Earlier today we posted a story about industry analyst Michael Pachter, who criticized Sony's PSPgo and dubbed it a "rip-off." Now he has come out of the woodwork once again to apologize for this statement. It's ironic that one of the few things I agree with him about is something he's now sorry for.
"I sincerely regret the choice of words in my response to Geoff Keighley's question in last week's Bonus Round, where I said that Sony is 'ripping off' the consumer by pricing the PSPgo at $249.99," laments Pachter. "I made a poor choice of words, and I do NOT think that Sony is doing anything nefarious in choosing their pricing strategy. The company has the right to price its products at a point that they think is competitive, and has no obligation to sell products at lower than a competitive price.
"They have been subsidizing purchases of the PS3 since launch, to the tune of 22 million sold at a loss of $100 or more apiece (on average), so if they are able to make a profit on the PSPgo, more power to them. They are pricing at a point that positions the PSPgo competitively with the iPod Touch, and the PSPgo arguably has much more value than the Apple product. Notwithstanding my view that the price point is too high to generate more than a few million units sold, I really think my comment was unfair ..."
Wow. I wonder what kind of pressure the man was under to do that. Either way, Pachter has taken back what he said about Sony's handheld and hopefully Sony will accept the apology so they can all go and have hot make-up sex. Regardless, the PSPgo is still looking a bit too rich for my blood. What about you lot?
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
6:20 PM on 06.11.2009
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For people without PSPs? Maybe it's a good price. I could see them pulling in new customers ("it's just like those Text Messaging phones you kids like so much!") but I still think $250 is gonna be a big hurdle for newcomers.
Does everyone only form opinions off of sticker shock anymore?
The average consumer does. That includes the parents looking for a birthday/Christmas present. The PSPGo will be a tough sell against a DSi for them. Also, the fact that the games are download only might scare off many new buyers.
I agree with Pachter. This is Sony's attempt to cut into the iPhone/iPod Touch market, given the latter "systems'" gaming success. They risk going too far in the middle between gaming console and multimedia device, trying to satisfy everyone but ultimately being a disappointment to everyone way.
a 16 GB memory stick pro is around 50 bucks on ebay. A 32 gb SSD with sata II connections, casing and all that stuff you don't need when you are inserting the memory chips directly on the main board of your hardware, is around 87. AND they don't need any part of the UMD reader. the only thing that could be a bit more expensive, is the screen, as it's smaller, still keeping the original resolution. There's no excuse for the price hike.
duh? humans are selfish creatures, we all think about how it benefits us, and it's what drives business. a business' main goal is to make money.
for them to make money, they have to make the consumers happy
anyway you could make the same argument in reverse, saying that people at sony who say the console is too cheap should put themselves in consumers shoes who are losing jobs due to the economic crisis
That way, the techno-lusters can get the system early on, sony can make some bucks, and the more thrifty consumers can feel good about paying $200 (which should still be significant profit for Sony) since they saved $50 by waiting.
DO IT, SONY! I won't pay $250 but I want this enough that $200 sounds somewhat reasonable.
Call me crazy...
And why the hell is he (or anyone) comparing a PSP with an iPod Touch? I've had a PSP since they were released; used it for music as much as games. So recently I bought a Touch. But why? Why would I do that? According to Pachter (now), a PSP has more value!
NO. A PSP is for GAMES. An iPod is for MUSIC. PSPs are fine for music if you have, say, 100 songs or less. I prefer around 2000. Meanwhile, the iPhone/Touch Appstore is getting a lot of love lately. You know what kinds of games dont work on a touch screen? A LOT OF THEM. People are doing a great job with making games that are fun to play on iPhones and Touches, and thats fine by me. I'm still gonna boot up my PSP if I want to play Monster Hunter, God of War, a racing game (the ipod ones might be good, the psp ones will always be better), platfomers, etc etc.
People who want a music player (or a phone maybe), will buy an iPod. People who want a gaming device, will buy a PSP. Just because both are capable of playing games (a generality), music (ignore how much worse one of them is at it *cough*PSP*cough), and have similar other functions, doesnt mean they're in direct competition.
although Gerstmann didn't have a wife and kids to support....
Well, at least we all know his original -- and honest -- opinion about the Go. I still agree with that one.
I honestly don't understand how he gets this job and what is by-the-book obligations are. But, I can respect that he'd want to recant his statement of product worth and install a message more suited to the suits.
He's right though.
I don't give a shit that they're loosing money on the ps3
I want a Psp Go at a reasonable price
Granted, Apple Is blatantly ripping people off for no good reason for a
16gb ipod touch. But if Sony really wants to compete, they need to get less
profit per unit sold
I sold my psp slim a few months ago because there were no good games out for it, it literally gathered dust and in the end I got rid. There's only so many times you can play GoW or GTA and not get bored.
Can anyone tell me why there's been such a change in opinion about the PSPgo, to me it feels like the same thing just re-hashed.
For me they fixed the control problems when they went from the phat to the slim. What has this got that's really worth the cash?
I just get the feeling that people are being suckered in, like putting a new bodyshell on an old car and fitting leather seats, but it still only gets 1 mile per gallon on fuel.
And if not? I'll hack the bejezzus out of that lil fucker and download EVERY title. That'll show'm.