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Portables (Games) PlayStation (Games)

PSP Not A Sellout Hit 241

MilenCent writes "We're starting to see our first mainstream media reports on the PSP's (lack of) sales performance, from the Seattle Times: "But while Sony is touting the rollout as a success -- and many retailers did sell their entire stock -- the event might not have been the complete blockbuster that was expected." In summary, the article says that more systems were sold than not, that dedicated gaming stores were more likely to sell out than department stores like Target, and that the biggest reason gamers didn't pick it up is likely its price -- which wasn't helped by some retailers' sale condition that customers also purchase games, which could raise the price to nearly $350. Will demand pick up once the unit is out there and seen by people, or will it take a price cut before the system sells satisfactorily?"
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PSP Not A Sellout Hit

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  • Not surprising... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @01:51PM (#12091188)
    They bundles a ~$180 piece of equipment with a crappy carying case and a tiny memory stick and added $70 to the price. There's at least 30 of them in the case at the local WalMart here, but most people I know are waiting for the non "Value" Pack version to come out.
    • by LordNimon ( 85072 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @01:56PM (#12091261)
      I agree. Amazon.com's game bundle, for instance, comes with five games: Wipeout Pure, Twisted Metal, NBA, Ape Escape, and World Soccer Tour. This is the only way you can buy a PSP from Amazon.com. The problem is that I can't imagine any single person wanting all five of those games.
    • Re:Not surprising... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by justforaday ( 560408 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:08PM (#12091450)
      I was in my local Target last Friday afternoon and overheard two of the clerks talking. Out of the 100 they received, they had sold 3.
  • cost? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by negative3 ( 836451 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @01:52PM (#12091201)
    I think the PSP is very cool, but damn is it expensive! Think about it: $250 for the thing, $50 for a game. That's how much a PS2 costs! I can't see paying prices on par consoles even if it is the greatest handheld gaming platform ever.
    • Do you remember what the PS2 cost when it was released? Early adopters obviously are having no problem swallowing $250 for this while the rest of us can wait as the price drops.
    • Re:cost? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by mausmalone ( 594185 )
      Actually... the PS2 is $100 cheaper than that.... and that's the new slim one even.

      Even though I'm a 20 year Nintendo customer, even I can see that the PSP is not a commercial failure like people are saying now. It isn't the New Crack that most magazines and newspapers made it out to be, but it's no N-Gage either. I think this is yet another example of over-hype and too-high-expectations.
      • Re:cost? (Score:2, Insightful)

        by UWC ( 664779 )
        Nintendo fan here, too. I made it a point not to buy into the hype, and repeatedly cited the overhyped flaws and high price as reasons I'd wait a while before thinking about buying one, but a friend convinced me to buy one, and I'm very impressed with it. Square button feels fine, UMDs stay where they should, and I have just one stuck subpixel. It's easily worth my $250. While I wouldn't have paid more than that for it, it feels like a much more expensive piece of equipment, and I wouldn't argue with all th
      • Re:cost? (Score:2, Informative)

        by Doomstalk ( 629173 )
        If I wind up getting one, I'm waiting until at least the first or second hardware revision. I've seen way too many friends get burned (literally in the case of the PS ;p) by crappy first-gen SCE hardware. I'm especially nervous about the drives. The PS2 isn't even portable, and the first generation of drives had tons of problems with laser focus. Of all the people I know with first-gen machines (quite a few), almost all of them have had to have theirs fixed/replaced. The one who hasn't complains about skipp
    • I find it amusing everyone complaining about the price. Most of these people are the same ones that are willing to throw down 400-500 dollars for that top of the line video card when one that goes for 150-200 would work just fine.
      • How many of those people line up to buy that video card on release day?

        I wasn't expecting blowout sales on the PSP on day one because of it's real target market. $250 for a handheld is a bit expensive, and people will hesitate to buy the thing. Plus, it's aimed at an older group than Nintendo's handhelds. People less prone to impulse buying. I'll more than likely own a PSP by the end of the week after seeing the one a co-worker bought, and I'm sure many other potential customers will be the same way.
    • Here in Norway, the PSP costs NOK 2990, which is roughly $450, and that's *without* any games ( http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.asp?sku=307715&cks=SER [komplett.no]).

      Games start at NOK 450 ($70).

      I certainly won't be buying either a PSP or a game for the PSP at those prices.

