Pachter regrets calling PSPgo a "rip-off"

By Robert Purchese Published 12 June, 2009

"A poor choice of words," says analyst.

Respected industry analyst Michael Pachter has publicly apologised for calling the PSPgo over priced.

"I sincerely regret the choice of words in my response to [GameTrailers TV editor and presenter] Geoff Keighley's question in last week's Bonus Round, where I said that Sony is "ripping off" the consumer by pricing the PSP Go at USD 249.99," Pachter told IndustryGamers (picked out by vg247).

"I made a poor choice of words, and I do not think that Sony is doing anything nefarious in choosing their pricing strategy.

"The company has the right to price its products at a point that they think is competitive, and has no obligation to sell products at lower than a competitive price," he added.

Pachter went on to say that Sony has every right to make a profit on PSPgo after loosing around USD 100 on every one of the 22m PS3 consoles sold. He said the PSPgo price is pitched at an iPod Touch level, but that Sony's proposition has "arguably much more value".

Sony, to nobody's surprise, unveiled the PSPgo at E3. The UMD-less handheld costs GBP 250, EUR 250 and USD 250, and launches across Europe and North America on 1st October.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (98) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • quantumsheep #1 3 years ago

    "loosing"

    GOD NO!!!

    NO NO NO!!!

  • brockenheimer #2 3 years ago

    Doesn't that mean that Sony has made a loss of $2.2 BILLION on PS3s?? Surely not?!

  • AaronTurner #3 3 years ago

    Have they really lost $100 per PS3? That's unbelievable.

    $ 2,200,000,000?

  • Toothball #4 3 years ago

    @quantumsheep:

    Yeah, I twitched a little at that.

    I'm quite keen to get a PSPgo. I reckon I'll be more keen when we find out what they're doing with UMD transfer. My ideal would be some way to buy games on UMD and transfer them to a digital format, as that mirrors my preferred way of filling my mp3 player by buying CDs. Seems unlikely though, but I'm slowly coming round to digital sources.

  • WiseGuy #5 3 years ago

    No, right first time: £250 is a rip off!

  • monkeylite #6 3 years ago

    Pacther is a tit, anything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt, maybe less so.

  • des #7 3 years ago

    PSP sells 100k a month and Sony decides to make hideous looking gimped overpriced PSP to help sales-this is not a rip off its a case for mental institution

    PSPGo=IQ test

  • agparrot #8 3 years ago

    Do you think Sony's lawyers had got in touch by any chance? :-)

    Smells like it, Ace, doesn't it?

    I'm not sure which bit of the price suggests it isn't a ripoff, nor that Sony are 'entitled' to effectively overcharge on the PSPGo because they've so royally ballsed up the release and marketing of the PS3.

    But that's just me.

  • jonsaan #9 3 years ago

    If you don't like the pricing of a GO just buy a normal psp. They are being sold alongside one another.

  • Steroyd #10 3 years ago

    If you don't like the pricing of a GO just buy a normal psp. They are being sold alongside one another.

    That would require too much logic.

  • Eraysor #11 3 years ago

    The UMD-less handheld costs GBP 250, EUR 250 and USD 250.

    This is why Sony needs to be destroyed.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 11:52

  • monkeylite #12 3 years ago

    Eurogamer readers and logic don't go together.

  • mcbi4kh2 #13 3 years ago

    Have they really lost $100 per PS3? That's unbelievable.

    $ 2,200,000,000?

    That is an awful lot, do film compaines have to pay Sony to use a blu-ray disc?
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 11:53

  • peteb #14 3 years ago

    If you think the console is a ripoff, wait until you see the price of the games on PSN I guess...

  • Beano #15 3 years ago

    "No, right first time: £250 is a rip off! "

    Agreed. Sony did many great things in this year's E3 reg. PSP - new hardware and a awesome software lineup, but the PSP Go price is a mistake!

  • don81 #16 3 years ago

    £250.00 for a handheld! Not a chance i would pay that! Way to expensive, i have 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP i'm not forking out £250. Any one else think it is overpriced?

