Sony: NGP price will be "affordable"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 27 January, 2011

"Appropriate for handheld gaming space."

The Next Generation Portable will be "affordable", Sony has promised.

"I can't put a ballpark on it in terms of figures, but what I would say is that we will shoot for an affordable price that's appropriate for the handheld gaming space," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Andrew House told Eurogamer in Tokyo this morning.

The NGP – Sony's successor to the PSP – was officially unveiled this morning as a powerful portable gaming console.

Eurogamer has been told by a source that Sony will "make a loss" on the NGP, but House insisted the hardware manufacturer is gunning for profitability.

"Ideally we would want to have our hardware be profitable, in addition to our software," he said. "We've experienced both sides and we know which one we like to be on!"

House was unable to confirm when Sony will reveal the NGP price. It's due out this Christmas.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (74) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Widge #1 1 year ago

    iPad and Samsung are handheld!

  • SeesThroughAll #2 1 year ago

    Confirmed to cost over 300 euros then!

  • Craven #3 1 year ago

    Affordable.

    Still far too expensive for a handheld then.

  • Bleemo #4 1 year ago

    Gamindustry Biz are saying between £180-£220 is the buzz range on the street.

  • Ultrasoundwave #5 1 year ago

    "The Next Generation Portable will be "affordable", Sony has promised.

    One week later....

    "We feel this product is on a par with the iPad, therefore the £600 price tag is a bargain really"

  • X201 #6 1 year ago

    In English...

    "As high a price as we can get away with, before too many customers tell us to shove it."

  • altitude2k #7 1 year ago

    So I won't need a second job to afford one this time?

  • Toothball #8 1 year ago

    I'm going to assume £300 for now. If it comes out for less then great, otherwise it won't be as much of a surprise.

  • customfirmware #9 1 year ago

    Yes Sony just like the ps3 at launch.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #10 1 year ago

    Well, at least they're not saying we'll need to take on evening jobs to afford it.

    Edit: Damnit, altitude2k!
    Edited by MENTAL1ST at 27/01/11 @ 11:41

  • MrFlump #11 1 year ago

    Given the technology in this and the fact that they'll want to make a profit, i've a horrid feeling this is going to be £249 in the UK at least.

    I always thought the PSP was a great little handheld and it launched at £179 back in the day. I'll be stunned if they can release this for the same cost.

  • frunk #12 1 year ago

    £229-249 initial price, by that time 3DS will be officially £199.

    Remember Sony:
    - will be prepared to launch a loss leader
    - make a small cut off any 3G carrier fees
    - have a "chunk of licence fee" for each game released
    - with downloads (which they will encourage) they pocket more of the "game price"
    - will be able to flog their music, movies & books services on it

    The device itself must be affordable and Sony has so many other ways of earning money off the thing.
    They operate a totally different model to Nintendo AND Apple - so trying to compare to them is not a good starting point.

    The £180 price would be amazing, but I think most early adopters could stomach £229 and perhaps even higher

  • StolenGlory #13 1 year ago

    £269.99.

  • RexRunti #14 1 year ago

    I think people expecting it for the same price as a PS3 are going to be very disappointed. I'd guess £300 minimum but wouldn't be suprised if it was significantly more than that.

  • Bagpuss #15 1 year ago

    "It's due out this Christmas"

    That'll be Easter 2012 for Europe then.......

  • BabyJesus #16 1 year ago

    Well they can't ask people to take second jobs anymore, there aren't any.

  • Widge #17 1 year ago

    If it is cheaper than the 3DS I will shit into a cup and tip it on my head.

  • frunk #18 1 year ago

    @customfirmware

    I am not disagreeing about the high launch price of PS3 - but it was no more or less affordable than the PS1 in its day.Does not mean the PS1 was not overpriced too. We all know Sony hit the sweet spot with PS2.

    PS1 = £300 == £438 now
    PS2 = £300 == £384 now
    PS3 = £425

    PSP1 = £180 == £205 now

    Its all "perceived value" and what new stuff its bringing to the table. And the portable market not really liking anything over £200 for something that is "just a console". They could get away with higher than £200 for the first year, but too long and they damage themselves.

