Author Topic: PSP will have the greatest console launch in History (Read 23060 times)

clevelandst124 · « **Reply #25 on:** March 23, 2005, 02:11:50 PM »

To each his own I guess.

The launch is almost here. I'm really interested to see if there is a market for high end handheld gaming. Back to the original topic, I don't think the PSP will sell out this week. 1 million systems is alot of systems. There is also still places that you can preorder, which doesn't count the Walmart-Meijer's where you can't. It may set the record, which I think is 650,000 in a week from the gamecube. It'll be a failure if it doesn't sell at least the 500,000 that the ds sold. I'm gonna guess 700,000 so Sony can claim that thier system is the quickest selling ever.

On another note, the cube-europe forums are saying that Sony will not replace systems that have dead pixels. Is this true? I can't find any info on it. And if it's true, what do you think of this bold move?

KDR_11k · « **Reply #26 on:** March 23, 2005, 11:33:13 PM »

LCD manufacturers don't replace a screen with less than 5 dead pixels (I think some even go as high as 15). That's standard policy, you should appreciate that Nintendo replaces a DS with one dead pixel because they're the only ones.

huskyla24 · « **Reply #27 on:** March 24, 2005, 08:15:14 AM »

I don't think sony is going to be to happy. First off Target at 2:00 had not sold one unit. Best Buy web site as well as gamestop and circuit city still have them available. Best Buy in my town, 250,000 people had no one lined up at 8 am. Didn't sell the first one till 11:30. A bit scary for sony?

KDR_11k · « **Reply #28 on:** March 24, 2005, 08:28:59 AM »

That would be funny... "We made sure enough units are available for everyone!" Nobody buys the PSP...

Don'tHate742 · « **Reply #29 on:** March 24, 2005, 11:04:02 AM »

I think everyone caught wind that it wasn't a Portable Playstation as kinda advertised.

KDR_11k -- Your bit about what a Killer app really is, is true. I've always thought Nintendo should focus on new franchises, because hey....if anyone can make a killer app, it's Nintendo. All they need is to stop re-using their franchises. I understand that people will be furious if Mario, Zelda, Metriod, Pokemon and such aren't made, but the fact of the matter is, they can develope new titles with old titles still available. Look at Pikmin and Animal Crossing. It can be done, hopefully a new franchise is in the works already (Raven Blade O.o).

As for the PSP not having a killer app.......that's so true. I bought the PS2 because of GTA and some other titles. I can't see myself buying the PSP for GTA; it's nothing new. Lumines is interesting, but I can see it being ported to the PS2 in about 6 months or so.

NDS is looking more and more like the console to own. They have 8 titles (maybe less, more) coming from Namco alone. I can't wait to see what Capcom, Konami, and others have to offer.......not to mention NINTENDO! E3 will speak louder than a million words, and personally, I think Nintendo has the advantage going in.

KDR_11k · « **Reply #30 on:** March 24, 2005, 10:44:44 PM »

Mario 64 wasn't a new franchise but it was different so it was fresh and it was Mario so back then it still had mass appeal. Personally I wouldn't mind Nintendo abandoning all of their franchises since they feel more like hindrances to creativity than actual enhancements to the game to me. People expect Zelda, Mario, Metroid, et al to play in a certain way and there's lots of complaining when these expectations aren't fulfilled (see also FLUDD, Cel shading, ocean). No matter how good the game, complaints will scare off potential customers and that's a problem. I'd say start with a tabula rasa again and make up new franchises from the ground up, that way there will be no expectations skewing perceptions or legacies to carry that hurt creativity. Nobody complained about Pikmin not being some game they saw before. Good luck selling that idea to the suits, though.

nickmitch · « **Reply #31 on:** March 25, 2005, 06:52:18 AM »

I don't want to get a PSP. But if I did get one then it'd be 150 bucks (or less) and come with 3 games and a high capacity memory stick.

Artimus · « **Reply #32 on:** March 25, 2005, 07:02:36 AM »

If the sales are poor it isn't because the system sucks (it's beautiful, and I haven't even seen it in person), it's because the older portable market just is not there.

Avinash_Tyagi · « **Reply #33 on:** March 25, 2005, 08:31:33 AM »

You really think Sony would replace a PSP with dead pixels, after they "Made the most beautiful thing in the world"?

