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PSP sales sluggish?
- Thread starter jetsetmario
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Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
I guess it's more the shock of finding reports of places having well over half their units left (and if people are to be believed, 90% of them left at some places) rather than shock at them not selling out completely.
I wonder if there is a problem with the price of titles. It's difficult to say what I'd prefer. On the one hand I like cheap games, so I almost hope for bad sales so the prices will drop. But on the other hand, if prices drop, you can bet budgets will too, which leads to worse games.
I wonder if there is a problem with the price of titles. It's difficult to say what I'd prefer. On the one hand I like cheap games, so I almost hope for bad sales so the prices will drop. But on the other hand, if prices drop, you can bet budgets will too, which leads to worse games.
$50 dollar games.
Stores whoring bundles making the system sometimes almost twice as expensive. Not just 1 game but sometimes as many as 5. Consumers see that and think ripoff.
Amazon, the nets most popular internet shopping site selling PSPs at $400 without games.
The unit as is, is non functional for music and videos without an add on memory card.
No advertising though I heard plenty of advertising today.
I talked to a lady at work about the unit. She has a teen and she said to me and I quote "he's not getting a $250 gameboy, not even for his birthday." In the SONY fanboy world of graphics don't matter, welcome to the party, because when mom goes to buy little johnny a handheld she couldn't give two shits what the graphics look like if it's $250.
Anyway I bought one becuase I want a handheld that can converge music video and games in one unit and I can afford to buy the extra memory.
For all you people that shit all over Nintendo, at least Nintendo has a clue when it comes to handhelds. Today SONY looks like a plebe in the handheld multimedia arena.
Stores whoring bundles making the system sometimes almost twice as expensive. Not just 1 game but sometimes as many as 5. Consumers see that and think ripoff.
Amazon, the nets most popular internet shopping site selling PSPs at $400 without games.
The unit as is, is non functional for music and videos without an add on memory card.
No advertising though I heard plenty of advertising today.
I talked to a lady at work about the unit. She has a teen and she said to me and I quote "he's not getting a $250 gameboy, not even for his birthday." In the SONY fanboy world of graphics don't matter, welcome to the party, because when mom goes to buy little johnny a handheld she couldn't give two shits what the graphics look like if it's $250.
Anyway I bought one becuase I want a handheld that can converge music video and games in one unit and I can afford to buy the extra memory.
For all you people that shit all over Nintendo, at least Nintendo has a clue when it comes to handhelds. Today SONY looks like a plebe in the handheld multimedia arena.
sonycowboy
Member
Sysgen said:
It's amazing how well you've managed to analyze Sony's performance despite 95%+ user approval (admittedly on these boards
). Do you think it's possible that you're completely wrong and Sony will sell 750,000+ units this month? Is that possible?I'm the first to admit that I'm not quite sure how things went today, but I didn't expect to. I didn't expect the system to sell out in a matter of hours with such a large retail and such a large shipment.
Since you're so quick to call Sony a "plebe" and that thier performance is an abysmal failure, perhaps you can enlighten us with how well you think the system will do for the month. Do you predict < 500k units? < 600k? What's it going to take to be a failure in your book?
Or are you merely content with casting aspersions along with absolutely no ability to back it up with what you'd consider a failure? Surely for you to come to this incredibly insightful commentary you've got to be basing it on something? Some expectations as to how you thought it was going to do? Or maybe you're simply enjoying serving some well earned humble pie that you feel Sony should be enjoying at this point?
The Faceless Master
Member
my boss saw a line going around the block at the best buy at 23rd around 7:30AM this morning
oh, and it's pretty much sold out in NYC... less populated areas may vary...
i remember i couldn't find a DS anywhere till the week before Wario Ware when people were saying they could walk into target and get one in their neck of the woods
oh, and it's pretty much sold out in NYC... less populated areas may vary...
i remember i couldn't find a DS anywhere till the week before Wario Ware when people were saying they could walk into target and get one in their neck of the woods
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Around here there were lines at some places. I didn't do any kind of survey. The EB I went to didn't have a deep line this morning (5 people) but they did sell out by afternoon. The GameRush I stopped at to get my last game had sold out too.
Why don't we wait for an actual number or two? I see the usual suspects can't wait for their dream killer to fail. You can almost hear the audible crash of DS units being tossed into trade bins around gamestores in America.