  • altitude2k #19 1 year ago

    @Mentalist(air)

    I had to have a swift check before I posted to make sure noone else got in there first! ;)

  • BartonFink #20 1 year ago

    Loosely translated as 'it's gonna be expensive'

  • JahB #21 1 year ago

    NGP price will be "affordable"

    NGP price will be "affordable" if you're a Sony executive.

    Fixed.

  • Steroyd #22 1 year ago

    Apple Ipod affordable or...

  • CrumpledPaper #23 1 year ago

    To be completely fair to Sony, before the PS3's price was announced Kutaragi repeatedly said that it would be expensive. So I hope House isn't bullshitting us.

  • JBlokeUK #24 1 year ago

    Affordable to who?

  • Eraser #25 1 year ago

    Anyone claiming under 250 quid is naive.

  • chrisjm #26 1 year ago

    tree fiddy

  • LazyDan #27 1 year ago

    Note that larger /tablets/ with similar resolution screens and 3G modems/SIM card slots, with considerably less graphical power cost upwards of £500, and this is smaller than those. Would anyone really expect a PS3 shrunk down to the size of your palm, with its own screen slapped on to cost less than the larger variant? This is outside of the extra features like 3G, GPS, Sixaxis and touchpads.

    A number like £450 or above wouldn't surprise me. In fact, with the 3G capabilities I expect it to be sold in the tablet space - possibly carried by phone shops who'll sell it to you on contract, just like they do with tablets.

  • X3Entente #28 1 year ago

    four hundred and ninety nine dollars

  • Bradach #29 1 year ago

    it cant cost more than current PS3 price... surely?

  • chrisjm #30 1 year ago

    just like the 3DS cant cost more than a wii but still does

  • dsmx #31 1 year ago

    The price depends on what sony try and sell it as, if the sell it as a portable console then it won't go past £300 but if the position it as a tablet PC, which could happen, then you could be looking at closer to £500.

  • johnboy_johsnon #32 1 year ago

    "I am not disagreeing about the high launch price of PS3 - but it was no more or less affordable than the PS1 in its day.Does not mean the PS1 was not overpriced too. We all know Sony hit the sweet spot with PS2.

    PS1 = £300 == £438 now
    PS2 = £300 == £384 now
    PS3 = £425 "

    Yes the PS3 was overpriced. Why? Becasue it was preceived to be so. And no the PS1 was not overpriced. Why? Becasue it was not preceived to be so. This is easily evidenced by the rise and subsquent fall of the Playstation brand i.e. the PS1 set up Sony as a dominant force in the console market and the high price point of the PS3 effectively saw them tumble into 3rd place.

    I think most people under stand that the pricing of consoles, and electronic goods in general, do not follow the inflation trend that you have tried to paint above. The Atari 2600 launched in 1977 for $199. The Nintendo Gamecube launced in 2001 for the same price.

    I'd hope that Sony try and launch at the £199 mark. Could definitely aid them in there battle against the 3DS.
    Edited by johnboy_johsnon at 27/01/11 @ 12:13

  • Zander #33 1 year ago

    Lots of harsh things being said. I know Joe Average doesn't understand tech spec's so to them the 3DS = PSP2 but you guys are on a gaming website so i'd expect you to at least see past that and look at what Sony are cramming into this thing and realise it should be more expensive. When I say should i don't mean they have a right to make it more expensive, but just from the cost of materials. I actually think the 3DS is over priced for its specs so if they made it around the same price or a little higher then fair play. Of course I'll be buying both at some point so it really doesn't matter :p

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #34 1 year ago

    'Gamindustry Biz are saying between £180-£220 is the buzz range on the street. "

    Then they're clearly coked out of their fucking minds.

  • Murton #35 1 year ago

    It largely depends on what's going into the thing. The more components it has in common with the PSPGo and PS3 the lower the manufacturing price will be. Combined with the fact that Sony won't mind taking minor losses early to get established and I reckon we could see prices in the 200-250 range.

    The key here will be marketting. If they can come in at a competitive price point compared to the the 3DS and market it as being considerably more than just a games console, "it only does everything" then they've got a winner. At similar price the 3DS wouldn't be able to compete with NGP's increased functionality, and if Sony were smart and gave it OtherOS (won't happen, but if) then they'll be able to gun down a few of the tablets as well and really take over the handheld space.

