Retail gets PSN 'Game Cards' in NA, PSN vouchers in the UK
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Oct 1st 2009 at 10:00PM } 
click to embiggen
With the launch of Sony's PSP Go this week, the first download-only gaming device from a major console developer has finally arrived on the market. Given the profitability of the used games market and brick-and-mortar's relative stronghold on game sales, we asked Sony of America (SCEA) and Sony of Europe (SCEE) how they're going to get download-only games onto retailer shelves. SCEA's answer: PlayStation Network Game Cards.According to an SCEA rep, 10 titles (all of which can be found after the break) will be available "in North America at select retailers" and should be available as of today. Unfortunately for retailers across the pond, no such luck -- at very least in the UK. An SCEE rep told Joystiq, "We don't have any plans for vouchers/gift cards like this ... at the moment we are only selling the PSN vouchers of £20 and £50 for the UK," though that isn't to say PSN Game Cards will never arrive on European shores.
At least for now it seems that SCEA will be keeping a foothold in retail with its download-only titles (and even some UMD-based titles now available as downloads) through these game vouchers. UK retailers ... well ... at least people will be coming in for the PSP-3000, right?
Gallery: PlayStation Network Game Cards
- Gran Turismo
- Daxter
- Motorstorm: Arctic Edge
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2
- Patapon 2
- Secret Agent Clank
- Twisted Metal: Head On
- SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2
- NBA 10: The Inside
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Autobot @ Oct 1st 2009 10:03PM
Didn't they do this with Patapon 2?
[Tre (TM), whom you must pay royalties to say his name] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:09PM
Yes, and now they're starting to do the practice for more games so that retailers won't give Sony the Evil Eye with the Go being download only and all.
Special Agent Steve @ Oct 1st 2009 10:04PM
Just downloaded Pixeljunk Monsters for PSP. Lotsa fun, but kinda hard :(
Pantsparty @ Oct 1st 2009 10:09PM
How do retailers handle mature rated game cards? Could a minor purchase a GOW game card? I don't see any ESRB markings on the pictures.
[Tre (TM), whom you must pay royalties to say his name] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:11PM
The hi res pics in the gallery clearly have them at the very bottom of the cards, description and all.
[Tre (TM), whom you must pay royalties to say his name] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:10PM
I find it amazing how they were able to condense God of War into a single download.
BPMOmega [XBL, PSN, Steam] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:16PM
Uh... how is that amazing? Why wouldn't it be a single download?
[Tre (TM), whom you must pay royalties to say his name] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:22PM
With the quality of the game being at such a high bar and all, it seems like they'd have to split it into multiple parts/downloads in order for people to be able to play it without having to wait however long it takes to download.
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 10:24PM
I think your getting confused Tre, on the PC, you can download GTA4 as a single download, its a large download at 14gb but a single download.
Nothing impressive really, but maybe your impressed because your 12. ; )
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 10:26PM
Don't mean to insult ya about your age, probably I'm secretly jealous that I could be a kid again. Besides, your far more mature than a troll here we call "Sprinkles" who is twice your age.
[Tre (TM), who is forever confused] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:29PM
@RKN: I am quite a confused person (I even changed my name just to kind of show that to everyone), so that does make sense, and yes, I probably am amazed due to my age.
(I'm not attempting to be sarcastic if it seems that way. Just kind of being the strange person I'm notorious for being at 7th Circle Middle.)
[Tre (TM), who is forever confused] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:33PM
@RKN (2nd comment) Well, it does have its perks and everything, but I'm about to venture into that great and terrible world of...
(DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN)
ADOLESCENCE. (My 13th is in 18 days.)
No comment on the Sprinkles thing, because I don't really want to sound pompous and pretentious and all of those other P words involving overdoing things.
*giggles*
finnith @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:25AM
Join ussss...become a teenager.
CheeziePotato (PSN: talic10 | XBL: InfiniteMovie) @ Oct 1st 2009 10:13PM
I can't believe the PS3 is $50 more than that piece of shit PSPgo.
BPMOmega [XBL, PSN, Steam] @ Oct 1st 2009 10:16PM
Believe it.
CheeziePotato (PSN: talic10 | XBL: InfiniteMovie) @ Oct 1st 2009 10:19PM
But, I don't wannaaaa!!
BPMOmega [XBL, PSN, Steam] @ Oct 1st 2009 11:29PM
But, I gotta believe!
[ArchiGamer] [Soon to be a major religion] @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:11AM
Believe it!!
CheeziePotato (PSN: talic10 | XBL: InfiniteMovie) @ Oct 2nd 2009 1:29AM
I won't believe it. It's just all a dream.
Solace @ Oct 1st 2009 10:15PM
Heads up for anyone looking for GoW on the PSP, Amazon has it for $5.25 on UMD
Autobot @ Oct 1st 2009 10:22PM
Thanks.
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 10:25PM
See, the Playstation Network most likely will never have these sales that retailers do for games and you can never sell the games later on to purchase another game, etc.
