[Norlo]

Oh dear. It seems Sony's 'plan' it to maintain parity between the price of downlandable PSP games and their retail equivalent (and i would have thought PS3).

Despite the fact that a downloadable game cuts out packaging costs, distribution costs, retailer cut etc. I mean, they are saving money, and passing nothing on to the consumer. I would have thought that if they want digital distribution to take off, some kind of discount would be a cert? You can't trade in a D/L game, it's not even yours.

Who on earth outside of Sony thinks it's a good idea to price D/L games the same as UMD's? I know this has clearly been Sony's MO, and i think i posted a few weeks ago that i didn't think it would change in a PSP thread, but this pretty much kills anything the PSPGo had. Sony are odd

Sony to maintain 'pricing parity' for downloadable PSP games

[richard plumb]

they can't undercut retail prices, as they supply retail in the first place. Its a tricky situation to be in.

I would like them to reflect realworld prices though - do something like an average price including main retailer price cuts, and charge that price on the store. Too much is literal RRP - eg NFS Shift was £32 on PSP and I couldn't find anybody charging that much

[Nuggsy]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

they can't undercut retail prices, as they supply retail in the first place. Its a tricky situation to be in.

Sony don't supply retailers the individual publishers etc. decide the RRP.
Why is this any different to iTunes?
Buying digital music is significantly cheaper than going to a music retailer. Sony are notorious for doing things their own way & I'm in no position to correct their strategies but I can't help but think this is not the wisest of moves

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by Nuggsy

Sony don't supply retailers the individual publishers etc. decide the RRP.
Why is this any different to iTunes?
Buying digital music is significantly cheaper than going to a music retailer. Sony are notorious for doing things their own way & I'm in no position to correct their strategies but I can't help but think this is not the wisest of moves

I'm not trying to defend Sony but there is a clear difference between the content on iTunes and the PSN store. Apple does not sell it's own content at a lower price. They are just a third party selling other peoples products at a lower price then retail just like other online retailers like Amazon and Play. Sony is selling their own content on the PSN or content by third parties meant for their own hardware and can't necessarily undercut retailers selling the same content. The retail market is still a major source of consumer purchases and the digital downloads is still small. Sony still need the retailers on their side.

[silent ninja]

Awful. Wouldn't touch a PSP Go. You can't resell games, everything has to be brought at a premium from the PSN store. How much memory does thing have? Will you be going out and buying lots of sticks?

And it cost more than the PSP 3000. Bad bad bad.

[mattyduk]

they've done a pretty amazing thing with this launch.

They've managed to ensure that current PSP owners won't want to upgrade (unless they've got loads of unwanted cash).

Any new games they buy will be at a premium ( I went onto PSP PSN last night and saw the NFS Shift was 31.99 !!)

They won't be able to play their existing games (apart from 3 they will need to digitally download, if they've still got their original PSP - which a fair number of people would already have traded in or ebayed)

They won't be able to trade in games they've finished.

Won't be able to use any existing accessories.

quite amazing. It's very rare for a new progression hardware launch to distance itself so far from the previous version. Look at newer versions of the PS3, 360. I can only think of apple's changed to the iphone which blocked out some thirdparty docks.

And don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed my PSP and have defended it on a number of occasions on various forums.

And as for new prospective owners, £229 ! when you can get a decent spec IPOD touch 32gb for £180 which has a massive range of 59p games - some of which are very very good, and all the functionality that device has.

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by silent ninja

Awful. Wouldn't touch a PSP Go. You can't resell games, everything has to be brought at a premium from the PSN store. How much memory does thing have? Will you be going out and buying lots of sticks?

And it cost more than the PSP 3000. Bad bad bad.

I have no interest in selling my games.

Only the newer games are at a premium with a lot of older ones being a reasonable price especially on the US PSN store.

It costs about the same as a PSP-3000 when you factor in the price of a 16GB memory stick. The PSP Go has 16GB built in.

