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Analyst: Sony “Ripping Off” Consumers With PSP Go
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has said that he believes Sony is “ripping off” consumers by pricing its upcoming PSP Go at $249/€249.
"$249 is too much, period," the analyst said in a post-E3 episode of Bonus Round, noting that Sony likely chose the price point in a bid to compete with Apple's similarly priced iPod Touch.
Most interestingly, Pachter said that PSP Go will be cheaper to produce per unit than the existing PSP-3000.
"The $169 PSP-3000 is a profitable device. They make money, so it costs less than that. The disc assembly for a UMD costs more than 16 gigs of flash does. So this new device doesn't cost them as much to make as the PSP-3000 and they jack the price up $80... They're ripping off the consumer… They're making a lot more money on the PSP Go than they’re making on the PSP-3000."
Sony unveiled the UMD-free PSP Go at its E3 press conference last week. The handheld is due to launch on October 1 in the US and Europe, and a month later in Japan.
Edge contacted Sony Computer Entertainment America to enquire about the difference between PSP Go and PSP-3000 production costs, but a spokesperson declined to comment.
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No GT and LBP will not come on UMD. But Sony said that there will be a way to play non-UMD games on the old PSP. Probably you will have to buy the games at the online store and download them to the flash memory.
Why can't they just put a phone chip in?! why?!?!?!
Is this true about it costing $250, and 250 quid? I didn't even realise they did that. How much does a ps3 cost in the states?
243.26 quid in the states.
I did the conversion for you.
by the way, they cost 249.97 quid to produce.
Did you mean PSP? Then you're looking at 109.13 - converted
Nay, I did mean PS3. I was wondering whether they ripped us UK types off with the PS3 as well as the PSP. PS3 is RRP 299 squid over here, unless it's gone down since i bought mine. The bar stewards.
So unless Song pays £50 in taxes, per unit - unlikely, then you are being ripped off for the sake of "global continuity"
I see Mr Pachter might have got a bit of a slapped wrist upon returning to his proper job!
http://www.industrygamers.com/news/pachters-podium-ps3-price-cut-iphone-...
WTF is Sony playing at!?
A PSP at £250!?!? The 'work harder' to buy jacked-up Sony products thing is not going to fly in the middle of a recession.
I was shocked when I saw on play.com that the PSP Go will be £249.99. For an extra £50, you could pick-up a PS3. So what Sony SCEE are saying is that it virtually costs the same to knock out PSP Gos than it does PS3s? I've got a PSP 1000 which is on the blink so I'll need a new one, I won't be paying £249.99. Sony said they'll still support the old PSP, so does that mean GT and LBP etc. will come out on UMD? I can smell a rat... It's an age old story, the UK paying the most for it games and consoles, the big guns have been taking the piss for years. As for downloading games, that'll finish it off. It won't be long until you'll be able to download games for free the same as music and movies. I'm still pissed off about the PS3 being £300, no console is worth over £200 in my eyes. A total piss take.
sure, but it's still just your take.
Isn't that what a forum is for?
Yeah, talking shit is part of it, carry on.
So you are OK with Sony's pricing then I assume?
How is it ripping off? Is charging a high price for a luxury that people aren't actually forced to buy a bad thing all of a sudden?
It's a rip-off because in the US they're going to be priced at around £150, £250 in the UK. Do they make the UK ones out of better plastic or something?....
Actually the term is accurate since they are selling a model which basically does the same thing (I know this one is all digital, etc, etc) also in terms of news on consumer products its hardly the first time the "ripping the consumer off" term is used.
And before anyone says anything literally speaking I agree its incorrect but for the article it appropriate since hardly any article or news uses literal words for their articles.
It's just Media Speak. It is stupid. They should have said, uncompetitve, but that wouldn't have sounded so nefarious. Less people would have paid attention.
Don't discount the fact that Sony hasn't excelled in pricing for downloadable games. If Resistance Retribution costs €39,95 on PSN and €39,95 or less (depending on store) on UMD, something clearly has gone wrong.
Sony has really lost the plot, plain and simple. Back in the PS2 days, you could say a lot of bad things about Sony, but one thing they were good at was in marketing their product, and not making any huge, bloody mistakes. Well, you can throw all that out of the window.
But this new PSP really beggars belief - imagine if the Nintendo DSi dropped 'cartridges' altogether and asked you to download all the games instead - that's how outrageous this is. This is just Sony trying to force digital distribution down everybody's throat. Sure, UMD is not a great format, but at least drop it with the PSP2. And if that's not enough - sure, why not replace the Memory Stick slot with Memory Stick Micro? Let's make it even more inconvenient - and expensive, I would add.