      In comparison, the Nintendo DS sells for NOK 1599 (roughly $250). An Xbox costs 1200 ($190).

  • For $350... (Score:2, Informative)

    .. you could buy a regular console and still have plenty left over.
    • Seriously I like technology, but that price range is way out there. How about releasing them in different colors too.

    • by Palshife ( 60519 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:47PM (#12092040) Homepage
      I could decide against buying a car because I could buy a banana and have plenty left over.
      • Re:For $350... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        It's more like not buying a Ferrari because you can get a family car and have enough left to feed said family.
      • Re:For $350... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by prockcore ( 543967 )
        Funny.. but the OP is correct. Who is the target audience for the PSP? The older crowd. The older crowd doesn't really have time to play games when they're not at home. And when they are at home, a console is much better.

        Sure there are your standard plane trips and waiting at the DMV, but really, do you spend so much time at the DMV that you'd spend $350 for the PSP and 2 games?

        I can't play at work, and when I'm not at work, I'm at home or out socializing. I'm not going to be playing the PSP in a bar
  • Games (Score:3, Informative)

    by sycomonkey ( 666153 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @01:54PM (#12091226) Homepage
    Having good games other than Lumines might help. Also, having games that don't cost $40. The DS at least had backwards compatibility on it's side, which is probably why it did so well despite also having a weak launch lineup.
    • Speak for yourself - I like the launch titles. Particularly WipeOut and Twisted Metal - I've always been a fan of both of these series on the PS1. Plus, DarkStalkers was one of Capcom's best 2d street fighter clones. Any Playstation fan is loving the launch titles - they're remakes of the PS1's greatest hits. While the PS1 games like WipeOut and Twisted Metal didn't get the kind of massive hype-machines associated with them that Nintendo branded or X-box titles get, these are incredibly good games (well
      • Re:Games (Score:5, Interesting)

        by tepp ( 131345 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:15PM (#12091547)
        I'm a PS fan, but these are not the games I'd buy.

        I'm a female gamer, and I prefer games with stories, games with plots and twists. I loath straight out racing games and "sports" games. I don't like fighter games either - too much boring button mashing. I like games that make me think, games that rely on figuring out solutions rather than memorizing "super combos" or memorizing a track.

        Plus, the price of the system is a bit high for merely a portable system!

        That being said, I would've bought it had it only had Katamari Damacy on it! The ability to roll stuff up while on the bus, or at work.... mmmm. Rolling.

        Other PS games I would've paid for - and bought it for - any Final Fantasy game, including FF strategies and other older ones... any Silent Hill game... any Grand Theft Auto, or Prince of Persia (1 or 2).
        • Katamari Damacy might be tricky, since the PSP only has one analog-ish stick.

          Personally, I'm waiting for someone to write a NES/SNES emulator for it. It'd be especially cool to have those old games working with wireless two-player action.

        • WipeOut isn't quite a straight-out racing game (like Need for Speed) - it's more like a cross between Podracer and Mario Kart.

          But yeah, they should've gotten Final Fantasy Tactics or something to appeal to a wider base - most of their titles are action titles. I think that launch list might be to distance themselves away from the GBA, which I found pretty terrible for action titles. Most of the original GBA games I encountered were either time-wasting puzzlers or time-wasting treadmill RPGs (or remakes o
        • I'm a female gamer, and I prefer games with stories, games with plots and twists. I loath straight out racing games and "sports" games. I don't like fighter games either - too much boring button mashing. I like games that make me think, games that rely on figuring out solutions rather than memorizing "super combos" or memorizing a track.

          One word: Lumines. [penny-arcade.com]
        • Well, for what it's worth, Katamari Damacy has been announced for the DS.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @01:54PM (#12091235)
    1. Max price of $150.
    2. No more ninja star discs.
    3. No more nubs falling off.
    4. Square button no longer sticking.
    5. Square button sensor under Square button and not to the right of the Square button. It's only one of the most used buttons.
    6. No more dead pixels.
    7. More games that I'd actually want. So far - none.

    Think that about sums it up. If all those get cleared up, then I'll think about getting a PSP. Until then, I'll stick with my GBA SP, which already has games I enjoy for it.

    (It's worth noting that I'm also not getting a DS, either.)
    • 6. No more dead pixels.

      So you're never going to buy a laptop? It's also worth noting that my GBA SP has a dead pixel, but I just sorta accept that...
      • It's also worth noting that my GBA SP has a dead pixel, but I just sorta accept that.

