Sony admits the PSPgo price may have been a bit high

Sony has admitted today that the price of the PSPgo may have been too high and it turned off consumers. In an odd turn of events, the platform holder has determined that maybe it was silly to charge more for a product that does less. Who could have imagined?

[Cold 2000]

"Sony admits the PSPgo price may have been a bit high"

They cant be serious. So its only NOW that they realise...

[evrfighter]

ya it is true that sony fanboys are easily exploited but come on. They really pulled out all the stops to milk the GO. Probably the first time ever I've seen the Sony faithful realize Sony is ripping them off. So they gain a couple of respect points from me.

@Genesis
Don't need one, pic of my setup is in my bio if you wanna know why.

[Genesis5]

OK Mister $99 wifi adapter you've had your say. I thought about getting one though but not at the launch price.

[Aquarius]

the 360 is as well you fool, along with its overpriced ANCIENT dvds.

[UnwanteDreamz]

Oh surprise! Cold and Everfighter found their way into a negative Sony article.

The Go is overpriced and it is no secret.

@ Below

So true I saved my cash I could have spent on a Go and bought another PS3 for the family. (I have been told I don't know how to share mine)

[-Alpha]

I strongly doubt Ps3 fans are ripped off, especially this gen. Last gen, maybe, but this gen the shoe is on the other foot. I'm not a big portable gamer, but yeah, the GO was overpriced.

The main thing I think was that the GO is not even the PSP2 and if rumors about the PSP2 coming out soon are true it makes the GO quite worthless. I think Sony should have waited to go Digital until the PSP2. Of course, the GO does suffer from piracy so I suppose it's a learning experience.

If the PSP is at the end of its cycle, and it looks like it is, it's only a matter of time before PSP2 is announced, it makes no sense that Sony made an even more EXPENSIVE portable device that was still considered "PSP1".

They should have made a much cheaper PSP 3000 or 4000 to sell out the last of the PSP's or not made any mention at all in order to focus on PSP2.

Regardless, I suppose Portable Gamers who are hardcore enjoy the PSP GO. Personally I'd put the money towards a 360 or a PS3 slim.

[D4RkNIKON]

I would have bought it day one if it was like $179.99 even $189.99

[Chris399]

I paid about $800 (650 or so, plus a warranty) for my PS3 many years ago. Early adopters always get screwed on cost.

As a Go owner, the only complaint I have is regarding the sparse library. We get like 1-2 titles drip fed to us each week. It's not enough, especially when the Japanese Store is updated with PSP legacy (and new games) almost EVERY day of the week.

I imagine that they're saving the flood for the Go relaunch and accompanying price drop.

But other than this, and the initial investment, the Go is a wonderful device. Better screen, functionality and portability. The Blue-tooth headset option really cuts down on the clutter between devices too, you can swap from a phone head-set to the Go's sound output in a flash (picked up a fantastic Motorola factory-bulk headset for like $40 off of Newegg).

[zeeshan]

Yup, GO was expensive and had lesser features but I think that if they had lowered the price of all the digital downloads and I am talking about cheap as iphone games, GO could done a lot better. I think GO was Sony's fishing attempt. Maybe they were testing waters and I guess by now, they must have realized what people would want to see in PSP2. Hopefully, they'll learn from their mistakes.

[Dance]

Took them long enough

[darthv72]

which is why I have been scouring craigs list for ones cheaper. I see them averaging around $160-180.

I like the idea of the go but aside from the price, they should have thought about those who invested in umd's. Come up with some type of trade in voucher program.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

Sony knew all along it was over priced, they were just hoping nobody noticed!

Reality is that technically, the PSP Go wasn't overpriced. If you look at the Zune HD or the iTouch, you realize that the PSP Go wasn't that costly. It's just that there was a superior product for less, it's called the PSP-3000. Effectively they just competed with themselves.

With gaming, you want them in the door and then profit from the accessories and games (see MS or Apple for a perfect example of this). Not the other way around, but I guess piracy must be a huge issue on the PSP.....

The only thing is, didn't they learn with the PS3 that arguably has more features than the competition, yet the PSP Go has less and cost more. WTF!!!