  • jmg123 #17 3 years ago

    £250 for a device that has a smaller screen, potentially won't play all of your games if they don't offer a replacement service for some of them, and doesn't improve on the graphical quality, and gives nothing that a different version of the console that costs half the price can't do if you add a memory stick in? I would say that this is a monumental ripoff, I would be suprised if they sold more than 10 of them, I think that after a while game/gamestation et al won't have them on the shelves as they will take up valuable space and won't sell. If it was £130, and they released details of the game trade in scheme, then things might be different.

  • patch #18 3 years ago

    Where did the £250 come from? Did I miss a press release again? I thought only USD and EURO prices had been announced?

  • Malek86 #19 3 years ago

    Nope, it's a rip-off. Not that the iPod Touch isn't, mind you, but that's beside the point. I guess Sony had something to say to Pachter.

    It's true that a company can put the price they want to a product, but then they can't complain if it doesn't sell.

    As for me, I'll be perfectly fine with my PSP2000.

  • Goffee #20 3 years ago

    $250 at the current exchange rate of 60p per $ = £150

    RIP OFF RIP OFF RIP OFF RIP OFF RIP OFF RIP OFF.

  • Roamer #21 3 years ago

    I think Pachter is a very sympathetic and charming man who does well on the Bonus Round show.

  • chanandler #22 3 years ago

    At today's exchange rate $250 =£151

    Looks like they are hoping to make up that PS3 loss on every PSPgo they sell!!!!!!!!!

  • ISmoke #23 3 years ago

    Rip off, May try and import one again (Imported my first whiite one from Lik-Sang, good place too) Will the console be region locked to certain PS Stores? If not i'll defo import.
    £250 with no game? Sony can suck my balls

  • jmg123 #24 3 years ago

    it is $250 €250 so judging by the way companies usually do buisness not a great leap to make it £250

    for ref $250=£151.73 €250=£213, already a massive disparity (even taking into account sales tax and vat)

  • Dizzy #25 3 years ago

    >Looks like they are hoping to make up that PS3 loss on every PSPgo they sell!!!!!!!!!

    That will teach those pesky MS-loving UK people not buying those PS3s! Payback time!

  • Avaloner #26 3 years ago

    "The company has the right to price its products at a point that they think is competitive, and has no obligation to sell products at lower than a competitive price," he added.

    Isn't that a given? But isn't it also a given that we as consumers have the right to call bullshit when we see it?

  • penhalion #27 3 years ago

    How sad. The one time when Pachter tells it like it is and then he goes and back peddles like a little school girl caught in the mens bathrooms!

    Pachter you are officially banned from ever eating a bag of McCoy crisps because as we all know. Them's MAN crisps and your man credentials have been officially revoked!

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #28 3 years ago

    For a so-called analyst his comments seemed a little confused.

    I understood he was criticising Sony for launching the PSP Go at a high initial price because they knew they would snare a sizeable number of PSP fans / gadget fanboys regardless of price.

    But surely this is a sensible way to behave if you're in business, especially if you will probably have stock shortages launching at a lower price?

    It's not like Sony is a gamer charity, much as I'd like them to be.

    If I had 100 of commodity X, and could choose to sell it for either £10 or £15 (knowing that I'd sell out in either case) I know what I'd choose.

    Pachter - get yourself an iPhone and download EA's Lemonde Stand. That'll help you out...

  • Les #29 3 years ago

    Will keep my old PSP and will probably keep buying UMDs because it's cheaper in the end. The number of times that I actually play my PSP on the road (and thus are severely hindered by the terrible battery life) are few.

  • Hendo #30 3 years ago

    Spell check, please!

  • GreyBeard #31 3 years ago

    Where's the £250 come from? Just a quick look on google shows pre orders at £179.99 (Game) to £229.99. (Amazon).

    I still think its overpriced, but who pulled £250 out of their arse? AFAIK that's never been on the cards.

  • Totoriko #32 3 years ago

    Next, Pachter on 'I'm a Celebrity...'?

    Are any of the guy's comments/views really worth reporting?

  • linksdad #33 3 years ago


    Sony have every right to rip the consumer off to address the losses they made with the idiotic PS3 strategy.

    It was the true choice of words, but not perhaps the best for his carreer.

  • tinners #34 3 years ago

    They lost loads and there gonna loose more, im glad when a company as arrogant as Sony charges through the nose for something that is no more than a glorified PSP , it's a rip-off unless your stupidly rich and have no idea when it comes to the value of money.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 13:00

  • Retroid #35 3 years ago

    It *is* a rip-off, though, especially if the Euro prices are to be believed.

