PSP Reception Lukewarm in US?

There are plenty of interesting takes available on Sony's new media/game console. The neat tricks seem to be the most popular. An Anonymous Coward writes "A blogger figured out how to batch convert e-books so they can be read on your PSP. Check out the guide here for a complete walkthrough on this method." Meanwhile, RyuuzakiTetsuya writes "PSP Vault has a great story on how to Use Non-Duo Memory Sticks on a PSP! The process involves using an adapter that's meant for a Sony Ericcson phone." Via Joystiq, a way to get Tivo content on your PSP. Out in the real world there is already talk of the opening weekend sales. Doomstalk writes "According to IGN sales of the PSP have been lukewarm, with many outlets selling as little as 10 out of the 80 units they received." The PSP is currently burning up the charts in Japan, though, where the console has been out for a while. Early adopters on a holiday weekend may not be the best yardstick. Official numbers from the first weekend of sales likely available on Monday.

Comments

Supply vs. Demand.

[sanityspeech]

From the IGN article:

I work retail, and our store received 60 PSP's and sold 10 the entire day. Outside of hardcore gaming stores, I was curious to find out if that was just an anomaly, or the standard. I actually had many people come up and talk to me about it, but balked at the price of $249.99.

This is a classic case of supply exceeding demand. Just knowing that Sony is willing to go for such a price point was enough of a turn-off for me. For that price, I am willing to wait a year or two before getting one.

...from the psp-stands-for-pretty-steep-price dept...

You can say that again.

With the current state of our economy...

[LokieLizzy]

it's not surprising that these things aren't selling like hotcakes. What with the 18-29 crowd buying their iPods and flashy digital cameras, not to mention required payments of the rent (or tuition if you're in college), food, and *life*, it's hard for the average Joe or Jane to choke out an extra 250 for a system which can't do half of the things it's advertized to do without pumping out another 80 dollars for a couple of games, or a larger memory chip.

The thing's far too expensive to justify whatever niftiness it may hold.

Re:With the current state of our economy...

[Stalyn]

Tokyo is one of the most expensive places live (actually the most) yet everyone there has some new fangled phone or electronic device. The success I think on the PSP has less to do with economy and more with culture.

Not enough launch titles to merit cost

[Zetta Matrix]

At $249.99, there better be a handful of games I just can't live without. For me, there are none. This changes with the introduction of new titles and price drops on the PSP itself. At $149.99, I could see buying it for only 2-3 games (with the expectation of more).

Weakness - Intentional crippling

[DemonWeeping]

The PSP would be a fantastic handheld with it's brilliant screen and fantastic hardware... ...except... They need to make UMD-R. Seriously. I am not going to pay 50%+ more (versus SD) for a 1G Memory Stick Duo that will not work in any other device I own just so I can carry around some extra media. Come on Sony. Didn't you learn your lesson about propriatary formats yet?

Re:I myself was dissintrested...

[nate nice]

"Until I played Lumines for one minute on a PSP at my local gaming store. The sheer (sic)addictivness of this game alone makes me (sic)desperatly want a PSP..."

Your feelings are confused right now. You're not addicted to a game after playing it for 1 min. The feeling you have is called *impulse* and is the worst feeling a consumer can succumb to.