's how it makes no since we have to deal with that when their was a option sony got rid of. My PS2 is on it's last legs right now and I would have liked to have PS2 play back on my PS3 so I could also have back up saves if something were to happen.

Also stop with the cap's, no one can hear you scream but we read you as a child with issues.

 

[Sewer Rat]

*snip*
So I'm curious... what do you think would be worse service: getting rid of a broken service, or selling it as a service to US and Europe only to let people learn only 1 of their 4 or 5 UMDs are even on the transferable list? The service is BROKEN... would spending $10 to transfer one of your handful of PSP games be enough to change your mind, if the rest weren't allowed? You're awfully frugal if it does.

Oh don't think I'm defending the system, not at all. It's not so much about the removal itself, so much as it is the pr hit it is likely to cause.

Allow Me to Elaborate:
It is a flawed service yes, but some may have actually benefited from it. Now Sony pulls that service away because they think it would be too expensive. The image that this sends to potential customers is that the company puts customer service below the chance to save a few dollars. I cannot see how it could possibly cost enough to justify purging the system, it is simply taking already made games data, and redistributing it digitally, using a system that they already have implemented using the Playstation Store. The impression I get from this is that Sony wanted to save a small amount of money at the cost of isolating the market.

I am not a Sony basher by any means, I love my PS3 and PS2, I am simply playing devils advocate and looking at it from an objective point of view. Small things can be big in the world of marketing and this move could result in a backlash of consumer faith.

Also, I must explain that my somewhat harsh wording in my original post was more or less just aimed at the poster comparing people to "Autistic children". I took great offense to that statement and clearly that was reflected in my response.

 

[orangeapples]

I'll be honest, I'd gladly pay $5-10 to get the game I already own on a new console.

I have Ocarina of Time on N64, Gamecube (twice), Wii AND 3DS
I have Majora's Mask on N64, Gamecube (twice) and Wii
I have Starfox 64 on N64, Wii and 3DS
I have Mario 64 on N64 and DS
I have Super Mario Bros 3 on NES, SNES, GBA, and Wii

Nintendo knows what's up. Most consumers are idiots and will gladly pay more money for crap they already have so it is on the new console and don't have 50 bajillion things set up.

Would you have a Bluray player and a DVD player set up right next to each other? No. That's a waste of space and hookups. Let the new thing take over for the old thing and release the things from the old thing on the new format.

My cousin has Star Wars on VHS, the Special Edition on VHS, DVD and on BluRay. People love buying old crap in the new media. Why is that so hard for SCEA to figure out?

And is it really such a big deal? A lot of the games we want that were not on the PSStore are pretty old and not available to buy new. Would it be so hard for Sony to go to these publishers and say "hey, this game is pretty old and you're not making any money off of it anymore. Want to release it on the PSN (SEN now?) and make some money off of it?" A lot of these old PSP games I think they could get away with $15.