        Sony is currently not replacing PSPs for dead pixels, though the seem to be wavering on that. Nintendo will replace it for ONE dead pixel any time in the first 12 months you own it.

        Nintendo return form [nintendo.com]

        They'll apparently pay for the shipping through FedEx as well, so they are trying their best to get rid of dead pixels. Sony's policy is currently "deal with it" which is kind of bad for a system that costs 100 bucks more.

        • They'll apparently pay for the shipping through FedEx as well,

          Yeah, I had a good experience when my Cube started giving disc read errors. They gave me info, I packed it up and shipped it out. I wasn't aware of Nintendo's return policy...I should've checked it out earlier (I've had my SP for over a year now ;( )
  • Yes, I wanted a PSP (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rocjoe71 ( 545053 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:00PM (#12091319) Homepage
    Sure I wanted a PSP, but there was so much hype about the waiting lists and how hard it was going to be to get one leading up to March 24th that I didn't bother looking because I figured I wasn't going to get one if I did.

    On the bright side, lower than expected sales usually leads to price cuts so I'm glad the big hype machine failed.

    • I went into EB about two weeks before the PSP release to buy Xenosaga Ep. 2, and the cashier was harassing me to pre-order. When I responded with my typical "I don't pre-order *anything*" comment, he went on and on about how I'd never be able to get one for months after they came out if I didn't pre-order right then...

      I've since been back to the store to taunt him.
      • I was at EB yesterday and they are sold out and have a ton of pre-orders awaiting their next shipment, so if you plan to only shop at EB Games, then he was mostly correct...
      • I had the same experience at Gamestop. So later that day when I was in Target, not only did they have plenty of PSPs, but also a good selection of games available.

        I've never pre-ordered anything and have always been able to purchase something on release day that I really wanted it.

        When Game-store employees start harassing about pre-ordering, I have found pulling out my credit card (or cash) tends to end the conversation. In my PSP situation, the clerk went into bashing the portable and all of its hyped-
  • Sell Out (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Botia ( 855350 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:00PM (#12091321)
    I find it funny that there are complaints about supply when they sell out and worries about systems failing when they don't sell out. How does a gaming system manufacturer win?
    • Re:Sell Out (Score:4, Interesting)

      by badasscat ( 563442 ) <basscadet75NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @04:09PM (#12093233)
      I find it funny that there are complaints about supply when they sell out and worries about systems failing when they don't sell out. How does a gaming system manufacturer win?

      Probably by neither over-promising nor under-delivering. It's really not all that difficult.

      Sony apparently assumed from their experience with the PS2 that they wouldn't even be able to produce enough units for the demand no matter how many they made; that there was simply an insatiable demand for the PSP. Obviously, they're learning that that's not the case. Hopefully, this will be good for gamers in that:

      a) they will tighten their QC (no doubt some people, like myself, are staying away partly due to the screen issues)
      b) a non-value pack will be released at a lower price... $150 is the maximum I would ever pay for a handheld and if Sony wants to keep the value pack on the market they're gonna need to cut it by $50 too, IMO

      I'm interested in the PSP but not for $250 and not with this obvious dead pixel problem. Sony just completely over-estimated the handheld market, IMO - it is not the same as the home console market in terms of what people are willing to pay, the build quality people are willing to accept, and the types of things people want to do with a portable game machine.

      (Oh, and Sony also needs to admit that it is a portable game machine, not a half-baked multimedia "swiss army knife" that does nothing particularly well.)

      btw, I will take back some of my comments if Sony's rumored UMD burner in the PS3 turns out to be fact.
  • $249 is too much (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 ) <vasqzr@nosPAM.netscape.net> on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:00PM (#12091332)

    I'll save another $50 and buy an Xbox 3 this Christmas.

    $249 is a lot of money to some people.

    • I agree there's been two times where I've held the PSP box in my hand, and just thought it was to expensive.

      Besides the only game I play now is WoW anyways. Too expensive, drop it to $175 maybe I'll pick it up.
    • I'll save another $50 and buy an Xbox 3 this Christmas.

      But the trailer to carry the XBox 3 Portable Edition is another $600 and is available only at Lowe's hardware stores. The 2" ball hitch is extra. Not really a bargain, IMO.
  • bad ideas for launch (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Tumbleweed ( 3706 ) * on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:03PM (#12091377)
    In order of biggest problem to least, IMO:

    1) LCD quality control & dead pixel policy. Horrid.

