Sony exec admits "certain premium" associated with PSPgo
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 25th 2009 6:02PM
posted June 25th 2009 6:02PM
Alright, so this one isn't exactly a shocker, but it is a little bit of honesty that's not often found when it comes to talking about the prices of new gadgets. Speaking with MCV, SCEE President Andrew House denied that R&D costs and retailer mark-ups were the reason behind the PSPgo's high price tag, saying instead that, "when you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account." So, in other words, Sony is charging $249 for the PSPgo because it can. Surprised? Now, about that price cut...
[Via Joystiq]
[Via Joystiq]
This is a huge "Duh!". How naive can you be to believe that cost has anything to do with price? Everyone charges what the market will bear. If a company can make something for $1 and sell it for $10, they will. Incandescent light bulbs cost $0.03 to make. AA batteries cost about $0.10 (if that). The value of a product is in what it does, or what alternatives cost, not what it costs to make.
Funny seeing so many people defending Sony's charging premium price. There are a lot of people coughing up $500 to import the X series walkman. Sony fanboys are worse than Apple's.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/26/zune-hd-rumor-mill-249-720p-movies-64gb-model-down-the-road/
Your comment exactly how you typed it:
I hope it's $249 for the 16GB. That would compete well with the established iPod Touch, unless Apple matched the price later in September.
It's cool to pay $250 for a zune, but a handheld that has buttons and plays games is too much? Even if it has the same flash storage space? What kind of logic is this?!
@BlazeKing: WTF are you talking about? Comapre the PSPgo and the regular PSP. Obviously the $250 is a price premium. Compare the 16GB ZuneHD and the 16GB X series walkman, and Sony still carry the price premium. You're the perfect example of Sony fanboys being worse than Apple fanboys, taking your time to search postings from different articles just to flame others and defend your lovely Sony.
You say compare the regular PSP to the PSPGo, right? PSP @ launch = $250 PSPGo @ launch = $250 with more features than the original minus the battery draining UMD.
The 16GB Zune is exactly the same price as the Go. The Go is a gaming system as well as a video, music player with a browser.
My comment from page 2:
"Personally, I think people are putting incredibly high standards on ony products and are disappointing themselves. Or just hopping on the "I hate sony" hate wagon which they think is "cool" just because someone else did it. Anybody who doesn't feel the same way is a fanboy considered to them."
I don't agree with you pika, and you call me a fanboy. Even though I occasionally game on the 360 and have a Live account...
Get a life. What I did was not fanboyish, what you did was. I have never pledged allegiance to any console and there's not one comment on here that says that from me. They're not paying me to promote anything.
Now on another topic, the Zune price article now has more posts than this article. Onwards to read them.
@BlazeKing: The way Engadget comment system work is that it only notifies the original poster for new comments, which is me. So, it seems like you actually spend time looking for updates on the thread and/or keep checking back to this specific thread, and wrote lengthy comments. Sounds like you're the one who need to get a life. LOL. By the way, you conveniently ignored the actual competitor of the ZuneHD, which is Sony's X series Walkman, not the PSPgo, and Sony's price premium remains a constant.
Like I said, Sony fanboys are worse than Apple fanboys.
Are we sure Sony can charge $250 for the PSP Go? No one knows how well it's going to sell at that price.
If I were an engineer at Sony, I'd leave, ASAP. They've got talented people but REALLY dumb management stuck in the 80's way of doing things.
Panasonic, Toshiba, or Samsung should just buy them out and put them outta their misery.
Sony is still living in their PS2 dream world where everyone wants what they have. Grated, the PS2 was, and still is, one of the best consoles to come around, but Sony needs to realize that their reign has been overtaken by MS this generation (for home consoles anyway). They also need to realize that in the mobile space they need to have a competing price and $250 for a smaller, lighter version of their existing hardware is a rip off.
I know people are comparing this to the DSI, but that comparison can't be made because the DSI has upgraded hardware AND you're getting more functionality from it. With the PSPGo, you're losing a UMD drive and in place are getting 16GB of internal storage; oh, and you get a faster memory card access ... not worth an extra $80 if you ask me.
Only Sony would think consumers are stupid enough to pay for old tech in a new shell (oh wait, they've been doing that for ages with the PS2 . . . . . ).
Oh, this comment will please EA !!
Anyone want a cheap life expanding glass sleeping chamber, one previous owner.
My wallet stays shut because it can. Keep your Mylo 3 with the centered Carpal Tunnel analog stick.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/25/pspgo-video-hands-on-quickie/
From someone who actually had one in their hands:
"We have to admit, the handheld looks better in person than it does in press shots, but only just barely. It's perfectly playable and comfortable to hold, but it almost seems a regression in design sense for Sony."
Once again: "It's perfectly playable and comfortable to hold"
So why is it that people who haven't even touched it yet are judging it already?
Of course not everyone has the same hand size, but to say something is uncomfortable just by looking at it?
The PSP 1000 & 2000 both cramped my hands as well as the DS(i). All of this Sony hate for no reason.
I see your point though I've heard "Don't Knock It Till You Try It" in its many different forms before.
I form an opinion because I have held many other similar devices in my hands and that one, has the analog stick even FARTHER than the original already does. So by comparison, from experience I KNOW what my hands can handle and I KNOW that the analog stick placed where it is will be uncomfortable for me.
I don't hate Sony at all. Although Microsoft is known for their software I really firmly believe Sony has done something GREAT with their PS3 and PSP OS's. ....but I can't say the same for the physical design.
The DS is also harsh on the hands and I wish Microsoft too, would move that analog stick a little higher. I would prefer it to be swapped with the digital cross honestly.
It's not brand hate. It's design distaste and the "wallet stays shut because it can" statement was a response to Engadget's "Sony is charging $249 for the PSPgo because it can." Not intentionally smartarse.