U.S. PSP launch details, pricing

[OB1]

From ign:

February 3, 2005 - Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced the North American launch date and pricing structure for its anticipated PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld. The device, which launched in Japan last year, is set to debut in the US and Canada on March 24 for suggested retail prices of $249 USD and $299.99 CND respectively.

Unlike the Japanese launch, which offered a base PSP package for approximately $185 USD, North American buyers will only be able to get one bundle, the pricier PSP Value Pack. The good news is that the Pack comes standard with a good number of extras that help make the purchase worthwhile, including a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case, and cleaning cloth. In addition, the bundle boasts a movie/music/game sampler UMD disc with non-interactive demos. On top of everything else, the first one million people to purchase a PSP in the US will receive a bonus UMD featuring the full feature film Spider-Man 2.

"PSP will evolve and elevate portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music and connect wirelessly on their terms, their time and their place," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "More than ever, today's consumer demands access to entertainment outside the home without compromising quality. With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to digital music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in one package."

Sony also announced the preliminary list of launch titles, to be released simultaneously with the handheld:

<DIR><DIR>Ape Escape: On the Loose, Sony Computer Entertainment America

ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, Capcom

Dynasty Warriors, KOEI

FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts

Gretzky NHL, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Lumines, Ubisoft

Metal Gear Acid, Konami

MLB, Sony Computer Entertainment America

MVP Baseball, Electronic Arts

NBA, Sony Computer Entertainment America

NBA Street Showdown, Electronic Arts

Need for Speed Rivals, Electronic Arts

NFL Street 2 Unleashed, Electronic Arts

Rengoku: Tower of Purgatory, Konami

Ridge Racer, Namco

Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive

Spider-Man 2, Activision

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, Electronic Arts

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision

Twisted Metal: Head On, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment

Wipeout Pure, Sony Computer Entertainment America

World Tour Soccer, Sony Computer Entertainment America

</DIR></DIR>Sony said it would manufacture one million PSP units for sale in the North American market by the end of its fiscal year on March 31.

Ok before you guys go "OMG it's $250 What teh Ripoffss!!!!!111111", look at the details. It's because it's comes with a 32MB memory card (that's what, four times the size of the largest official GC memory card which costs $30?), headphones w/remote (those kinds of headphones are usually 'spensive), a battery pack (probably not a spare one though), AC adapter, a "soft case", a cleaning cloth (wee...), and the first million units with come with a spider-man 2 umd of the entire flick. Not too shabby. The memory card, headphones, and case themselves should more than warrant the extra $50. They should have also offered a barebones PSP, but whatever. I was going to buy most of that crap anyway.

And look at that launch lineup! I can already see three great games that I'm going to want at launch. MG Acid, Lumines, and Wipeout. I hate to say it, but that's a far more impressive lineup than the DS'. Though if the games cost more than $40 I'm probably only going to be able to afford two of them.

[OB1]

Ok in another press release Sony has stated that games will sell for "as low as $39.99", which means that third-party games (at least for the first six months or so) are probably going to be $50. Eh, that's too much, even if a lot of the games are PS2-quality. Keep in mind that the msrp of DS games are $40 as well, and it's just a few major stores that sell some of games for $30. This was the same situtation with the GBA as I had to pay $40 for Castlevania at launch. Hopefully all of these game prices will start dropping down to $30 on average for DS games, and no more than $40 on average for PSP games. That would make me very happy.

[A Black Falcon]

You double posted the thread, OB1..

Ah... including a memory card. It makes it look "quite a bit more expensive" but you're right, that's probably a good $40 at least for the card if you buy it seperately so overall the price is probably only a bit overpriced when compared to the price it was in Japan. But hey, Sony wants to have SOME chance of making money off this thing, and padding the price a little while keeping it below $300 seems like a fine move which won't hurt sales too much once people understand that it comes with a memory card...

As for those other extras, it has to come with a battery pack. Case and headphones? Cheap to make but it makes the bundle look better...

As for game prices, DS games are $30-$40 (mostly $30) while PSP games will be $40-$50. A definite difference, but I don't know how much that will affect game sales... it depends on how many DS games are $40 and how many PSP games are $50. If people see mostly $30 DS games and mostly $50 PSP games it would hurt the PSP a lot more than if the prices were more similar...

[OB1]

You double posted the thread, OB1..

TC was fucking up earlier today.

As for those other extras, it has to come with a battery pack. Case and headphones? Cheap to make but it makes the bundle look better...

The headphones sound like they might be good ones though, since the remote ones that Sony make are quite expensive.