  • Widge #36 1 year ago

    Joe Average might not understand tech specs per se, but tell them bluray > DVD or iphone4 > iphone3GS and they will listen. They don't need it to be spelt out much more than that. "It has a better screen", "It does HD". Nice and simple. This is why loads of people slap HD after product titles as it instantly translates as "better" to the layman.

  • Alivada #37 1 year ago

    I think if Sony can get this out cheaper than the 3DS then I will probably jump ship and get the NGP.

    If the machine is a powerful as they say it is £200 seems a fair price, £250 is just having a laugh when you can pick up a console for the same amount.

  • arcam #38 1 year ago

    Companies don't set the price of something by just adding up the cost of the materials needed to make it. PSP2 is a completely different business model to a tablet or phone, so the prices aren't really comparable.

    It won't be £450, because that would be ridiculous.

  • dunbain #39 1 year ago

    @Zander

    It's interesting how people knock the 3DS' specs. What most don't realize is that the system is generating graphics for 3 screens (right & left for 3D, and the bottom screen). If Nintendo did a single-screen "Gameboy" so to speak, the graphics could easily match the NGP, given it's mostly a numbers game in terms of cost, depending on how pretty you want to make the graphics.

    That said, Sony will definitely be a loss-leader this time around -- and it might be a smart way of phasing out the PS3, as well. I wouldn't be surprised if their next "console" was built into most of their household electronics via android tech, etc.

  • dsmx #40 1 year ago

    It won't be cheaper than a 3ds you can bet on that, the real question is how much more they will charge than a 3ds.

  • dog2_99 #41 1 year ago

    I fear the lowest we can hope for in the UK is £299, reality it may hit £399.

    I wonder if it will mirror Apple's iPhone Model...you can buy it sim free but will be expensive (£500+) or you can sign up to 24month contract and get it for £199.

    Not sure I would be comfortable with another contract on my hands but at least the product cycle is likely to be longer than 24months so no worries about trying to get out of the agreement when the next one comes out.

    On a side not I do think releasing details almost 12months before the release (even more for Europe most probably) is a little foolhardy; I understand the need to steal the 3DS thunder but honestly there are 8months between launches momentum maybe lost and certainly come Dec/ early' 12 these impressive specs will not be as impressive. At time of eventual EUR release the iPad 3 and iPhone 6 will both be making rumblings and the 3DS may well be below £200 officially and have a healthy game selection (past its somewhat dull launch window titles). A summer release would have made much more of an impact and given the system time to build for the ‘holidays’.

    Still roll on the EUR release as I want one ;)

  • NotSoSlim #42 1 year ago

    Will be under £300 which is good. Also end if tear us good window as it spaces itself out between the iPhone n 3ds launch

    Good luck Sony but you have a buyer with me :)

  • weebl #43 1 year ago

    If they are selling a product that is way in advance of anything that is out now (or will be out in December), how can anyone here sensibly think that the price will be less than £300? Yes, Sony would sell for a loss unlike Apple who sell for a profit, but let's be sensible about this...

    I would imagine as has been previously commented that there will be monthly contracts available to tie in with the 3G data charges.

  • ISmoke #44 1 year ago

    "Gamindustry Biz are saying between £180-£220 is the buzz range on the street"
    A few years down the line maybe, not at launch though.

  • onyxbox #45 1 year ago

    I predict £299 at launch here in the UK.

  • Timmy182008 #46 1 year ago

    I think sony will directly compete with the 3DS, what ever price they had at launch sony will go with. Will all no that when the PSP2 comes out that nintedo will raise the price of the 3DS because its xmas and thats what they do EVERY single year with all their products.

    Am going say £200-£229, If sony are planning on making a lose, they will want to sell more and be in with a chance to take some of the 3DS sales, Then overprice and still not sell, and still make a lose. Bigger lose at launch = more sales overall and less for the 3DS. Then they can get the income from other areas. By this point the ps3 will most likely have a price drop and be making MORE profit.

  • dirtysteve #47 1 year ago

    affordable is a very subjective term.

  • Mono_X #48 1 year ago

    "Then they're clearly coked out of their fucking minds. "

    I actually lol'd!