The PSP Go is also smaller in size, has built in bluetooth, better battery life and a better analogue stick.

Personally I have no interest in buying games on UMD. UMD's are flimsy, break easily, have longer load times and use more battery power.

[DarthyBaby]

All I need is someone to make a little usb UMD external drive which allows me to rip my umd's to the pspgo's internal memory and im sold, hell i'd probably buy 2!

[mattrixdesign2]

Originally Posted by DarthyBaby

All I need is someone to make a little usb UMD external drive which allows me to rip my umd's to the pspgo's internal memory and im sold, hell i'd probably buy 2!

I read yesterday that Sony have backed down on the UMD for Downloads exchanged , due to legal reasons. That will **** some people off.

Sony have so messed up with this, essentially, they have a power full machine, stunning screen, awkward controls, and lack of touch/movement sensitivity. All they are offering is a re-packaged PSP, and as usual the ability to play remakes of PS2/PS3 games - not really FUN is it!!! Console games to not always make great portable games - FACT.

Still it has a great PS3/Streaming capability which is actually worth having, but soon some Sony Eriscssons will have this facility, then I will say good by to my PSP.

[Tonks01]

Originally Posted by Moogle

I have no interest in selling my games.

I'm the same, I think it comes from being a chronic researcher when it comes to buying games - But I'm yet to pick one up that I want to let go of, PSP will be no different.

Originally Posted by Moogle

Only the newer games are at a premium with a lot of older ones being a reasonable price especially on the US PSN store.

You mentioned buying things off the US PSN, is this easy to do? I noticed a lot of games are prices under £10 on there.

Originally Posted by Moogle

Personally I have no interest in buying games on UMD. UMD's are flimsy, break easily, have longer load times and use more battery power.

Ive lost count on the amount of UMDs that bit the dust, it was always the outer casing which seemed to fail, never understood why you couldn't buy new casings as the data on the actual disc was fine

[Norlo]

Originally Posted by Moogle

I'm not trying to defend Sony but there is a clear difference between the content on iTunes and the PSN store. Apple does not sell it's own content at a lower price. They are just a third party selling other peoples products at a lower price then retail just like other online retailers like Amazon and Play. Sony is selling their own content on the PSN or content by third parties meant for their own hardware and can't necessarily undercut retailers selling the same content. The retail market is still a major source of consumer purchases and the digital downloads is still small. Sony still need the retailers on their side.

What a contrary post. Or maybe it's just confusing due to the way it is written, I am guessing your first language is not English Moogle?

Apple sell 3rd part songs on iTunes. Sony sell 3rd party game on PSN (as well as their own), yet they are not the same thing?

Sony can undercut retail if they wish on PSN. If they wanted to drop the price of GT5p for the weekend to £4, they could. They just don't want to. I would imagine if they wanted to drop the price of a third party game on PSN, Burnout for example, then they would need EA to agree, as it's their game and IP. But there doesn't seem to be any interest in Sony dropping the price of their own games, so third party is even further in dream land.

Also, retail know they need Sony.

Sure, Sony need retail, but there are lots of retailers. Say Game got upset, Sony still have many other places to sell in the retail chain. However, flip it, and if Sony didn't want Game to sell PS3, they would cut their account. Retail and platform holder are in a co-existence relationship, but if we get down to brass tacks, Sony are the ones with the actual power. Believe me when i say, retail know this. Even the big ones.

Also, the bit in bold. You'd think that was true, wouldn't you.

But the whole idea of the PSPGo which has no physical media drive would seem to indicate otherwise. Sony knew they would be cutting out the retailers (unless the retailer end up selling prepaid codes for D/L games), the day they decided on the spec of the GO, they knew retail would not like it.

With that in mind, and the fact that the Go was always going to be an issue for retail, you would think, that Sony would want to get as many people buying from the store, because if they don't buy from the PSN store, they aren't going to be playing or buying games for the PSPGo becasue D/L is the only way.

