Pachter says Sony is 'ripping off' consumers with PSP Go

$250 is pricey...We all know that...Now if we complain enough they might change the price like they did with the PS3.

What a load of crap. Sony is not forcing anyone to buy their ridiculously priced POS so how can Sony be ripping anyone off is beyond me. People buy crap for all sort of reasons. I have many asian friends that only buy japanese crap at any price because it makes them feel proud of their asian heritage eventhough japanese soldiers raped their grandmothers 60 years ago.

Reading the comments has been kind of entertaining.

Sony is in an unfortunate position. They should of dropped the price once again on the PS3. Right now they're trying to make as much profit as possible with everything within their games division and sadly it won't work. The PSP Go is what I want in the near future but not at $250. However, their line up of games for 2009-10 looks really impressive.

Most likely Sony might put the PSP GO with a bundle pack maybe with Gran Turismo Portable or Little Big Planet Portable.

Begging the question: Is the iPod Touch too expensive? Of course it is. I got one for free because of a student offer and I still feel like I've been given something very iffy.

**On a recent episode of Bonus Round, Pachter matter of factly states, "$249 is too much. Period."**

Then don't buy it, Michael. STFU.

should we really be surprised anymore by Sony's incompetence?

after all, these are the same idiots who thought we would all "work harder" to buy their $600 ps3.

Meh.

Sony rips us off with the Go, we rip them off by pirating.

At least it all balances out in the end.

The thing is £230 in the UK which is even more ridiculous. Uglier design, less features, smaller screen and no UMD's mean you're forced to pay fixed prices for games. Why would I pay so much more to get one?

I just ordered the new Monster Hunter bundle that comes with a 3000 for £130, and I'm very happy with that. I don't think I'd even consider a Go if they were the same price.

Why are people desperately wanting this to fail - what's the point of that?

You know what company doesn't try and get away with the biggest markup possible? None.

For the sheer list of features this thing has built into it's firmware (which technically the 3000 also has) and added bluetooth support and 16GB memory (which is also technically cheap, but being built in is nice) it's not terrible. It's just bad enough to have to think about it, but it's not the worst thing to happen to all mankind as some of these bitchy posts everywhere on the net would have you think.

I have never thought that before but is true...the psp go uses less expensive hardware like the UMD drive, the screen is smaller..etcc.. so Sony, why the damn price?? and thinking that the battery of an earlier psp would not work withthe pspgo that means more money we have to spent, plus the games are higher than an actual umd disc game. Umh, i think i will pass it.

The PSP Go is a shameless rip-off, and they know it. Now, someone mentioned that it's just because it has less 'features' than the PSP 3000... well that's not entirely true. It's a different device. Sure, it doesn't have an UMD drive, but all that flash memory is expensive... still not that expensive. I would have understood a pricing point above the current PSP, but $250? Man, Sony really can be shameless sometimes. They think they can get away with anything because of the brand name... that will take them just so far...

I say $200 was a good price point for this device.

smells like they are subsidizing PS3 loss by gains in PSP GO...

An 8GB iPod touch is 299 Dollar in the US? I paid 200 Euro for mine!

I agree $250 is high but if for that I am getting the Go, GT/Little Big Planet, and video cable and case for $250 then that is on thing. But if it is just the case and buy the other stuff separate no thanks. If by chance Sony is throwing a touchscreen in there then will all the other other comes in the box then $20 more for than the itouch ok maybe.

Regardless given the state of the WORLD economy, the $199.00 price point is fair or even the $175 if it is supposed to compete with the 3000. It is pretty much a given that $199 is the magic price. If you go to Playstation Europe they argue that at 250 pounds being the price point there too it makes the Go around $330 US.
Maybe there will be clarification at the European E3 regarding bundles with further and final word at the Tokoyo Game Show. It could have been due to the "leak" that Sony is did not actually come out and give more specific details.

Don't worry PSP-3000 price drop by June of 2010 to clear out stock and a Go price drop in October of next year.

My only other comment is if I am downloading the content now give me a $5 to $10 price break over retail. It would not surprise me to see ot only the UMD in stores but also the download coupon or card at retail also. Last thing retailers need is returns of soon to be outdated UMD's by relative who have no clue

I think $250 is overpriced. In this day and age.....

How the < expletive > do these people get these jobs, I could have told you that it was overpriced not only is it smaller than the PSP-3000 but it lacks several components such as the aforementioned UMD slot or it's accompanying moving parts as well as that stupid single analog stick, given just those three factors the device should be priced below a Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 to say nothing of the crippling need to actually sell the damned thing.

Like I said add an accelerometers and a touch screen. Then it may be worth paying $250 for. But even if it did have these added features I would wait for a price drop. Sony you have to learn from your mistakes with the PS3.

Just take a look at Nintendo DSi compared to DS lite.
Bigger screens
SD card slot
removed GBA slot
App store (Wii/DSi store or whatever its called)
Camera ( not 1 but 2)
NEW User Interface ( which makes the system look sexier)

Sony stop recycling the PSP UI it's ugly! Sony on ya next update for the PS3 change the UI.

Yes, We all understand that all 3 companies rip people off in various ways however this article is about the PSPgo price point, not wi-fi adpaters or controllers. I don't care how much you're willing to blow Sony. The fact remains that its way overpriced.

I really want a Go but not for 250.00

Sony products used to be more quality than they are now. I still can't believe the PSP-2000 I own is made by Sony. It's such a cheap plastic-y product. The original PSP (PSP-1000) was a majestic product. It made me buy the 2000 version without reviewing beforehand, which I still regret till now. Sony has ripped me off. And I'm not buying another PSP unless I check it out in a store and assess its build quality. You can know if a product is well-made once you hold it in your hands. The PSP-2000 was a such a disappointment that my belief in Sony has been shattered.

As of the PSP Go, even if its manufacturing quality is superb (which is what we're used to see from Sony), and I doubt it, the price tag is way too high for a 5-year old technology minus the UMD drive. So the guy's right. The PSP Go is a rip-off, and Sony is currently ripping off their customers like.no.other, and like.never.before.

I've been flipflopping like crazy about the Go, but I'm less and less interested the more I learn. I'm sticking with 2000.