    To be fair they're actually talking about the dollar price - which they think might be $300-350 (which converts to £180-220(.

    What that really means is a UK price is likely to be £300-350 going by typical 'gaming conversion pricing'.

  • FortysixterUK #49 1 year ago

    Lol..."affordable".....yeah, if you've got the cash.

    I must say it looks to be better and more function filled than the 3ds, which is a non-starter in my book ( and I'm a bit of a Ninty Fanboy), and I WILL NOT BE GETTING A 3DS.

    If they could bring this in at sub £150.00 on day of release, it would at least spark my interest. Not saying I'd buy it though, as now we know the software is on Cartridge are we going to see Handheld gaming on this format suddenly cost £39.99 for a UK release title ?

    I wonder if the reason they have opted for Cartridge is so that it will work on the Sony PSP phone ( if it ever happens, or indeed, actually exists ).

  • arcam #50 1 year ago

    how can anyone here sensibly think that the price will be less than £300?

    Because we know that people are unlikely to pay more than that for a handheld console, and Sony know that too. £300 will be the max.

  • NotSoSlim #51 1 year ago

    It will be under £300 as they are competing with Ninty not Apple that's what the PSphone for so this will be competitive as its a gaming device

    Hope they pull it off

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #52 1 year ago

    NGP: the questions nobody's asking.

    http://wosblog.podgamer.com/2011/01/27/n...

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #53 1 year ago

    "It will be under £300 as they are competing with Ninty not Apple that's what the PSphone for so this will be competitive as its a gaming device"

    Which one was the PSPGo competing with, just out of interest?

  • callum9999 #54 1 year ago

    Eraser - "Anyone claiming under 250 quid is naive."

    No, anyone claiming a price whatsoever is naive. It's not possible to work out how much Sony is willing to lose per console so even though some people might be able to guess at what sort of price it actually costs to make - everyone is clueless as to what it will actually cost to buy.

  • rogermellie #55 1 year ago

    Yes, but how much will the games cost?
    Edited by rogermellie at 27/01/11 @ 13:28

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #56 1 year ago

    "No, anyone claiming a price whatsoever is naive."

    Well, no - it's going to have a price of some sort, so it's not "naive" to guess at what it might be. People are allowed to speculate, and within the range of that speculation there are sensible guesses and there are idiotic ones. I know which category anything under £250 falls into.

  • Totoriko #57 1 year ago

    'Affordable' is subjective.
    With Sony execs earning 6 figure salaries, most things are affordable to them.

  • steveb07 #58 1 year ago

    Selling games on cartridge is kind of a step back from the PSP Go experiment of downloads only but this is no doubt to please retail. At least we can shop around for deals on shopto/play and not have to pay full retail.

  • dunbain #59 1 year ago

    @FortysixterUK

    Seriously? 3DS has a 3D camera, a bunch of gaming-related extras:

    - StreetPass is a sweet feature if you live in a metropolitan area
    - Coins for walking that can be used to unlock game extras
    - Gaming diary and a personable friend community
    - Movies in 3D once Nintendo settles distribution contracts with studios
    - 3D gaming

    I live in Tokyo, and had a chance at the beginning of this month to test-drive it at a Nintendo event. Holy damn, that is an incredible machine. The 3D has definite gameplay implications, and though gimmicky for some titles, it's a totally new experience.

    I understand your resistance on price, but have gamers as a whole been spoiled? I can't remember hardware that has been released that isn't initially at a premium. And for a premium, it's not that bad of a price.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #60 1 year ago

    Zander
    "I actually think the 3DS is over priced for its specs "

    Bullshit.
    The markup being made on the 3DS compares favourably to every consumer item around you, which is less than your TV, toaster and Kettle, but nowhere near Apple products and sandwiches, which have an obscene markup.

    The 3DS is cheaper than the Sega Game Gear, half the price of PS1 and one third the cost of the Atari VCS.

    Once again the idiots are using companies with a completely different pricing strategy(i.e loss makers) to slate Nintendo's strategy. Lets not forget at the end of 2009 Sony were 160 billion in debt, had to cut 20,000 jobs, and still make a loss on the PS3.


  • dunbain #61 1 year ago

    @canIdoyabombsforya

    Couldn't be stated better. Amen to that.