    2) Only selling the 'value' pack. Worst. Idea. EVER. There is already a great selection of third-party add-ons which make the 'value' pack absurd.

    3) High price of games. $40-50 per game. Ouch.

    4) No demo units in stores. You want to sell a $250 machine? Have demo units.

    5) Some stores selling only bundles. Out of the 5 stores I went to opening day, only 1 was doing that in the Seattle area (KB Toys).

    6) High price of UMD movies (when they arrive). Silly; they shouldn't try selling UMD movies to the public; this should really be targeted at rental places, especially airport locations.

    All these problems aside, most of this can get better, if not much better. Quality control will increase over time, and they're already addressing the dead pixel policy. Hopefully they'll come out with the base edition, sans 'value' soon. $50 in third-party add-ons goes a long way.

    The biggest hope I have is that they'll either change their business model, or make a PSP-like PDA platform with a modular bay where the UMD drive is. I live in breathless anticipation.
    • by igrp ( 732252 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:26PM (#12091698)
      You raise some very interesting points.

      3) High price of games. $40-50 per game. Ouch.
      Personally, I think that is going to be Sony's biggest problem down the road.

      If you think about, $40-50 isn't really that much money for a game you'll get countless hours of enjoyment out of. Well, at least if you're a working adult, it isn't. That's especially true if you compare it to a night out a the movies or a decent meal for two. Both of those will cost you around, or upwards of $50. That is not how it works in the real world though.

      Few people think rationally about a product's price tag. And people perceive $50 to be a lot of money (and rightfully so). Dropping fifty bucks on an item you need is okay, wasting fifty bucks on an item you know you or somebody else will enjoy (say a Christmas present or - to stay on topic - even a video game that allows you and your buddies to kick back, watch a football game and play before and after) - sure. Selling the idea of spending $50 on an item you're only using to amuse yourself for a short period of time is a whole lot harder because it doesn't quite feel right.

      If games were, say, $30 a piece, it would feel more like picking up a CD on your way home after work. Something most people wouldn't feel guilty about at all - after all, you're rewarding yourself and it's "just $15". And whilst $30 is certainly more than most people would pay for a CD, it doesn't feel wrong for a portable video game because most average middle-class Americans still perceive $30 is "inexpensive", whereas $50 is still an investment of sorts (think about it: don't think twice before you hand someone a $50 bill whereas handing someone a $10 just feels natural).

      Add financial constraints to the mix ("gotta pay the bills"), and $50 just doesn't like your getting your money's worth. Sure, a lot of hardcore gamers won't mind plucking down $50 for a game. But that's not necessarily Sony's target audience -- if they want to be profitable, they need to target a broader demographic. And a $50 a pop, people will think twice about buying your product. These days, very few people make $50 impulse buy decisions...

      • What the hell kind of movies do you go to, that it costs fifty dollars? It costs five dollars a person where I go. A good meal is ten to fifteen dollars a person. Even that is expensive, when I can just make my own meals.
      • by petsounds ( 593538 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @06:00PM (#12094644)
        If you think about, $40-50 isn't really that much money for a game you'll get countless hours of enjoyment out of.

        Well that's exactly where the problem lies. You see, in general the publishers and game studios aren't being *honest* with customers about the quality of their respective titles. If they were, there would be much more granularity in the pricing structure of games. But as it is, they market every game as if it's a AAA title (even though internally they know very well which ones suck and which are mediocre), and so they have a fixed price point for every game. This leads to a situation where consumers have to wade through endless amounts of marketing BS to find the truth about a game. If they were willing to sell a mediocre console game at $25, people would be much more willing to buy it. But they aren't willing to be honest. ESPN was honest with their sports games. And then EA bought them out to shut them up.

        To speak more to your point though, I believe publishers vastly underestimate how complicated consumers are in their game purchase decisions. I think for a lot of us, the "worth" of a game is determined by a mix of longevity, fun factor, and style. If this is some action game that we can blow through in 8 hours, do not expect us to throw down $50 for it. I have to give Namco props here for releasing Katamari Damarcy for $20. I think this exactly proves my point. If you nail the price point correctly, people will buy it in droves, whereas it might otherwise languish on the shelves and in three years be talked about by game journalists as a cult classic that got overlooked.

