Is the PSPgo Sony's biggest blunder yet?
Chris Jager (Good Gear Guide) 15/10/2009 11:43:00
Howdy, Sony reps and PlayStation fans. Glad we got your attention. As you’ve probably gleaned from our tongue-in-cheek article headline, we have a few issues with the PSPgo. Big issues, of the deal-breaking, hair-pulling variety.
We’re talking, of course, about price — the price of the console, the price of games and the price of Internet broadband. When everything is tallied together, the PSPgo is arguably the most expensive console on the market — even compared to the
Sony PlayStation 3 Slim and
Xbox 360 Elite. If you already own a regular PSP, you also have to factor in the cost of replacing your game discs. So what exactly are you getting for all your hard-earned cash? In short: a smaller PSP with no disc tray. (Don’t all rush to the shops at once, guys.)
Below are our main gripes with Sony’s digital doppelganger, broken down into easily digestible chunks. We defy any Sony fanboy to challenge the points we raise. Like the shameless flame-baiting headline above, you’ll be defending the indefensible!
Gripe 1: Console RRP: worth its weight in gold?
With an official RRP of $449.95, the PSPgo is just $50 cheaper than the Blu-ray equipped
Sony PlayStation 3 Slim. It’s also $170 more expensive than the
PSP 3000, which shares most of the same core components and firmware. Whichever way you shake it, that’s pretty atrocious bang-for-your-buck.
We can’t imagine anyone plumping for the PSPgo over its PSP 3000 predecessor; especially casual users who are sure to baulk at the download-only interface. Simply put, the PSPgo is way too expensive. At its current price point, it is destined to become an eccentric oddity rather than the revolutionary game-changer Sony is hoping for. Our advice: shave $100 off the price before it’s too late!
Gripe 2: 'Pricing Parity': the same, yet different
When Sony’s all-digital PSP was originally announced, we truly believed it would usher in a new era of cheap, affordable gaming. After all, with no distribution costs, no box or manual, and no retailers-cum-middlemen eating away at profits, Sony was going to save a motza. We must have been stupid or something.
Instead of passing on the savings to consumers, Sony has decided to maintain ‘pricing parity’. In other words,
every PSPgo game will cost the same as its UMD equivalent on the PSP. Call us crazy, but we think digitally distributed games should be cheaper than boxed retail versions — just look at the cut-price deals
Steam regularly offers PC gamers. By contrast, Gran Turismo will set you back $59.95 whether you download it from the PlayStation Network or purchase a physical copy from a store (although in this case, it’s a bit of a rip-off either way).
Personally, we feel about 20 per cent should have been shaved off the retail price of PSPgo games. If nothing else, this would give customers an incentive to go for the newer model over its cheaper sibling. But what do we know? Sony obviously has a handle on its pricing strategies — it’s not like it's ever made a hardware blunder before
Gripe 3: PlayStation Store: slim pickings
We’re also bummed about the absence of certain PSP games from the PlayStation Store. Of the 628 games released for the PSP, only 167 are currently available for download. Notable absentees include Lumines, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Final Fantasy Tactics, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and the Grand Theft Auto series — all of which appeared on our
Must Have Handheld Games list.
Presumably, some of these titles will appear at a later date, but that doesn’t help the early adopter, does it? It has also been confirmed that
certain games have been delayed due to tedious legal wrangles (the digital rights weren’t secured at the time of release). Consequently, there’s no guarantee that your favourite PSP game will appear on the PlayStation Network at all.
Meanwhile, you can snap up all of the afore-mentioned games for the PSP on eBay — usually for a fraction of the original price.
Gripe 4: Broadband: it’s obligatory, baby!
To get any functionality out of the PSPgo you must have a broadband connection; and the higher your bandwidth, the better. While it’s true that all current-gen consoles come with online functionality, it’s usually offered as an optional extra (e.g. the PS3 works fine whether you’re connected to the PlayStation Network or not.) Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said about the PSPgo. If you haven’t signed up with an Internet service provider, the PSPgo is nothing more than an undersized paperweight. No broadband = no games.
Granted, most PSPgo owners will already have access to the Internet, but the principle still stands. To use the device in any capacity, you have to leech resources from a service you pay good money for — not cool.
Gripe 5: Game Over: the death of pre-used games
While video game piracy is considered to be an evil scourge on the industry, the second-hand games market is A-okay with retailers. This curious case of hypocrisy has been around since the PlayStation debuted in 1995, and has been a godsend to cash-strapped gamers ever since. We’ve all hawked old, unwanted games on occasion, or bought a second-hand copy to save a few bucks. Hell, many of us wouldn’t own our current consoles if it wasn’t for those crazy EB Games trade-in deals. With the PSPgo, Sony is hoping to change all that.
The PSPgo’s ‘download only’ status has effectively killed the second-hand market in one fell swoop — at least as far as the PSP is concerned. While this is good news for video game publishers and developers,
retailers and consumers are getting the royal shaft. If other hardware vendors follow suit, we may see an end to this multi-million dollar industry. Boo-hiss.
Conclusion:
So there you have it. Not a pretty picture, we’re sure you’ll agree. While we do applaud Sony for boldly embracing digital distribution, we don’t think it’s fair to fleece loyal customers just so they can be part of the ‘future’. Until the PSPgo comes down in price, we’ll be giving it a wide berth —
just like everybody else. (Oh, and that headline was just a joke, so lighten up.)