  • _tangent #62 1 year ago

    @canIdoyabombsforya

    Ok, so what IS the markup on the 3DS? What does it cost Nintendo to make? What is the wholesale price?

    That aside, the perception that something is overpriced comes from comparisons with the competition, not an appreciation for the finances of the company making it. The reason the 3DS appears over priced is because it contains last gen hardware (iPhone 3gs chips, albeit 2 of them - as someone else has pointed out though, it has 3 screens to drive) and is about 2.3x more expensive than the DS was at launch. In a mass-market context, it's primary selling point (3D) is a technology that's struggling for mass up-take. Consumers remain unconvinced. In other words, I could design a levitating tin opener and sell it for the bargain price of 500 quid. If people don't think they need it - or don't attach 500 quids worth of need to it - they won't see it as good value. Obviously, those who think 3D is a revolution, and a life-changing technology, will think the 3DS is worth the money.

    There are 2 factors which drive price: what something costs to make, and what you can reasonably expect to get for it. Perhaps gamers have been spoiled with loss leaders in the past, but that is what the consumer has come to expect, and past experience is how we evaluate new product prices.

    OT: those questions someone posted a link to above (the one's no one else is asking) are all pretty legitimate. Let's hope answers are forthcoming. Other than that, looks like a pretty amazing device, specs wise. I can't see it being less than 300 (unless you count 1p less)
    Edited by _tangent at 27/01/11 @ 15:41

  • KDR_11k #63 1 year ago

    All these evasive phrasings make me think it's not good.

  • dunbain #64 1 year ago

    @KDR_11k

    I'm jealous of your brevity. That was a mighty good punch there.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #65 1 year ago

    "Because we know that people are unlikely to pay more than that for a handheld console"

    Do we? Based on what study? The fact that YOU wouldn't, and you've extrapolated that to everyone?

  • arcam #66 1 year ago

    Actually I would, for something well-specced. I paid £450 for a phone last year.

    I think I can be pretty confident (but I don't 'know', you're right) that those people who think the price will be less than £300 think that price is too high compared to what people are prepared to pay. That was the 'we' I was referring to, and wouldn't include you.

    I'll make a bet if you like :) If it's more than £300, I'll send you a tenner by Paypal. If it's less, you let me submit a post to your blog ;) You can reject it if the standard isn't good enough...
    Edited by arcam at 27/01/11 @ 17:11

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #67 1 year ago

    Deal!

  • SlackMaster #68 1 year ago

    But have Sony revealed what the built in 3G will be for? Why couldn't they offer a 3G service similar to what the Kindle is and therefore not charge for it either.

  • arcam #69 1 year ago

    @Rev.

    Sweet :) One caveat though, if you accept it - that only applies to the non-3G version. That version might include a year's free data with O2 or something, and who knows how much they'll add to the price for that.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #70 1 year ago

    Fine by me :D

  • Drygore #71 1 year ago

    @dunbain

    Mate.. Just no, n-o.
    Even if the 3DS had one normal screen it's not even close in terms of horsepower. The 3DS is powerful, sure. But the NGP is simply a beast. Plain and simple. Plus it runs at much higher resolution on a much much better, and bigger, screen.

  • callum9999 #72 1 year ago

    Maybe Sony will prove me wrong but I can't see unlimited 3G access as being remotely feasible for this. The kindle is mainly used for downloading reasonably small files. With this it wouldn't be hugely surprising if people were using GB's everyday - the networks would demand huge sums for that and there is no way Sony could give it away for free (assuming the 3G will be able to be used just like WiFi would - i.e. game downloads etc.).

  • captain-future #73 1 year ago

    affordable is not more that 299 EUR.

  • BonzoBanana #74 1 year ago

    The 3DS certainly isn't overpriced if people are prepared to pay that price but in a hardware to £ ratio its rubbish. Everything about the 3DS is relatively cheap tech except for the one area of the 3D screen as we don't know how much that costs. Sharp claims its a very competitive price but what that actually is compared to normal LCD screens is anyones guess. Considering the actual performance of the 3DS is not far beyond the original PSP we shouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo make absolutely huge profits again if its sells well. The sharp 3D screen is a power hungry bugger though hence the crap battery life.