Traveler's Tales founder: PSP Go will die if downloads don't get cheaper

by Griffin McElroy on Dec 4th 2009 11:58AM

While speaking at the Develop Jury Service (a pow-wow for industry figures to discuss current gaming trends and topics), Traveler's Tales founder Jon Burton questioned the prolonged survival of the PSP Go platform, since UMD games can often be purchased new or pre-owned at a lower price than the digital versions compatible with PSP Go. "I own a PSP Go but don't want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20-percent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I'm finished with it," Burton explained. "But if I download it, I get no discount, and no chance to resell -- how annoying is that?"

According to Burton, PSP Go's all-digital system is more than just a minor inconvenience. He later added, "I'm betting on Sony making PSP Go games much cheaper than the UMD versions, or the PSP Go will die." Oh no! The PSP Go is far too tiny and adorable to die so young. Listen to the man, Sony!

Source

Tags: jon-burton, jury, psp-go, sony, travelers-tales, umd

Reader Comments (83)

And they're just now figuring this out?

I upvoted you because you beat Darth.

Cheaper everything would always help, but it's not the one everyone should focus on. A cheaper system, a cheaper set of games, basic supply/demand.

But come on, it's internet browsing capabilities suck (try typing 14 0's for a wireless password. each one takes 4 clicks?), it's music capabilities are so-so, it's video capabilites are meh, and most importantly it can't even play most of the games made for it! yeah.... get more downloads and fix your software

Im all for the PSP Go dying, hell kill the whole PSP
more studios to work on PS3 games

The PSP is making Sony a good deal of money. That's money it needs for both operations and continued game development...so I would suggest they don't take your advice.

Doesn't make sense. It's not like development teams for PSP can quickly transition to PS3, more likely they'd switch it up to NDS, Wii, or XBLA/PSN. If anything, the symbiosis Sony is trying to nurture between the PSP and PS3 with the PlayStation Network will eventually help ease the transition of PSP devs to PS3 or at least PSN. There is plenty of evidence of that already, just look at all the devs praising their funding programs.

What I'm trying to say, and after reading what I said proves may not have made that clear, is that your proposal would do more harm than good. PSP and PS3 enjoy a great harmony, and it is more so the PS3 feeding off of the PSP than the other way around.

PSN games are ok for them to work on, I haven't seen a PSP in public in ages

*hold on I have to go and change my clothes you people ruined them with the downvotes

@Szayel Aporro Grantz
i live in Los Angeles, and i rely on public transportation to get to and from work. not a day goes by that i don't see at least one person enjoying their PSP. sometimes it's a kid playing a game, sometimes it's a college student enjoying a video or two... hell, i once saw a gray-haired dude enjoying God of War: CoO.
the PSP is a pretty popular handheld.

now, what's this about you and not seeing "a PSP in public in ages?"

I'd always assumed that the download versions would be cheaper.

It blow my mind every time I see a $40 PSP game in the PSN Store.

*blows

Why no edit button? T_T

Because your errors entertain Joystiq. Dance.. Dance!!

But, digital distribution is suppose to be great on consoles and handhelds. Think about the shipping costs... THINK ABOUT THE SHIPPING COSTS!!!

Your fault for being so naive. I was against DD since the beginning and I remember people for DD saying that one of the pros was going to be that it will be cheaper because of the money saved here and there. But this savings obviously was not going to be passed onto the consumer. You obviously don't know greedy-a$$ companies.

Or how about... when we buy PS3 PSN games like fl0wer, the psp version is free.

My idea for this is for Sony to express the technical standards to developers when making a PSN title so if they decided to, they can make it playable on both PS3 and PSP systems.

Imagine if Titan Studios day one released Fat Princess that played on both PS3 and PSP? The community would not be in danger of being split by 2 different systems trying to play the same (or similar) game, and players who own both system have to ability to play anywhere they want. This also would make it cheaper on the developer to only need to spend the time making the game ONCE and having it released on TWO platforms, versus the current system of making a PSN game, having it become a success and then GOING BACK to reconfigure it to be playable on the PSP at a later date.

Breaking news: man states the obvious.

More after the break.

Hell yeah, a "PSN Weekend Sale" event every week would break my wallet in half and give enough games to play so I'm never bored for a second.