Interesting side-note....everyone who saw mine today asked what it cost...and every single person said that was a good price after seeing it for a few moments.
Why don't we wait for an actual number or two? I see the usual suspects can't wait for their dream killer to fail. You can almost hear the audible crash of DS units being tossed into trade bins around gamestores in America.
Interesting side-note....everyone who saw mine today asked what it cost...and every single person said that was a good price after seeing it for a few moments.
Mama Smurf said:
Not necessarily. Portable games should not require the big budgets that console games require. For one thing, most graphics/animation/sound in handheld games can be ported directly from their console counterparts.
And big budgets don't always guaruntee a good game. One could argue the opposite: that higher priced games and bigger production values for portables means gamers may choose eye candy over gameplay, and this could actually force out some of the smaller development studios and make it near impossible for an enterprising game developer to bring an original, untested idea to fruition without the likes of EA, Sony or Nintendo to foot the bill. Not to mention it would hasten the true death of 2D gaming.
This transition has already occurred with consoles, so this isn't just tin-foil-hat speculation =)
citrus lump
Banned
junkwaffle said:
brilliant :lol
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
I think alot of stores are taking the opportunity to lump a variety of crap with the PSP raising its price. For instance my friend works at best buy and says they are bundling it with spiderman 2 or some crap..wtf. I think most PSP's out there arent even 250, prolly more like 280 or something with games bundles.
Baron Aloha
A Shining Example
My local Best Buy sold out. The guy working there said they got about 250 of them.
When I picked mine up at EB I tested it out in the store to make sure there weren't any dead pixels. Within minutes there were 5-10 people standing behind me all like "what's that?"... "holy crap look at the graphics", etc. Then I popped in Spiderman 2. "Oh, shit it plays movies too?" This went on for 10 minutes.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The PSP isn't going to take off like a rocket the way PS2 did. It's going to take more of a slow boil. I imagine that when Sony starts selling the non-value pack at $199 this holiday season (I'm guessing) sales will really take off.
When I picked mine up at EB I tested it out in the store to make sure there weren't any dead pixels. Within minutes there were 5-10 people standing behind me all like "what's that?"... "holy crap look at the graphics", etc. Then I popped in Spiderman 2. "Oh, shit it plays movies too?" This went on for 10 minutes.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The PSP isn't going to take off like a rocket the way PS2 did. It's going to take more of a slow boil. I imagine that when Sony starts selling the non-value pack at $199 this holiday season (I'm guessing) sales will really take off.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
argon said:
I see what you're saying, and perhaps there are some benefits to smaller budgets, but overall I think quality would suffer.
For every Katamari Damacy out there thriving despite a smaller budget, there's a RE4 that just couldn't be made to the same quality without the funding.
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone's game budgets were slashed if PSP game started selling for $30, not just the big games. After all, everyone's getting less money.
sonycowboy said:It's amazing how well you've managed to analyze Sony's performance despite 95%+ user approval (admittedly on these boards
I'm the first to admit that I'm not quite sure how things went today, but I didn't expect to. I didn't expect the system to sell out in a matter of hours with such a large retail and such a large shipment.
Since you're so quick to call Sony a "plebe" and that thier performance is an abysmal failure, perhaps you can enlighten us with how well you think the system will do for the month. Do you predict < 500k units? < 600k? What's it going to take to be a failure in your book?
Or are you merely content with casting aspersions along with absolutely no ability to back it up with what you'd consider a failure? Surely for you to come to this incredibly insightful commentary you've got to be basing it on something? Some expectations as to how you thought it was going to do? Or maybe you're simply enjoying serving some well earned humble pie that you feel Sony should be enjoying at this point?
I live in a well to do neighborhood and when there's ample stock around town, that's my qualification and my opinion so fuck off.
Roland Hood
Member
Sysgen said:
True enough. But the PSP isn't for little Johnny, at least I think that's what Sony's hoping.
mashoutposse
Ante Up
Put simply, this is the difference between shipping 350k units and being "sold out everywhere" & shipping 1 million and finding some left over.
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
i'll definitely pick one up later on... it looks and sounds sweet, that's for sure. i wish i could have mine now. but i'm waiting for the pink one.
SonicMegaDrive said:
IIRC, it's not like PSOne was selling out left and right on day one. It was overpriced, had overheating problems, and wasn't well marketed.
