PSP pricing emerges!
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Topic started: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 14:21
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Tue, 21 Sep 2004 15:04
This is the same thing they did with the Playstation. It's not at all that supriseing to see this from them, especially since there will be, the same group of people that buy it because it's from Sony. They don't care about the price, they bought the Playstation one and two for this much, why not a handheld. Hopefully though there are still enough sensible people in the world, to see that it would be stupid to go out and buy a handheld for that much, but like I said before there's always those hardcore Sony Fan's to think about.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 15:23
I agree with both of you. Sony have done as they've pleased and stupidly priced thier hopes out of being a handheld that every one wants. I'm sure Nintendo will have crowds of people flock to thier handheld, whilst SONY will see tumble weed n dust being swept past them. Hardcore fans will want thier hands on one but to think about the price ur paying for something you would dare drop or see get scratched is another thing to think about for neutral gamers. But rather than looking at the pro's and cons of Sony, i'd rather think of myself going down to GAME and getting my hands on the lovely, innovative, less pricey and beautifully designed DS...............then wait a year for the PSP
price drop.
Its all good baby-baby!
price drop.
Its all good baby-baby!
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 15:34
Well it's just like I imagined it many months back. If you can be bothered to dig for my posts you''l see what I mean. I guessed 150-200 pounds because anything above that would be suicide. Still no comfirmation on the games though. Stick a pin in my swelling head now. POP!
200 is still a lot for something you have to give time to next to your PS2, GC, Xbox and normal life. ipod fans will love it because it looks good. Several will be put off by the price next to DS though.
A lot of gaming kids will see DS, as the one that they can save the pocket money for much easier, along with it offering something totally different, next to normal hand held gaming needs.
Having said that PSP will no doubt do well, also because of Sony's marketing and advertising. They are good at getting the word out on the street. Come launch day everyone is gonna have to shell out a lot of money in order to get going. PSP + memory stick to save + 2-3 games = ouch, don't even wanna think about how much. Much expense I'm sure. Fraid I won't be buying one til that price drops, 150 would be much better. But look how long PS2 stayed at a similar price very long, so PSP might be the same. Lets hope Nintendo force them to make cuts.
200 is still a lot for something you have to give time to next to your PS2, GC, Xbox and normal life. ipod fans will love it because it looks good. Several will be put off by the price next to DS though.
A lot of gaming kids will see DS, as the one that they can save the pocket money for much easier, along with it offering something totally different, next to normal hand held gaming needs.
Having said that PSP will no doubt do well, also because of Sony's marketing and advertising. They are good at getting the word out on the street. Come launch day everyone is gonna have to shell out a lot of money in order to get going. PSP + memory stick to save + 2-3 games = ouch, don't even wanna think about how much. Much expense I'm sure. Fraid I won't be buying one til that price drops, 150 would be much better. But look how long PS2 stayed at a similar price very long, so PSP might be the same. Lets hope Nintendo force them to make cuts.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 16:23
Sony need to sort out some kind of dual purchase system.
If I'm spending all that on a PSP, I'll have no loot left for games. And I'll mainly want things like GT4 and PES on the PSP... but I'll want them even more on the PS2. It will take some convincing to get me to buy both versions when they're so similar.
Bundle up the big games as double packs, on PS2 DVD and PSP UMD, get the price of the bundle (or the console!) to under £50 and then I might consider going out any buying a PSP.
If I'm spending all that on a PSP, I'll have no loot left for games. And I'll mainly want things like GT4 and PES on the PSP... but I'll want them even more on the PS2. It will take some convincing to get me to buy both versions when they're so similar.
Bundle up the big games as double packs, on PS2 DVD and PSP UMD, get the price of the bundle (or the console!) to under £50 and then I might consider going out any buying a PSP.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 16:43
Kaxxx wrote:
>There
>marketing department need to take a look at the
>audience that buys handhels and why. Very
>disappointing yet unsurprising.
It's been stated right from the start that Sony is aiming at a different audience than the machines of the current handheld market do. They have to convince those people to buy it, and create a new market alongside the current one - they've done it before, certainly.
This is a machine that will appeal to the same sort of people that buy iPods, less so those who own GBAs. We have to remember that, and Sony has to follow through on it. They can still succeed.
GeoffreyBa wrote:
>This is the same thing they did with the Playstation.
