UK retailers lament PSP Go pre-orders, demand PSN cards
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Jun 26th 2009 at 1:45PM } 
The sticker shock may be scaring off customers, as independent shops are telling Edge some frightening pre-order stories. "I don't have a single pre-order for PSP Go at the moment," Chips' Don McCabe told the outlet. "We haven't got any [PSP Go pre-orders] at all," repeated Grainger Games' Chris Harwood. While the head of SCEE believes consumers will pay an early adopter premium, McCabe believes otherwise. "We can't see where that price justification comes in when effectively it's a lighter, slimmer PSP. It's got a bit more memory, but memory's not that expensive. It can't handle UMD so part of the mechanism disappears, so where does the price come from?"
Retailers are not getting an added benefit for stocking the PSP Go. Margins on game hardware have been historically low and PSP Go looks to follow suit. In America, SCEA's Eric Lempel noted retailer enthusiasm due to the sale PlayStation Network cards at retail. UK retail partners currently don't have an equivalent revenue source, a problem that may hinder retail enthusiasm. "You need to see some sort of revenue streams coming off the back of these machines, otherwise from a retail point of view it's just not worth it," said McCabe.
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
PeterF @ Jun 26th 2009 1:51PM
FAIL
Cody @ Jun 26th 2009 2:04PM
It's almost as if Sony saw what Nintendo did with the DSi, turned around and did the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
Can someone please pinch Sony and wake them up!?!?
InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 26th 2009 2:06PM
FAIL indeed
Mark @ Jun 26th 2009 2:55PM
You are right, this is absolutely fail FOR JOYSTIQ/EDGE.
Both these retailers are totally unheard of in the UK, (a bit of googling discovers one is a single store, the other has two stores).
I wonder how hard Edge had to look to find these two desperado stores?
Alphathon @ Jun 26th 2009 4:18PM
Actually Chips have stores all over the country (it's no GAME but its not THAT small). Grainger Games apparently has about 21 stores (much smaller), as well as several Humvees for some reason. You earn a 1- sir
Rumor of Boz @ Jun 26th 2009 4:48PM
Yeah Im not sure who could get excited over this. At a LOWER price then PSP 3000 and it looks decent. But not like this, this is more like a slap in the face. I mean i was kinda pissed about the DSi being more then the DS lite, but there you got quite a few nice upgrades (2 cameras,bigger screens,4x ram, 2x cpu speed, sd slot, browser,internal memory, upgradable fimware, etc) but lost the GBA slot. This you get internal memory and lose the UMD drive...MUCH WORSE deal.
FantomRedux @ Jun 27th 2009 7:02PM
And a smaller screen. Plus the DSi losing the GBA slot isn't a big deal considering it was the medium from the previous generation. UMD is what the PSP itself uses, so all those games you have aren't going to work on it. The DSi doesn't kick you in the nut sack and stop you using the DS games you bought. And it's only £50 dearer for a lot of upgrades, and one loss. This is £130 dearer and you have basically no upgrades to it. PSP Go? More like PSP No. (I know I fail with that, but it's true IMO)
astrosaurus @ Jun 26th 2009 1:53PM
Wow, that's pretty scary for Sony. I don't blame people for not ordering it though. Doesn't interest me in the slightest.
Zerokku @ Jun 26th 2009 2:02PM
I do 90% of my gaming on handhelds and it doesn't interest me either =P
Temple @ Jun 26th 2009 10:26PM
Bigger issue is that why would you pre-order a device three months in advance that doesn't have a set price point (in the UK £230 is still a place-holder) from a small retailer. Moreover, why would you pre-order anything that should be easily purchased without a pre-order.
Its amazing what counts for news at EDGE these days. You would think they would be able to get some numbers from GAME retail outlets.
Chowder @ Jun 26th 2009 1:54PM
Fail=Infinity
Jamesology @ Jun 26th 2009 5:04PM
I love all my Playstation including my PSP1000 but I agree on how this is a FAIL.
tetheredwings @ Jun 26th 2009 1:55PM
Biggest rip-off in gaming history, Sony is simply trying to make some profit since none of it's gaming departments make anything... pathetic.
I love Sony products, but I'm smelling a "Sega-like" story coming up..
rells009 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:59PM
Game history is very vast my friend and I find it hard to believe that the PSPgo is really THE biggest rip-off.
Sony should pull a Microsoft and offer a pre-order discount.