Give PSP a 6-9 months. It'll probably be the must have gadget of this Christmas season (which is probably looking like a pretty enviable thing, given how many iPods Apple pushed last quarter).
PSP isn't going anywhere, it'll do just fine. But for some reason, the hardcore hype really did convince me that Sony would somehow dominate Nintendo's market share in a single day. This is just proving to us that not only was that not possible, but apparently wasn't Sony's gameplan (given the weak marketing).
Sgt. Killjoy
Member
My Game Rush had about 16 and sold about half. I was surprised really.
gamergirly
Member
Well, GBA-SP sure IS benefiting. If you can even find a system these days. On the converse, DS sales are about even with PSP right now. I guess Nintendo wins anyway since they are both from the same company 
BTW, I wouldnt really use the "first day" excuse. Today starts one of the biggest holidays during this period of the year(Good Friday - Easter). The hot shopping spots in town were VERY packed. If this is was PS3, I guaranteed it would have been "krump".
Perhaps, Sony, will sell out of the rest of the shipment over the weekend to meet that 1 million shipment bought, but I have to say this is to expected. GAF incomes do not match the ones of the real world(who is going to spend $400 on a handheld when you can get one for $99 with the best library?), and we're seeing the results.
Only one problem with that conception: what hot games will the DS have out by then? And what price will it be at?
BTW, I wouldnt really use the "first day" excuse. Today starts one of the biggest holidays during this period of the year(Good Friday - Easter). The hot shopping spots in town were VERY packed. If this is was PS3, I guaranteed it would have been "krump".
Perhaps, Sony, will sell out of the rest of the shipment over the weekend to meet that 1 million shipment bought, but I have to say this is to expected. GAF incomes do not match the ones of the real world(who is going to spend $400 on a handheld when you can get one for $99 with the best library?), and we're seeing the results.
Only one problem with that conception: what hot games will the DS have out by then? And what price will it be at?
mashoutposse
Ante Up
...And then she finds out that the "$250 gameboy" is an iPod, DVD player, and full-fledged Playstation.
I was out buying games and a parent bought one for this very reason. Another customer told him about it and pointed him to the "actual size" promotional cutouts. He got on his cellphone then bought one with a couple of games on the spot. PSP discovery to purchase in literally less than five minutes. This was out by Westbury, Long Island (by Roosevelt Field for the NYC peeps).
$250 isn't crazy for what it does. I think people will actually see it as a value once demos are up and running (or when they see their friends with one).
Suikoguy
I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
We got sixty in, ended the day with 13... sadly I worked the entire day 
Games such as Ridge Racer, Lumines, Wipeout, Metal Gear, sold out.
Edit:
Also, had we had any extras, I could have probably sold 10 more.
No negative impressions, plus everybody who saw one said something to the effect of "I gotta get one" or a few seemed a bit daunted at the $250 price.
Games such as Ridge Racer, Lumines, Wipeout, Metal Gear, sold out.
Edit:
Also, had we had any extras, I could have probably sold 10 more.
No negative impressions, plus everybody who saw one said something to the effect of "I gotta get one" or a few seemed a bit daunted at the $250 price.
sonycowboy
Member
Sysgen said:
So that's your whole justification? What a bunch of bullshit. Cmon. Have some balls. If you're going to say they flopped, then give us what a flop means in units as that's the only real measurement we'll have. Tell us what this complete failure by Sony is going to look like. Otherwise, if you're just gonna throw out bullshit and try to play yourself off as cool with your pithy little comments, then you're the one who can "fuck off".
Isn't profanity fun? It's especially useful when you don't have an actual argument to make.
While I'm definitely getting a PSP, I've decided to hold off until the first or second hardware revision. That gives Sony time to address whatever quirks crop up in the first run of systems. (In retrospect, I wish I'd done that with the Playstation and PS2. I'm a little more patient nowadays. 
)
Wonder how many prospective PSP buyers out there are doing the same thing, rather than lining up to get theirs on day one?