This is the kind of crap that allowed Sega to drop from first place to zero. It's that bad.
Yeah, Sony have lost the plot big time, but they don't know that yet. They soon will though....
force digital distribution down everybody's throat? You will still get all the games in UMD format. You don't have to buy a new PSP GO to replace your PSP 3000 if you dont want to. Your whole post is a pile of shit.
While I won't respond to the provocative part of the post, you're not quite getting the point when you say 'you don't have to buy a PSP Go'. The point is that this move (to ditch the UMD) makes no sense for a fixed hardware platform, whether it's a PlayStation1, PlayStation2, PlayStation3 or a PSP.
This is about as stupid as a new edition of the PlayStation2 ditching the DVD-ROM drive with a built-in 16GB flashdrive and expecting people to download it all from PSN. It makes no sense one way or the other - and it's just, indeed, about 'forcing' digital distribution down your throat. And whether or not i'm forced to replace my PSP doesn't change that inconvenient truth - a PSP without UMD and a PSP with just creates pointless confusion and is really Sony shooting itself in the foot, as it has done for a while now.
Please, next time you make a post, please make it more constructive than simply ending with an inflammatory comment. Some of us don't worship brandnames or console manufacturers and can make up their own mind, thank you very much.
"Some of us don't worship brandnames or console manufacturers and can make up their own mind, thank you very much."
That's pretty hilarious, coming from you.
And yes, you can play the same games on any PSP. The choice is your own.
Jack_: I take it you know something about my console preferences then? I don't see how you could - seeing how I go by an anonymous nick.
Regardless, I can't see how you could honestly view this (PSP Go) as an improvement. Sure it has some Flash storage, but to exclude the storage medium - well, it's beyond me how anyone could view it as a positive.
I'm not sure, but he could be mistaking you as Dreamhunk, he uses the same avatar picture.
Dreamhunk is very well known on this site.
Yep, I did this.
To be honest, I'm surprised.
He has a different name, but I can see that it's easy to confuse that.
Although this one is just a fail on your part. Dreamhunk is extremly well known for his grammar and spelling mistakes. The fact that it was easy to read his posts should've been enough to tell the difference.
Dreamhunk, it's gotta be said, you're one of a kind.
It'll sell well, smaller, more compact SKUs usually do. Early adopters usually pay a much higher price for things. It's a bit early to talk about a PSP Go price cut, but it will happen eventually and then should boost sales again.
The new PSP Go is especially aimed at a different demographic than the older PSP. It can only play downloadable games after all. That means people interested in the PSP Go can and only will get to play the "cheaper" version of PSP games which are only available on the PS Store (downloadable games are significantly cheaper than UMD games).
And can anyone answer this : WHO THE * beep* is Pachter to know how much a PSP costs to be produced? The new PSP Go is different, and I doubt it can be made on the same tables they produce the old ones. It's also more compact, lighter and the screen is a little larger and brighter, and it's still a system quite more powerful than a PS2 in the literal palm of your hand. I even wonder if Patcher's held a PSP Go...Smaller and lighter is not exactly the definition of "cheaper" when it comes to handheld gaming systems.
And I'll even say this too. JUST WHAT THE * beep* IF Sony will indeed be making more money with the PSP Go? Is the price so unnaceptable to you? Don't buy it. How about Apple pricing the first Iphone $600? and it'll soon be less than $200? How about the Wii aka gamecube 1.5 still $250 after 2.6 years? You could whine and whine to death about the whole world of things. You pay for what you crave. Mr. Pachter: If the PSP Go is for you, then you'll buy it, if not there's the old cheaper model which as you say "does exactly the same" (while being bigger, heavier, more battery-consuming and without internal memory, all of which I see still make it in no way different to the PSP Go TO YOU)....fucking prick. *beep* too late for that beep, couldn't resist.
How does Edge get away with fabricating a news story out of a GameTrailers video? There's NO additional research, and they couldn't get a SINGLE comment out of ANYONE at Sony? That's just pathetic reporting, and very pathetic regulation on part of Edge's editors. This is why people complain about games "journalism."
at almost $100 more than its predecessor, it is too expensive. it's not even debatable.
of course, Sony doesn't see it that way but, lets not forget, these are the same geniuses who thought we "would all work harder" to own a $600 ps3.
I hope this isn't a new trend by Sony. Bring out a new version of a console and nearly double the price. The PS3 sells for £300, so a slim PS3 for £600ish isn't going to go down too well. Joke of course.....