I want to see how successful this digital only distribution is going to be.
EnocdedNybble @ Oct 1st 2009 10:59PM
You forgot the $8 shipping from that third party seller
James @ Oct 1st 2009 11:21PM
So true, RKN.
I don't understand the appeal of DD, no freedom, sales are rare.
Each week I get like 5 or 6 retails that send out new ads and deals, although most are crap, it's certainly better then the once a season that the PSN does for a single week.
I think these things are the bridge between the two. I'm hoping these allow deals but still allow us to have something physical to stack up in my collection but without having to swap disks. I'd only wish there was the ability to trade them in or buy used but I obviously understand why it will never happen.
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 1st 2009 11:52PM
Yup after shipping it would have been damn near equal to buy the digital version.
EncodedNybble @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:18AM
Also keep in mind that these game vouchers (not the generic PSN cards) can still have sales at the retailer levels just the same as UMDs can. I personally find it ridiculous to go through and manufacture cases and artwork just to give to retailers, but maybe they're just printed on paper? Or the retailers only have 1 case and then give out the vouchers at the register?
Well, either way I think this is a good way to still have pricing competition for digital distributed games, not as good as having 3rd party servers/distributors, but a good start that at least eases the pain for retailers to soften the kick to the nuts.
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 2nd 2009 2:07AM
The vouchers are just little cards like the PSN ones that aren't activated until you take them to the register. Same markup because it's the same price on new titles. Legacy titles will also be comparable and if the retailer doesn't sell them they aren't out any merchandise because there is nothing to liquidate.
Tom Kalinske, CEO. @ Oct 1st 2009 10:41PM
You know, I haven't heard Bobby Kotick's opinion on the PSPGo.
No Kill Tayler @ Oct 1st 2009 10:44PM
Nor, do we want to.
I speak for myself.
Tom Kalinske, CEO. @ Oct 1st 2009 10:47PM
Who wouldn't want to hear Kotick make an ass of himself again?
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 11:04PM
Activision will create their own console like the PSP GO, download only games from their network, their servers and will make their franchises exclusive to their console. You want to play more Call of Duty and Guitar Hero sequels, you have to buy their own console, use their own proprietary system, etc.
Tom Kalinske, CEO. @ Oct 1st 2009 11:06PM
Oh, good then. Finally something will sink faster than the 32X...
BPMOmega [XBL, PSN, Steam] @ Oct 1st 2009 11:32PM
It'll go down in flames bigger than 32X, Jaguar, CD-i, 3DO, N-Gage, Gizmondo...
It's gonna be greater than any Independence Day fireworks show.
jssouder @ Oct 1st 2009 10:55PM
The problem is the download cards are the same price as the UMDs. Why on earth would I spend the same amount of money on something that is clearly less valuable? You can't resell or even lend your friends digital downloads. The profit margin is so much bigger because there's no manufacturing cost, and yet they still want to stick us for full price. Thanks, I'll pass.
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 11:05PM
Keep in mind that resources are saved on manufacturing, but what about maintaining those servers, the massive amounts of maintenance and energy they consume?
commen-cents @ Oct 1st 2009 11:07PM
i dont know why people complain about not being able to resell things... i used to do that when i was younger but i regret loads of those decisions now, i wish i would have held on to so many of my games the only ones that make sense to sell are sports games being yearly iterations...
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:10AM
Yes the new games are the same prices. Pretty much all of the older games (not really old mind you) are about $9 cheaper and some (NIS games) are over 50% cheaper. You can still get deals on these digital games. In gaining the portability you are sacrificing that physical copy. It's a catch 22 and you have to decide whats more important.
commen-cents @ Oct 1st 2009 11:04PM
i saw these today at best buy, interesting to say the least, i guess these would be good for gifts and stuff. its better for a kid to open a gift on christmas morning and see these then a note saying santa downloaded it straight to your pspgo while you were sleeping. on another note i completely forgot the go was coming out in white until i saw it today. there were a grand total of 3 gos on the shelf, 1 black, 2 white... anybody buy one? im curious if they are heavier then the 3000's
RKN @ Oct 1st 2009 11:06PM
Why on Earth would they be heavier than the PSP-3000? These are the lightest PSPs yet.
Reuben @ Oct 1st 2009 11:09PM
I was also at Best Buy earlier today. They had a small set-up for the GO (very, very small) and a few of those game vouchers. I scouted it out, gave a little chuckle, and then left with Metalocalypse: The Dethalbum II.
commen-cents @ Oct 1st 2009 11:09PM
they are smaller that doesnt mean its going to be lighter, my iphone feels heavier then my 3000... can you give me a good reason for that? its smaller!
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:08AM
I bought a PSP Go today (Pearl White FTW) and it's way way way lighter than the 2000 and also much lighter than the 3000. The 1000 is obviously a brick so we won't go there.
