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PSP Not A Sellout Hit
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?"
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.
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.
"Physics is to math what sex is to masturbation." - Richard Feynman
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?
I'll save another $50 and buy an Xbox 3 this Christmas.
$249 is a lot of money to some people.
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.
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.
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC