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[borghe]

Well it doesn't really matter if the consumer is confused

not true. again, see MiniDisc, SACD, DVD-Audio, betamax, VideoCD, laserdisc, etc.

if the customer is confused, they will really walk out without making any purchase at all as opposed to trying to make the best guess..

 

[Shrike_Priest]

"As for wireless, it was always part of the first spec as an add-on... so that still doesn't answer the question.. is it built-in?"

First, of all, it has never once been stated in an official Sony announcement that it's been an add-on. It's always just been listed as a part of the system, unless you can find some nice link to prove that.

Second of all, yes, it is built in.


"And before someone answers with yes, please provide a link so I know its for real."

The fact that there's a switch on the system itself would pretty much confirm it, wouldn't it? The indicator for it is on the bottom left, and you can see the "nubs" on the switch on the edge of the PSP. Not the best angle, but still.

http://www.ferrago.com/imgs/dynamic/storygen/lrg/3562_2.jpg

 

[Defensor]

I will be amazed if Sony launched the PSP here for $149.99. AMAZED!

 

[soundwave05]

borghe --

I disagree. The difference with MiniDisc and all those other formats is the consumer never had the hardware in their house.

The PS3 basically gauruntees 50-100+ million households with Blu-Ray. People will obviously buy it first and formost because its Playstation 3, but once they have that capability, it may just dawn on them that instead of buying a DVD copy of a movie, they can get that same movie on the Blu-Ray format (the same format their PS3 games come on) and enjoy it at a higher resolution.

 

[DaveT]

I think you guys might be forgetting about the economy between the countries. While both of our economies are hurting, electronics are generally more expensive in Japan by default...a lot of it having to do with ecomonics (well, that's what we were tought when I was in school ).

While the prices you see there are fine and dandy in the more expensives US cities like New York or San Francisco, whose economies cause for products to be priced higher than most other areas of the country and are somewhat comparable to a lot of Japan, the prices won't be fine with cities in the midwest, southeast, etc.

Unlike general products, including most electronics, videogame hardware prices are static nationwide (as the prices are marketed by the manufacturers) and don't move up or down depending on the local area....so companies tend to go with the lower end of the spectrum so it falls into line with the economies in all areas nationwide.

Just how I see it.

With that, I believe the PSP will be no more than $179, probably closer to $149 as manufacturing cost will be cheaper by the time it comes out here.

 

[borghe]

borghe --

I disagree. The difference with MiniDisc and all those other formats is the consumer never had the hardware in their house.

The PS3 basically gauruntees 50-100+ million households with Blu-Ray. People will obviously buy it first and formost because its Playstation 3, but once they have that capability, it may just dawn on them that instead of buying a DVD copy of a movie, they can get that same movie on the Blu-Ray format (the same format their PS3 games come on) and enjoy it at a higher resolution.

except that they then won't be able to play that disc in the car, in the bedroom or childrens' room, the portable player while on the road, computer/laptop, etc.

So while in theory that may be true, again, how many people are going to fly at buying two copies of a movie?

But we should really move this to offtopic as we have definitely moved this outside the topic of this thread.

 

[kaching]

I don't see any reason for PSP to go much below $200 and I don't see any reason for DS to drop from $150. Both units will sell and will be incredible deals for what they offer at those prices, regardless of the whingers who like to portray the portable device market as needing a sub $100 pricepoint to make any headway.

borghe: yes, PSP is wifi enabled out of the box and several launch games will offer wireless multiplayer.

 

[MegaByte]

The November issue of IEEE Spectrum that I got last week had a special on the two upcoming portables. It listed the DS at $150 and the PSP at $400!

 

[TheGreenGiant]

It listed the DS at $150 and the PSP at $400!

:lol

 

[Deg]

I will be amazed if Sony launched the PSP here for $149.99. AMAZED!

You're a fool.

129.99 MAX. $99 is what is predicted however.

 

[teiresias]

The November issue of IEEE Spectrum that I got last week had a special on the two upcoming portables. It listed the DS at $150 and the PSP at $400!

Yeah, I read that article too. Yeah, yeah, it's a print mag and has horrendous lead times, but still, maybe they were just quoting the price it would cost if the PSP were made by Halliburton for the military.

In any case, it was the first time I felt like actually writing a letter to the editor.

 

[Defensor]

You're a fool.

129.99 MAX. $99 is what is predicted however.

For states pricing on PSP in 05?! I could believe that pricing you gave if you were talking about the DS.

 

[Deg]

For states pricing on PSP?!

Sony are always cheaper in the US.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Sony are always cheaper in the US.

True, but that's when they were pricing the hardware really, really high in Japan. If they'd come out with a ~$349 price point in Japan then it'd be easy to imagine $249-299 in the US. But 19,000 yen is so ridiculously, batshit insanely low already that all bets are off.

 

[Deg]

True, but that's when they were pricing the hardware really, really high in Japan. If they'd come out with a ~$349 price point in Japan then it'd be easy to imagine $249-299 in the US. But 19,000 yen is so ridiculously, batshit insanely low already that all bets are off.