So Nintendo jacks the price up on the DSi over 30% and nobody complains like this. You can't tell me that they aren't gouging everybody with a bunch of features that cost almost nothing to work in to a mature device. Double standard!
Yeah, the DSi isn't worth £150. What made me laugh was that when it was launched, there wasn't any games for it. How much fun can you have with a camera? Erm..... Phase out the DS Lite and knock out the DSi for £100 I say. But Nintendo didn't want to do that because idiots are prepared to pay £150 for a handeheld that doesn't have any DSi games....
s2h: No, not really.
The DSi still features a cartridge slot, doesn't force digital distribution down my throat, it doesn't replace the memory card format (since it didn't have any, duh!), and it's actually a really great hardware upgrade. The processor is at least double that of the previous one - that's not just a simple hardware revision. Same with the amount of RAM.
A double standard would be if the hardware specs of the DSi were the same as that of the DS Lite.
It's all about the line. People won't bitch at all until it's crossed, & then it's like a dam has burst. Nintendo raised the price of the DS nearly 30%; while Sony raised the PSP almost exactly 30%. It doesn't seem like much of a difference, but it was enough to propel it into iphone & iPod prices. That changes lhings; as there is now something cheaper that's twice as powerful.
The DSi is woefully underpowered, but there is nothing cheaper that offers a similar performance. It's just that simple - for less machine, I should spend less money.
Agreed, you should get exact bang for your buck.
**deleted** (was supposed to be a reply)
How? How?
That's all I can think to say. This thing is, literally, half the power of the new iPhone, & about a third the power of a Tegra-based Zune HD. Yet it's priced the same. I don't care how many hard to reach buttons it has. I can't buy a game system that's less powerful than my phone.
When I bought the DS, at least it did things my phone couldn't do. That was then, & at least it's cheaper. This device is unbelievable. It's already dated. In 2010, I'll probably get a better gaming experience out of an OLPC.
....Epic Fail
Yeah? I bet you can get the whole PSP library to play on your stupid phone and "OLPC"...
The real rip off as per usual is for us in the UK. $249 US is £153 UK so we are paying an extra £100 from the off. Even in Euros we are still suffering although to a lesser amount. Oh the joy of living in the UK and the Dollar to Pound straight conversion operated by console manufacturers.
Yeah, a total piss take. The PSP Go should be something like £149.99, PSP 3000 should be something like £99.99 by now. But has anything Sony ever been cheap?.......
What's stopping people from just getting a 3000? They pay more for a smaller, entirely digital machine.
Will those same digital only games be available on the 3000 digitally (I hate calling it that, it reminds me of some old Datsun car or something)? It seems if digital-only games on the GO! not being available on the 3000 will split the PSP market, never a wise choice (I guess the DSi is getting away with it though). But Nintendo wisely didn't jack the price of the DSi way up, and it actually includes some added features as well.
Yeah, they'll be available for the 3000 systems.. same goes for the 2000 and 1000. The basic hardware is the same in all iterations of the psp in that they all play psp games. Anyone with a memory card (everyone who owns a psp) can download any game from the playstation network onto their psp. There's no system exclusivity, as essentially they're the same thing.
Ouch - unusually harsh words from Pachter who usually tries to be diplomatic regarding companies in the industry. "Ripping off" may be a poor choice of words. I would go with "stupid", "arrogant" or "delusional" to describe this price point.
I think Sony has convinced themselves that this device compares favorably with the iPhone, while I suspect the market will think otherwise. You would think Sony would have learned the lessons of price points needing to match what the market will support by now.
Is Nintendo ripping off consumers with the Wii then?
I think the Wii is at a decent price at £180, it'd of sold at £300 (only in the UK though because Nintendo can get away with it).
No.
If they released another Wii that was smaller, didnt have a drive to insert games, was downloadable content only, and jacked up the price, then YES. Sony are just screwing everyone for profit, simple as that.
No.
I think Pachter's use of the phrase "ripping off" is inaccurate.
It's impossible for a company to rip someone off unless they are actively trying to trick them through some sort of lie or manipulation. Otherwise, it's just a price that they think they can get in the open market.
Instead of ripping people off, I'd just describe Sony as stupid. They're already in a distant second, and instead of of using manufacturing efficiencies to lower the price, they're trying to sell it as some sort of prestige device.
Very dumb. People already don't want the PSP at its current price. At an even higher price will be a near-impossible sell.
And moreover, the biggest problem with the PSP hasn't been platform sales, but game and accessory sales per device. No one is buying any games. An all digital system would provide Sony with a new platform to try and actually make money and maybe sell more games per device. This further highlights the need to push this particular version of the PSP to as many people as possible.