[cmrbe]

Really?. How well did the PS3 sold at $600?. PS fans are very shrewd bunch. They are not like the x360 bunch that are very very easy on MS. Truth is PS fans are spoiled by Sony for a long time and such its hard to impress them.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

Really? Sony's customer is a shrewd bunch that are hard to impress.

They way I see it, MS just ate out of Sony's market. A big chunk of the 360 customers used to be PS2 owners! We all know MS didn't get their customers from the Wii/Gamecube crowd....

[Sarcasm]

Captain Obvious is around here somewhere isn't he?

[himdeel]

...cracks me up! I considered getting a PSP but every time I consider it I feel like something new comes out that makes me very hesitant. Revision of SKUs for handhelds scare me :(

[shadow2797]

It's called price skimming. They were trying to recover money spent on R&D to develop it early in the handheld's life.

I for one am glad the Go exists, if it had been cheaper, I would have bought it. But my new 3000 is better because the Go exists. I love all the downloadable games in the PSN Store.

And when the price drops on the Go, it will push the 3000 to drop too. Unless they release the 4000, which seems to be their strategy. Offer more features for the same price instead of dropping the price. They're playing the value card and I'm not sure it was the best decision. But I'm happy with my PSP, so I guess I can't complain.

[cmrbe]

really?. If so why aren't there near 100 million x360 owners?. The x360 is already $199 with most of PS the biggest 3rd party PS exclusives from last gen and yet it hasen't reach 50 million yet in over 4 years.

No dude your are wrong. Most of the current x360 owners are xbox fans that had no choice but to migrate when the xbox was pulled.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

So you are saying that the 24 million Xbox users carried over, then what about the remaining 14 million to close that gap of 38 million for Xbox 360?

Are you saying they are all new customers that are first time gamer or are you saying it came from the Gamecube/Wii customers? Explain how the 14 additional million users came from?

I'm not saying all 100 million moved over, I'm saying a chunk of them moved over. Don't put words in my mouth.

Sony and MS is eating off the same plate. Wii is the only one with their own bowl!!!

[lephunk]

i love you and all... but seriously?

[VenGencE999]

@IdleLeeSiuLung
let me let you in on a little secret that seems to escape most folks when talking about the xbox user base. that number is GREATLY inflated due to the high failure rate. between me and my brothers we have bought 6 360's. that's 2 per person for those wanting to add things up. not re-manufactured or repaired but new. of course this was before the new warranty deal, but still, I'm sure there are many others that have done the same thing.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

So you are saying you (and your brother) went out and bought 6 brand new Xbox'es because they keep failing on you?

It sounds so stupid that I have a hard time believing you. Am I to believe that you are stupid enough to buy 6 after they repeatedly broke or that you are lying? Who in their right mind buys something 6 times at an average cost of $250 (judging from the time frame) to have it repeatedly break? Not only that, but the warranty should cover it!

With that in mind, then that doesn't explain why MS sells outrageous amount of software and accessories compared to the competition even when the competition is unaffected by software piracy. I mean there is a huge freaking piracy/modding scene around the 360.

So tell me, is it that the Xbox 360 gamers just buy so much more software and accessory than the competition or the fact that the number of broken machines aren't that significant?

I would venture to say that is probably somewhere in between, which still doesn't explain where the additional customers MS got from! I would say they are PS2 owners, no doubt.

[cmrbe]

that moved to the x360 because of the wii and hate PS. Believe it or not the gaming market expands year after year so that also counts. There are alot of new kid/young gamers that bought their first consoles this gen just like last gen which adds on to existing gamers from previous gens. This is not rocket science.

Fact is of 7 people i know who have x360 3 bought secondary x360 because all of them suffered PROD. Look around and you will find that this type of situation is the norm. The x360 after all has the highest failure rate in the history of electronics devices. Put you head in the sand and pretend that this is not true. Weather you like it or not i am telling the truth from my expereince as well as many.