)Wonder how many prospective PSP buyers out there are doing the same thing, rather than lining up to get theirs on day one?
sonycowboy said:
What arguement. :lol Aren't we the sensitive one. All this because I said SONY were plebes in handheld arena? :lol :lol I did say I bought one plus I listed several factors as to why I said so. It's my OPINION. Your pathetic. Geez, you have real issues dude. Fucking chill.
mashoutposse
Ante Up
SyNapSe said:
The parents who dismiss the system as a "$250 gameboy" don't know what makes an iPod an iPod past mp3 playback and sleek design, automatically classifies any movie-playing device as a 'DVD player,' and... well, the full-fledged Playstation part is pretty much true.
Catchpenny
Member
The PSP will sell a large majority of the one million units by the end of the month. It's awkward to sell a handheld on a Thursday, and while this is a holiday weekend, I never got a $250 gift on Easter. Also, lest we forget, not having mass shortages is a GOOD thing. I'm glad Sony was able to produce such a large number for launch.
On the other hand, Sony probably has to be a little disappointed right now. Also, the people who claimed the PSP would come right out of the gates and slaughter the DS are looking pretty stupid at the moment. I won't mind watching them eat some crow.
On the other hand, Sony probably has to be a little disappointed right now. Also, the people who claimed the PSP would come right out of the gates and slaughter the DS are looking pretty stupid at the moment. I won't mind watching them eat some crow.
sonycowboy
Member
Sysgen said:
So you're saying that your opinion is worthless and baseless? Or are you ever going to give us some of your expert opinion on what sales you think this pathetic launch will have? You seem to be doing everything but answering my first question. It should be real simple since your first post was so confident in Sony's mistakes. Where's the confidence? Where's the conviction in your argument?
I'm mostly messing with you, but if you're going to call out this launch as a failure (and when we get March's NPD, it might well be, at least by some observers given many's rather high expectations), are you really so afraid to back it up?
Look at Futureshop.ca:
85? That's a lot considering the DS had completely sold out on day 1 in the morning.
DS launched on a Sunday and a few minutes after the stores opened, I went to Futureshop and they were sold out. They had about 12-20 at the Futureshop downtown at 8:30PM on Thursday opening day.
Btw, the forced Wayne Gretzky bundle in Canada is bull, I saw lots of places that were selling the PSP as a regular value pack for $299 Canadian.
85? That's a lot considering the DS had completely sold out on day 1 in the morning.
DS launched on a Sunday and a few minutes after the stores opened, I went to Futureshop and they were sold out. They had about 12-20 at the Futureshop downtown at 8:30PM on Thursday opening day.
Btw, the forced Wayne Gretzky bundle in Canada is bull, I saw lots of places that were selling the PSP as a regular value pack for $299 Canadian.
sonycowboy said:
Your not messin with me. Your upset and I understand your disappointment. Your feeling low and defensive like someone just caught you masturbating. It's OK. I feel for you and your pet corporation.
I fully expected lines around the block for this thing. I hope it sells out. I can't wait for my unit. I never called the launch a flop or a failure. My implication was that the launch could of been handled better. I couldn't believe that some stores sold so few.
- How about a couple games @ $20 or $30 dollars
- How about less shit in the bundle and a bigger memory stick.
- How about some advertising before launch. The first as I saw was in a bestbuy flyer the night before launch.
Not that this is credible enough to use for nationwide, my friend I visited at Toys R Us today said that they got 80 PSP units. They opened two hours before noraml just for it, and by the time I got there (5pm) they sold a whopping 3. While I was there someone else bought one.
I went to Wal-Mart later on and they only sold 3.
This is PA, by the by.
Sony should've done a better advertising campaign.
I went to Wal-Mart later on and they only sold 3.
This is PA, by the by.
Sony should've done a better advertising campaign.
sonycowboy
Member
Sysgen said:
Yet more of your witty comments whose only purpose is to make you fell just a little bit better about yourself. That's fine. Yes, I'm crying here in the corner, crushed that the lines weren't there all night yesterday and that more people weren't killed trying to get a PSP. Or whatever other fantasies you'd like to entertain about who I am or what I feel.
Sysgen said:
Now, this is a response. Good job. So, you're contention is that Sony's a complete neophyte at the handheld thing and got alot of egg on their face, but it may or may not have an effect on sales.
I agree that Sony could have handled the launch better, but not or any of the reasons you've listed other than the advertising.
