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PSP Street Date Broken.

L

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Target in Sandy Springs in Atlanta, GA has broken the street date and is selling PSP systems right now. Don't know if this is all Target stores or just some clueless employees, but if you live in Atlanta and want a PSP now, head ovr there ASAP. I'm told they have 10 units left.
 
No it isn't Miburou, but I'm posting this for anyone in Atlanta that wants to get a system right now.

I was told this by a friend of mine who just left the store, BTW. He said when he walked up to the counter, the lady was telling someone about the system, and when she said it was $249.99, he called it a "rip-off" and walked off. :lol

I wish I had the cash to run down there and pick some up for eBay. :D
 
Heh, I wasn't questioning why you're posting this, I was genuinely curious if any other console's street date was broken before, as I assumed that any store that did break a system's street date would be severly punished, far more so than breaking a game's street date.
 
Lyte Edge said:
I was told this by a friend of mine who just left the store, BTW. He said when he walked up to the counter, the lady was telling someone about the system, and when she said it was $249.99, he called it a "rip-off" and walked off.
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I think the PSP might get that reaction from a lot of the mainstream. For those of us who take are gaming seriously, it's like "Hey, no big deal, another system launch". But a lot of mainstream players, who only buy Madden each year, are going to see the PSP, think how nice it looks, and then bulk at the price.

Anyway, might have to sneak out on my lunch to see if the local Target is breaking the street date as well. It would be nice to have it for the weekend.
 
Miburou said:
Heh, I wasn't questioning why you're posting this, I was genuinely curious if any other console's street date was broken before, as I assumed that any store that did break a system's street date would be severly punished, far more so than breaking a game's street date.
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I'm sure several other Target/Wal Mart type of stores have done this with other systems in the past; can't think of anything off the top of my head right now though.

The video game store I work at now was selling Playstations a week before launch back in 1995. Sony threatened my boss, but he didn't care, and they couldn't do anything to him since IIRC he got the systems elsewhere and was selling them. They did refuse to sell him anything directly after that incident. Apparently the local EB called Sony on him. :lol
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Anyway, might have to sneak out on my lunch to see if the local Target is breaking the street date as well. It would be nice to have it for the weekend.
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If it's out of your way, call first. All the stores in my area seem to know the street date off-hand,(including the old ladies) which means Kutaragi is standing behind the counter with a loaded gun.
 
Breaking street dates seems to be a lot more stricter nowadays. That Target could have a huge fine and lose some employees. They're doing it on purpose, its not a clueless employee. You're always told about street dated material, its usually even in the box or on the box of your shipment. " Do not open until ...." , or "Do not sell until ...".
 
They seem to have caught on. I called and was told by a nervous sounding lady "We're not selling those yet."

I said "Oh ok I heard that you were."

Lady "um, no"

LOL
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
I think the PSP might get that reaction from a lot of the mainstream. For those of us who take are gaming seriously, it's like "Hey, no big deal, another system launch". But a lot of mainstream players, who only buy Madden each year, are going to see the PSP, think how nice it looks, and then bulk at the price.
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This is something that I'm afraid of too. I really don't want the PSP to fail so that neither companies will just take their GBA shovelware runoff, add an on-screen map, and sell it for $40, or for Nintendo to keep charging a premium price for the DS for two years and then get us in the butt again by selling the GB2 for $200 right alongside it. Nintendo needs competition
 
Call them up again and say something in fake Japanese in an angry voice while making the word "PSP" slightly audible - sound very angry.
 
Why are companies so goddamn strict about street dates in the first place? Is it all so they can claim the trivial title of "biggest system launch ever"?

If you have it, SELL IT!
 
Minotauro said:
Why are companies so goddamn strict about street dates in the first place? Is it all so they can claim the trivial title of "biggest system launch ever"?

If you have it, SELL IT!
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Well one thing to consider is that you want to keep all of your sellers happy, and if some sellers are getting the product early and selling it early then other sellers who haven't received their shipments(or full shipments) yet are gonna feel slighted... and who wants to do that?
 