With D/L games costing as much as a UMD and how badly that goes down with consumers, and given the fact that D/L'ing on a GO is the only option, where are the sales going to come from? What is the point in buying a Go, in doing so, you tie yourself to buying D/L games, which you cannot trade, cannot lend to a mate, don't even own (you simply have a license), for the same price as a UMD which would offer all those things?

Why would anyone other than a hardcore Sony lover buy a Go? Get a PSP 3000, surly?

Let's face it, the PSP GO had train-wreck written all over it from day one. I am not saying some people won't buy Go, some people will buy anything (even more when it has a Sony badge on it), but the fact is, i just don't see how it gonna work out - no retail support due to no physical media, horrendous pricing of D/L games, more expensive then PSP 3000?

If you are gonna get a Go, i'd wait for a couple of months, because i guarantee you, the price will drop before xmas this year.

And finally, i had to laugh at you opening line That is pretty much your main job here right, defending Sony?

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by Norlo

What a contrary post. Or maybe it's just confusing due to the way it is written, I am guessing your first language is not English Moogle?

I don't know where you got that idea from. My post is certainly not contrary and English is my first language. To assume that it's not from what I have written here is IMO an insult.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Apple sell 3rd part songs on iTunes. Sony sell 3rd party game on PSN (as well as their own), yet they are not the same thing?

No they are not the same. Apple sell third party songs which have no DRM and can be used on any device that plays them back. The games on the PSN only work on Sony's hardware.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Sony can undercut retail if they wish on PSN. If they wanted to drop the price of GT5p for the weekend to £4, they could. They just don't want to. I would imagine if they wanted to drop the price of a third party game on PSN, Burnout for example, then they would need EA to agree, as it's their game and IP. But there doesn't seem to be any interest in Sony dropping the price of their own games, so third party is even further in dream land.

Yes Sony can undercut but they won't because retailers especially big ones like GAME are very important for the rest of their business. Third party publishers need retail just as much for the rest of their business.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Also, retail know they need Sony.

Sure, Sony need retail, but there are lots of retailers. Say Game got upset, Sony still have many other places to sell in the retail chain. However, flip it, and if Sony didn't want Game to sell PS3, they would cut their account. Retail and platform holder are in a co-existence relationship, but if we get down to brass tacks, Sony are the ones with the actual power. Believe me when i say, retail know this. Even the big ones.

Sorry but that just isn't true. Sony may have other places to seel but GAME is one of their important retail partners and the last thing they want to do is upset them. They need GAME more then GAME needs them which is why Sony has to be careful with their pricing on PSN.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Also, the bit in bold. You'd think that was true, wouldn't you.

But the whole idea of the PSPGo which has no physical media drive would seem to indicate otherwise. Sony knew they would be cutting out the retailers (unless the retailer end up selling prepaid codes for D/L games), the day they decided on the spec of the GO, they knew retail would not like it.

I agree that this was probably not the right thing to do regards the PSP Go and already a few smaller retailers have said they will not be selling the PSP Go. We shall just have to wait and see what kind of impact this will lead to in the long run.

Originally Posted by Norlo

With that in mind, and the fact that the Go was always going to be an issue for retail, you would think, that Sony would want to get as many people buying from the store, because if they don't buy from the PSN store, they aren't going to be playing or buying games for the PSPGo becasue D/L is the only way.

Again it remains to be seen what sort of impact this makes and how it affects the success or lack there of of the PSP Go. However Sony is not stupid and I'm sure a lot of thought and research has gone into this new design and content selling structure.

Originally Posted by Norlo

With D/L games costing as much as a UMD and how badly that goes down with consumers, and given the fact that D/L'ing on a GO is the only option, where are the sales going to come from? What is the point in buying a Go, in doing so, you tie yourself to buying D/L games, which you cannot trade, cannot lend to a mate, don't even own (you simply have a license), for the same price as a UMD which would offer all those things?