So 14 million minus multiple purchase plus new gamers plus GC hardcore gamers at best you are looking at perhaps 7 million PS owners that might have been multi-console owners from last gen to begin with. Is 7 million a big chunk out of the 140 million PS2 userbase?. Is 7 million a big chunk of 38 million. I don't think so. Big chunk in 30-40%.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

OK, if you say so. You keep believing that....

But from your little bubble, you extracted what MUST have happened to everyone else and call that the truth. Yet, it still doesn't explain the brisk software and accessory sale.

I mean, unless you think people will also buy new accessories/games to replace their current ones when they get a new Xbox 360 machine?

PS2 is the largest last generation, it is only natural that they loose part of that market share when they alienated some of their customers with the initial high price of the PS3. Most of the GC people will stay on the Wii. The hardcore gamers last generation was mostly on the PS2 and second console owners and modders got the original Xbox.

Right now, MS and Sony share the same pool of gamers. Plain and simple!

"Is 7 million a big chunk of 38 million. I don't think so. Big chunk in 30-40%. "

Even by your conservative estimate, 7 million is almost 20%. If that is not a big chunck I don't know.... Whatever MS does from now, it just means it is eating out of somebody else's pie since last generation. They got more than 50% more users this generation than last so far.

[Meryl]

^^ I agree that some PS fans did indeed jump on the x360 bandwagon, but now that PS3 is more affordable, all I hear from the people I know that did so, is how they are buying a PS3 this year, dude the PS fans are now returning!!

[testerg35]

lol.. no sh!t sherlock.

[washingmachine]

a little? lol

[DelbertGrady]

Not if you get a third job.

[Cold 2000]

LMAO!

[AngryFork]

I fully believe the Go was a last ditch effort to get as much profit out of the PSP as possible before they announce PSP2 at this E3 (Hopefully, with 2 analog sticks).

I didn't get one, 250 was way too much, it looks nice and all but it needed more features to warrant that price.

[whoelse]

And the PSP2 could be backwards compatible, but with downloads only of course.

[Asuka]

I agree. The PSP has always been a bit lack luster. Sony is of course aware of this, and probably released the redesigned PSPGo as a last ditch effort. The Go design could even be a test model(not just hardware, but marketing as well with the whole DLC thing) as to see how they would approach the final build of the PSP2. It makes some sense, for by releasing the PSPGo, they are able to take survey what works and what doesn't, while still being able to get whatever is left out of the PSP.

I know alot of people think E3 is a bit too early for PSP2, but it would fit into Sony's normal to announce and show a prototype of some sorts. It has been about 5 years since PSP original release. This is assume their handheld marketing model is similar to that of their consoles. So basically, i think it is reasonable to say PSP2 will be revealed at this years E3, but not see an actual release until fall 2011 or early spring 2012. But hell, who knows really!? I just want one with 2 analog sticks please!!!!

Question: Analog sticks, or nubs(like the nub on the current models)? I dont see how you can an actually analog stick on a portable device. Would be interesting =P

[CBaoth]

but there's way too many high profile games coming out this year like KH and Peace Walker to announce the 2 at this year's E3. Too many people are setting themselves up for disappointment methinks. 1) It would be a sales detriment to both Sony and its 3rd parties to announce it so early in the summer. And 2) Wouldn't it make more sense to unveil it at TGS seeing how successful it is in Japan? It could ride the fall momentum buzz and release in spring 2011 Japan, & fall NA 2011. Like MS did with the 360, I think Sony needs to get psp2 out before Nintendo's next handheld is released. 2012 belongs to the consoles. Just my 2 cents

[NeutralGamer]

I payed full price for this PSP Go just 2 months ago -_-
Screw Sony...

Now they are lowering the price and giving free games with the PSP Go

[Ju]

I got one and I love it. Sure it was 249 and I expected the price to drop at some point. But, so what. Happens all the time. My kids would trade any day. Its just so much more comfortable than the phat and bluetooth works just great. How does it have less features ?

BTW: If I would count the money I saved because my two boys and me can play the same games on 3 PSPs alone justifies downloadble games - and the PSP price and the memory cards for the other two 3000.

[Karum]

If you were going to be pissed about the price coming down, as it always does with hardware, why not wait?