Minotauro said:
Why are companies so goddamn strict about street dates in the first place? Is it all so they can claim the trivial title of "biggest system launch ever"?

If you have it, SELL IT!
Click to expand...

It also has a lot to do with marketing. Sony has put time and effort into getting us all in a tizzy over March 24th, and it's worked. We're all talking about midnight launches, getting there when the store opens, etc.

As DarienA has said, it allows all of Sony's retailers to get their stock and have it ready to go on the same day and allows all the customers to be able to get it at the same time as well. I use to work retail at a regional gamestore company years back, and since we were small, we had to go through distributors to get our games and hardware, rather then going direct. The big chains could get their stuff directly from Sega/Nintendo/Sony, and would get it the same day that our distributor got it. It would then take another day or two for it to get to our stores. It was frustrating to have to tell customers who reserved something with us that we didn't have it, and wouldn't have it for a few more days. This puts everyone on an even playing field, at least for the hardware launch.
 
If they send the item 4 days before street date and I obtain it exactly on street date.. is that violating any kind of rules associated with not selling item before street date?
 
You guys make some valid points.

Most likely, it's probably just my frustration creating these feelings. It drives me up a wall that my PSP is just sitting in the back room at the local Gamestop when I could be playing it. ARGH.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
I think the PSP might get that reaction from a lot of the mainstream. For those of us who take are gaming seriously, it's like "Hey, no big deal, another system launch". But a lot of mainstream players, who only buy Madden each year, are going to see the PSP, think how nice it looks, and then bulk at the price.

Anyway, might have to sneak out on my lunch to see if the local Target is breaking the street date as well. It would be nice to have it for the weekend.
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Well, the Playstation/PS2 hardcore that have the deep cash are going to pick up the first million or 2. But after that, is it going to appeal to the average day gamer? PSP isnt the only gaming console/handheld system out this year, there's also a possible Xbox 2 launch.
 
EB let me pick up my N64 the Thursday before launch (Sunday, 9/29/96). I was pretty young then, so I honestly don't remember if that was nationwide break on the street date or what.

This is kind of surprising, though. Almost a week before launch and a few have likely been sold. That's a big difference from a few days.
 
gamergirly said:
Well, the Playstation/PS2 hardcore that have the deep cash are going to pick up the first million or 2. But after that, is it going to appeal to the average day gamer? PSP isnt the only gaming console/handheld system out this year, there's also a possible Xbox 2 launch.
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You make a very valid point. The average gamer would look at the PSP and Xbox 2 and take the Xbox 2 nearly every time. I for one am glad they are not launching around the same time as one another. However, I don't think the mainstream crowd is even aware of Xbox 2 yet. Maybe after E3, but at the moment, Xbox 2 is only on the radar of people that hang out in forums like this one. :D
 
gamergirly said:
Well, the Playstation/PS2 hardcore that have the deep cash are going to pick up the first million or 2. But after that, is it going to appeal to the average day gamer? PSP isnt the only gaming console/handheld system out this year, there's also a possible Xbox 2 launch.
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I don't know, I've seen parents wanting to get the DS they see the ads in the store about the PSP and inquire about it. They find out its $100 more and some end up reserving it instead of getting the DS. Then you have little Johnny crying because he wants the DS now. :lol

So many people ask about the PSP everyday, some already know, some don't. When you mention what it can do and then the price, they usually say its not that bad of a price. The only ones who think its expensive are the parents who think $30 is too much for one game or the kids who aren't old enough to have a job.

I think both the PSP and DS will do fine. The one thing hurting the DS is lack of games, if not it would be selling even better. Then again, you can say that about any piece of hardware.
 
Scoobert said:
I don't know, I've seen parents wanting to get the DS they see the ads in the store about the PSP and inquire about it. They find out its $100 more and some end up reserving it instead of getting the DS. Then you have little Johnny crying because he wants the DS now. :lol

So many people ask about the PSP everyday, some already know, some don't. When you mention what it can do and then the price, they usually say its not that bad of a price. The only ones who think its expensive are the parents who think $30 is too much for one game or the kids who aren't old enough to have a job.