Well I can't speak for everyone but i have no intention of trading my games in, selloing or lending them to others. I also have no problem buying games on the PSN but then again I'm not going to buy a huge amount and what I will buy will be mostly from the US PSN where the games are more reasonably priced.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Why would anyone other than a hardcore Sony lover buy a Go? Get a PSP 3000, surly?

Well I have a PSP 1000 and to me buying a PSP Go makes more sense then buying a PSP 3000. I do think that most of the sales will come from new buyers and not existing PSP owners.

Originally Posted by Norlo

Let's face it, the PSP GO had train-wreck written all over it from day one. I am not saying some people won't buy Go, some people will buy anything (even more when it has a Sony badge on it), but the fact is, i just don't see how it gonna work out - no retail support due to no physical media, horrendous pricing of D/L games, more expensive then PSP 3000?

If you are gonna get a Go, i'd wait for a couple of months, because i guarantee you, the price will drop before xmas this year.

Sorry but I beg to disagree and will give Sony the benefit of the doubt. If anything they may reduce the price of the hardware and the digital content to make it better value for money but I wouldn't be surprised if the PSP Go does well.

Originally Posted by Norlo

And finally, i had to laugh at you opening line That is pretty much your main job here right, defending Sony?

Again I have no idea where you got that notion. We have been down this road before and you seem to have the misconception that I only like Sony and that I defend them all the time which is obviously not the case. I own all 3 home consoles and I will defend and criticise them all when ever necessary. Unfortunately whist I can see the pros and cons of all three consoles and hardware manufacturers a lot of other people can't and have the inherent desire to defend their console of choice which is sad. Not to mention you yourself are guilty of pointless rants.

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by Tonks01

You mentioned buying things off the US PSN, is this easy to do? I noticed a lot of games are prices under £10 on there.

Well I have a US PS3 which I have had since launch and back then it was possible to use a UK credit card to setup an account on the US PSN. They closed that loophole as far as I know and it is no longer possible. My account still works and I can still buy things on the US as well as the HK PSN stores. The other option would be to buy US PSN store cards off Ebay and use those.

[Norlo]

Thanks for the reply Moo.

Can i ask you what you base your reply (bits quoted below) on?

Sorry but that just isn't true. Sony may have other places to seel but GAME is one of their important retail partners and the last thing they want to do is upset them. They need GAME more then GAME needs them which is why Sony has to be careful with their pricing on PSN.

You’ve worked in video game retail? You know who the major distributors? You know how a product gets from Sony to retail via various distributors and how that works?

I assume you have knowledge (first hand, not internet read) of these things, because your tone, and you do this in all your posts, comes across as an authoritative one, but it seems to be based on simple opinion and a rather uninformed one at that? There is nothing wrong with a tone of authority, but what you are saying in those cases seems to be more just a Sony fans opinion. Some Sony fans were buying slims in readiness for GT5 release this xmas, look how that turned out.

In the quote above, you are telling me i am wrong. Moogle, i was not saying what i said as an opinion; i was saying it from experience. You know, actually doing it. I am just curious where you knowledge in this regard comes from to tell me i am wrong?

And this...

However Sony is not stupid and I'm sure a lot of thought and research has gone into this new design and content selling structure.

Really? Do you see the PSP GO forum overrun with people posting about it? Your faith is totally misplaced, if you understood the industry as anything more than a consumer, you would know that. It is this kind of 'faith' that you display toward Sony which means you put over the impression that you are far from objective. As i say, you give Sony the benefit of the doubt or defend them far more than i would think a 'balanced' person would, IMO.

Well I can't speak for everyone but i have no intention of trading my games in, selloing or lending them to others. I also have no problem buying games on the PSN but then again I'm not going to buy a huge amount and what I will buy will be mostly from the US PSN where the games are more reasonably priced.

