Topic: Shocking Psp sales yay for nIntendo?

[KDR_11k]

The stores take PSPs back as defective when they have dead pixels. Problem is, Sony doesn't and the stores have tons of duds at their hands. You'll see them change return policies and the second wave of PSP buyers getting very pissed off because no perfect PSPs are left.

[ruby_onix]

GameSpot

Sony's saying that, contrary to the rumors, they will take back dead pixel units.

But people are noticing that they also said "we will support the various elements of [the PSP] warranty".

Which is what the problem was in the first place. Apparently the PSP's warranty says that you need to have more than a dozen dead pixels before they consider it "defective".

And Sony's also apparently saying that even if you have more than 12 dead pixels, you still can't return your PSP. You have to play it for a week or two, "to see if the problem goes away".

Or maybe it's so that the returns don't affect Sony's "units shipped" launch numbers. Because exchanges don't affect the "units sold at retail" numbers. An exchange counts as "-1 sold and +1 sold". Then it goes back to Sony and counts as "-1 shipped".

Sony's just trying to buy some time before solving any problems, that way they're "looking better" (as opposed to putting effort into "doing better").

[huskyla24]

I just saw a CNN report saying that Sony has released that the PSP is sold out across the nation. HAHHAHAHAHHAA, Thats so funny a bud of mines target has about 40 in stock. The Best Buy I work at has about 20. I'm sure this isn't the only case. I guess sony jumped the gun on that press release.  

[KnowsNothing]

I wouldn't be surprised if the headlines were that the PSP sold out.  Sony shipped all of them to the stores, so Sony sold out  It's not their problem from then on.  

I've been seeing alot of misleading things about the PSP.  On its launch day there was an article in the paper about it that implied that it could play CDs and DVDs.  Unfortunatley, disgruntled people returning their PSPs won't hurt the units sold tally because, as I mentioned earlier, Sony counts how many units they've shipped.

ohyeahhappyeaster

[ruby_onix]

They're surely going to claim that some retailers across the entire nation are reporting that their stock of PSP units was sold out near-instantly. Because it's true. Some were. And from a grammar point of view, that "some" part is optional.

"Sony shipped a massive record-breaking 1,000,000 PSP units!"
"Retailers across the entire nation are reporting that their stock of PSP units was sold out near-instantly!"

We just need to wait for the NPD numbers to find out how it really fared.

[Deguello]

The problem with trying to stoke the coals with a stunt like this is that casual players seemed to already balk at the $250 price tag.  Even if you create a "shortage rush" out of whole cloth, I suspect people are going to be hesitant to plunk down two Bens and a Grant for it, let alone some games.

[KDR_11k]

Didn't the N-Gage ship one million and have some "sold out" claims as well?

[WuTangTurtle]

hold on a sec.........Sony requires you to have at least a dozen dead pixels?  Is that a huge exaggeration?  Nintendo's policy was 1 dead pixel and they would send a rushed out replacement DS, which once you recieved you are required to send the defect one to them.  I had to send mine due to a single dead pixel, i remember telling the girl on the phone that I've never heard of such great customer service.

In Sony's case WTF, if i paid +$250 for a product i should have it without any kind of defect PERIOD, no BS, no well you should be able to live with 1-11 dead pixels.  Thats like your laser eye surgery doctor saying you now have clearer and richer vision although you now have 11 black dots in your view at all times, ENJOY!

[oohhboy]

This policy probaly spawned out of inter-division politics. PSP componets beening produced at cost by the other divisions ment unlike Nintendo who have to out source all production couldn't secure a quality control clause in their agreement. Therefore Sony's production division can just throw out whatever they want as long as it is a LCD screen.

The problems are compounding. Changing CEOs may help, but the ex-ceo made a hell of a mess.

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: huskyla24
I just saw a CNN report saying that Sony has released that the PSP is sold out across the nation. HAHHAHAHAHHAA, Thats so funny a bud of mines target has about 40 in stock. The Best Buy I work at has about 20. I'm sure this isn't the only case. I guess sony jumped the gun on that press release.

Yeah, it is pretty funny what's happening.

[oohhboy]

I love that guy. He was my number one reason for watching the initial Desert Storm 2 coverage.

[KDR_11k]

Considering that 15" LCDs have a return limit of four dead pixels, and that is rarely reached, Sony comes off as even more arrogant.

[couchmonkey]

I'm pretty shocked!  I figured that even at $250 the PSP would have very strong sales at launch.  Of course, we still have to wait to see what the actual numbers are, but from what I've heard they're readily available in most stores around here.

[huskyla24]

The news is starting to finally come out....


PSP launch not as big as expected

04:07 PM CST on Monday, March 28, 2005


By VICTOR GODINEZ / The Dallas Morning News



Sony Corp.'s PSP handheld video game device that went on sale last week seemed like an instant sensation, marked by midnight launch parties at retailers and lines of eager gamers huddled in rain and cold to get their hands on the system.