I think both the PSP and DS will do fine. The one thing hurting the DS is lack of games, if not it would be selling even better. Then again, you can say that about any piece of hardware.
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Well, you take a look at the recent huge upscale selling of the new PSTwos. They're at $150 USD. Outside out of PS2's huge library, it would safe to assume that many of these later adopters are buying it because of the low price. The same could be said for DS, except it has a relatively lack of games at the moment.

If you had money to spend, what will you buy? A $150 PSTwo with folds of $20 and under bargain games? A $150 DS with a demo? Or a $250 PSP with $50 games? Most of America is lower middle class and lower class, there is a reason why the gaming industry gets most of it sales from one period of the year......
 
gamergirly said:
Well, you take a look at the recent huge upscale selling of the new PSTwos. They're at $150 USD. Outside out of PS2's huge library, it would safe to assume that many of these later adopters are buying it because of the low price. The same could be said for DS, except it has a relatively lack of games at the moment.

If you had money to spend, what will you buy? A $150 PSTwo with folds of $20 and under bargain games? A $150 DS with a demo? Or a $250 PSP with $50 games? Most of America is lower middle class and lower class, there is a reason why the gaming industry gets most of it sales from one period of the year......

Those are the Seasons of Eating and the Seasons of Giving....
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$250 PSP, but that's just me :)
 
Yeah, for the most part, right now, the PSP is squrely in the market for hardcore game players. It's too expensive for most parents to buy for their kids and the mainstream player doesn't want or need a portable at this point, and would rather spend their cash on a home system. I think the PSP will help to grow the portable market, just as the orginal Playstation helped to grow gaming in general, but most people picking up the PSP next week are falling into the hardcore group. Most of my mainstream gaming friends wouldn't even know what the PSP is without me to tell them about it.
 
Well, to be fair, there aren't too many people in this forum who fall into the "mainstream" when it comes to gaming! :D

I think gamergirly was referring to, you know, normal people, who only buy a few games a year, think Madden is the greatest game ever, and don't read Japanese sales charts. ;)
 
You would be surprised I who I consider "casual gamers" and they end up preordering the PSP. I know I was a bit surprised. Then you have another store just down the road with over 800 PSP preorders. How many are of those are really hardcore gamers? I still can't figure out how that one store pulled it off.
 
gamergirly said:
Most of America is lower middle class and lower class...
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Most of America doesn't buy consoles, period. Approx. 300 million people in America and less than 30 million PS2s sold in America. One of the most successful consoles ever hasn't even sold to 10% of the American population and it won't sell to more the 15-20% of the population by the end of its lifespan. This is nothing new.
 
kaching said:
Most of America doesn't buy consoles, period. Approx. 300 million people in America and less than 30 million PS2s sold in America. One of the most successful consoles ever hasn't even sold to 10% of the American population and it won't sell to more the 15-20% of the population by the end of its lifespan. This is nothing new.
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It's true that nearly 300 million people live in the US, but when looking at console sell through rates, it's more important to look at households, not population. For instance, if there are 50 million households in the US, and 30 million PS2 sold, that's a pretty good penetration rate. After all, you might have six people living in the same house sharing one PS2.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
It's true that nearly 300 million people live in the US, but when looking at console sell through rates, it's more important to look at households, not population. For instance, if there are 50 million households in the US, and 30 million PS2 sold, that's a pretty good penetration rate. After all, you might have six people living in the same house sharing one PS2.
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Good point, KFJ. Dumb oversight on my part.
 
I already have mine pre-ordered from GS but I may trundle on down to Target to see what's up.

On a related note, the PSP launch display is so much better than the DS's was, at least at my GS: nice hardware packaging and tons of game boxes for cool games taking up the height of the whole wall that really catch your eye, especially that of the mainstream gamer I would think.