>It's not at all that supriseing to see this from them,
>especially since there will be, the same group of
>people that buy it because it's from Sony. They
>don't care about the price, they bought the
>Playstation one and two for this much
You're missing that fact that the Saturn (the original Playstation's main competition) launched for £400, so in that case Sony's machine was less painful for your wallet.
>There
>marketing department need to take a look at the
>audience that buys handhels and why. Very
>disappointing yet unsurprising.
It's been stated right from the start that Sony is aiming at a different audience than the machines of the current handheld market do. They have to convince those people to buy it, and create a new market alongside the current one - they've done it before, certainly.
This is a machine that will appeal to the same sort of people that buy iPods, less so those who own GBAs. We have to remember that, and Sony has to follow through on it. They can still succeed.
GeoffreyBa wrote:
>This is the same thing they did with the Playstation.
>It's not at all that supriseing to see this from them,
>especially since there will be, the same group of
>people that buy it because it's from Sony. They
>don't care about the price, they bought the
>Playstation one and two for this much
You're missing that fact that the Saturn (the original Playstation's main competition) launched for £400, so in that case Sony's machine was less painful for your wallet.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 17:29
Sony are a global company, we are people on a forum.
Sony have a marketing department, we think we know what other people want.
Sony have a track record of making higher than average price consumer electronics sell, we don't buy it 'cos it's too expensive, but loads of other people do.
I think Sony are in a better position to tell if PSP will sell at that price than we are.
Remember, the only reason PS2 prices stayed high for so long is that people were buying them at that price. See Microsoft's week 4 price cut for what happens when consoles don't sell!
Sony have a marketing department, we think we know what other people want.
Sony have a track record of making higher than average price consumer electronics sell, we don't buy it 'cos it's too expensive, but loads of other people do.
I think Sony are in a better position to tell if PSP will sell at that price than we are.
Remember, the only reason PS2 prices stayed high for so long is that people were buying them at that price. See Microsoft's week 4 price cut for what happens when consoles don't sell!
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 19:37
I agree fully that the PSP still has every chance to succeed, but there's something I just don't like in your post:
>Sony are a global company, we are people on a
>forum.
>Sony have a marketing department, we
>think we know what other people want.
Whilst it's true that the public usually has a certain degree of short-sightedness and bias over these issues, neither hardware producers nor we should forget one fundamental truth of gaming. Ultimately, we hold the power to make these products succeed or fail, and as such the games companies do have to answer to us, at least partially.
>Sony are a global company, we are people on a
>forum.
>Sony have a marketing department, we
>think we know what other people want.
Whilst it's true that the public usually has a certain degree of short-sightedness and bias over these issues, neither hardware producers nor we should forget one fundamental truth of gaming. Ultimately, we hold the power to make these products succeed or fail, and as such the games companies do have to answer to us, at least partially.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 20:29
With the DS being priced at $150 WITH Metroid AND Pictochat AND having LOTS of MUST HAVE games AT LAUNCH, I can't IMAGINE how well the PSP will have to be in order to be succesful.
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:41
Woooo £200?Plus games on top of that... plus movies which I'm not going to buy... plus music which nobody will buy... plus a 100pack of batteries....
Not buying that then.
Not buying that then.
Wed, 22 Sep 2004 07:02
Its a strange situation.
I can see whats being said about aiming at a differenbt market than previous GBA owners but lets be sensible here. I cant imagine Sony aiming at a market which is not there yet, they create it. Fair enough they might be going down the ipod line but there is a difference between that market and the gaming market. Plus do these guys want film, multimedia discs etc etc. I thought the whole point of the ipod was to initially buy and then never pay for music again (basically). I thought that was the attraction for alot of people. Not to pay £200 for the machine, buy a game or film and then fork out again for a memory stick.
Handheld gaming is a huge market, second only to the PS2 in Japan and very close in sales. Billions of pounds are spent every year on it. The market however is it prodominantly sold to kids, hence the huge amounts spent on Pokemon, Disney and Shrek titles every year. For Sony not to want to dip into this seems very strange to me.
They may attract some older gamers over but i can tell you that i certainly wouldnt let any child of mine run around with that thing hanging from a lanyard round their neck.
So it may be a different market but im very sceptical about it. Sure the brand name will sell it by the buckload but will the profits they make compared to Nintendo handhelds warrant shops to dedicate a shelf to it. At the moment i doubt it, i seriously do.
