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Portables (Games) PlayStation (Games)

Sony Cautious in PSP Production 47

Posted by Zonk from the not-to-many-made-lest-they-go-broke dept.
GamesIndustry.biz has the story that Sony is limiting production of their new handheld. From the article: "Comments attributed to SCE spokesperson Kenichi Fukunaga in an Agence France-Presse article stated bluntly that manufacturing resources are being directed to the PlayStation 2 - a new slimline version of which was introduced earlier this month - rather than the PSP." Personally, I think this has just as much to do with a desire to create demand as it does with making sure they're not left with a dud on their hands. If you're going to release a handheld, release a handheld.
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Sony Cautious in PSP Production More

Sony Cautious in PSP Production

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  • here we go again. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bagel2ooo ( 106312 ) on Monday November 29, 2004 @12:32PM (#10943247)
    Isn't this what happened with the original PS2? Create very high demand and very small supply to drive things up?
  • These new PS2s look really flimsy. The drive cover doesn't even look like it has the stability of an average CD player.

    • Re:i've seen them (Score:4, Informative)

      by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Monday November 29, 2004 @01:03PM (#10943477)
      I have one. They aren't flimsy. They're also signifigantly quieter than the old models.

      Try one, then form an opinion. That king of speculation if trolling.
    • Kinda feels like it too but I guess that's the par for top-loading systems. What annoys me (besides stupid software design decisions) is that you have to "pry" the disk out, no release button in there (like,e.g. the Gamecube has).
    • Not only that, but they overheat pretty quickly from what I hear. A friend of mine had one and his died within a week of purchase.

      "lol ps2 is flat" is the new "lol xbox is huge"

  • Why does /.... (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    always seem to have either a pro-DS and an anti-PSP article every day now? You'd think with how advanced PSP is you guys wouldn't be so against it.
    • "You'd think with how advanced PSP is you guys wouldn't be so against it."

      "Advanced" isn't always better in the portable arena. Just look at the daily rantings about cell phones.
    • Because that is what is showing up in the news. If you know of a pro-PSP article (one that isn't made up PR-fluff) then use the 'Submit Story' link to the left there.

    • Re:Why does /.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by kesuki ( 321456 ) on Monday November 29, 2004 @08:41PM (#10948563) Journal
      Well, the first thing Sony did wrong was the name PSP... we all know that P_P names are subject to humour like this PHP one [bbspot.com]
      The second mistake was taking on nintendo in the Portable market. The Nintendo DS is going to have Goldeneye With 16 player multiplay. DS could be compatable with wireless internet hotspots, that never really took off, but they still have them.
      Oh and battery life... the PSP has a measly 2 hours or less, compared to the DS's 8 hour life.
      The DS is here, it's selling out at most retailers, and it has many features that the PSP will never have. And when it comes to pricing wars, nintendo could easily afford to always keep the DS at least 50+ dollars below the PSP. If they thought the PSP was a threat at $180 they could even decide to drop the DS to $100 as soon as they thought the PSP needed to be crushed.
      • Well damn, to bad the only thing worth saying anything about online is Feel The Magic. Guess Im still waiting for Advance wars for the DS. Whats this? The PSP SHIPS with GT4?
      • Please everyone before firing your weapons skyward in ecstasy, note that this is the ghey new EA Goldeneye: Rogue Agent about a villian who has a golden eye, not a port of Rare's legendary work of perfection from the N64.

  • try reading this in a different way (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 29, 2004 @12:41PM (#10943297)
    maybe "focus on the slim PS2" does not mean "we're afraid the PSP might tank" but "we're sure the slim PS2 will sell a lot this Xmas". I know that basic journalism is all about malice, anyway.
    • So why did Sony shoot for a christmas release of the PSP without any of the marketting to go behind it.