I remember the DS had like a kiosk and 4 or 5 games upcoming blockbusters like Sprung and Ping-Pals on a little wire rack. Not exactly an inspiring site for a walk up consumer.
 
krypt0nian said:
They seem to have caught on. I called and was told by a nervous sounding lady "We're not selling those yet."

I said "Oh ok I heard that you were."

Lady "um, no"

LOL
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:lol Awesome. :)
 
Scoobert said:
I don't know, I've seen parents wanting to get the DS they see the ads in the store about the PSP and inquire about it. They find out its $100 more and some end up reserving it instead of getting the DS. Then you have little Johnny crying because he wants the DS now. :lol
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Haha, everytime I utter the PSP price after comparing it with the DS to a parent I get a "Fuck that" look and one more DS sale. The "Yeah it plays all the GBA games your kid already has." usually sways them as well.
 
TRU sent an e-mail out about demo kiosks. They said Sony won't put them in stores for 6 months because of a few issues, the main one which they say is theft. Apparently, a lot of stores had DS systems stolen and they are trying to find a way to secure it where no one can steal it plus make it easily accessible.
 
Just a random post but a lot of people at my school are planning on getting a PSP because they think it can play full sized DVD's, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out that the PSP is smaller than DVD's, height wise and it is impossible to pla normal sized DVD's on PSP. :lol
 
GSG Flash said:
Just a random post but a lot of people at my school are planning on getting a PSP because they think it can play full sized DVD's, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out that the PSP is smaller than DVD's, height wise and it is impossible to pla normal sized DVD's on PSP. :lol
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Why don't you just tell those people at your school that they are fucking idiots for not knowing how to read?
 
Amir0x said:
Why don't you just tell those people at your school that they are fucking idiots for not knowing how to read?
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I notify the people that I like or the people that I don't mind that the PSP can't play normal DVD's, the losers that I hate I don't care if the spend $300 + or not.
 
I didn't actually get to buy the N64 before launch, but I did have some pre-launch fun with it. The local Wal-Mart had a demo unit up with Mario 64 about two weeks before launch. I went there every day after school and managed to beat the whole game before you could buy it.
 
Amir0x said:
Why don't you just tell those people at your school that they are fucking idiots for not knowing how to read?
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Dude, it's retail Darwinism. Just sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and wait for the siren songs of their collective cry across the Internet. It should sound something like "omg i thot the PSP cld plaY ps2 gammes and DVds!@!@!!!!! fuk u sony ms rulez!@!!!"
 
Haha, there was some parent considering a DS in light of the PSP's price at the local EBX. It was just an insane exchange.

Parent: "$250's pretty stiff -- why's it a hundred more than the DS?"
Clerk: "Uh, it plays movies and it has like Gamecube level graphics"
Parent: "Yeah? Doesn't the DS have two screens, though?"
Clerk: "Uh, yeah"
Parent: "And doesn't it do 3D, too"
Clerk: "Sorta"
Parent: "You telling me that I get an extra screen for $100 less with the DS?"
Clerk: "Well, if that's what you want..."
Parent: "I'm not gonna let Sony gouge me."
Clerk: "Well, the PSP has a lot better graphics..."
Parent: "It's just 3D!"
Clerk: "..."
 
Drinky Crow said:
Haha, there was some parent considering a DS in light of the PSP's price at the local EBX. It was just an insane exchange.

Parent: "$250's pretty stiff -- why's it a hundred more than the DS?"
Clerk: "Uh, it plays movies and it has like Gamecube level graphics"
Parent: "Yeah? Doesn't the DS have two screens, though?"
Clerk: "Uh, yeah"
Parent: "And doesn't it do 3D, too"
Clerk: "Sorta"
Parent: "You telling me that I get an extra screen for $100 less with the DS?"
Clerk: "Well, if that's what you want..."
Parent: "I'm not gonna let Sony gouge me."
Clerk: "Well, the PSP has a lot better graphics..."
Parent: "It's just 3D!"
Clerk: "..."
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people saw it this way, "Two screens are better than 1 screen plus I get it for $100 less"
 
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