    A nice idea (and still a great machine) utterly shat on by an idiotic pricing strategy. Nicely done, Sony! >:(

  • patch #36 3 years ago

    So we don't know where the £250 comes from? The only site I can find quoting a UK price is this one, and pre-orders mostly appear to be below £250. Is that really so bad compared to some 16gb mp3 players?

  • tinners #37 3 years ago

    Well yeah it's bad, imagine if the PSP actually made a killing and destroyed the DS for sales, then this was announced, im sure it wouldnt not have been £250, saying that it is Sony and there PS2 is still £100 lol...

    i wonder how long it will take them to realise ppl dont want to pay silly money these days for consoles, there is a recession on gawd dammit!

  • Xerx3s #38 3 years ago

    I don't get it. It has less hardware, surely it would be cheaper or at the very least just as expensive? Am I missing something here? Did they do something else?
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 14:03

  • patch #39 3 years ago

    Bluetooth is also more.

  • Retroid #40 3 years ago

    It's 250 euros, Sony have said so. Straight dollar > euro transliteration.

    I *had* hoped this would be at least a bit cheaper than the UMD-based PSPs, the release schedules for the PSP are looking rather healthy right now (Assassin's Creed in particular). The PSP is a very nice bit of hardware and I use mine often but it's been pretty bloody barren for software for ages now.

    I saw this as an opportunity to give it a shot in the arm with DD. At that price, the general public aren't going to be interested.

  • MeBrains #41 3 years ago

    when i first heard the price, I firmly believed it to be at least €50 too high. At this moment I still think it is, a rip-off, BUT as the man now corrects: Sony is free to do what it wants and price its gear anyway it sees fit. I do not believe it will sell at that price though. Not a dent.

    It does seem clear that Sony is not eying competition with DS. They seem to believe that they can co-exist (and they can). With DS being the mainstream, kiddy, girly buy. PSP's the hardcore one.

  • BOFH_UK #42 3 years ago

    There's a couple of reasons I think £230 is WAY too high a price point for this console:

    1) You're actually getting less for your money. Smaller screen and no UMD drive are a step down on the functionality side. The built in memory helps ease the pain a little but still...

    2) It's going to be bloody expensive to transition from the PSP - different perhipherals, new cases, new memory stick format. All of that adds up. It's also, btw, one of the reasons the PSP-3000 becomes a LOT less attractive. Any money you put into it now in the form of UMD games, accessories etc is rendered moot if you ever want / need to upgrade.

    3) This is a test case to see whether gamers will go for a download-only system. Assuming that Sony have got the piracy thing sorted out (which, if they haven't, is going to see the Go sell by the thousands as the games are designed to run off the internal memory unlike UMD's so you're guaranteed to get the same gaming experience as a legal copy.. just a thought) then the only way to buy games is through Sony's own on-line portal at a fixed price. No more competition and no second hand market is likely to see average prices per game rise. Given this, and the uncertanty about the impact on customers of having a game library that they don't own and can't resell, you'd think Sony would be trying to ship as many as possible to establish the eco-system and convince gamers to give it a go.

  • IneptPercy #43 3 years ago

    Surely we should all just work more hours...

  • chanandler #44 3 years ago

    Anyone know if the camera and satnav addons work with the new PSPgo?

  • TCJames #45 3 years ago

    The problem is in most casual consumers minds its competing against the DSi and the ipod touch and at this price point people just aren't going to buy it in anything like the numbers needed to make it a success.

  • Tonka #46 3 years ago

    Is he really respected? Fuck me. If being wrong and loudmouthed all the time makes you respected then I don't know what to think

  • kristo #47 3 years ago

    lol, what a joke. I have a psp and a nice collection of UMD games. Most of which I picked up on the cheap. As I have only once seen a "SALE" on the PSN store, I am not going to hold my breath for cheapie titles to appear on it.

    Long live physical media.

    Speaking of which, its all about control isn't it. When you get a physical copy of the game, its really really yours to do with as you please. You can buy it, grind it up, bake it in a cake and eat it, poop it out and resell it to a art gallery. Thats fine. The power is with you. Soon we'll all be like Public Enemy

    "We gotta take the power back!"
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 13:40

  • superted #48 3 years ago

    But... it is a rip off...