I wanted one from the start but the price was sort of an issue for me and the other thing was I wanted to hold it and get a feel for it. Needless to say Best Buy and Gamestop didn't have display models but luckily for me there is a Sony outlet in my area and they had 4 display units. Once I got the thing in my hands and got to play with it I was completely sold. It's built really well and is extremely portable compared to the 3000 (which I still have one) and earlier models.
The design is absolutely brilliant and the screen is the best I've seen on any smaller PMP or handheld gaming device. Everything from the size and shape of the shoulder buttons to the better placement of the stick and d-pad is far superior to the earlier models. Basically, it's superior in every way to the earlier models unless UMD is important to you. I have maybe 20 or so PSP games on UMD and we use the PSP a lot in our household so we are just keeping both of them. I ended up returning a few unopened items to best buy that helped soften the blow.
The cool thing is if you look at a lot of the prices on the digital games that are quite a bit cheaper than their UMD counterparts. I don't really sell my games anyway so the only hit I take is loaning them out to friends. From now on I'll just buy my PSP games digital and play it on both platforms. Win-Win for me personally. I can understand why others would be hesitant but I love the system and it's goal of ultra portability. I can throw it in my pocket now and don't have to carry any games = awesome!
Oh ... go buy Gran Turismo PSP & Beatarator because they are both awesome titles. As it stands now I have 4 GB's taken up between GT PSP, Beatarator, Suikoden, FF7, Medieval, Tekken 2, Everyday Shooter, Stardust Portable & I think there is one more I'm forgetting ... plenty of room for plenty of games and media. I'm going to throw a few shows from PSN and some music on there next.
Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington, Soon-To-Be-PSN: OrIsItAltonBrown] @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:14AM
Dethalbum II is great. Good choice.
commen-cents @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:42AM
@johnny
thanks for the input man, im gonna stop out to my sony style store tomorrow i think cause id love to see it out of the box. The umd issue doesnt bug me cause ive only got maybe 6 games and i can just play those on my vader 3000... but after gaming on iphone, digital is so much better to me cause i always have every game i want to play with me so the idea of the go is becoming more and more enticing.
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 2nd 2009 2:00AM
Your welcome man and like you I also have an iPhone thats all purpose and I actually prefer all digital. Whether it's on a tiny disc with a plastic casing or on a HDD it's all 1's and 0's and you can't take any of it with you after your gone so what does it matter in the long run? I'm telling you man once I got to hold the thing I went from "ehh it's aight" to "GAT DAYMN" and I had to get it. Basically, I decided at the end of the day that the portability and form factor was more important to me than any other consideration. Besides, I have a 3000 with an 8 GB memory stick so I can still play my UMD's and I can play whatever games I buy in digital on both PSPs. If my fiance and I didn't use the damn things to much I wouldn't of picked one up but I game as much on my PSP as I do on my PS3. I'm in real estate and I sit a lot of open houses and floor duty and thats the perfect device for me to portable game. The "Pause Game" feature is also brilliant because it allows you to do a quick game state save without having to reach a checkpoint in a pinch. I got the pearl white (it's gorgeous) and unlike my piano black PSP the Pear White shows no smudges or fingerprints. I'm thrilled with my purchase and I couldn't be happier with the device and all the improvements in the platform. I bet the PSP2 has a similar form factor (all digital) except with 2 analogue sticks. To be honest if the thing had a phone it would be like an iphone to the 100th power. Check out that Beatarator game and also Gran Turismo PSP ... sick sick games.
Trep @ Oct 1st 2009 11:10PM
They really really really need to do this for all PSN games, and a '1 PS Classic title', or something. Would make t easier for people to buy gifts for friends and for places to do contests.
[ArchiGamer] [Soon to be a major religion] @ Oct 1st 2009 11:21PM
On the one hand, having titles such as GoW:CoO available for download and not having to switch UMD for a game such as Patapon is really nice feature and all.
But on the other hand, the pricing for the downloads and its regulation is really stupid and ridiculous.
Lurkero @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:09AM
I can't imagine retailers being too happy with the download cards. You get a $20 voucher for a $20 game. How much does the retailer make off of that?
johnnynumber5 @ Oct 2nd 2009 12:16AM
I'm sure they make something off of it. I'm sure part of the GO's increased price is also more of a retailer margin on the hardware although that hasn't been confirmed. The bread and butter is going to be on accessories and people purchasing extended warranties. When I bought my GO today Best Buy offered a $79.99 2 year accidental damage replacement plan (everything except submersion) and a $49.99 2 year standard warranty plan. Sony had to make concessions on the device somwhere else retailers wouldn't carry it at all.
Hydrophobicfish (PSN: HydrophobicFish) @ Oct 2nd 2009 11:06AM
It's called a "loss leader"
You take a hit in selling one product, in the hope that people will purchase other items.
For instance, your grocery store sells milk pretty cheap. They actually LOSE money selling milk. But, they're hoping that you buy a loaf of bread, ice cream, some cereal, and a box of candy when you leave.
That's how they make money. Advertise something super cheap to get you in there, then sell you a bunch of other items to actually make their profit.
It's the same exact thing as the sales that go on.