      • Re:try reading this in a different way (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        I work in an EB games and we have a TON of PSP promo material in the back. We had a set up date but the day before it was set to go up we all got an email from corporate telling us not to. Ordinairly we save or pitch crap like this, but this time we were required to send it back. Instead we set up some generic stuff, and we just got some PS2 (the new slim ones) in yesterday with a set up date for Thursday.
        • That makes me curious if there are significant manufacturing problems with the PSP. Considering the fanfare with which Sony announced the PSP and the excitement surrounding it (Slashdot seems to be an odd exception), it doesn't make sense for Sony to quietly cut back production without a secondary motive. Sending back the promo material provides compelling evidence towards this theory. My guess is that they'd either want to keep it for a time closer to the console's release (which is a bit odd since you say

  • Dangerous game (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mistersooreams ( 811324 ) on Monday November 29, 2004 @12:46PM (#10943329) Homepage

    I know Sony are the masters of generating publicity, but this could easily backfire. A handheld is not the same as a home console, in the sense that few people sit at home playing on their Game Boys (although no doubt plenty of us Slashdotters do). A key part of the way handhelds get sold is seeing someone else playing with one in public: on a train, etc. High public visibility is important.

    Seeing other adults playing with a Game Boy helped make it acceptable for adults to buy them, hence their vast popularity. Sony might be making life harder for themselves here.

  • Simple Math (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Simple Math - If you are selling something at a price that you are obviously losing money on, then limit supply.

    You can then dance around and say that you shipped on time, while not shooting yourself in the foot.
    • More like blow your foot off from a land mine. Sony limited the PS2 when it first launched (it was initially supposed to be 1 million before the shortage knocked it down to 500,000) and people ended up selling them on eBay for up to $1,000 for months! Sure they shipped on time and met their supply goals, but everyone who didn't get a PS2 or bought one at an inflated price was bitter, angry and upset. The fact that first generation PS2 games weren't even showcases for the hardware didn't help either. (Silent

  • i think it's strange (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Blob Pet ( 86206 ) on Monday November 29, 2004 @01:15PM (#10943630) Homepage
    You'd think that a consumer hardware juggernaut like Sony would have enough resources to allocate to both the slim PS2 and the PSP at the same time and tha they would have prepared for this a long time ago...especially after what happened to the release of the original PS2.

    If I were a game developer, would I want to be making games for the DS or the PSP right now?

    I'm going to hazard a guess that Sony's having quality control problems with the PSP.

  • Mundane explanation, for the non-conspiracy head (Score:5, Insightful)

    by iainl ( 136759 ) on Monday November 29, 2004 @01:17PM (#10943659)
    According to Amazon.co.uk, Play.com and every other UK retailer I've heard from, the UK's supply of new-size PS2s has sold out, and they weren't expecting volume quantities until January when I looked last week.

    So a LOT of kids are getting XBoxes under the Christmas tree if Sony don't get a move on. The PSP is still in 'trendy hype-machine' mode, and not at mass-profit levels yet - those sales can wait more than PS2s can.
    • Plus this could have the added benefit of "Every place is sold out, it must be really good, I must have one, BYEOMG^_^BBQAFKSTFUBBQOMGPLZSTFU!"
    • The PSP is still in 'trendy hype-machine' mode, and not at mass-profit levels yet - those sales can wait more than PS2s can.

      Then they need to get on the ball here -- Nintendo won't be so easy to beat this time. Many people have been taken by surprise by the extraordinary preorders for the DS, even Nintendo loyalist sites, who you'd suppose would be all rah-rah over anything the big 'N' does but have been in Charlie Brown mode for a while now, were caught off-guard.

      If Sony's trying to limit supply to drive demand then they're going to have problems in the portable space this time, as the DS is also over-ordered, but after a rational level of supply. It's too early to judge yet of course, but I consider this troubling news for Sony.
  • Here's wondering if I should do my best to buy one of these things in hopes of ebaying it for a significant amount of money.

  • Erm. (Score:2)

    by Kanasta ( 70274 )
    What do the game makers think about this...
    Selling games to a machine that doesn't exist isn't much fun.
  • The Nintendo DS is not that great. They've taken a step backwards on portability. Hey Nintendo, the goal is to make smaller systems, not larger ones that you need three hands to use! Sony got it right on the size, even if they didn't on the media. Still, I think they have a clear winner on their hands. Believe in your product, Sony!

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