Another thing is that Nintendo have the market cornered completely, backwards compatability is always going to be a huge attraction. With millions owning a GBA and SP they simply need to upgrade their handheld, for £90 mind you, and then they can carry on plyaing their games and then buy new DS titles. Sonys PSP needs a leap of faith and an expensive one at that.
I can see whats being said about aiming at a differenbt market than previous GBA owners but lets be sensible here. I cant imagine Sony aiming at a market which is not there yet, they create it. Fair enough they might be going down the ipod line but there is a difference between that market and the gaming market. Plus do these guys want film, multimedia discs etc etc. I thought the whole point of the ipod was to initially buy and then never pay for music again (basically). I thought that was the attraction for alot of people. Not to pay £200 for the machine, buy a game or film and then fork out again for a memory stick.
Handheld gaming is a huge market, second only to the PS2 in Japan and very close in sales. Billions of pounds are spent every year on it. The market however is it prodominantly sold to kids, hence the huge amounts spent on Pokemon, Disney and Shrek titles every year. For Sony not to want to dip into this seems very strange to me.
They may attract some older gamers over but i can tell you that i certainly wouldnt let any child of mine run around with that thing hanging from a lanyard round their neck.
So it may be a different market but im very sceptical about it. Sure the brand name will sell it by the buckload but will the profits they make compared to Nintendo handhelds warrant shops to dedicate a shelf to it. At the moment i doubt it, i seriously do.
Another thing is that Nintendo have the market cornered completely, backwards compatability is always going to be a huge attraction. With millions owning a GBA and SP they simply need to upgrade their handheld, for £90 mind you, and then they can carry on plyaing their games and then buy new DS titles. Sonys PSP needs a leap of faith and an expensive one at that.
Wed, 22 Sep 2004 07:50
>I cant imagine Sony aiming
>at a market which is not there yet,
One word. Walkman.
>Fair enough they might be going down the ipod
>line
Sony already did. Walkman.
>but there is a difference between that
>market and the gaming market.
This is an aphorism. Of course they are different. But then, they are also similar. Look at the people in HMV. Now look at the people in Gamestation. Spooky, huh?
>Plus do these guys
>want film, multimedia discs etc etc. I thought
>the whole point of the ipod was to initially buy
>and then never pay for music again (basically).
That is such a jaundiced view of what iPod is for. iPod was for the abilty to have music anywhere, and a good choice of music, without having to lug a ridiculously fragile CD player and huge stack of discs everywhere. Anyone who doesn't pay for their software is a f**king idiot, disagree if you like, but I'm paying for their kicks, and they can just go f**k themselves, thieving scum. On the other hand, the prices charged and profits made by the publishing corporations (not developers) are equally f**king criminal, and they deserve flogging to within an inch of their lives too. But I digress.
>The market however is it prodominantly sold to
>kids,
The market is sold to no-one. The products and services that constitute the market are sold to kids.
>hence the huge amounts spent on Pokemon,
>Disney and Shrek titles every year. For Sony not
>to want to dip into this seems very strange to
>me.
Who says Sony do not want to. It's a typical early-adopter model. If it launches at £200 it will be £100 before long, and it will end up at £50. But the whinging is all b******s anyway, the Gameboy cost £149 when it was new, as a proportion of average disposable income, that's FAR more than £200 represents today.
>They may attract some older gamers over but i can
>tell you that i certainly wouldnt let any child
>of mine run around with that thing hanging from a
>lanyard round their neck.
But if that's your attitude, how would it have been different about the Game Boy in 1981?
>Another thing is that Nintendo have the market
>cornered completely,
That's what they said about the gramophone. One word. Walkman.
>backwards compatability is
>always going to be a huge attraction. With
>millions owning a GBA and SP they simply need to
>upgrade their handheld,
Yeah, because playing basically-crap 2D games on a next-gen hand held is really what it's all going to be about.
>Sonys PSP needs a leap of
>faith and an expensive one at that.
Just like... Walkman. Oh, and PS1, too! Remember when a decent DVD player cost £400? And needed new software that no-one had... and cost £20 a pop. That really killed that format, didn't it?
Let's face it people who are fixated on the price are missing the point. Whatsmore, these are exactly the people who will jump on board when the price drops, because they'll feel they are getting a bargain. Whereas, if it launched at £129, these same people would whinge that that price was too expensive.
>at a market which is not there yet,
One word. Walkman.
>Fair enough they might be going down the ipod
>line
Sony already did. Walkman.