As for game prices, DS games are $30-$40 (mostly $30) while PSP games will be $40-$50. A definite difference, but I don't know how much that will affect game sales... it depends on how many DS games are $40 and how many PSP games are $50. If people see mostly $30 DS games and mostly $50 PSP games it would hurt the PSP a lot more than if the prices were more similar...

Like I said, these are mostly likely just early life numbers. Remember that third-party GBA games used to be $40.

[A Black Falcon]

The headphones sound like they might be good ones though, since the remote ones that Sony make are quite expensive.

What matters is how expensive they are to make, not how much Sony thinks they can sell them for by themselves...

Like I said, these are mostly likely just early life numbers. Remember that third-party GBA games used to be $40.

True, but the Nintendo GBA games were always officially $30, right? It was the third-party stuff that was over that, if I remember correctly. Here it's Sony saying that the standard PSP game price will be $40. There's a difference there. It's not surprising, though -- between the fact that the PSP is a powerful console that asks for expensive-to-make games and other factors (is PSP media more expensive to make than DS cards?), I'd expect it to cost more than GBA or DS games. As for the DS, I'd expect that the cheaper-to-make media at least partially helps with the fact that the games presumably cost more to make than GBA games...

[OB1]

What matters is how expensive they are to make, not how much Sony thinks they can sell them for by themselves...

No, what matters is how much those particular headphones would sell for on the market. Haven't you ever taken a basic business class before? Production costs don't mean everything.

True, but the Nintendo GBA games were always officially $30, right? It was the third-party stuff that was over that, if I remember correctly. Here it's Sony saying that the standard PSP game price will be $40. There's a difference there. It's not surprising, though -- between the fact that the PSP is a powerful console that asks for expensive-to-make games and other factors (is PSP media more expensive to make than DS cards?), I'd expect it to cost more than GBA or DS games. As for the DS, I'd expect that the cheaper-to-make media at least partially helps with the fact that the games presumably cost more to make than GBA games...

Yes first-party GBA games were always $30, I think. Though some stores do sell Mario 64 DS for $40. $40 would be a perfect standard PSP game price, while $50 might be too much. I'm hoping that third-party games don't go over $40 within a year of the system's lifecycle.

As for how much each format costs to produce, since UMDs are basically little dvds with plastic cases around them, they should be much cheaper to manufacture than GBA carts and even cheaper to manufacture than DS cards, which are basically SD flash cards.

[Great Rumbler]

I wouldn't mind getting Mercury, but none of the other games really catch my attention at the moment.

There's no way I'm going to be able to get a PSP anytime soon. $250, even with the extras, is still more than I can afford. Hopefully the DS and PSP will get into a price war and the PSP will become, relatively, cheap sometime soon.

[OB1]

You crehsey or sumthen?? Metal Gear Ac!d, Wipeout Pure, and Lumines (awesome puzzle game, I've heard) don't interest you?

Sumthin's wrong with you, bubba.

[A Black Falcon]

No, what matters is how much those particular headphones would sell for on the market. Haven't you ever taken a basic business class before? Production costs don't mean everything.

One semester of Economics, and I hated the class...

Do you mean that the price it would cost in the marketplace is what matters to the consumers when they think about how much more/less/same the bundle costs when compared to the seperate parts (though the PSP doesn't look like it'll be sold unbundled, at least at first)? That would be true. I meant that for Sony, the amount of profit they could make of the PSP bundle when they add headphones would be more affected by the price it costs to make than the potential sales price...

As for how much each format costs to produce, since UMDs are basically little dvds with plastic cases around them, they should be much cheaper to manufacture than GBA carts and even cheaper to manufacture than DS cards, which are basically SD flash cards.

You think so? It looks like a more complex thing than a DS card...

As for the games, I really wish I could get Wipeout, of course. Great series. The rest? I don't know... not so much. Maybe Metal Gear Acid, but Nintendo consoles have good strategy titles too...

[OB1]

One semester of Economics, and I hated the class...

Do you mean that the price it would cost in the marketplace is what matters to the consumers when they think about how much more/less/same the bundle costs when compared to the seperate parts (though the PSP doesn't look like it'll be sold unbundled, at least at first)? That would be true. I meant that for Sony, the amount of profit they could make of the PSP bundle when they add headphones would be more affected by the price it costs to make than the potential sales price...

I'm talking about how much everything would cost separately.

You think so? It looks like a more complex thing than a DS card...

Flash cards cost way more than optical media, so I assume that is the case.

As for the games, I really wish I could get Wipeout, of course. Great series. The rest? I don't know... not so much. Maybe Metal Gear Acid, but Nintendo consoles have good strategy titles too...

Well you didn't even get RE4, so...

[Lord Shockwave]

Every store is selling it as a package, going from 399.99 to 549.99. Ouch! I want one, no question, provided they fixed that ninja star protruding disc flaw. Last thing I need is to injure some kid with a flying projectile screaming at them like a bullet.