But while Sony is touting the unveiling as a success, there are indications the event might not have been the blockbuster that was expected.

Some local retailers said they were surprised at lackluster interest on launch day last Thursday and still have PSPs sitting on store shelves, while gaming Internet message boards over the weekend were dotted with comments from gamers around the country reporting similar stockpiles.

Greg Peterman, a store manager for the SuperTarget store in North Dallas on Coit Road, said he expected a larger crowd on launch day.

“We weren’t hit like that,” he said. “We thought we were going to be. But it didn’t really happen.”

Mr. Peterman said he still has several PSPs available for sale.

“I just don’t think it was as popular as people thought it was going to be, with people already having PlayStation 2s,” he said. “It was really popular among the gaming crowd, but with everybody else it wasn’t that big of a draw.”

The price may have dampened the enthusiasm among casual gamers.

At $250, the PSP is $100 more expensive than Nintendo’s new handheld, the DS.

[Flames_of_chaos]

IGN also reported that the PSP launch was with mixed results, when I went to Best Buy today they have a table full of PSP games but im not sure of PSP systems.

[Don'tHate742]

I wanna see sale figures damn it! Then we'll know if Sony has trouble ahead...


Personally, I see Sony being bought out pretty soon.

[ruby_onix]

Quote
hold on a sec.........Sony requires you to have at least a dozen dead pixels? Is that a huge exaggeration?

Sony's policy is apparently that you can get it replaced if more than 0.01% of your pixels are dead.

PSP resolution: 480x272 = 130,560 pixels.

0.01% = 13.056

Quote
This policy probaly spawned out of inter-division politics. PSP componets beening produced at cost by the other divisions ment unlike Nintendo who have to out source all production couldn't secure a quality control clause in their agreement.

The PSP's screen is being made by Sharp, the same guys that have made all of Nintendo's LCD screens, from the GameBoy Pocket straight through to the DS. It's why it was funny when Sony fanboys started mocking the DS when dead pixels first started to appear.

The only difference is that the PSP is (per unit) getting one big double-sized screen, while the DS is getting twice as many smaller screens.

Sony also has Samsung working on some PSP screens, which supposedly look "cheaper", don't have colors that are as good, and have slightly less viewing angle, but I don't know if they're out yet.

The screen is supposedly one of the only parts of the PSP that isn't being made by Sony. And it's funny, because everyone always rags on Sony's shoddy workmanship, but that's the one part that's giving them the most trouble.

[KDR_11k]

Sony was rushing to get as many PSPs made as possible. Perhaps they told Samsung "We don't care what quality they are, just get us those screens!" so Samsung stopped throwing out semi defective screens and shipped those to Sony as well. Remember, Nintendo was pushing them as well and got dead pixels as a result. LCDs get exponentially more error prone with larger size.

[oohhboy]

nitendo got dead Pixels, but allowed for the return and replacement of defective units. "I am sorry, it is not functioning as specified, we will replace it for you".

Sony says "It's not a defect, it is part of what makes it unquie. now get out of here".

Even if the largers size of the screens were taken into account, Sony's screen should only have double the defect rate conpared to Nintendo. Nintendo uses two GBA size screens. Sony uses a single screen doulbe the size of a GBA. The surface area only quadurples. Since Nintendo needs two screens, the failure rate should only be double that of Nintendo.

The surface area is only multipled by 4 when you double the size of the screen. It isn't exponental. Its X^2 where X is the multipler from the original size. If I remmebr right exponential is the doubling the value of each generation.

This is the square of the generation. Exponential would over take square by the 7th generation.

[PaLaDiN]

You're assuming the probability of any given pixel in a certain surface area being defective remains the same across different total screen sizes, i.e. that the PSP's screen can be seen as the sum of four i.i.d. small screens.

And is the PSP screen actually quadruple the SA of a GBA screen? I find that hard to believe.

[oohhboy]

I was using approximations. Round numbers can demostrate better that a truck load of decimal points. Since PSP's screen is actually smaller than 2X that of a GBA screen, then the failure rate would be even more abnomal than what could be explained by increase in screen size.

The assumption of each pixel having the same defect rate wouldn't be an assumption. It would be a fixed probality regardless of size of the screen. the manufacturing process would be the same regardless of size and if it was possible to make pizels one by one and assemble the said pixels into one screen, the defect rate per pixel would remain the same.

[nitsu niflheim]

The fact is, Sony is once again refusing to admit any problems in their products.  How long before we hear reports of people who have to lay on the floor when their legs up on a bed or sofa just to get their systems to play?  

[huskyla24]

From CNN Money


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,"

[mantidor]

whats "in the channel"?

[Artimus]

Between Sony and the consumer.