Cheezeman3000 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM
I HIGHLY doubt they'll go the way of Sega, especially considering the fact that games aren't the only thing Sony does. I could see them trying to make cuts from the less profitable portions of their gaming business but I doubt they'd go much farther than that.
tetheredwings @ Jun 26th 2009 2:06PM
Cheezeman3000,
Less profitable portions? The entire Games Division of Sony isn't profitable. The only thing I believe they're profiting from is PSN sales and PS2 sales.
Sony's on it's last legs if you ask me, the writing is on the wall.
Hexen @ Jun 26th 2009 2:39PM
@tetheredwings
Maybe you meant SCE is on it's last legs.You know how big Sony pictures and Sony BMG are?The head of Sony could terminate production of all Playstation brands and it wouldn't really affect the company as a whole which kind of worries me.
The Baron @ Jun 26th 2009 2:54PM
Which is sad in itself. Q: What happens when hardcore gamers can't prop up Sony any more?
A: Nintendo.
sony boy @ Jun 26th 2009 3:15PM
ugh...the lion is back.
gordo @ Jun 26th 2009 4:01PM
Yeah, 260 pounds? That's like 380 fucking dollars!
Serves the varmints right.
Alphathon @ Jun 26th 2009 4:23PM
Actually Gordo, its worse than that - $430!
tetheredwings @ Jun 26th 2009 5:02PM
@Hexen
SCE of course, yes. I know Sony as an whole will not go under.
Cosmo (formerly Chin-Poh) @ Jun 26th 2009 5:12PM
Sorry Sprinkles, but the death of Sony and PC gaming won't help your Xbox 360 one little cent, competition is a good thing, you'd think a person of your age, 24 years old would have figured that out by now.
FantomRedux @ Jun 27th 2009 7:05PM
@TheBaron, What makes you think we want the Sony fanboys? :P
I keed, I keed.
Cookie Monster @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM
I'm actually starting to sorta feel bad for sony...they are turning into the slightly mentally challenged kid at school who hasn't done anything wrong, but gets made fun of because of his in class "accident" he had in fifth grade.
cknblade @ Jun 26th 2009 11:45PM
A more appropriate analogy would be the slightly mentally challenged kid who does miserably at a multiplication problem, is told what he did wrong, watches other kids do it correctly, and then makes the SAME EXACT MISTAKE that it did before. Read multiplication problem as pricing things too damn high.
Jack_Jackington @ Jun 27th 2009 1:32AM
cknblade, did you call the mentally challenged kid "it"?
Preston @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM
This whole fiasco is hilarious; personally I expect the psp-go to crash and burn in Europe. The Brits get screwed up the ass without lube or a reacharound and even if they dropped it to £230 from the initial £250 they're still paying nearly twice what Americans do for it. If this doesn't result in anything less than a disaster for Sony I will be extremely surprised. :)
The Baron @ Jun 26th 2009 2:58PM
The problem is mostly that everything else electronic is getting so cheap these days. PSP is trying to compete with the iPod touch. But you ask most people which they'd rather have and PSP just doesn't get the same recognition now it's been around for several years.
Given that you can grab a 60GB X360 for £160, a £230 smaller version (of something you can already get for £100) with less features is suicide. I'm not suprised there's no pre-orders.
I expect these things to be very cheap very soon, when retailers notice they're not selling.
combinekidd @ Jun 26th 2009 1:58PM
UK console prices
Wii = £180
Xbox 360 Elite = £230
PSP Go = £230
PS3 = £80
rells009 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM
Are you sure you're right about that PS3 price?
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM
Wtf, it's being listed for the same price as a 360 elite? Wow...Sony really is retarded if they do that.
Combinekidd @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM
LOL at PS3 price that was a typo I meant to write £280.
Ex14 @ Jun 27th 2009 5:34AM
holy shyt are u serious that it cost as much as an Elite.
I think being below nintendo and MS in the console war has driven SCE excutives INSANE omg.
Sony. PLEASE wake up =_=
Jling84 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM
Sony would definitely lose face, but within the next month, it would behoove them to lower the price from 249.99 to 199.99 and bundle it with perhaps a piece of gaming software and a movie. Since it's all downloadable, it shouldn't really cost them much to add that in.
Preston @ Jun 26th 2009 2:11PM
The fact that the PSP-Go is even MORE expensive than the current PSP model for even less functionality improvements means unless they do a radical price-cut and make it less expensive than current models, it's pretty much guaranteed to die a painful death.
Michael Amory @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM
The more I head about the PSP GO, the more I think this is going to be one of the biggest gaming screw ups in history.