  • Goffee #49 3 years ago

    Actually I get paid for some work in dollars, but what's the betting if I order one from the US, the PSPGo will be region locked to prevent us using a US PSPgo on the European store?

    And no doubt you'll need a US credit card (in fact, I think it needs one already) to pay on their store, so I can't do it that way.

    Curse you Sony.

  • patch #50 3 years ago

    Still dunno where this £250 is coming from. Anyone?

  • Xerx3s #51 3 years ago

    "$250 and 250 Euro is alright.

    £250 is a fucking rip off though. "

    Sorry but how is that all right?

  • El-Dev #52 3 years ago

    "so Pachter has been bollocked by his bosses and/or sony. So how can anyone listen to what he says when he so obviously can't say shit without prior approval from the higher ups. It basically devalues everything he says or in fact has ever said. His credibility is surely in question now."

    Are you new to the world of journalism?

  • GreyBeard #53 3 years ago

    @Raajaa

    Just stick "pspgo pre order" into Google, I see multiple reports of £179.99.

    I can't check game.co.uk itself right now (stupid internet policy at work), but there seems to be a few places reporting it at as low as £174.99...

    Oh yeah, and on the $ to £ direct conversion thing, ummm why isn't the PS3 £399 then?


    I did find this though:

    [link url=http://www.cdrinfo.com/Forum/tm.asp?m=154423&mp age=1&key=𥬷
    ]http://ww w.cdrinfo.com/Forum/tm.asp?m=15...[/link]

    Seems like the price isn't fixed quite yet. But there's no way its going to be sold at £250 at launch. Not a chance in hell as they'll get grey imported to death.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 14:39

  • bluem4gic #54 3 years ago

    Pachter knows the truth

    Someone from Sony must of threaten legal action

  • Xerx3s #55 3 years ago

    "16Gig flash. That's something 'more' "

    Yeah but 16 gig is worth fuck all these days. Definitely not worth a 100€ more.

  • cyber_nicco #56 3 years ago

    I don't know why ANYONE listens to this guy now. Are you sure he is so "respected"? He has been going on and on about the PS3 taking over the industry in each of the last two years.

    I don't think this guy knows the first thing about the video game industry.

  • cyber_nicco #57 3 years ago

    I say the above comment totally independently of whether or not the PSP Go is/is not a rip-off.

  • GamesConnoisseur #58 3 years ago

    I m anal about having all the platform and worse a variations of those ie Fat PSP, PSP slim and PSP 3000 or whatever its called, and would have considered PSPgo BUT £250?! No way on earth I will get it at that price.

    Price MUST falls way down.... further down that that... then I ll consider it a maybe!

  • davisorle #59 3 years ago

    Erm... the fact he "chose" to ( which i dont even believe actually... For sure he was contacted by Sony layers or even his own bosses afraid of causing issues between them and Sony ) come out and apologise the way he did just made me loose any kind of respect.. Not only the way he said it in the first place was not insulting but was fishing out for answers from the during the interview PLUS the fact that that price IS a rip off for a handheld with the curent standards for the same gen in the department with SUCH price difference. So.. Coming out and apologising for it just LITERALLY made me not apreciate that dude anymore.

    Have fun.

  • GreyBeard #60 3 years ago

    Look, lets get this straight once and for all:

    [link url=http://blog.eu.playst ation.com/
    ]http://blog.eu.playst ation.com/
    [/link]

    Read the article (posted today) specifically the part about price. Prices are yet to be set for territories that use neither the dollar or the Euro.

    ITS ALL SPECULATION AT THIS POINT.

  • Kinkster #61 3 years ago

    For all those that think it's a rip-off, buy the PSP-3000 for 100 less! Personal choice people!!!!

  • layleeloo #62 3 years ago

    Those of you who are saying "its less hardware surely it should be cheaper"

    It isnt though. You have the sliding mechanism which I know doesnt cost anything but you are paying for the research into the technology as well. People are also forgetting it comes with a SEIXTEEN GIG HARD DRIVE. For you to buy a DECENT 16GB pro duo will cost you £100 or there abouts. Sure there are cheaper versions that do not read or write at a decent speed, but for a 16GB extreme 3 or equivalent you are looking at £100. So, you are also paying for the hard drive remeber which sony does not provide in the other. They gave a gig memory card in an edition yes, but small flash cards are cheap. Large ones, or mini hard drives are not. So think on people. Its a decent enough price for what it is but as always people want something for nothing or they just are not thinking about what it is they are paying for exactly/what has gone into it

  • DDevil #63 3 years ago

    The PSPgo is not a rip off. It looks excellent and the price is very reasonable indeed.