Where to start with this one.

You don't lend games to mates. Ever? You don't even want the option? Ever?

Even you are saying the prices are too expensive on UK PSN? So you'll use US? Do you think most consumers are going to do that? Do you think that is a solution, which is going to offer a good experience to Go users in the UK?

And if you are not going to buy that many games for you Go on PSN, what games will you play on it?

I can understand that you are a person who does not trade in games, i am not either per se, but what happens when you have finished a game, done everything.

Don't you think it's a good option (for the consumer) to be able to trade old software in for a new game? To me, any balanced consumer would want that option, the option of having digital distribution is good, i am all for it, but to have a device which dos not offer any kind of physical media, meaning any game you buy for it is simply licensed to you, you don't own it, and you can't do anything with it, seems a very strange thing to say, a strange thing to be ‘happy with’.

As i say, you see all to happy to compromise for the benefit of Sony. Balanced? Doesn’t seem like it.

And as for the 'Not to mention you yourself are guilty of pointless rants.' jibe. My posts are long, and i do go on. I know this. But rant? The only time i 'rant' is when posts like yours come up, as they are just frustrating. They seem to forgo any kind of logic, just because you seemingly want Sony to succeed. I just don't that kind of mindset

[museumsteve]

Whilst I'm not a big fan of what PSP Go! is going to try and do within the games industry, it's nothing that the iPod hasn't done to the music industry. There's no physical media with iPods and it's just accepted now, albeit the music industry has worked together to price accordingly. Let's not forget how quickly iPod took hold of the market.

Sony do need Game. Game, being the largest specialist in the UK (probably Europe now), put Sony's Playstation brand in front of millions of shoppers, shoppers that are looking specifically for gaming products hence Game is more valuable as a shop front than the likes of Currys or catalogue stores.

As for PSP Go! being a success, I dont think it will be, but I dont think Sony are expect it to be. IMO (and I've worked in games industry for almost 15years) PSP Go! is a clever opportunity for Sony to test the waters with digital distribution.
Large retailers will support it, they get the hardware sale, they get accessory sales and of course there's the 'software replacing' PSN prepaid cards.

[Cenzo74]

Originally Posted by museumsteve

Whilst I'm not a big fan of what PSP Go! is going to try and do within the games industry, it's nothing that the iPod hasn't done to the music industry. There's no physical media with iPods and it's just accepted now, albeit the music industry has worked together to price accordingly. Let's not forget how quickly iPod took hold of the market.

Sony do need Game. Game, being the largest specialist in the UK (probably Europe now), put Sony's Playstation brand in front of millions of shoppers, shoppers that are looking specifically for gaming products hence Game is more valuable as a shop front than the likes of Currys or catalogue stores.

As for PSP Go! being a success, I dont think it will be, but I dont think Sony are expect it to be. IMO (and I've worked in games industry for almost 15years) PSP Go! is a clever opportunity for Sony to test the waters with digital distribution.
Large retailers will support it, they get the hardware sale, they get accessory sales and of course there's the 'software replacing' PSN prepaid cards.

I think this is an important issue. Firstly quite rightly one can draw parallels between iPods and the PSP Go. Both are proprietary hardware that do not use physical media - and let's not forget that it was only recently Apple removed DRM from audio it is maintained on video. So the concept of sharing the media was not neccessarily any easier for iPods at launch (accepting that at launch it was audio only anyway). That said, a major difference is the ability to populate iTunes with your own music and video collection from CDs which you cannot do with PSP UMD games on the GO (at least not reasonably legally).

Sony advise that the PSP go is not designed or expected to replace PSP 3000 and that games will continue to be released on UMD and for download via PSN concurrently. What we have here therefore is choice. I would suggest that those of use who desire the maximum flexibility should opt for the 3000 as you do get the best of both worlds with seemingly the only problem a slightly bigger form factor.