Anything that is new, regardless of what it is will always start out at a high price, even the cheap as chips Xbox 360. These things then come down in price, that's the downside of being an early adopter for any electronics.

[NeutralGamer]

True that prices of all consoles drop over time...
But 25 % cut after just 1 month? And a free game means alot, considering the fact that PSN have overpriced games for us PSP Go users...

[Karum]

Wasn't aware they've cut the price of it.

Also not sure about the US but over here in Europe the free game they gave away was open to all PSP Go owners.

[Cajun Chicken]

The Gos an insult, the whole machine, everything it stands for. I still haven't upgraded from the 1000.

[Sarcasm]

I wants me a 1000. I just fixed one for my friend who had a stuck red screen, and wow I like the build quality compared to my 2000.

[gameforall]

not the price of the Go but the price of download-able titles, which should be cheaper than UMDs

[thebudgetgamer]

they already p!$$ed of the retailers with the psp go. if they start undecutting with games it would be a problem.

[Karum]

Publishers set prices, not Sony. Apart from their first party published games of course but the majority of games on any platform are 3rd party.

[Seraphemz]

I got the Go day 1...and I love it. Love using my PS3 controller to play games.
price is a bit high, they should lower it for sure but I don't regret getting it.

[Colonel-Killzone]

IT was beyond high if they reprice it at 150 at least i will buy it but anything 150 and up is a hell no.

[divideby0]

dugh..
its called fishing for suckers...they tried..didnt get to many bites..now they are gonna change the design and hopefully realize to bring it within price of what the consumer wants to pay

[SeanRL]

I know I would have bought it if it was cheaper. At least Sony admits it was too high.

[tunaks1]

took a while,
I haven't seen anyone with a PSPGO
if you have enough money to buy a PSPGo why not just get a ps3?

[Seraphemz]

I got both....
Just because someone can't afford something doesn't make the product bad.

I guess if the called it the iPad people wouldn't care what it did...they would buy it for just the name alone.

[Cajun Chicken]

Hey, I can't agree any more, just get the latest model of UMD running PSP, (3000?) a 4GB Memory Stick Duo and save yourself a bomb and at that, get secondhand UMD games.

I mean, hey. I'm doing fine with a 1000 and a 2GB memory stick with a slightly damaged UMD closing mechanism (That's where MASKING TAPE comes in!).

[Asuka]

Cajun Chicken, you are my hero! XD

[Sarcasm]

I know only one person who bought a PSPGo. He regrets it and wished he bought a PS3 instead.

[Strikepackage Bravo]

cash grab, and what good does it do for them to admit it was overpriced now, what about the poor suckers who paid for it at that inflated price, are they going to be refunded? NO

So just shut up and quit abusing your naively diehard customers. One of the good things for sony in having such a rabid bunch of blindly committed fans, is Sony can introduce any crap they want and price it as high as they want, get a few bucks from the idiots who are stupid enough to buy it, and suffer no repercussions.

No one ever criticizes Sony (at least none of their fans criticize them)when they do something sleazy to their own customers so they figure why not.

[Seraphemz]

yeah...I guess they should learn from Microsoft and their resonable pricing...or from Apple too...

[silvacrest]

atleast this is just one product unlike M$ who have pretty much all their accessories over priced from day one and its still going. as far as i no, M$ have not openly said "yeah, our accessories cost to much" also there are no plans of a mass price cut either so who are the real "blind fanboys"?

like others have said, i think this is a last ditch attempt to get the most money out of the PSP before the psp2 is announced and once it is expect the GO's price to drop like a hot brick

[Strikepackage Bravo]

you can't compare accessories to an actual anchor product. No one buys the darn WIFI adapter for 360 and the hard drives are not needed either since you can just buy the 360 with one already built in.

The PSP is an actual sku, the market for it is far larger than the market for a wifi adapter. Further more all of Sonys products are over priced, you compare anything they make to the competing offerings of say Samsung, LG, Panasonic, JVC, whoever, and the Sony will always cost more. Even in cases like cameras and some TVs where the Sony product might be superior, it is not so superior to justify the extreme difference in price. But in most cases the Sony product is crap and it still costs more, Sony only does cameras both still and camcorders, and TVs well these days, they suck at everything else.