  • seasidebaz #64 3 years ago

    I can almost feel the tumbleweed blowing amongst the rotting carcasses of comments shot down in their youth. Such short lives wasted... I'll never forget this day, the day the SDF declared war against the people who would fight for lower pricing. They came in their droves, and murdered everyone.

    It's so sad :'(

  • Retroid #65 3 years ago

    @layleeloo: It's not a hard drive. It's flash storage. And as for 16gb costing £100.... only if you buy the top-end, non-discounted, brand-named overpriced examples. I recently bought 8gb for my phone and it cost me just a smidge over a tenner from Play.

    That's bearing in mind the manufacturer has to make a profit aswell as Play, and Sony would be getting a big bulk-buy discount, presuming for a moment they don't make it themselves for even less.

    Like I said: I was hoping this would be the start of a cheaper PSP which would rejuvenate the market. Looks like that's not going to happen, and I'll be sticking with my original 'fat' PSP and a 4gb stick.

  • Vin #66 3 years ago

    Show some balls Patcher, you fucking wimp.

  • quantumsheep #67 3 years ago

    Can't believe 'loosing' is still up... :*(

  • des #68 3 years ago

    Lol 16 gig storage,that is the excuse now?!

    First,Sony is not paying retail price for it,mass orders=much cheaper price

    Second,PSP Go has 16 gig of "in build" storage-much cheaper than some portable memory stick solution

    Third,flash memory prices are dropping like crazy.

    If true PSP2 was priced like that people would have second thoughts about it.

    This is just an attempt to rip-off hardcore fanboys...

  • belziah #69 3 years ago

    "Ripping Off" seems like the right words to me.

    The fact that Sony are trying to claw back money from a machine they couldn't afford to sell(PS3) has very little to do the price of a totally separate piece of hardware.

  • monkeylite #70 3 years ago

    This thread has so many idiots.

    Many ar elike Pachter, jumping to conclusions before the full facts are revealed.

  • Matthew_Hornet #71 3 years ago

    "Loosing"?

    Really?

    I really don't care about spelling much, but if there's one typo that gets to me it's this one. This one pisses me off each time.

    For shame, Eurogamer (and Purchese). For shame.

  • zedzee #72 3 years ago

    "I do not think that Sony is doing anything nefarious in choosing their pricing strategy."

    ""The company has...no obligation to sell products at lower than a competitive price,"

    "Sony has every right to make a profit on PSPgo after loosing [sic] around USD 100 on every one of the 22m PS3 consoles sold."

    That doesn't sound like he's apologising...It's more like an inverse statement and he actually meant every word and it's all a dig at Sony!

    Besides, at £250 per pop, I don't need no so-called industry analyst to tell me that it's purely and simply A RIP OFF!!!
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 19:18

  • septimus #73 3 years ago

    I would get a PSP Go if it wasn't a rip-off.

    Oh but the anal-cyst says it isn't anymore? Oh great, here have my £££'! /yeah...
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 19:29

  • Ryze #74 3 years ago

    They're never charging £250 for PSPgo?

    They are?

    HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

    STUPID ARSEHOLES!!!!

  • TRUTH #75 3 years ago

    At least with UMD you can have all the gaming/movies you want without the worry of memory restriction as in GO. You can also sell/exchangel/swap with pals if you no longer need them or aren't happy with them. Also games like Final Fantasy Tactics , Disega e + other games benefit from larger/wider screen, and can eat up a lot of memory for the games themselves & saves etc - how will PSP GO cope with this ?...it seems less comfortable and fragile too!
    Edited by 2 at 13/06/09 @ 16:33

  • TRUTH #76 3 years ago

    You can buy the Sony official 8gb memory on ebay for less then a tenner inc p&p. Was gonna wait for PSP GO, but ended up buying a PSP 3000 with 1 game and case + 4 gb memory stick all brand new for £99. The screen size is a let down on PSP GO - Also the PSP GO seems to have less features then PSP 3000. It's cost have probably gone to sliding mechanism!
    Edited by 2 at 13/06/09 @ 16:36

  • onyx_elite #77 3 years ago

    "Sony has every right to make a profit on PSPgo after loosing around USD 100 on every one of the 22m PS3 consoles sold"

    Rife with sarcasm, no?

