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[Rahul]

Is it me or does nothing on that package say "Playstation Portable"? In other words, as far as the consumer is concerned, the new handheld is simple "PSP"? Are we supposed to smell the Playstation brand a mile away from the slick interface and logo design?

Or did I just answer my own question...

 

[btrboyev]

the playstation logo is on the box.

I still see a $250 price point in the US with the bundle, because quite frankly whats the point of the non bundle??

 

[ninge]

Only point of the non-bundle is so that sony can say "PSP - under $200!!!!!!! OMGWTF!!!" etc - you know it's true

I would expect them to go with the same dual packages for US launch so they can hit that magic number and make people think twice before buying the cheaper DS

 

[SaitoH]

Conveniently ignoring the Game Gear and Lynx. Oh, Turbo Express and Neo Geo Pocket as well. Oooh, ooh, almost forgot myself, the Wonderswans, the N-Gages, and the slow (but steady) growing market of cell phone games. Nomad, too.

But yeah, you're right, Nintendo's never had any competition in portable gaming.

I would say you list proves they haven't had any competition. Except for cell phones, I mean.

^_~

 

[Mrbob]

Consumers don't really want a new portable.

Good point. So why is Nintendo releasing the Nintendoods when PSP is gonna swoop up all the sales? Should stuck with the GBA advance as they could have ruled the 2D market while PSP rules the 3D market. Now Nintendo is stuck with a tweener machine with awkward control and setup.

 

[xsarien]

I would say you list proves they haven't had any competition.

Your explanation of this interpretation is not allowed to have the phrase "serious competition," because it's arguably the largest cop out possible.

 

[GSG Flash]

If you're looking at it for video and music purposes, you might wanna look at one of those newfangled portable media centers. May cost more, but with a built in hard drive you could store much more music, and it would be much easier and cheaper getting various types of video formats on the device than on PSP, which despite what Kutaragi or anyone at Sony says, is a game machine with the additional functions of music and movies.

I would get a PMC but none of them look as great or stylish as the PSP.

 

[MetatronM]

Sony are being very clever on this one. Clearly the $250 box aint got $50 worth of extras in it.. so they're making up some of the loss on the $200 box by charging $50 for what amounts to about $5 worth of extras (well, probably costs them about that to make anyway.. I mean it's a shitty case, a shitty strap, some headphones that they knock out by the millions and a memory stick - big wow).

Putting aside the fact that all the extras do cost AT LEAST $50 or more, Sony is a singular entity. See that? Sony IS. Singular, not plural.

 

[Tenkei]

Wow, that price is very tempting but... will it actually retail in North America for that price?

Isn't there a law in North America that prevents large companies from eating more than a certain percentage of the cost for a product? If I remember correctly, the rationale for that law is that undercutting will drive smaller companies out of business because they can't afford to do such a thing. Not that I'm saying Nintendo should be considered "small".

Can someone confirm or deny this for me? Preferably with proof.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Is it me or does nothing on that package say "Playstation Portable"? In other words, as far as the consumer is concerned, the new handheld is simple "PSP"? Are we supposed to smell the Playstation brand a mile away from the slick interface and logo design?

Or did I just answer my own question...

Well, the PlayStation series logo does appear to be on almost every side of the box.

 

[ninge]

MetatronM your superior grasp of the english language humbles me..

However, when you state that they cost at least $50 i can only assume that you are refering to their retail price rather than the manufacturingcost?

You see, I was refering to manufactoring costs and the fact that sony will be making more profit on the "value" pack than on the normal one. This is of course a smart move for them when they are selling the PSP at such a low price point. As i have already stated this will mean that they can advertise the machine at the lower price point while most people (myself included) will opt for the higher priced value pack.

You see, it's quite clever really, we get a good value bundle for $250 and sony get to advertise the much more attractive price of $200. Sure, nobody is gonna go for the $200 one as the $250 is much better (therefore making the $200 pricepoint somewhat of a sham) but hey, that's what clever buisiness is all about.

Perhaps if you had paid more attention to the overal message of my post rather than nitpicking stupid gramatical errors you might have realised that and subsequently not posted something quite as rediculously innapropriate.

Just in case you want to point out spelling and/or gramatical errors in this post here are some handy freebies for ya: peeple what post bout peepls speeling n gramer obviusly cant fine anyfing bettr fings 2 sey.

 

[border]

yep, posted in wrong thread

 

[Schmo Florez]

Man! I really need to stop coming into these threads. I want this think more and more with every post.




Sony fanboyism...rising.

 

[border]

Sony is a singular entity. See that? Sony IS. Singular, not plural.

This goes either way.

I'd bet $200 that if you were going to use a pronoun for Sony, it would be the plural "They" rather than the singular "It". I'm sure that "they" has been used at least 10 times already in this thread and "it" probably hasn't been used once.