        I think in the end a flexible pricing structure would serve to benefit both the publishers and the consumers. Lying to your customer base by saying every game is amazing and worth $50 only serves to piss people off, and after so much marketing shrill (and don't think I'm not also pointing the finger at you for this, IGN et al), people start to just tune you out completely. I think that is exactly what is happening with the PSP. Sony got greedy and thought people would buy a portable system as if it was a third Playstation console. But Nintendo has already set a different price expectation for consumers, and that will be very difficult to overcome.

        So to borrow a note from Jon Stewart: publishers, stop hurting the game industry. Just stop. We know that next-gen games cost more to produce, but charging more money isn't necessarily the answer.
        • I don't think I've ever heard a publisher talk in terms of individual purchasers. Whether an average consumer would want to buy something at X amount of money, to them, is beside the point.

          The equation that the publishers are optimizing for, is "starting at 50 dollars and lowering the price every month, how can I maximize revenue." Games always start at 50. You always get a crowd of early adopters who really want the game, no matter how bad the game is, and so you always start at that high price to sell
        • Games are sold like movies (OR books to an extent). Lousy movies don't have cheaper tickets -- they just don't stay in the theater as long, come out on DVD/video sooner, etc.

          For me the question is piracy. If the disks in the PSP can't be easily pirated, then Sony will be able to keep prices high (the way Nintendo does with catridges). If they keep prices high this will stifle the budget games market.

          Frankly, a really neat trick for PSP would have been backwards compatibility with PS1 and either a system f
    • There's also the reported problems with the square button. If they couldn't get that right, it makes me wonder what else they got wrong. I'm tempted to get one, but I think I'll wait for a hardware respin, assuming there's enough demand for that.

      I also wonder if some enterprising person will manage to put games on the memory sticks. The proprietary-CD-thingy seems like an awful mistake to me.

      • I'm told the square button problem was fixed for the US launch; I've not heard anyone reporting that problem exists with the US machines.

        I was thinking about the UMD, and everyone has a problem that it's not some other format, but think about the specs of it for a bit: 1.8Gig, and very small (smaller than miniDVD - a miniDVD disc is wider than the PSP is; and some are complaining that the PSP is too big already). The MiniDisc format holds 1Gig, 80% less than the UMD. I dunno what the power requirements are
        • The sticking was fixed, but the sensor is still not alligned so the square button is still less responsive.
        • They also have an opportunity to sell quite a few Sony-priced UMD-R drives for computers, if they have enough vision to do so. Plus the market for UMD-R discs. I smell profit here, and I'm hoping Sony does, too. Time will tell...

          This will never happen. If people can actually write to those discs, that opens up the door for modchips and piracy. Note how it took Sony a few years to grudgingly admit that MP3 players might be something that they ought to sell -- and that is only because others were filling

        • Cartridges are fast and battery-efficient. Discs are slow and inefficient. If they're going to use something proprietary, why use something slow and battery draining?
          • I think it might've been a storage issue, too. UMDs hold (I think) 1.8Gig of storage. For the cost of a tiny optical disk, what's the cost of a comparable cartridge?

            I just saw a photo layout someone did where they completely disassembled a PSP; it made me think - what type of connection does the UMD have to the PSP? Is it something _electrically_ standard like ATA or SATA? If so, that could open up some nice hacking possibilities once the machine is cracked to allow running of whatever software you want. R
    • That PDA application would be swell. Rumor has it that both Sony and Nintendo are working on PDA applications for their systems. (Sony in that controversion update which touted a word processor, Nintendo in their "V-Pocket" trademark and rumored deals with Palm.)

      I'd get a PSP if it had PDA functions, and if they reduced the price. It would make it a no-brainer for me, and open up entire new markets for the device, though it might hurt Sony's profits in the same way that the PS2 had trouble being profita
  • by turbopunk ( 806995 ) <cgardner@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:05PM (#12091395)
    I completely agree with this. I was surprised when i went around town doing my normal errands the day after release and saw 15 at best buy, 50 at walmart, etc etc etc. I mean, i'm in a pretty hefty geek town.

    GameStop and EBGames both told me "Pre-order, or you're not getting one until the 22nd century." If that was the case, then I must still be dreaming.

    Truth be told, I think the DS sold out for the reason everyone thought it would. It was different. It came froma company that traditionally gets things right the first time.

    The PSP is nothing "new" and comes from a company with a bad track record of first releases. I'm pretty sure most people, myself included, said they'll wait for the bugs to get run out of the first run before investing.
    • Well, technically this wasn't(unlike the DS) a "first run", it's been out in Japan for a few months now(unlike the DS, which actually hit NA a few days before Japan). They worked out some issues before the NA release. Not defending Sony or anything, but calling it a "first release" is a bit misinformed.
    • by Eil ( 82413 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @03:09PM (#12092373) Homepage Journal

      Not only that, but it seems to be the status quo now where a new system's success is measured not by if it sells out in major outlets, but rather how quickly. Even the very day of the PSP launch, the mass media was producing stories saying that by noon, many retailers still had plenty of systems left? Excuse me? Still?

      If these units where anything other than a video game system that sold out, most folks would stop to ask themselves why a particular retail chain didn't do their market demand research before placing such a miniscule order. They'd also ask how a company could spend millions or billions preparing for a product launch and then somehow simply forget a few zeros when they told the manufacturer how many to produce.

      I tell you why the PSP didn't sell well. People are sick of the artificial scarcity tactic. The last five video game systems to be released all carried the same spiel and nobody's buying it anymore. They know full well that two or three weeks from now, you'll be able to waltz into any Walmart and grab one out of the dozens in stock.
  • the problem (Score:3, Interesting)

    by muel ( 132794 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:16PM (#12091561)
    When the PSP first hit, I was inches away from buying one. The launch lineup was pretty damn nice, and I felt like this thing had some serious developer support. Then I looked at the list of upcoming releases and gasped - what a barren wasteland! I didn't see a single upcoming game with any buzz around it that didn't have the word "PORT" written all over its face. Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are probably the only interesting titles, and they're basic ports, and they aren't coming out for monnnnnths. I see no reason to pay $350 for only two exciting games right now (WipeOut and Lumines). I figure, if I'm gonna pay that kind of cash for two games with no guarantee for future quality, I'll buy a fricking DDR setup for the house. For now, I'm waiting to see if other quality titles come out of the woodwork, and judging by sales, enough other hardcore gamers are in agreement.
  • by superultra ( 670002 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:16PM (#12091562) Homepage
    A main reason why I think the PSP hasn't done as well as expected is that it's the wrong timing. Summer is _the_ season for portable game machines, because parents buy them for kids when they go on trips. At the EB where I worked, we would have to put the gameboy section at the front of the store come every May.

    But the PSP doesn't really hit that crowd. The target audience, 18-40 males, doesn't have a summer off (or is driving when they do). The PSP might perform better come winter and Christmas, particularly if they drop the price $50.
  • I like Sony. Have for years. I even got to see and play with an import one back in November. However, I don't have the time for the PSP. Sony talks about opportunity gaming, where you play something because you have time in between things to stop and play with {X}.

    But you know what? I don't have that kind of time. I can't play my PSP when I'm stuck in traffic (I tried to with my new cell phone, but that was rather risky). I can't play my PSP at work (well, I could try). I can't play my PSP playing basketball, or golf or whatever. And I suspect that other 18-39 year olds that have jobs may not either. And by putting it at a price point so high that you really have to have a lot of 'opportunity' times to play. Unless they market this to kids, but somehow those commercials don't look kiddy to me.

    I do have time when I get home however. But then, why would I pay money to look at a small little screen when I can just watch DVD's on any of my TVs. Or play my PS2.

    They should really try to market to kids. Hell, when you have no job and people are driving you to places you don't really want to go to, there's opportunity-time galore.
  • I picked one up after all. The price was kind of high, but I dig the value pack. I wouldn't want to carry around the PSP without something to protect the screen, and really a 32MB card is perfect for good starter memory card. I haven't decided if I will buy any bigger ones for media. Spider-man 2 was the perfect price, included. I won't be buying any UMD movies, I'll pay $15-25 for the movie on DVD that I can watch with other people on the TV. Maybe if I could get a bundle of the movie on DVD and pay
  • Personally I will consider getting a PSP when they sell for $149 and the 1st release has been tested out. Also, the games would need to drop to at least $25. I'm sure this will happen sooner or later, right now I will let the "early adopters" empty their wallets and do all of the bug testing. I'm sure these will sell very well at Christmas.
  • by ayersrj ( 701333 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @02:29PM (#12091749)
    As a Nintendo DS owner AND a PSP owner, I find it ridiculous that people are complaining about the PSP only having ports and that being the specific reason that it sucks.