  • makeamazing #78 3 years ago

    I think Pachter has every right to call it a rip off... I think its bad that hes taken the comments back (for whatever reason)... free speech and all that.

  • GreyBeard #79 3 years ago

    Lol at the hive mind in this thread.

    Congratulations to the fantasist who pulled the £250 price point out of his/her ass and got so many people to believe it/comment on it. Am I the only person who actually bothers to check the facts before loudly complaining round here?

  • Les #80 3 years ago

    Don't really care about the price TBH. What I do care about is that the new PSP seems like a worse gaming machine than the current one. Besides digital distribution will work with my current system and I don't really need blue tooth. As for the media and comms functionality, the soon to be mine iPhone 3G S with likely an excessive price and truly rip-off contract, will cover them...

  • GreyBeard #81 3 years ago

    @Les

    Me either, to be honest I wouldn't sidegrade for a penny more than £150, which is about what its worth in my estimation.

    That being said, everytime somebody quotes £250, I just cringe. There's no excuse for such arrant stupidity, its depressing. Are so many people here that dim that they believe everything they read on internet forums sight-unseen just because (presumably) it reinforces their prejudices?

  • lockload #82 3 years ago

    He was right hes only saying it becuase sony have comissioned a report from him for a fee

  • pokeken #83 3 years ago

    pachter has now lost any self respect he had as an "analyst" (we ALL know that this type of job is being a pretentious fuckwit)....going back and grovelling to sony is pathetic. has the man got no bollocks?

  • sneetch #84 3 years ago

    @GreyBeard
    Me either, to be honest I wouldn't sidegrade for a penny more than £150, which is about what its worth in my estimation.

    That being said, everytime somebody quotes £250, I just cringe. There's no excuse for such arrant stupidity, its depressing. Are so many people here that dim that they believe everything they read on internet forums sight-unseen just because (presumably) it reinforces their prejudices?

    Well that's a bit harsh as the article itself says it's £250. I can't say I really blame people for believing Eurogamer. Now, I think Eurogamer have made a mistake there but with this article and preorder prices ranging from £229-£249 surely you see why people here might think that it's £250?

  • timberwolf #85 3 years ago

    why would you buy a psp....? that's my question.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 02:36

  • rotmm #86 3 years ago

    @GreyBeard, "Congratulations to the fantasist who pulled the £250 price point out of his/her ass and got so many people to believe it/comment on it. Am I the only person who actually bothers to check the facts before loudly complaining round here?"

    You know, I kinda agree with you. However, you can't blame people for assuming the price is around the £250 range, with it's £230 (from a RRP of £250) preorder price at Amazon, £250 at Play, £230 at Game, £230 at Gamestation, £230 at ShopTo, £230 at GamePlay, etc

    I fully appreciate that Sony haven't officially announced PSP Go pricing yet, but the retailers would have a better idea than most of us. Also, it's concerning that Game originally had it priced at £180 and only a day or so later raised the pre-order price to £230. I'm sure they wouldn't do that unless they were given the heads-up that at £179 they'd be losing money.

  • GreyBeard #87 3 years ago

    @Sneetch

    Well I'll be... You're quite right (about the article stating the £250 rumour).

    Looks like EG need to check more than their spelling in this article.

    Because honestly, doesn't it strike you odd that on this single piece of hardware Sony would have a 1:1 price match between territories, when none of their other stuff does?
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 13:13

  • Caspar_Esq. #88 3 years ago

    Did they hold a gun to his head or what?

  • VMerken #89 3 years ago

    The hand is played October 1st 2009 in the US and - cfr. PS3 - possibly March 2010 in Europe. I have this dreadful feeling we'll be looking at the next N-Gage or, at best, the next GBA Micro. Holding breath. Also not considering a buy until price is in "reasonable range", which would be €169,99 or less.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 19:01

  • Kami #90 3 years ago

    He was right first time.