Prepare to get owned again.

 

[DJ Demon J]

borghe, come on. You are the starter of the DS hype thread, so it's kind of poor to enter here and post one "I have this and this doubt" comment after another in this thread.

You must be new to GAF. Hi, I'm DJ. Welcome to the console war. Here's your standard issue trollcount and flamesuit.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Prepare to get owned again.

I'll bite on $149, especially if it gets delayed past March, but $99-$129 sounds off the wall. Of course, so did 19,000 yen and look where that went.

 

[Alex]

When is the PSP "susposed" to come out? I think I'll wait a year then decide on nabing one. DS's current software lineup looks ungodly poor to me, all I want is Advance Wars, and first-gen PSP's will probably break if you look at it funny.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

IF they are this cheap, I'll get a second one, since I'm importing

 

[mumu]

SONY is gonna do it and launch the PSP at 49$.

 

[M3wThr33]

They need to keep going lower. $99 and plays Divx I'm in.

This is the main reason anyone wants a PSP and they are going to be SOOO disappointed when they finally get it.

 

[SolidSnakex]

This is the main reason anyone wants a PSP and they are going to be SOOO disappointed when they finally get it.

Strange, I really want it for GT4P and Ridge Racers.

 

[M3wThr33]

Strange, I really want it for GT4P and Ridge Racers.

From what I've heard, weren't the initial majority of PS2 sales just as DVD players. . . until GT3 came out?

 

[borghe]

From what I've heard, weren't the initial majority of PS2 sales just as DVD players. . . until GT3 came out?

considering in 1999 you could get a DVD player for under $150, this seems like total BS. a lie of statistics maybe?

 

[SolidSnakex]

That whole "Only selling because of DVD playback" was started by DC fanboys.

 

[AniHawk]

That whole "Only selling because of DVD playback" was started by DC fanboys.

But wasn't The Matrix the biggest selling thing for the PS2 in Japan when it launched? DC fanboys probably had a bit of justification with that.

 

[FnordChan]

That whole "Only selling because of DVD playback" was started by DC fanboys.

Meanwhile, I only used my Dreamcast as a VCD player.

FnordChan

 

[Willco]

SELL YOUR STYLUSES ITS ALL OVER

 

[Renegade]

But wasn't The Matrix the biggest selling thing for the PS2 in Japan when it launched? DC fanboys probably had a bit of justification with that.

In Japan. Not in the US. Besides, it's kind of to be expected when the launch lineup is shit-tacular (As the PS2's was)

I expect the PSP to be 149.99 or 129.99. Sony knows what they're doing. Even if it were to be 179.99 or 199.99, it'd be that much more of an embarassment to Nintendo for the DS to be in a GameCube-like situation.

 

[Amir0x]

I remember back when nobody, not even a single analyst, thought the PSP could launch below 299. Now everyone is like "HOW LOW CAN YOU GO, SONY? LIMBO, SONY, LIMBO!"

 

[sprsk]

I remember back when nobody, not even a single analyst, thought the PSP could launch below 299. Not everyone is like "HOW LOW CAN YOU GO, SONY? LIMBO, SONY, LIMBO!"

:lol

 

[FnordChan]

I remember back when nobody, not even a single analyst, thought the PSP could launch below 299. Not everyone is like "HOW LOW CAN YOU GO, SONY? LIMBO, SONY, LIMBO!"

FnordChan

 

[explodet]

$20 and a free copy of the Resident Evil 2 soundtrack.

 

[Idiot Member]

PSP is scheduled to launch within 4 months of the DS.

There won't be a price drop so soon. Especially not a 49 dollar price drop.

Borghe the PSP is the same price as the PS2 in Japan. And the equivalent remains 149.99 here.

The MiniDisc is fairly popular, and still growing with sony's release of High capacity minidiscs, I've interpreted the continued support of the medium as Sonys way of saying that they want MDs to be the medium of choice for commercial music.

They hardly supported the SACD, and flipfopped with DVD-Audio. BlueRay is in my opinion the most likely bdrom format to gain success. Especially with the steps sony is taking PS3, MGM... Sony now has ~50% of hollywoods movie library with Sony Pictures/MGM, and the best selling disc based product in the world in the PlayStation. BlueRay hasn't even hit the mainstream yet.

The market dictates what becomes succesful. And the majority of hardware producers, and film producers are all set on Bluray, not to mention there is the PS3.



As for the betamax, let it go...

 

[mashoutposse]

Those formats failed because the hardware took too long to reach mass market pricing. UMD, however, will be priced for the mainstream right out of the box.

 

[sc0la]

149$ woulod be crazy, and you would see me pick one up at launch.

99-129 is one of the most fucking retarded things I have ever read though.

 

[Renegade]

Nintendo has got to be sweating in their undies like old ladies working out with Richard Simmons.

UMD will likely never catch on outside of the PSP. IMO, it would have been good enough if Sony just kept to the MiniDisks, but it'd be optimal if the PSP played MDs. Too bad it won't.