The Go is perfect for the minis but it doesn't stack up for the full games unfortunately.

PSN should take a note from Steam and offer those huge discounts occasionally, I spent way more money on steam then I was expecting and looking at my games list alot list 0 hrs beside them for usage.

Not only cheaper, but on time!!!

I own a GO and I love it, but damned if I should wait over 2 weeks longer for LBP than the person who bought it on a supposed dying format!

I also have a friend who got his on UMD for only 29.99. I won't ever get a deal like that on the PSN.

I ended up buying a copy on the UK PSN store (I'm English, and thus have a UK credit card, too) but switching between PSN accounts on the PSP is painful. By design, no doubt, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

Not to mention with download-only games, you can't rent either. You can't charge full MSRP for a game that costs you little to nothing to distribute, no one is going to buy it when they can buy a non-downloadable copy for half that price or even rent it.

The PSP Go, an innovative idea... and a failed execution.

I think this is big problem with all digital game downloads. Especially, with Gamestop's trade-in program being so lucrative. Especially, when it comes to a full retail, new game. We aren't quite at that point in which someone can buy a game like Modern Warfare 2 from the XBL Marketplace on release day, but when that time comes, I'm expecting it will be $59.99, just like it is in the store. Who's going to want to buy it and be committed to a digital version of the game that has no resell or trade in value? or even the ability to let a friend borrow it when you're finished?

Digital distribution is a pipe dream when it comes to core software.

That's why they will kill physical copies eventually. They will never exist happily together except for in the transition period.

Say NO to digital distribution.

I only discovered how awesome Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was because my friend let me borrow his. I loved it. Had to give it back in a few days, but I went out and bought my own copy. This year, I bought Uncharted 2 on release day for full retail.

Same thing happened with COD4.

For digital copies of games to entice me to buy, they have to offer significant savings over the retail box. And even then, I may still choose retail because of the value I have in selling or trading away my copy later.

Die? No. But it's sure as hell not gonna have the greatest going until things change. Personally, my philosophy is if I can't sell it, loan it out, or put it on display, then it should be a lot cheaper because there's a lot less value in my purcahse. No amount of convenience outweighs those benefits to me. And totally putting that aside, when you cut out materials, production, shipping, and retail fees, you're cutting a pretty huge chunk out of the costs as well, which I think I should be seeing a lot more of.

It's not even like they're charging equal with UMD prices. They're charging more which is totally ass backwards. Get your shit together Sony. I love my PSP, but there's a reason I've yet to buy anything other then PS1 classics as a download.

I am still waiting for Microsoft to understand this with Games on Demand.

It took the colossal failure of Vista for Microsoft to understand their OS (and it's development) had to change. You really think a few people complaining about Games on Demand is going to make them rethink their strategy? I'm not supporting it (the prices are utterly insane) but they have no reason to fix the model.

The thing is though, for Microsoft, Games on Demand is really just a testbed for them to play around with digital distribution this generation, much like XBLA was on the original Xbox. They can test out how well various price points work around the world and go from there.

Sony doesn't seem to have quite the same luxury with the PSPGo, but maybe I'm wrong.

This is partially a digital download problem (not being able to sell them back), but mostly it's a single store problem. There is only one retail outlet for these downloads, so if they don't feel like having a sale, they don't. And since they don't compete against used, they usually don't!

It's an inherently broken system for the consumer. And this is the number one reason I don't like it. I was talking to a friend about the 360 download games (classics or whatever MS calls them). He bought Rainbow Six:Vegas for $30 on that service. But every game on that service is available for less on Amazon new and even cheaper used.

I agree 100% with this. I have many games I would like to digitally purchase from the PSN but have held back because, what's the point? If I am not getting a physical case, manual, and game, why do I need to pay the same price as someone else who is? Something like 25% less (or more!) than a retail box is acceptable. What is the company selling the game spending on my digital purchase? Server fees? Is that the same and producing the case art, manual, shipping to retailers, and and advertising? No, we are helping each other save money.

Digital price setters: I WILL BUY GIGS WORTH OF YOUR PRODUCTS IF PRICED RIGHT. GIGS!