[DJ]

Well then, I guess we should sue Microsoft for making a $200 Xbox 360 SKU so quickly, and McDonalds for their "20 Chicken McNuggets for $5" promotion. Stupid companies giving me a better deal. God!

It's obvious that StrikePackage Bravo is just a fanatic who hates Sony for....some odd reason. This statement was just hilarious though:

"No one buys the darn WIFI adapter for 360 and the hard drives are not needed either since you can just buy the 360 with one already built in."

I've seen plenty of people purchase the Wi-Fi adaptor because Internet Routers are rarely in the same room as a game console. I tried having a 30 foot cable for my Xbox, and it was a PAIN. PS3's built-in wireless is frickin' liberating. And you don't have to pay $99 to get it.

Also, you're forgetting about the Arcade SKU, which is cheap but doesn't ship with a hard drive.

[Seraphemz]

you just obviously hate Sony.

are you pissed at BMW cuz their cars cost more than Toyotas?
quality products cost more. It's a fact.
I will glady pay more for a well builty product than one that is cheaper but might break down.
companies..all companies are about profit. Not about breaking even.
if you hate Sony that's cool.. But don't try to pass ur opinion as fact. Or make lame excuses about no one buying wifi routers.
it's not like Sony stopped selling UMD PSPs. You didn't have to get the Go.like the poster above that mentioned the Arcade didn't even have a HD..

[Strikepackage Bravo]

I can't believe I was just accused of hating Sony! What have I become, its eye opening to see that I come off as someone who hates Sony, I was once one of their biggest fans. Then I visited N4G :( I do not hate Sony, but rather the absolute raping of truth and integrity that goes on at this site, all in the name of "supporting Sony" has perhaps jaded me.

I guess you could say I dislike most Sony fans, but Sony I have no hate for, I just think they like many companies are capable of screwing up, and has done so at the expense of its customers this console generation; as has Microsoft, the difference is you will have no trouble finding not only the rest of the world, but also 360 fans by the boat load who will come out and admit that MS has screwed up in some ways, while PS3 fans will deny the very ground they stand on if it makes Sony look good to do so.

[silvacrest]

why do you keep bringing up the 360s wifi as if thats the only product i mentioned? i said ALL of their accessories, even the cheap looking wired headset is overpriced, also do you have proof no one buys the wifi adapter? didnt think so

and comparing ALL 360 accessories to ONE handheld seems fine to me, the GO is so unpopular right now your argument is in favour of the 360

im not gonna talk about sonys other products but sony is known for high quality, thus the higher price

you get what you pay for, im sure you no this, being a 360 owner

[evrfighter]

strike just joined the same boat I'm in.

I don't hate Sony. In fact I actually dislike M$ very much. I used to really hate M$ back in high school.

The sony fanboys here at n4g are delusional tin foil hat wearing extremists. It's always a good laugh when a site gives a ps3 exclusive less than a 9...which seems to be happening a lot nowadays. The conspiracy theories they come up with are gettin pretty old now though. payoffs, bias, media hates sony QQ is the standard.

[silvacrest]

just make the PSP2 an all in one device and all is forgiven

handheld gaming
touch screen
dual analogs
phone functions
open to app makers
ps3 connectivity
backwards compatibility

i would gladly play £250 - £300 if this was done right
my G1 is the only thing that comes close atm

[Biggest]

You can buy phones now that don't do half of what you just listed for that same price.

[silvacrest]

why would i want a phone that cant even do half the things i listed for the same price? i kept rereading your comment and thats how it came out lol

besides, my G1 can atleast do half of the things mentioned but the keypad is not great for games and i only have retro emulators to play atm

only sony can offer everything i metioned otherwise i would look elsewhere

[ScubaSteve1]

really sony really just like you realize ps3 orginal price was 599.99 was way to high also

[Mr402]

Ya think??????

[squeeb]

When they drop the price by 75-100 bucks, and allow you to digitally grab your old UMDs, give me a call.