First week sales are not going to pretty unless they cut the price.
mr nimblewick @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM
Hmm... Interesting that gaming stores might revolt, as they make money off the games, and wouldn't be selling any games for the Go. Sony should allow the stores' websites to sell the games for download to it.
Dante G @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM
I think this will fail even worse than the n-gage.
Nick Ritch @ Jun 26th 2009 5:14PM
It really is too bad because if someone released a cell phone with the PSP GO! form factor I would be all over it. Give it the iPhone OS or Android with a higher res touchscreen and tegra processor with some AAA games to take advantage of it and you've got me sold. Oh yeah and a second analog nub.
Or even if they made a system where they had 2 versions like how the iphone and ipod touch are. Make the games compatible with both but let the people want a true all in one device get the cell phone version with monthly fees like all phones and another that just has wifi.
The iphone is ok but for some games (tower defense, strategy, RPG, puzzle, card/board games) but I want physical controls for most platformers, first person shooters, racing games and third person action games) Also They should have an iPhone premium games store so the AAA titles dont get lost in the mix with the homebrew style games.
Why one of the big 3 doesn't want to make a true handheld game system/cell phone I don't understand. Or even if they made a system where they had 2 versions like how the iphone and ipod touch are.
Ngage didn't count because the design was horrible, the d-pad sucked all those cellphone number keys sucked. It had all of one or two good games one was out on the playstation like a decade before (pandemoneum). Side-Talking FTL
MarioSpitza @ Jun 26th 2009 6:34PM
@Nick
"Why one of the big 3 doesn't want to make a true handheld game system/cell phone I don't understand."
Well, just think about it. Aside from being a risky maneuver, which they wouldn't be willing to do it by merit alone, most of them won't do it for whatever reason. As of right now, Sony is in a very bad position, and does not have the means (and probably not the moxie either) to dare such an incredibly different move. As for Microsoft, they are finally succeeding with the 360, but they're still facing against tough competition, so they probably don't want to move away from a successful formula too, especially since it may risk losing position to Sony again.
The only company with the finances to do this is Nintendo and they have certainly shown the initiative in the past (the Wii was an incredibly risky experiment). Ironically, though, they're also the company least likely to do it. Aside from being a pure gaming company (meaning they know mostly about games and probably don't know anything about the cell phone business nor want to know), they're also notoriously conservative towards aspects of gaming (they won't implement anything until it is proven; online, for example). The fact that they were willing to make a console like the Wii is unreal.
No doubt, Nokia's experiment with the N-Gage would weigh heavily on companies' mind too. Gamers may think it's entirely different, but I'm pretty sure companies take it seriously into consideration as it's a very similar situation.
SecretAgentHam @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM
i expect the price to drop in the UK before release date.
what they are reporting here is sorta like a "place holder" price.
however if it does retail for that price in the UK i expect people who REALLY want it to import. SCEE is doing a big no no to its customers and will pay the price if they dont make a move QUICK.
Scuffles @ Jun 26th 2009 2:50PM
Yeah but I have a feeling sony has a hand in suggesting the "placeholder price" and is probably testing public reactions.
Sony Marketing: Hey lets set the suggested prelaunch price at X and see what happens
I do hope for their sake the price does come down before launch or their fail marketing is going to make their fail product fail ~.~
deanb @ Jun 26th 2009 2:56PM
it is GAME's place holder price, they ain't exactly cheap when it comes to pricing. Gamestation sensebileties seem to be leaking through though.
Old_Snake @ Jun 26th 2009 2:05PM
I think it's fair to expect a price drop relatively fast on the Go! Seems like Sony is taking a quick opportunity to gouge their hardcore fanbase and the ubber techies with disposable income who have to have the latest tech as soon as it hits shelves.
Gun Barrier @ Jun 26th 2009 2:07PM
Sony is making a really bad move. Even if they do drop the price within a month, people would have already been turned off and bought something else, such as a DSi or an Ipod.
Old_Snake @ Jun 26th 2009 2:10PM
Or a PSP-3000 since those are still in product and on shelves. If they have an interest in the PSP anyway
Gun Barrier @ Jun 26th 2009 2:22PM
Actually, im just assuming that most people who would have bought a PSPGo would already own a normal PSP.
Cosmo (formerly Chin-Poh) @ Jun 26th 2009 2:15PM
Does Sony enjoy shooting itself in the foot?
Vexorg @ Jun 26th 2009 2:25PM
Given the fact that I already have a PSP and have made little use of it (aside from way too much Disgaea,) I can't think of a single reason that I would want one of these at the same price as the regular PSP, much less at the gouge-o-riffic price they're trying to flog these things off at.