bigloser

Quote:

Deering comments on PSP price point Rob Fahey 16:28 09/01/2004 Sony's handheld debut likely to come in "closer to £200 than £300" New comments made by recently promoted Sony Europe president Chris Deering regarding the PlayStation Portable have hinted at a price point in the £250 range, while Japanese retail sources quote figures in a similar range. Deering stated that the system would diverge from Sony's traditional console business model by being sold at a price which would make a profit on hardware alone, and suggested a price "closer to £200 than £300." This comment ties in with information from Japanese retail sources earlier this week, who told us that a price point around 50,000 Yen was being bandied about in Tokyo - in fact, the most exact figure we were given was 48,000 Yen, almost exactly £250. Quoted in UK trade paper MCV, Deering said that "the feeling is that this product should generate profit on hardware alone. We want to make it affordable for publishers to produce a wide range of entertainment and so royalties will be lower down in the mix this time round." A move to reduce royalties on the system would be a major boost to third party support for the PSP, especially since for many publishers, the last experience they had of handheld gaming was Nintendo's GBA - where high royalty and manufacturing costs mean that very few companies other than Nintendo itself make a profit from the system, despite the fact that Nintendo also makes a profit on hardware sales. Earlier this week, Deering stated that the company was aiming for a global launch for PSP in November of this year, although that figure was quickly revised to mid-December by SCE vice president Masutsuka Saeki, who gave the new estimate in an interview with Famitsu. GameIndustry.biz

At current exchange rates, 48,000 Yen comes out to about US $450.

lue

There's now way that they would release it at that price. Sales would be pitiful, and they know full well what they could get away with. If that is true, though, Sony is about to royally screw themselves over, and lose lots of money. Its pathetic how they put the publishers before the customers, wanting to make it more affordable for them to make games than for the customers who would buy the system. Even if royalties were lower for the publishers, they'd lose lots of money on the system since its at such a high price, and hardly anyone would be willing to dish out that kind of dough.

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PlaystationFan

I doubt they will charge that much. But if they do, sony can kiss my ass.

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farfus

"Sony's PSP is a formidable sounding piece of kit, capable of playing not only games, but also DVD quality playback of movies, according to Sony's blurb. As such, we'd imagine the portable console would set us back more than a few quid; not a bit of it, however, according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's president Chris Deering.
Speaking to a French business publication, Deering said that the PSP would definately launch by the end of 2004, and that the price of the unit would be "comparable" to that of the GBA.

Okay, so that's a slightly ambiguous turn of phrase, but it does suggest the PSP will be a good deal cheaper than we were expecting - a GBA SP costs around £90. If Sony's system - supposedly technically superior and with movie playback to boot, remember - really does weigh in at a similar price, we'd guess the PSP will be practically unstoppable..."


Found that quote on the Computer and Videogames site

PlaystationFan

I like that quote alot better. Thanks farfus.

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<b>I have nothing to show!!!</b>

Stanley

whoo! Farfus's quote is better.

$450 for a PSP. if I have to buy one, I would buy it for $200.

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PSX Extreme 4 Life

cAtDaFeLiX

money is no object at all.....I might like my SP right now, but it's keeping me busy until the PSP. The thought of a portable GT game....wooot! I heard the price will go at $299.00 US, resulting in a 350 or even 399.00 price tag for us Canadians. But like I said, I will get it no matter what.

If they think that putting it out for more than 300.00 US, they are nuts. But, with it being a multi-unit, some of the high-end Ipods, RCA mp3/video mini machines are huge in price right now, they might have to compare it to those machines instead of a GBA SP unit which has been on the market for 2 years (When PSP launches)....we have to wait and see....


For instance, listed at futureshop.ca, the RCA RD2780 Lyra 20GB Audio/Video Jukebox

is at a cost of $699.00 CAN, MP3/video player, but it does contain a HD built-in (PSP won't) but that price is huge because it will play vids.

The Ipod price here in Canada is $749.00 for the Apple 40GB iPod...another HD inside. With the PSP being a hybrid portable gaming system/mp3 player/vid player/ the cost will be high, with a new product launch also......come on Arnold, use your secret connections to get us some details

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farfus

Money is no object whatsoever here, either, but the fact is portable gaming just doesnt do much for me. If it has movie and music capabilities like it sounds to have, though, then yes, it would well be worth $300 or so. If im willing to chunk that change on a Ipod or another quality mp3 player, then i could easily see doing something similar on a unit that has so much more capability. I did read another article that does make it sound as if the PSP is going to be priced reasonably enough to sell to most peeps. A handheld for $300 will price out many people, which Sony doesnt want to do, im sure...

SolidusShinja

When the ps2 came out in the US, it was $299.. When they released it in the UK, it cost £299.. so if it comes out at £250 in the UK, it will probably be released for $250 in the US.

I was quite annoyed when the ps2 came out in the UK.. because $299 is about £160, so we were paying about $460 for it.

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Shinja - The sacred Snake

Stanley

Yeah! I could see that now. Money is no object here. If it has movie and music capabilities, so why worry so much. Only I don't want it cost more than $300.

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PSX Extreme 4 Life