Referring to collective organisms such as rock bands or corporations, I think the common usage can be to treat them as plural or or singular. People will even switch between plural/singular verbs from sentence-to-sentence : "Sony is smart. They know how to market a product."

 

[dog$]

Sony IS. Singular, not plural.

British English != American English

Anyway, price and stuff look good. Shame it's for a worthless handheld. Ad infinitum.

 

[ninge]

And I'm english! woohoo!

I take it all back, no wait a second..

 

[king zell]

Sony fanboyism...rising.

its not what you think

 

[kaching]

Interesting that the XMB system interface is the what they chose to display as playing on the PSP for the packshot...I guess its a simple, effective way to show the various things its capable of (games, music, pics, video) but I'm surprised they didn't choose to splash a shot of GT4 on there...

 

[MetatronM]

People will even switch between plural/singular verbs from sentence-to-sentence : "Sony is smart. They know how to market a product."

Yeah, I do that, but that's usually because I consider the "they" to be referring to certain people within the company. So it's not entirely or necessarily incorrect to switch forms from one sentence to the next, depending on context. It is incorrect to switch forms within a sentence. "Sony" is a singular noun representing a group of many people. You wouldn't say "my class are very smart." Class, as it is being used here, is a singular noun representing a group of many people. Same exact thing.

But I digress. Back to how awesome the PSP is!

 

[Renegade]

I cannot see how people are guessimating that Sony will set the Japanese price lower than the US price. According to a friend the only time Sony has done that was when they were clearing out old PDA models in Japan while just launching that model in the US. I expect the PSP to be abywhere from $150-$180 and this pack to center around 200. Curious, though, as to why Sony hasn't expounded upon the USB capabilities of the machine and expandibility. They've shown off the PSP headset. Are they waiting on games to take advantage of it first? What about the announced (Yet not shown) Camera? Throw in an extra battery? C'mon Sony.

 

[Pimpwerx]

I cannot see how people are guessimating that Sony will set the Japanese price lower than the US price. According to a friend the only time Sony has done that was when they were clearing out old PDA models in Japan while just launching that model in the US. I expect the PSP to be abywhere from $150-$180 and this pack to center around 200. Curious, though, as to why Sony hasn't expounded upon the USB capabilities of the machine and expandibility. They've shown off the PSP headset. Are they waiting on games to take advantage of it first? What about the announced (Yet not shown) Camera? Throw in an extra battery? C'mon Sony.

Yeah, but to be honest with you, for the sake of not bickering over things we don't know, saying the price is $185-200 is fine for now. When it comes in at $150-185, people can spooge themselves all over again. :lol I agree with you though, that $200 and $250 price that keeps getting quoted is simply false, unless Sony's is doing a bizarro launch for the PSP. Who knows, maybe Europe will finally get a cheap system...yeah right. PEACE.

 

[Rahul]

Well, the PlayStation series logo does appear to be on almost every side of the box.

Yeah, but nowhere is the term "Playstation Portable" explicitly stated. Playstation 2 has it. PSP does not. That's new. Judging by this naming scheme, the PSP is a single item in the Playstation "family" or brand.

 

[segasonic]

Impressed with the value pack.

If anyone drops $200 on a PSP without getting a carrying case, they're out of their flippin' mind. Just spring for the extra package.

You can buy the case separately as well...

I gotta know. I just did

 

[soundwave05]

I really don't like carrying cases. I never get those Apple i-Pod ones ... you pay so much primarily because of the looks of the unit and then you hide it under those black apple cases?

I'll buy the PSP and I'll see how scratch resistant it is before considering a case. Generally LCDs these days are pretty durable provided you take five seconds to wipe the screen every once in a while.

I am worried the body of the PSP might be scratch prone though.

I don't think the "deluxe" package will be availible in the US. Seems more like a Japan-only deal. I think it'll be $199.99 US standard at launch, maybe with a demo disc or something, all accessories sold seperately.

I'd personally rather spend the extra $40-$50 on a second battery pack. I already have ear phones, so I really don't need those.

 

[border]

Yeah, but nowhere is the term "Playstation Portable" explicitly stated. Playstation 2 has it. PSP does not.

Come on....how many people really buy $200 portable electronics just by seeing a box in a store? D'you think Mac fans would have been too stupid to buy an iPod if they didn't print "APPLE" on the box? If the marketing people do their job, you will know the meaning and the look of "PSP" long before you walk into a store.

What's more is that it's just the Japanese packaging, and in Japan they tend to lean towards more more esoteric designs. Didn't the PS2 boxes there just say "PS2" (while the US systems have "Playstation 2" printed underneath the logo)?

 

[mr2mike]

"Yeah, but nowhere is the term "Playstation Portable" explicitly stated. Playstation 2 has it. PSP does not. That's new. Judging by this naming scheme, the PSP is a single item in the Playstation "family" or brand."

But then again the "PSP" name is written in PS2's font. the Sony name, + Playstation logo + PS2 font = playstation.