RickPowers · « **Reply #34 on:** March 25, 2005, 08:43:50 AM »

If the sales are poor, it isn't for any of the above reasons. It's because of price. The DS moved in record numbers not because of the games, but because the dual-screens, touchscreen, and wireless were perceived to have a much higher value than the $150 cost. There is potential inherent in the technology, and even though people might not be consciously aware that they are making a decision like this, it happens. The PSP's value is very close to the $250 they are charging, which is probably why they aren't moving as fast. At $199, they'll probably move far faster, which is why every analyst worth their salt is predicting a holiday price drop.

There is also the idea that $199 is the "mass-market" price for any electronic gadget, and Nintendo came in under, Sony came in over. The reason is likely because Nintendo is aiming for families and casual gamers, Sony is aiming (for the time being, anyway) for the early adopters for whom the price delta rises to roughly $399. The numbers of the sales currently support the theory as well.

So this begs the question ... does Sony know what they're doing? I'd have to say yes. It's classic Sony (and Apple) pricing strategy, price the device ever so slightly out of the price range for the mass-market, but well under the early-adopter market. That will ensure brisk (but not overwhelming) sales at launch, generate the buzz necessary to create mass-market demand, and then drop the price in time for a major buying season and capitalize on the demand.

Avinash_Tyagi · « **Reply #35 on:** March 25, 2005, 08:52:46 AM »

Agreed, it also helps lower the money lost if few games are sold, like in japan, but the danger to Sony is the DS may start to pick up steam when the online service comes into full swing.

RickPowers · « **Reply #36 on:** March 25, 2005, 09:24:55 AM »

"... but the danger to Sony is the DS may start to pick up steam when the online service comes into full swing."

How's that? Sony's online network for the PSP is up NOW. All Nintendo launching their online service will do is satisfy CURRENT owners. I fail to see how Nintendo launching a service Sony already has hurts Sony in any way.

Just a warning, but your rhetoric is coming dangerously close to crossing the line into Trolling. Be aware of that.

Avinash_Tyagi · « **Reply #37 on:** March 25, 2005, 09:49:30 AM »

Quote
Just a warning, but your rhetoric is coming dangerously close to crossing the line into Trolling. Be aware of that.

How so? I'm not saying anything against Sony by stating that Nintendo's online plan will make a difference, a game like Animal Crossing with Online play is going to do more than just satisfy current owners Rick, seeing as how the GC version was popular with people who usually don't play video games as well as hardcore gamers. The lack of a true system seller has hampered the DS, Animal Crossing with Online is likely to be a system seller.

Pale · « **Reply #38 on:** March 25, 2005, 10:40:45 AM »

Avinash has a point here. If Nintendo gets Animal Crossing out and it has that whole online _experience_ thing and Sony still only has sports game matchmaking it will definately make a difference. The problem with that is the fact that the chances of Sony not coming out with the online _experience_ type game before Animal Crossing is slim to none.

My predicted timeline for Nintendo is having Animal Crossing out early September to launch the whole DS Online thing, and then have Mario Kart with Online support as the big DS holiday game. That is quite a ways a way and I am still quite nervous as to what Square Enix has in the pipe for the PSP... Their PlayOnline GUI lends itself nicely to that little screen and I think they are the only company that could get me to buy a PSP... Hell, they are the sole reason I got a PS2.

Tanookisuit · « **Reply #39 on:** March 25, 2005, 04:49:26 PM »

I don't get the iPod comparison. The iPod is an elegant little single-purpose device, not an all-in-one "geek" toy. (Maybe that lame photo version comes close) The iPod's interface with iTunes is so seamless and intuitive, and from what I've read, the PSP is totally clunky when it comes to transfering audio and video files (fromwhat I read on IGN). Let's hope the Play-Yan thing for GBA and DS is simpler. The PSP really appears to be a jack of all trades, we'll have to wait and see if it is a master of any.

vudu · « **Reply #40 on:** March 28, 2005, 11:46:01 AM »

Quote
At $199, they'll probably move far faster, which is why every analyst worth their salt is predicting a holiday price drop. There is also the idea that $199 is the "mass-market" price for any electronic gadget

All signs point to Sony is currently losing money on the PSP. If they drop the price down even further, they'll lose more money. That's enough of a math lesson for today.