>but there is a difference between that
>market and the gaming market.
This is an aphorism. Of course they are different. But then, they are also similar. Look at the people in HMV. Now look at the people in Gamestation. Spooky, huh?
>Plus do these guys
>want film, multimedia discs etc etc. I thought
>the whole point of the ipod was to initially buy
>and then never pay for music again (basically).
That is such a jaundiced view of what iPod is for. iPod was for the abilty to have music anywhere, and a good choice of music, without having to lug a ridiculously fragile CD player and huge stack of discs everywhere. Anyone who doesn't pay for their software is a f**king idiot, disagree if you like, but I'm paying for their kicks, and they can just go f**k themselves, thieving scum. On the other hand, the prices charged and profits made by the publishing corporations (not developers) are equally f**king criminal, and they deserve flogging to within an inch of their lives too. But I digress.
>The market however is it prodominantly sold to
>kids,
The market is sold to no-one. The products and services that constitute the market are sold to kids.
>hence the huge amounts spent on Pokemon,
>Disney and Shrek titles every year. For Sony not
>to want to dip into this seems very strange to
>me.
Who says Sony do not want to. It's a typical early-adopter model. If it launches at £200 it will be £100 before long, and it will end up at £50. But the whinging is all b******s anyway, the Gameboy cost £149 when it was new, as a proportion of average disposable income, that's FAR more than £200 represents today.
>They may attract some older gamers over but i can
>tell you that i certainly wouldnt let any child
>of mine run around with that thing hanging from a
>lanyard round their neck.
But if that's your attitude, how would it have been different about the Game Boy in 1981?
>Another thing is that Nintendo have the market
>cornered completely,
That's what they said about the gramophone. One word. Walkman.
>backwards compatability is
>always going to be a huge attraction. With
>millions owning a GBA and SP they simply need to
>upgrade their handheld,
Yeah, because playing basically-crap 2D games on a next-gen hand held is really what it's all going to be about.
>Sonys PSP needs a leap of
>faith and an expensive one at that.
Just like... Walkman. Oh, and PS1, too! Remember when a decent DVD player cost £400? And needed new software that no-one had... and cost £20 a pop. That really killed that format, didn't it?
Let's face it people who are fixated on the price are missing the point. Whatsmore, these are exactly the people who will jump on board when the price drops, because they'll feel they are getting a bargain. Whereas, if it launched at £129, these same people would whinge that that price was too expensive.
Wed, 22 Sep 2004 08:27
>One word. Walkman.
A couple of words. No competition. Could be said for the PSP i suppose though.
>That is such a jaundiced view of what iPod is for. iPod was for the abilty to have music anywhere, and a good choice of music, without having to lug a ridiculously fragile CD player and huge stack of discs everywhere. Anyone who doesn't pay for their software is a f**king idiot, disagree if you like, but I'm paying for their kicks, and they can just go f**k themselves, thieving scum. On the other hand, the prices charged and profits made by the publishing corporations (not developers) are equally f**king criminal, and they deserve flogging to within an inch of their lives too. But I digress.
Still attracts a huge amount of buyers for free portable music. The net is full of online theives. My point is that Sony arent going to grab all the ipod owners over (referring to an earlier post.)
>The market is sold to no-one. The products and services that constitute the market are sold to kids.
Nitpicking.
>But if that's your attitude, how would it have been different about the Game Boy in 1981?
Because there was no Gameboy in 1981.
>Yeah, because playing basically-crap 2D games on a next-gen hand held is really what it's all going to be about.
You said that not me. Once again 'backwards compatabilty is always going to be a huge attraction'. Whats wrong with that?
A couple of words. No competition. Could be said for the PSP i suppose though.
>That is such a jaundiced view of what iPod is for. iPod was for the abilty to have music anywhere, and a good choice of music, without having to lug a ridiculously fragile CD player and huge stack of discs everywhere. Anyone who doesn't pay for their software is a f**king idiot, disagree if you like, but I'm paying for their kicks, and they can just go f**k themselves, thieving scum. On the other hand, the prices charged and profits made by the publishing corporations (not developers) are equally f**king criminal, and they deserve flogging to within an inch of their lives too. But I digress.
Still attracts a huge amount of buyers for free portable music. The net is full of online theives. My point is that Sony arent going to grab all the ipod owners over (referring to an earlier post.)
>The market is sold to no-one. The products and services that constitute the market are sold to kids.