We may be concerned that the arrival of the GO heralds the beginning of the end for the 3000 and UMDs however we do know that Sony's announced intent is to continue to support both platforms much the same way that PS2 support continued post PS3 launch so there is a precedent.

Now I am not saying that the pricing of either the hardware itself nor the software on PSN is neccessarily reasonable, but under the right circumstances the initial outlay in my opinion can be reduced to a reasonable level, and as someone who tends to play more PS1 classics on the PSP using it mostly for video viewing I am not overly concerned and I am very excited by the device.

The popularity of the games on iPod Touch in my opinion demonstrates that the market for simple cheap and accessible games exists, and perhaps the Go's strength will lie here. The initial crop of minis seems ok albeit pricier than their iTunes equivalents but for me the larger screen (I believe the PSP GO screen is larger than the Touch) and the ability to play more complex games plus the small form factor make this(for me) a very attractive device.

I am not a Sony Fanboy, I have a PS3, PSP 300, Wii, DS, and 2 Xbox 360s. I am a game (and gadget) enthusiast and I am enthusiastic about the GO!

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by Cenzo74

I think this is an important issue. Firstly quite rightly one can draw parallels between iPods and the PSP Go. Both are proprietary hardware that do not use physical media - and let's not forget that it was only recently Apple removed DRM from audio it is maintained on video. So the concept of sharing the media was not neccessarily any easier for iPods at launch (accepting that at launch it was audio only anyway). That said, a major difference is the ability to populate iTunes with your own music and video collection from CDs which you cannot do with PSP UMD games on the GO (at least not reasonably legally).

Sony advise that the PSP go is not designed or expected to replace PSP 3000 and that games will continue to be released on UMD and for download via PSN concurrently. What we have here therefore is choice. I would suggest that those of use who desire the maximum flexibility should opt for the 3000 as you do get the best of both worlds with seemingly the only problem a slightly bigger form factor.

We may be concerned that the arrival of the GO heralds the beginning of the end for the 3000 and UMDs however we do know that Sony's announced intent is to continue to support both platforms much the same way that PS2 support continued post PS3 launch so there is a precedent.

Now I am not saying that the pricing of either the hardware itself nor the software on PSN is neccessarily reasonable, but under the right circumstances the initial outlay in my opinion can be reduced to a reasonable level, and as someone who tends to play more PS1 classics on the PSP using it mostly for video viewing I am not overly concerned and I am very excited by the device.

The popularity of the games on iPod Touch in my opinion demonstrates that the market for simple cheap and accessible games exists, and perhaps the Go's strength will lie here. The initial crop of minis seems ok albeit pricier than their iTunes equivalents but for me the larger screen (I believe the PSP GO screen is larger than the Touch) and the ability to play more complex games plus the small form factor make this(for me) a very attractive device.

I am not a Sony Fanboy, I have a PS3, PSP 300, Wii, DS, and 2 Xbox 360s. I am a game (and gadget) enthusiast and I am enthusiastic about the GO!

Totally agree.

Well said.

[museumsteve]

I certainly wouldn't bet against Sony not dropping the 3000 and UMDs sooner than expected. Just because they announce they wont doesn't mean they wont. No one expected them to drop PS2 compatibility from PS3 but the did. I wouldn't be surprised if it was purely to try and force gamer's hands by getting them to buy new PS3 games rather than play on their PS2 games. I dont believe there was any cost saving as European machines were only software driven emulators anyway.
So this brings us to the PSP Go! If Sony manage to get hold of any indication that the Go! could succeed and the digital format is working then I think they'd drop the PSP/UMD like a hot potato.

[Mr-big-d]

Just but Playstation Network Cards and use them to pay for your content.

£14.99 from Zavvi, so 25% discount.

This means Motorstorm is £16.49 online!

[museumsteve]

Absolutely mate, but I cannot see the discounted prices of PSN cards staying like that for long.