My question is (mainly for Rick), how will Sony make a profit on the PSP if they're losing so much money on the console? In the home console world, systems are typically sold at a loss, but 1st parties make it back from game sales. Historically, game to system tie ratios for portables are dramatically lower than for home consoles. I, as many here, doubt UMD movie sales are going to be a big seller. So can Sony sell enough games per system to make the entire PSP endeavor profitable?

Don'tHate742 · « **Reply #41 on:** March 28, 2005, 12:51:59 PM »

Sony makes money from licensing. They get the money up front for UMD movies.

ruby_onix · « **Reply #42 on:** March 28, 2005, 01:58:05 PM »

"Sony" isn't getting any royalties for any UMD movies yet, because they're all being made by Sony Pictures (unless Kutaragi was doing more number-juggling, saying that Sony Pictures has to pay royalties to SCE, all the while SCE raids other divisions of Sony for at-cost microchips).

Sony is basically losing lots of money on the PSP (despite Kutaragi's efforts to cover it up), because they want to knock Nintendo out of the handheld arena, and win a "mindshare" victory, which will give them an advantage in future handheld generations, even though Sony's saying that they want the current PSP to hang around for two generations. (The PSP's a currently-shiny "ghetto in the making"). If UMD takes off and is embraced by someone other than Sony Pictures, then Sony will have won dominance over another market.

Personally, I think Sony is primarily focused on the handheld market, and is pulling out all the stops to get it, but it looks less insidious when you think they're trying to go after DVD too. Which is strange, because success with UMD translates into more of an advantage against the handheld market.

The price drop Rick is talking about is a perceived price drop. Stop offering the $250 "Value Pack". Start offering the $200 "Base Unit". You get less, but the smaller number looks better in the eyes of casuals (the group that Sony appears to be failing to reach).

Don'tHate742 · « **Reply #43 on:** March 28, 2005, 02:29:17 PM »

Sure it's a perceived price drop, but you still need those things packed with it. You need a memory card; you need a game, unless you just want to carry pictures and crap.

Artimus · « **Reply #44 on:** March 28, 2005, 03:41:43 PM »

That's the brilliant part. You pay a seeming $50 less. Then you get a game for that $50. You end up paying more for everything. But people think it's cheaper because they market it "Now $50 cheaper!" and people are stupid.

huskyla24 · « **Reply #45 on:** March 31, 2005, 03:10:29 PM »

EW YORK (CNN/Money) - Sony's PSP might be a hit with critics, but consumers seem slightly less enthusiastic about the portable gaming machine.

Only 50 of 150 retailers surveyed by American Technology Research reported sell-outs of the PlayStation Portable in its first week. Analyst P. J. McNealy described the launch as "solid but not spectacular".

Of the 100 stores AmTech surveyed that were not sold out of PSPs, 15 reported having three units or less. Others reported higher levels, with some having as many as 100 in hand.

"We believe that the PSP has come close to shipping its target 1 million units in North America, with a range of 475,000 to 575,000 sold to date in the U.S. with roughly another 250,000 to 300,000 in the channel,"

AgentSeven · « **Reply #46 on:** March 31, 2005, 03:54:24 PM »

Ha Ha!!! Fools, oh it's a good time to be anyone but Sony! Thanks to all the production problems and more than half of the systems being defected, the public is going to be pissed! This is Sony's downfall people, they are throwing money down the drain and developers won't be supporting PSP much longer!

huskyla24 · « **Reply #47 on:** April 02, 2005, 03:51:21 AM »

I wouldn't go that far, but I think Sony will have to get a bit humble, they thought they could just walk in and BAM. It's not that easy.

PaLaDiN · « **Reply #48 on:** April 02, 2005, 09:31:58 AM »

If I might be devil's advocate for a second...

Sony might already have won, as far as public perception is concerned. The reason it isn't selling could be that it's that new toy everybody wants to buy but they can't afford. If and when the price drops... who in here doubts that PSP sales will go through the roof?

darknight06 · « **Reply #49 on:** April 02, 2005, 05:54:17 PM »

Good point, and this is why I often times say give it a year before you go announcing a winner of any sort. PSP will get it's sales, even moreso if they drop the price... UNLESS the REEEEEEEALY somehow manage to f*ck it all up.

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Author Topic: PSP will have the greatest console launch in History (Read 23060 times)