US PSP Dated And Priced

[ps2king]

Its a bit more than I expected $249.99(Value Pack) I thought it would be more like $179.99-$199.99 oh well one less launch game I guess.


Note: their not releasing the base unit at launch, only the "value" pack. The core unit would have been $199 and will be once they release a few months down the road.

PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R) Portable) Set to Release on March 24 Across North America
Thursday February 3, 8:08 am ET
Sony Computer Entertainment America to Retail Single SKU PSP Value Pack for $249.99


FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the North American launch details for its highly anticipated PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R) Portable) handheld entertainment system. Available through retail outlets on March 24, the company continues its consumer-centric legacy with the release of the PSP Value Pack for a suggested retail price of $249.99 U.S./$299.99 CND. In addition to the revolutionary PSP hardware, the PSP Value Pack contains an unprecedented added-value package of accessories and entertainment content, including 32 MB Memory Stick Duo(TM), headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case and cleaning cloth, movie/music/game video sampler UMD disc including multiple non-interactive game demos, and for the first one million PSP Value Packs shipped, a special UMD video release of the feature film Spider-Man(TM) 2 from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Sony Computer Entertainment will manufacture one million units for sale in the North American market by the close of its fiscal year ending March 31. This figure is part of the company's total three-million-unit worldwide PSP system shipment estimate within the same time period. PSP released in Japan on December 12, 2004 and is already a hit, with more than 800,000 units shipped, including a 200,000-unit allocation that sold out on day one.

PSP sets a new standard as the first truly integrated portable entertainment system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment experience including games, music, movies, communication, and wireless networking. Featuring graphics rendering capabilities comparable to the company's leading in-home console, PlayStation(R)2, PSP brings an unparalleled gaming experience to a portable platform, allowing users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality, full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also allows for digital photo display and supports digital music playback in both MP3 and ATRAC formats.

"PSP will evolve and elevate portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music and connect wirelessly on their terms, their time and their place," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "More than ever, today's consumer demands access to entertainment outside the home without compromising quality. With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to digital music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in one package."

PSP features an unmatched 4.3-inch, 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. PSP also comes complete with built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, enabling users to connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network.* Up to 16 PSPs in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly in ad-hoc mode, allowing for wireless head-to-head competition. In addition, wireless capabilities will allow software and data to be downloaded to a PSP and saved onto a Memory Stick Duo.

PSP also adopts a newly developed proprietary, compact, but high-capacity optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD(TM)), as its storage medium. UMD is the next-generation compact storage media, only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data -- more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM. A broad range of digital entertainment content such as high quality 3D games, music, movies, video clips and other programs can be distributed on UMD. To protect this content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed for UMD, which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, 128 bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware unit.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050203/sfth050_1.html

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Now I love my PSP but this is just not a smart business move. Why not have the standard pack AND value pack? If the value pack weren't so expensive this would be okay but considering there competitor is $100 cheaper...

But with they're lineup, IMO, it is still definately worth getting one.

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Now I love my PSP but this is just not a smart business move. Why not have the standard pack AND value pack? If the value pack weren't so expensive this would be okay but considering there competitor is $100 cheaper...

But with they're lineup, IMO, it is still definately worth getting one.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Wow, I wasn't expecting 249. Now you did get a deal from Japan there ps2xgamers! I may actually cancel my reserve and just hold off till later in the year. I already own Spiderman 2 on DVD, I'll never end up watching it on UMD. I don't care about the overpriced 32MB card either. I may still get it, I'll give it a few weeks until I decide fully, but 249.99 is not what I was hoping for.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Wow, I wasn't expecting 249. Now you did get a deal from Japan there ps2xgamers! I may actually cancel my reserve and just hold off till later in the year. I already own Spiderman 2 on DVD, I'll never end up watching it on UMD. I don't care about the overpriced 32MB card either. I may still get it, I'll give it a few weeks until I decide fully, but 249.99 is not what I was hoping for.

[CM1847]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Now I love my PSP but this is just not a smart business move. Why not have the standard pack AND value pack? If the value pack weren't so expensive this would be okay but considering there competitor is $100 cheaper...

But with they're lineup, IMO, it is still definately worth getting one.

All of the stuff added in that value pack probably costs Sony $10 to make, but they can throw it all in there and add $50 to the price. Also they know that for the first few months, this thing is going to sell like crazy, if somebody wants one, they aren't going to wait until the $50 drop. They get all the hardcore people their system at a $250 price tag and a few months later put out a $199 system to keep sales strong through the more casual gamer.