    I LIKE the PSP-GO!, do not misunderstand. It's a lovely looking piece of kit, achingly stylish. But £230-£250? For, let us not beat about the bush here, considerably less features?! Sony did this with the PS3 as well. Take out features and refuse to budge on price. Look where that got them, oh yes, it forfeited their position as market leaders and now they play second fiddle to Microsoft.

    I just do not get it. I really don't. It's like there is no ability to see common sense in the entirity of Sony as a business and corporation. You do not charge MORE for less features, memory is cheap enough these days so that cannot add such value to it.

    Not even Nintendo with their unassailable grip on the market do this! The DSi costs more because, oh yes, it has more features (just enough to push it into another market bracket). It dropped the GBA port but seriously, we know people who went to buy a DSi on release couldn't give a rats ass about a console that went obsolete five years ago. It's still a lovely looking piece of kit though.

    I... I just don't get it. I'd like to know which planet Sony lives on because I'd love to come and visit, to be so blissfully and completely ignorant when you're stuck and the way out is a sheer vertical wall...
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 21:44

  • rommy667 #91 3 years ago

    Looks nice & all but stuck with OFW no mem stick duo pro support??? no umd so they have one by the balls to get max sale price in return for no physical item thus no resale value and you prob wont even be allowed to play it on a psp other than the one it was dl to smaller screen all this for 250 euro come on ppl lets get it together......

  • sneetch #92 3 years ago

    @GreyBeard
    Well I'll be... You're quite right (about the article stating the £250 rumour).

    Looks like EG need to check more than their spelling in this article.

    Because honestly, doesn't it strike you odd that on this single piece of hardware Sony would have a 1:1 price match between territories, when none of their other stuff does?

    Odd? No. Not odd as such, I think the term is "batshit crazy". :)

    I doubt it's anything like £250 but if I were getting one you can be damn sure I'd be importing it from the US regardless of whether I lived in the eurozone or the UK.

    Ah, of course, only digital downloads now. Is it region free like the PS3? Also a UMD disc can contain up to 1.8GB so that 16GB storage doesn't seem that much.
    Edited by 2 at 14/06/09 @ 02:59

  • electrolite #93 3 years ago

    If the price is anywhere near £250 the original analysis is correct. If it's £200 it's merely suicide from Sony, and undeserved treatment of what has the potential to be a fabulous system (and is, with CFW). Pitching it £30 above an Ipod Touch is not going to be an attractive price point (and yeah, I know the £169 Touch only has 8GB but with the size of PSP games that 16GB ain't going to go so far), especially with concerns over how much support it'll get from retailers.

    It confuses me, because when they were blowing everyone away with the PS1 they seemed to be the sensible head in the industry making clever decisions compared with Sega's Saturn hari-kari and Nintendo's cartridge obstinancy re. the N64. How things have changed

  • GreyBeard #94 3 years ago

    @Sneetch

    Batshit Crazy? Yep, can't argue with you there!

    Only thing I heard/read elsewhere that supports *any* reason for the silly price-point is that Sony are trying to cozy up to retailers who they might be alienating with their direct download approach by giving them a unusually generous margin on the hardware.

    Which as a punter might not be bad news as if it gets sold as a loss-leader, i.e. at, or at least close to, wholesale cost.

  • butler` #95 3 years ago

    I have most consoles, handheld or otherwise. A PSPgo, however, can stay on the shelf for that price.

  • Figgernaggot #96 3 years ago

    I'm fine with Gameboy.

  • Lamb #97 3 years ago

    Well on the BBC they say its £214 more probably £214.99....

    [link url=htt p://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8080452.stm
    ]http://ne ws.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/80...[/link]

    However given the tech and doing a side by side with the DSi at £130, I'd guess they are making a good profit at 200 and the extra £15 to offset the PS3 loss (besides the digital downloads). But thats a whole lot better than £250.

    Anyway I'm sticking with my DSlite for the time being.

  • GreyBeard #98 3 years ago

    £214 sounds like another guess to me, after all its what you get if you convert 250 Euros to GBP at today's rates.

  • Zomoniac #99 3 years ago

    Well he did say it was being released at the same price as the original, which was $249, €249 and £179. And $249 at current exchange rate plus 15% VAT is £176, so it's possible that promise will come true, but I sincerely doubt it.