How Sony Can Save the PSPgo - PSP3D.com - Sony PlayStation Portable News, Homebrew, Hacks, Reviews, Videos, Mods, Forums

jsf · #1 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 01:34 PM

Check out this very interesting article about how Sony can make the PSPGo better or even save it completely

Quote:

The latest addition to the PlayStation Portable family, the PSPgo, hit North American retailers in October with Japanese markets following this week. While reports of the domestic release have been varied and official sales statistics have yet to be released, news out of Japan this week further compound suspicions that the handheld is off to a slow start. According to PSPgo launch sales in Japan, retailers were only able to move 28,275 units, a relatively mediocre start for a country where Sony is king. Given the PSPgo's weak start in its native country, could Sony's rough start in Japan be the start of a less-than-optimal life cycle for their all-digital handheld? We'll have to wait and see, but if things do start to go south for the PSPgo, Sony may be able to save the system from the flames with a few strategic changes.

Cheaper Games

As a 100-percent digital platform, the PSPgo requires the exclusive useof the PlayStation Network's online store for software distribution.While there are plenty of alluring benefits of an all digital distribution service, there are also some inherent downsides, like that consumers have no physical ownership of the game media. If a user's purchases are lost on either their PSPgo or PC's MediaGo software, then it is gone forever. Moreover, the lack of physical media to store and keep track of, there is no competitive market for digital software since Sony has a total lockdown on the PlayStation Network. In other words, digital PSP software can only be found on the PSN, which means retailers like Gamestop and Best Buy aren't around to offer limited time deals. You also have to consider the fact that there is no capacity for resale, meaning, users cannot trade in digital downloads for store credit like they can at in-store retailers.

With the pricing locked in at either the same as or higher than in-store retailers and no way to trade the titles in later, there is little incentive for gamers to want to go the digital route. Digital games on the PSN would be much more appealing if they had a price differential over hardcopy games, even a marginal one. If Sony were to knock off 5 or 10-percent off the MSRP of digitally distributed game stop compensate for the lack of physical product in the user's hand,gamers would likely warm up to the idea a lot quicker. Apple achieved incredible success with the iTunes store when they rolled out their$9.99 album pricing while the rest of the music industry was hovering at $14.99 or more for CDs, Sony could do the same for games and move alot more PSPgo units in the process.

Cheaper Hardware

We can get why Sony keeps the pricing of the games on-par with hardcopy retailers, but taking away backward compatibility and trade-incapacity while jacking the MSRP up of the platform by $50? That's just crazy. In most cases, consumers are willing to pay more in order to get more, but with the PSPgo, the prevailing opinion is that users are paying extra only to lose functionality. Sure, the PSPgo packs some new tech that boosts production costs – Bluetooth, 16GB flash drive, etc. –but neither really provide enough marketable benefit to players to merit charging more than the PSP-3000. The extra $50 may not seem like a lot to most, but it is enough to dissuade consumers who are already pinching pennies due to the state of the economy. If you also consider the perspective of parents shopping for their children, a large chunk of the consumer market, the appeal of $249.99 system as opposed to the$199.99 PSP-3000 or $169.99 Nintendo DSi, is hard to justify.

The market impact of the extra $50 on the MSRP has been recognized by many electronics retailers, and when the system launched in October,many went ahead and cut the price of the PSPgo down to $199.99 anyway.To combat the sticker shock, Sony would be wise to follow suit.

Create a UMD Credit System

As one of the biggest problems the PSPgo faces, the simplest way to raise consumer interest in the handheld would be devise a way for them to either trade-in or get PSN credit for their UMDs. Sony announced that they were exploring plans to allow users to transfer their UMD titles directly to their PSPgo without having to repurchase them on thePSN, however, just before the system released announced that the plans were scrapped due to legal complications. While the issues of offering a UMD transfer solution are fairly clear – proving ownership of the UMD, piracy, etc. – it seems like a mail-in or in-store credit system would be a safe alternative.

If Sony were to offer users PSN credit for sending in their old UMDs,even a small percentage of the original value, the appeal of the system would greatly improve. If Sony were to take the concept a step further and partner with a retailer to allow users to do direct, in-store credit PSN credit systems, then that would make the process even easier. Certainly there are complications inherent to such a system,but without any form of credit or trade-in system, the PSPgo will continue to be hard sell for new and existing PSP owners.

Source

Gamer420 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 07:24 PM

This is a very interesting article. I mean sony should follow like Apple and maybe put their downloadable games down to $20 for older titles and $25 for newer titles. This would definately make the PSPgo more appealing. And maybe $189.99 for the Hardware. This way it would get more buyers. But this is just my opinion.

lmao

jsf · #3 (**permalink**) 11-06-2009, 07:26 PM

Way to go I noticed you posted that in the wrong thread before. haha Anyway you are right though if they did that it would really save the PSP Go

Mental_Gear · #4 (**permalink**) 11-10-2009, 05:37 AM

I honestly don't think the Go can be saved, as all it offers in terms of entertainment value over a 3K is the bluetooth to use with a sixaxis - I hope Sony take the hint of PSP flopping that full DD is a terrible, terrible idea.

And look at these ideas - a moment of brutal honesty if you will - Sony aren't very adept at following up on promises. Hundreds of PS1 classics were promised, and we didn't get them, as was a UMD conversion service.

Another problem is the way PSN is unbalanced by region - Japan leads in PS1 classics but nothing else, and Europe - even the UK - gets the short straw.

jsf · #5 (**permalink**) 11-10-2009, 12:40 PM

I agree Sony does have a bad habit of not keeping up with its promises