 

[Date of Lies]

The soonest nintendo should drop DS price is right before the next holiday season. Graphics aren't everything, especially to the masses and if they establish a solid and growing base, PSP might have a hard time penetrating the market.

What will hurt Nintendo are the people saying "Nintendo is gonna be so dead once PSP hits. Nintendo is DOOMED!!" that popular mindframe would be the reason PSP overtakes DS.

 

[Renegade]

What will hurt Nintendo are the people saying "Nintendo is gonna be so dead once PSP hits. Nintendo is DOOMED!!" that popular mindframe would be the reason PSP overtakes DS.

They're not saying it for no reason, however.

 

[mrklaw]

Sony doesn't have to support quicktime, WM9, MPEG4, MPEG2, AAC, etc. All they have to support is their standard (likely an MPEG4 type). cheaper hardware.[/quote

? The CPU in the PSP is more than capable of decoding those filetypes. And Sony don't have a vested interest in a particular video codec, unlike audio. Whether it supports any/all of those is another matter.

with one of the other media players, most of them include programs that will shrink your DVDs down to be played on them. So you buy a DVD and can play it multiple places..

They shrink, but only if you don't have CSS on the discs. So commerical DVDs cannot be shrunk. Sure, you can download additional software, but the manufacturers can't supply that as it breaks the protection.

I expect Sony to have something similar to load onto Memory sticks. Designed for your 'home movies' naturally, but run your DVD through DVD decrypter first and you are away.

 

[hirokazu]

You expect DS to be $99 by March?

Is that going to be the fastest price drop ever? :lol

Xbox price was slashed by $300AU (retailed at $700AU) IIRC within the first 4 months of release because noone was buying it. apart from that initial hurdle though, their marketting has done very well and so has the system.

also, PS2 had a 7 months, manufacturing costs could've been lowered in that time frame for them to be able to sell the PS2 cheaper in the US. PSP is only 3 months, making it less likely. but then, $30 difference between Japanese price and speculated $150, it isn't totally impossible

 

[jiggle]

150 would be a great launch price.

Although...i'm kinda hoping it would launch at 185-200. I just don't want to fight the crowd or wait in lines for over half a day just to get one. :/

 

[RevenantKioku]

What would be great is if Nintendo countered the PSP launch with a NDS drop in price to $99, and slashing NGC to $49.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

What would be great is if Nintendo countered the PSP launch with a NDS drop in price to $99, and slashing NGC to $49.

haha.. and pigs fly. A NGC for $50. Nintendo will be ruined in the public eye. RUINED

 

[RevenantKioku]

haha.. and pigs fly. A NGC for $50. Nintendo will be ruined in the public eye. RUINED

You really don't understand the public.
$100-$150 and people are still looking at these systems skeptically. Xbox is giving away 2 games and people still give it the looks, just because "Why can't I get the 2 games I want?"
I may just work in retail, I'm no analyst, but I see these things.
19,000 yen is BATSHIT INSANE. That's only like 3 dvds if that in Japan, which are fucking expensive. I paid more for a LCD pocket dictionary this summer.
I'm not to hot to trot on tech info, but Sony has gotta be bleeding sweet gravy from their ass on this. If Nintendo has the gameboy sequel (I don't care what Nintendo says, go into a Best Buy or EB, no one says "Well its not really the next gameboy." they're trying to sell it, it is the next gameboy) for cheaper, with a Console for the same price as a brand new game, Sony isn't gonna be sitting as pretty.

 

[Idiot Member]

The PS2 price wasn't dropped in Japan when it was launched worldwide, the price remained the same.

Vagabond, MDs would be way too small to support gaming media. Not to mention they are writeable.

 

[xexex]

$150 PSP - $100-120 DS - $59 GBA

competition is good.

btw I could still live with a $200 PSP and $150 DS.

 

[Gek54]

You really don't understand the public.
$100-$150 and people are still looking at these systems skeptically. Xbox is giving away 2 games and people still give it the looks, just because "Why can't I get the 2 games I want?"
I may just work in retail, I'm no analyst, but I see these things.
19,000 yen is BATSHIT INSANE. That's only like 3 dvds if that in Japan, which are fucking expensive. I paid more for a LCD pocket dictionary this summer.
I'm not to hot to trot on tech info, but Sony has gotta be bleeding sweet gravy from their ass on this. If Nintendo has the gameboy sequel (I don't care what Nintendo says, go into a Best Buy or EB, no one says "Well its not really the next gameboy." they're trying to sell it, it is the next gameboy) for cheaper, with a Console for the same price as a brand new game, Sony isn't gonna be sitting as pretty.

I guess you were not around for the DC price drops.

 

[RevenantKioku]

I wasn't in the retail business, and I wasn't playing games throughout most of the DC's heyday. This isn't written in stone shit I'm saying, just my personal insights.
But its a different time then it was during that of the DC, very different.

 

[DaveT]

Nintendo could drop the price at any moment.

Remember how the N64 was supposed to be $249 when it launched, then like two weeks before Sony dropped the price of the PSX....so what did Nintendo do? Drop the launch price of the N64 to $199, a week before launch (maybe not that close, but it was close!)

Dave