Nitpicking.
>But if that's your attitude, how would it have been different about the Game Boy in 1981?
Because there was no Gameboy in 1981.
>Yeah, because playing basically-crap 2D games on a next-gen hand held is really what it's all going to be about.
You said that not me. Once again 'backwards compatabilty is always going to be a huge attraction'. Whats wrong with that?
Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:06
>A couple of words. No competition. Could be said
>for the PSP i suppose though.
You did say Sony were going to have to create a market. If they are creating the market, then they will have no competition.
>My point is that Sony arent going to
>grab all the ipod owners over (referring to an
>earlier post.)
No. Just the ones who want to retain the facility of portable music, and gain the facility of portable movies and gaming. It won't be all, it will be some.
>Because there was no Gameboy in 1981.
Nitpicking. I clearly meant 1991.
>You said that not me. Once again 'backwards
>compatabilty is always going to be a huge
>attraction'. Whats wrong with that?
But there is a huge market out there who have never owned a portable games machines because the games have been largely crap. No, that's not fair, but they have been of limited appeal.
Even in the SPOnG office, where every member of staff has at least six or seven machines, only half of us have portables. And we're hardcore gamers by even the most aggressive evaluation of the term. So there is a vast untapped market available to PSP as a lifestyle product. Movies and music on the move, with games thrown in as an extra. That's on top of the more traditional market who owned a Lynx or Gamegear, and who will buy PSP.
It's all speculation, and it could so easily all go wrong for Sony, but I think arguing against it on price is the wrong argument. PS1 was £399, and that flew...
>for the PSP i suppose though.
You did say Sony were going to have to create a market. If they are creating the market, then they will have no competition.
>My point is that Sony arent going to
>grab all the ipod owners over (referring to an
>earlier post.)
No. Just the ones who want to retain the facility of portable music, and gain the facility of portable movies and gaming. It won't be all, it will be some.
>Because there was no Gameboy in 1981.
Nitpicking. I clearly meant 1991.
>You said that not me. Once again 'backwards
>compatabilty is always going to be a huge
>attraction'. Whats wrong with that?
But there is a huge market out there who have never owned a portable games machines because the games have been largely crap. No, that's not fair, but they have been of limited appeal.
Even in the SPOnG office, where every member of staff has at least six or seven machines, only half of us have portables. And we're hardcore gamers by even the most aggressive evaluation of the term. So there is a vast untapped market available to PSP as a lifestyle product. Movies and music on the move, with games thrown in as an extra. That's on top of the more traditional market who owned a Lynx or Gamegear, and who will buy PSP.
It's all speculation, and it could so easily all go wrong for Sony, but I think arguing against it on price is the wrong argument. PS1 was £399, and that flew...
Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:39
Sony think thery can overturn the entire handheld market's trends of the last 15 years?
Guess again!
Everyone who has released a competitor to the GameBoy (or soon to be DS) with an inflated pricepoint has doomed it from the start. Only the NeoGeo Pocket made a reasonably strong start against the GBC (similarly priced to the GBC), and that was effectively thrown away by SNK's purchase by Aruze, and their immediate suspension of all advertising and promotion of the Neo (before they cancelled it completely).
Anyone remember how amazing the Atari lynx looked against the original GameBoy?
Anyone remember thinking 'But I'm not paying that!'
What about Nokia's recent little failure?
Anyone got £300 burning a hole in their pocket waiting for the Zodiac or Gizmondo?
Of course not!
A few will buy anything, some will buy everything, the sensible money will buy the Nintendo.
*GAME OVER*
Guess again!
Everyone who has released a competitor to the GameBoy (or soon to be DS) with an inflated pricepoint has doomed it from the start. Only the NeoGeo Pocket made a reasonably strong start against the GBC (similarly priced to the GBC), and that was effectively thrown away by SNK's purchase by Aruze, and their immediate suspension of all advertising and promotion of the Neo (before they cancelled it completely).
Anyone remember how amazing the Atari lynx looked against the original GameBoy?
Anyone remember thinking 'But I'm not paying that!'
What about Nokia's recent little failure?
Anyone got £300 burning a hole in their pocket waiting for the Zodiac or Gizmondo?
Of course not!
A few will buy anything, some will buy everything, the sensible money will buy the Nintendo.
*GAME OVER*
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410 comments
There marketing department need to take a look at the audience that buys handhels and why. Very disappointing yet unsurprising.