    Has anyone really noticed the majority of the DS library? Super Mario 64, Warioware (pretty much a port), Ridge Racer, Tiger Woods, Madden. I mean aside from Yoshi Touch N Go and Ping Pals, Nintendo doesn't exactly have a ton of original non-port stuff either.

    While everyone complains about ports, I wonder how many people will run to stores and pick up DS when Ocarina of Time ends up hitting it, or when GTA hits a PSP. Face it people, sure we love original games like Lumines, but really the majority of games you purchase for handhelds are portable versions of your favorite home games. Slightly tweaked, but still great games.
    • If I hadn't already posted in this discussion I'd have modded you Troll for calling Wario Ware a port. Sequel? Yes. Port? No. It has the framework from Wario Ware but the actual gameplay is vastly different, mainly because of the input methods. A port is a game that's modified to run on different hardware and you need to be braindead (no Terri jokes please) not to notice the differences between Wario Ware and Touched. SM64DS is an enhanced port, Ridge Racer is a port, Asphalt is a port but WWTouched is an e
    • The difference occurs when the ports add in new content that can only be utilize with the DS's unique features. Like the stylus-based minigames of Mario 64DS, driving with your finger on Ridge Racer, or tracing plays with Madden. I'm not saying those are all grand, sweeping, vital gameplay changes... just the kind of stuff that makes people consider DS games a little better than simply "ports."

      And did you notice the second screen? That also helps.

      And WarioWare Touched is about as much of a port as Tomb

    • No they aren't.

      Maybe you do; I don't have that kind of money. And I'm not that easy to please. If I'm going to spend money on entertainment, it will be for an experience I've never had before. Something to give me new insight. And further, something that's actually designed for the platform in question.

      What ports are you talking about? I don't even see them on the DS. I'm not paying attention. What I see are Another Code and Meteos. Even the games that come from an established series will be diffrent, bea
    • You know, it is possible for them to both be a bad purchase right now. IMO, there just aren't enough good games for either system right now. I own both a PS2 and a GBA, so I should be the target market for both of these systems, but I'm going to hold off on both the PSP and the DS until I see a) compelling games and b)lower prices.
    • Plus: Wario Ware is certainly not a port. (It's not as good as the original, but it's just not a port, all the minigames are new and there's more variety.)

      Minus: Ping Pals is overrated if you aren't in third grade and have a bunch of friends who also have DS's AND wouldn't rather just use the built-in Pictochat. It's a cool idea (and from a company I like), but it's not worth it.

      Yoshi, however, I'm really enjoying. Ocarina of Time probably won't be hitting the DS any time soon, they already rereleased
  • Someone posted on the PSP gamefaqs.com message board what seem to be legit sales information from the Best Buy stores in his area (NJ)

    Here is the link: http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?bo ard=918340&topic=20123040 [gamefaqs.com]

    ..and here is just the store name and the number of units they had in stock at these particular stores (as of 3/30/2005 10:19:01 AM)

    400 - HOLMDEL NJ 8
    344 - PARAMUS NJ 8
    388 - MANALAPAN NJ 6
    456 - WOODBRIDGE NJ 2
    457 - ROCKAWAY NJ 37
    468 - W PATERSON NJ 9
    472 - UNI

    • RSS

      Location Avail On Hand Total On Hand On Order In Transit Current Sell Avg. Wk
      Unit Sales Avg. Wks
      of Supply Calc. Wks
      of Supply

      OK Two things.
      1.-a gamefaqs thread is definetily not a very strong source to quote.
      2.-Avail on Hand On Order In transit. is a very confusing label for an order. It means they are either in the store, on the warehouse or in transit either means they are currently being shipped from Japan (or wherever they make Psps) or they are currently being delivered to another place (another st
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I know the Woodbridge store sold out (I live in Woodbridge and tried to get one two nights ago). Union had a ton in stock still as of last night.

      Personally I LOVE my PSP. It's gorgeous. There's only two good games though, and I didn't want to buy it in a bundle so I got it from Best Buy. Only Lumines and Wipeout Pure are worth purchasing though.