1) I think the price of the games is mostly set by the publishers and that given that development for the PSP is much more expensive than other handhelds, and the fact that publishers are currently on a holy quest to keep prices as high as they can, they're giving this a try. My hope is they abandon it and go to $39 for the absolute premium games and $29 for standard games. The prices are what the prices are. They can certainly inhibit the growth of the PSP platform, but I don't think it's something you can truly fault Sony for other than to say thier system is too damn advanced, which since it is it's strongest point, makes it difficult to argue against.
2) The bundle is clearly an attempt by Sony to cash in, as much as is possible, on the early adopters to help defray the cost of the PSP, and to bring in the extra bucks. I personally think it's a pretty good deal given that you get the Spider-Man 2 movie, headphones, a case, a remote control, the screen cloth, and the 32MB memory card. The memory card is FAR more than adequate for game saves and even if they put in a 64MB card (which retails for anywhere from $25 to $50), it wouldn't have been adequate for music or movies. You'd need at least 128MB to be able to put any amount of music there and at least a 512MB to have any amount of video there. And there's no way in hell, you'd get that big a card bundled in. Hell, the lowest cost 32MB card I found @ froogle was ~$22.
captmcblack
Member
Holy fuck, GAF is JESUS. :lol
Has it even been 24 hours yet, and we're talking sluggish sales?
Has it even been 24 hours yet, and we're talking sluggish sales?
Meanwhile there's the three mothers I saw in a line of 20 or so standing outside of a Gamestop at midnight as we all waited to get let inside from the snow and cold. One was there by herself to get the PSP as a gift, one was there with her son and one was there with 4 separate kids (not all hers), all buying PSPs. And of course they bought games and looked at accessories as well.Sysgen said:
Of course, I'm sure there's plenty more stories like yours just like I'm sure there's plenty more like mine. Neither side really tells the whole story by itself, now does it?
soundwave05
Member
Like I said in the other thread Sony and their retail partners (EB/Best Buy/Future Shop) should be fucking ashamed of themselves for forcing the Gretzky NHL bundle on consumers in Canada.
My brother returned his Gretzky bundle once he realized how crappy the game was for a $50 mark up at EB World. They claimed not to have the regular Value Pak all week long.
And so my brother is leaving the store and he tells the lady that he's just going to find a regular PSP Value Pak somewhere else ... and wouldn't you know it -- she some how finds a regular Value Pak PSP right there on the spot in the back room.
What a crock of BS.
I think a lot of these retail cronies are reeling because the PSP is not getting out of the gates as fast as they may have hoped. Best Buy had a barely sold any by 3 PM.
My brother returned his Gretzky bundle once he realized how crappy the game was for a $50 mark up at EB World. They claimed not to have the regular Value Pak all week long.
And so my brother is leaving the store and he tells the lady that he's just going to find a regular PSP Value Pak somewhere else ... and wouldn't you know it -- she some how finds a regular Value Pak PSP right there on the spot in the back room.
What a crock of BS.
I think a lot of these retail cronies are reeling because the PSP is not getting out of the gates as fast as they may have hoped. Best Buy had a barely sold any by 3 PM.
CamHostage
Member
Sticker shock hurt. A Thursday launch in March doesn't help either. I did think it was going to be bigger, but then again, so many of the die-hards are tied up in stupid pre-order deposits that the stores don't have stock in, even though the next store over has plenty of systems.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
Holy crap...Damage control is in high gear tonight! But then again the "Sony is d00med" chant is pretty loud too...
I spent all day running errands all over town and for kicks I stopped in several game stores along the way. One store had only sold 4 PSPs by noon. This really surprised me because it was in a very high-end neighborhood. The second store I stopped in had sold roughly 30. The last store I stopped in was literally next door to a college campus...Not even 20 feet from the closest classroom. This last store (an EB) hadn't sold a SINGLE UNIT by 3 pm.
Long story short, it's too early to call either way. Sweet Jesus people...Just sit back and breathe!
I spent all day running errands all over town and for kicks I stopped in several game stores along the way. One store had only sold 4 PSPs by noon. This really surprised me because it was in a very high-end neighborhood. The second store I stopped in had sold roughly 30. The last store I stopped in was literally next door to a college campus...Not even 20 feet from the closest classroom. This last store (an EB) hadn't sold a SINGLE UNIT by 3 pm.
Long story short, it's too early to call either way. Sweet Jesus people...Just sit back and breathe!
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