[Great Rumbler]

Metal Gear Ac!d, Wipeout Pure, and Lumines (awesome puzzle game, I've heard) don't interest you?

Metal Gear Acid is a card game, now it may be good but first my first impression is it's not really something I want that much. I've never bought a Wipeout game before and I don't buy many racing games of any kind. I've never heard of Lumines before.

[OB1]

:shake:

You poor Nintendo fanboy.

:p

[Great Rumbler]

You do realize that I say that based on what little I know and were I to look for games to buy I would do some in-depth study of what's available and make purchased based on that rather than my first impressions, don't you?

[OB1]

.....




.....











.......................

[A Black Falcon]

Well you didn't even get RE4, so...

Huh? RE isn't a strategy game...

And anyway, I mostly believe that strategy games are for the PC. I have a couple for consoles (Fire Emblem and Advance Wars 2 for GBA for instance), but not many. It's just a genre done far better on PC. Pikmin tries, and is alright, but I don't have Pikmin games either because... well, I hated the time limit in Pikmin 1 and I don't think Pikmin 2 would be worth full price. I might get it eventually.

As for RE, it came out at a bad time. I'd just gotten a bunch of games during Christmas break after all! I might get it sometime, but there are too many games I wish to get to say I'll definitely will get any specific one of them.

Flash cards cost way more than optical media, so I assume that is the case.

But the PSP media looks at least somewhat more expensive to make than normal optical media...

I'm talking about how much everything would cost separately.

A bad idea considering that most people would probably not bother with the special headphones or the case if they weren't bundled.

Metal Gear Acid is a card game, now it may be good but first my first impression is it's not really something I want that much. I've never bought a Wipeout game before and I don't buy many racing games of any kind. I've never heard of Lumines before.

I love arcadish racing games, which is why I have so many of them... but Wipeout 64 is definitely one of the best, so I certainly wish that I could get some more Wipeout games. Wipeout XL for PC would be hard to find and probably wouldn't run that well anyway...

[OB1]

But the PSP media looks at least somewhat more expensive to make than normal optical media...

Because they have to cover it in that plastic casing, certainly. But more than carts? Not a chance. And flash cards aren't that much cheaper to manufacture than carts are.

A bad idea considering that most people would probably not bother with the special headphones or the case if they weren't bundled.

You would definitely need a case.

Huh? RE isn't a strategy game...

[A Black Falcon]

MGS: Acid is a strategy game... so why would if I have RE4 or not have any impact on if I'm interested in that game anyway, especially considering that they are completely different?

You would definitely need a case.

Some kind of screen cover would be wise, yes, but it's not NEEDED. Just smart. :)

Because they have to cover it in that plastic casing, certainly. But more than carts? Not a chance. And flash cards aren't that much cheaper to manufacture than carts are.

They're definitely cheaper, though (flashcards than gba carts). Nintendo mentioned it as one of the advantages of the media format, remember...

[Dark Jaguar]

Screen covers... A good one is good, but you know how they have these little plastic FILMS you just sorta stick to the front of it? Those things are worthless! What exactly are they going to protect the screen FROM anyway? I'll tell you this, anything that's strong enough to cut the screen is going to have no problem at all cutting through that little plastic film to get to the screen. Honestly, it's like using a piece of paper as a shield in combat. No phalanx would function like that! The protector should be at least as durable as the screen itself.

That in mind, a big glass clip-on screen is far better. Best though is to actually have an entire thick plastic shield there. You know, like the SP and the DS?

[A Black Falcon]

For my GBC and old GBs I had no screen covers, but kept them most of the time in GB cases (first a older rigid one, then the one I still have which has soft material lining it so the screen won't be scratched... of course the screens still scratched some, probably from when they weren't in there (the GBA especially got badly scratched), but oh well... for the GBA I mostly use the same 'put it in my GBA-case' thing, but I do also have the little plastic screen cover from the bag of E3 stuff I won from LL. :)

[OB1]

MGS: Acid is a strategy game... so why would if I have RE4 or not have any impact on if I'm interested in that game anyway, especially considering that they are completely different?

....

Some kind of screen cover would be wise, yes, but it's not NEEDED. Just smart.

Tell that to GR.

They're definitely cheaper, though (flashcards than gba carts). Nintendo mentioned it as one of the advantages of the media format, remember...

CRACK is cheaper than GBA carts.

[Great Rumbler]

Tell that to GR.

Yeah, my GBA got scratched up pretty bad.

[A Black Falcon]

My GBC did, but my GBA only has a couple of scratches... actually the GBC is (was? I might have lost it) more scratched than my original GB, I think...