Sucks from a consumer POV, but from a business POV, they will make more money. At $50 extra per system, they have afford to lose one of every 5 customers to Nintendo and still break even(even being what they would have sold if the system were $200), so as long as %20 of the people planning on buying this don't change their minds based on this price, they will make money. That's a pretty good bet for Sony I think.

[CM1847]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Now I love my PSP but this is just not a smart business move. Why not have the standard pack AND value pack? If the value pack weren't so expensive this would be okay but considering there competitor is $100 cheaper...

But with they're lineup, IMO, it is still definately worth getting one.

All of the stuff added in that value pack probably costs Sony $10 to make, but they can throw it all in there and add $50 to the price. Also they know that for the first few months, this thing is going to sell like crazy, if somebody wants one, they aren't going to wait until the $50 drop. They get all the hardcore people their system at a $250 price tag and a few months later put out a $199 system to keep sales strong through the more casual gamer.

Sucks from a consumer POV, but from a business POV, they will make more money. At $50 extra per system, they have afford to lose one of every 5 customers to Nintendo and still break even(even being what they would have sold if the system were $200), so as long as %20 of the people planning on buying this don't change their minds based on this price, they will make money. That's a pretty good bet for Sony I think.

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

All of the stuff added in that value pack probably costs Sony $10 to make, but they can throw it all in there and add $50 to the price. Also they know that for the first few months, this thing is going to sell like crazy, if somebody wants one, they aren't going to wait until the $50 drop. They get all the hardcore people their system at a $250 price tag and a few months later put out a $199 system to keep sales strong through the more casual gamer.

Sucks from a consumer POV, but from a business POV, they will make more money. At $50 extra per system, they have afford to lose one of every 5 customers to Nintendo and still break even(even being what they would have sold if the system were $200), so as long as %20 of the people planning on buying this don't change their minds based on this price, they will make money. That's a pretty good bet for Sony I think.

Very true however I still think the extra $50 is going to hurt them in the long run.

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

All of the stuff added in that value pack probably costs Sony $10 to make, but they can throw it all in there and add $50 to the price. Also they know that for the first few months, this thing is going to sell like crazy, if somebody wants one, they aren't going to wait until the $50 drop. They get all the hardcore people their system at a $250 price tag and a few months later put out a $199 system to keep sales strong through the more casual gamer.

Sucks from a consumer POV, but from a business POV, they will make more money. At $50 extra per system, they have afford to lose one of every 5 customers to Nintendo and still break even(even being what they would have sold if the system were $200), so as long as %20 of the people planning on buying this don't change their minds based on this price, they will make money. That's a pretty good bet for Sony I think.

Very true however I still think the extra $50 is going to hurt them in the long run.

[Pared]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Well, add me to one of the consumers they lost.

I'm def. not picking one up on release date. $250 for a portable gaming system is MAD.

[Pared]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Well, add me to one of the consumers they lost.

I'm def. not picking one up on release date. $250 for a portable gaming system is MAD.

[CM1847]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Very true however I still think the extra $50 is going to hurt them in the long run.

Well in the long run the system will be available for $199, so it's a short term thing to maximize their profits while the system is selling best.

I'm not interested in the handheld systems at all, but I would definitly be upset about this price if I were planning on buying one. But then i would probably look and see that you actually do get a lot of stuff for that $50 extra and I probably wouldn't be able to resist when I started seeing more of the games. That's just me though. I agree it does suck a lot that they don't give you the option between a normal 199 system and the value pack, that would be the best thing for customers.

[CM1847]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Very true however I still think the extra $50 is going to hurt them in the long run.

Well in the long run the system will be available for $199, so it's a short term thing to maximize their profits while the system is selling best.

I'm not interested in the handheld systems at all, but I would definitly be upset about this price if I were planning on buying one. But then i would probably look and see that you actually do get a lot of stuff for that $50 extra and I probably wouldn't be able to resist when I started seeing more of the games. That's just me though. I agree it does suck a lot that they don't give you the option between a normal 199 system and the value pack, that would be the best thing for customers.

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Well, add me to one of the consumers they lost.

I'm def. not picking one up on release date. $250 for a portable gaming system is MAD.

I agree however like I've said in other threads, this is very much like a mini-ps2 and considering the memory stick seperately isn't expensive I would advise just getting the standard pack. But really when you think about it, it's not that bad of a price. (not the value pack, im talking about the standard pack)

[p2xgamers]

Re: US PSP Dated And Priced

Well, add me to one of the consumers they lost.

I'm def. not picking one up on release date. $250 for a portable gaming system is MAD.

I agree however like I've said in other threads, this is very much like a mini-ps2 and considering the memory stick seperately isn't expensive I would advise just getting the standard pack. But really when you think about it, it's not that bad of a price. (not the value pack, im talking about the standard pack)