  • by Metroid72 ( 654017 ) on Wednesday March 30, 2005 @03:31PM (#12092707)
    After > 20 years in gaming, I've learned a few lessons:
    a) Early adoption is just a hip factor. Other than being first and hip the oportunity cost is negative. As you grow older it's easier to have a console accumulating dust. I'd rather have a $99 idle console than a $399 one.
    b) Optical media based-consoles actually improve in quality as iterations of the hardware are released.
    c) Maturity of the Software Lineup. Why? Well.. when a console reaches $99 it's probably in the last year of its lifetime and all the greatest hits are out around $20. Not only that, there's no complains about weak 1st gen lineup or lack of knowledge from the developers (ahem.. PS2, GC, DS...)

    I'm actually waiting for the PS2 and Xbox to hit $99. On each instance I'll go with $300 and pick up the 10 best games of each console (good games are timeless). I might actually save some money with the XBox (other than Halo/Halo2 they might not reach 10 must have timeless titles).
  • The screen on the PSP is really really good. When watching a movie you can't even see any pixels. Everyone I showed mine too was very impressed with the screen. The ability to: 1) Watch movies 2) Play games 3) Surf the web / read email (with DNS hack) means you have 3 big functions in a very small package for $250. I have a Nintendo DS as well, and the DS seems like a cheap toy while the PSP seems like some high end electronics. Mostly just from the screen. I think the PSP is a very good deal an

  • There is a psychological barrier that transcends economic conditions, a point at which something simply feels too expensive for the majority of consumers. For handheld videogames, that number is $100. And for game consoles, it is $200. Below these price points, there is mass market appeal.

    The DS, thanks to years of Gameboy momentum, has surprised many of us by having an impressive launch despite the $150 price tag. People could look at recently $100 GBA-SP, then at a DS, and see a lot of hardware added to
  • As the price decreases, and more hacks are found in the software, the PSP will gradually spread. It currently has the teething problems of any new console - not enough games, price too high, competition from other consoles (in this case the DS)

    I'd say give it time to grow.
  • DUH? Guys the whole article is pointless. Of course you are not going to sell a psp out of the blue! is a $250 machine! have you ever walked to a store, looked at a computer and say, "hey nice desktop computer! Im taking one home!" (if you have then I feel nothing but envy for you)

    There are several stores reporting than the initial batch were sold out. that means those who wanted one bough it and those who still want one are buying them as we speak. (even at bloated prices)

    Evidence: I just talked to a fr
    • Why doesn't it have impulse sales? The answer is simple.

      No. Demo. Units.

      The DS was on demo at our local WalMart running Metroid First Hunt for two months before its release. On the other hand, I've yet to see a PSP out of its box.
      • A:"No demo units"

        good answer.

        Probably considering the huge number of preorders they've got. The stores thought they werent going to have units to show. But now that they are seing that casual gamers are not buying, they will probably set up some for display. They are already doing that where I live.
        • Selling out is no excuse. It's *one* demo unit that's needed, it's not going to hurt sales that much to put one on display. Evem when the DS sold out in various places, they still had demo units on display.

          I suspect that Nintendo actually sends dedicated demo units out to stores (which would explain why the DS was playable in stores a couple of months before its release) while Sony simply neglected to do so, or assumes stores will use one of their stock for that purpose. Which would be a mistake on Sony
  • I'd say it's partially due to when they launched it- more specifically, that they didn't launch it in the fourth quarter (which is when every single system that's ever had a massive shortage at launch was released). The fact that they launched it a few months after of one of the biggest holiday seasons for games ever also has a factor, most likely (gamers just spent $300+ on video games a few months ago.)

    And for those who bitch about the launch lineup- come on, no console in the history of console gaming

  • Im not completely sure (because it was a long time ago) but I remember the PS1 (Psx) had pretty much the same reception when it was released. It was initially expensive ($300!) there were almost no games for it. So just a few hardcores bought it, six months (or a year?) later Tekken 3, RE2 and FF 7 were released and the unit dropped the price to almost a half... you know the rest.
  • The article doesn't cite a single sales number, making it of dubious credibility. First off, Sony did sell out. The retails didn't. Second, was the original shipment 1 million? Or did they release 1.2 million, 1.5 million? Also, nobody expected more than 800,000 sold. DS sold 800,000 in one week. At higher price, the PSP should only sell 400,000 to 500,000 in its first week.

    PSP was released during a rather weak gift-giving holiday. Most older generation folk, 30's and up, didn't give gifts at Easte

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