But...they DO have a manual. You just have to press Home to read it...

I think this echos my sentiments that digital downloads 'taking over' is all a bunch of fluff.Sure we will get into downloading more than ever in the future, but it will never fully replace physical media.You can't borrow someones download, you can borrow their disc.You can't re-sell your download, you can sell your disc.You can't bargain bin shop like you can in real life or using amazon/ebay for retail copies.

I completely agree. Sure there are numerous "rentals" that I enjoy streaming on Netflix or the Zune Video Marketplace, but a lot of my truly favorite movies, I want to physically own. I want those 3 epic Extended Version Lord of the Rings DVD's on my shelf. Same with music. There are tons of songs I buy on iTunes, but when it comes to my all time favorite bands, I want to physically own that CD. Same goes for games.

Its pathetic that Amazon sells FF:Dissidia (and others) for $15-20 and they just recently add it to PSN for the full $40 price. There are several games I want to buy but I cannot and will not buy them knowing the UMDs are sometimes $20-30 less.

Isn't that SquareEnix's fault, though, with their Tax?

Sony isn't regulating the devs hard enough. They need to say A: All games must be released for PSN and B: All games must have at least 5 dollars off the MSRP.

Perhaps not $5 retail, but at least match the price point for now. If a game retails for $20 there is no reason why it's downloadable variant should cost so much more.

At least Sony is letting other stores sell some of their download titles at a different price. I believe they said amazon was allowed to set their own price didn't they?

Bradwart, your suggestion means that disc-based games go up by $5.

The FF game I listed was just an example. It is not just Square...the same goes for Sony games as well as other companies.

Haven't we established that their profit margins for digital titles are much higher? I would hope they could knock something off the price and still be making equal (or more) than retail copies.

If you bought a PSP Go knowing all the flaws of the system, I don't feel bad for Sony ripping you off.

Why is a developer touting the ability to resell his games? You'd think that since the devs don't make a cent on used items they themselves would be avoiding it out of principle and support for fellow developers.

I understand the reasoning behind wanting lower priced digital versions of games and wholly support it (despite buying LBP for my Go instead of my 2000), but bitching about not being able to screw fellow devs out of sales numbers and/or money seems kinda ironic.

actually it makes me kind of happy to see a head of business who (supposedly) plays games. I really doubt anyone else would have the balls to say this, which is why i'm happy it was from a smaller dev like TT.

I think he's being realistic. I'm sure he'd like more sales, but in the real world it's not going to happen. He's more likely to get someone buying a copy that otherwise wouldn't have if they like their friend's and want their own. Or if they know when they're done they can resell it and save a few bucks. Or the people buying the used ones may love it and buy the sequel on launch day, etc. It's not upfront cash, but if you've got a quality product it means longevity.

Take the iPhone on the flip side. It works as a digital only platform because:
1) it was built from the ground up for it, no end of life tack on.
2) most of the software is SUPER cheap and disposable. No one cares about $1-$2 here and there. They do care about $40. It makes you think harder about buying it and when people actually think, they rarely buy.

Price is the defining feature of digital distribution. If it's not cheap enough it's not worth it. Period. Convenience will get some people the exact same way that having the booklet in had from the hard copy will get some people. It's nice but it's not the point. I don't buy games for the booklet OR because they can be on my HD in minutes, I buy them because I want to play them.

/rant

I personally feel that digital distribution will eventually cause piracy to become mainstream. It pisses me off when I hear some developer whining about how used game sales are as bad as piracy. Maybe they should think about this for a moment; would you rather have ONE purchase of your title be distributed to THOUSANDS of people at no extra cost to them (i.e. bittorrent), or would you rather ONE purchase of your title make it into the hands of only ONE other person who payed for it legitimately?

I think most developers are more concerned about not being laid off than anything else right now. They want to sell more games, and eliminating piracy (a pipe dream, but still) might increase sales. Yeah, not nearly 1:1, but if eliminating 100 pirates adds 1 or 2 sales, they'd be happy to have those sales.

I guess you're assuming that the person that buys the used title keeps it forever.

Even if that copy sells ten times it's much better than having one copy be given freely to thousands of people.

They don't need to lower prices, all they need to do is do weekend sales like Steam.

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