[ForROME]

I agree, 249 was a joke, I was like really? consoles come out at that price a few years back now handhelds?

bad move, with nintendo looming its evident, dont go all out on hardware, games are what makes a handheld device

[DJ]

360 used to be $399, and now it's lower. PS3 used to be $599, and now it's lower. The PSP Go has built-in flash memory, which is why the price was higher than a standard PSP ($179). It was obvious that the price would eventually go down, but I got one anyway.

The PSP is FINALLY portable. It's got a longer battery life than my gargantuan PSP-1000, more features, and eliminates the need to carry around a bunch of UMDs. The Bluetooth feature is pretty nifty, too.

It retails for $209 on Amazon, so those who were holding out should take advantage of the price cut.

[ForROME]

So hows is MS going to pull off the acc gig next gen, wifi will be included and the hard drives will be massice

guess live will be 100 bucks

[SKUD]

No sh!t.

[DARKrage34]

Sony, you would have had $150-180 from me if you priced it in that range...

Only if the system had a touch screen and an insanely fast web browser- only then- would I consider it for the $250 price tag.

Not having KH: BbS available for D/L is another big fail for the Go! :(

[CaptainPunch]

I was considering purchasing one, but the $250 price tag seems a little steep. I'd rather wait for a price drop or a PSP2 announcement. Plus I already own a PSP 3000, also I like owing physical copies of my games. I hope Sony lowers the price for the PSP GO, I think a $189 price tag sounds fair.

[EpsilonTeam]

There arent any games for the platform anymore. Just let it die in peace Sony. Design something revolutionary with the psp2 instead.

[The Iron Sheik]

Ya think so Sony? It was only $50 cheaper than the PS3.

I'm not buying another PSP until they put a second analog stick on there. I'm tired of shooters with auto aim or using the face buttons.

[jalen247]

a bit high...is an understatement.

I don't support stupidity by my console manufacturers.

I own a PSP 2000 and a lot of UMD movies and games.

I was interested in the PSPGo until I saw the price tag and the lack of a system to get digital copies of my UMD movies and games.

I give credit when its due and I also criticize when its due.

Sony deserves criticism for their handling of the PSPGo launch.

How can you launch a product that isn't intended to retain your base.

Look at Nintendo, with each revision they sell to their base and to new consumers.

The PSPGo should have sold to the PSP owner base as well as new consumers.

The PSPGo essentially only sold to new consumers...hence the low sales.

[SuperStrokey1123]

Only thing that stopped me from getting a Go was that my current umd games couldnt be transferred to it and I simply wasnt goign to do that. I can get most UMD games for like 10-15 bucks, why would i DL them for 40 bucks online? Its also a principle thing.

[iceman2885]

That they ignored the people that already owned PSP's with UMD collections.

I myself would have traded in my current PSP and paid the difference to buy a PSP go if there was some way to transfer my UMD titles to the PSPgo.

It would have been great to have a PSP with all the games on it and no need to carry cases of games when I travel.

Sorry, but I wasn't willing to throw away the $400+ of UMD games away just to get the smaller psp with more memory.

[SuperStrokey1123]

agreed, while i dont have that many UMD's i do have lots. The worst part about is that they said they were going to allow it at first then went back on it. Well the day they did that was the day i canceled my go preorder.

[AriesFury]

this is not news. The PS3 was too pricey too, but they still didn't want to hear the fans tell them to lower the price.

Sony is just a bunch of arrogant (fill in the blanks).

[Enigma_2099]

... gee, YA' THINK SO?!?!?

And while we're at it, why not admit that doing away with the UMD slot altogether to basically force people to only buy downloadable games FROM YOU... at a price set BY YOU... with no other options to possibly maybe shop for better deals... was pretty stupid too.

Just start sticking 20 GB memory stick duos in the PSP Slims and call it a day.

[Meryl]

the fact alone they do not have enough PSP games available for purchase on the PSN means no one should buy the PSP Go, I was wanting to upgrade at first, glad I didn't after seeing the horrible support it has received.
I will stick with my trusty 1000, and still be happy.