Last week during the E3 Expo, Sony officially launched the PSP Go handheld, which removes the UMD drive, adds a slider design and and is slimmer than previous models.
Today, expert gaming analyst Michael Pachter has called the system a “ripoff,” claiming that Sony is severely overcharging for the handheld in North America. The console retails for $250 USD.
Pachter adds that the current “slim” PSP-3000 is more expensive to build but sells for significantly less.
“I’m sorry to say it, I don’t want to get bad fan mail from the Sony fanboys, but Sony is ripping off the consumer until they sell a couple of million,” says Pachter.
“Disc assembly for UMD costs more than 16GB of Flash does,” he notes. “So this new device doesn’t cost them as much to make as the PSP-3000 and they’ve jacked the price up USD 80. And if consumers don’t buy it then the price is going to come down. They’re making a lot more money on the PSP Go than the PSP-3000.”
Pachter also added that he expects digital delivery methods to become much more mainstream now that console makers are behind the move.
“PSP Go is a game changer for digital delivery and yet they’re still going to support the PSP-3000, they’ve got to keep the retailers happy.
“This year’s show is ‘packaged goods are going away’. Half of all gaming purchases ten years from now are going to be digital. You can see it coming for the first time ever, the console manufacturers are behind it,” he concluded.
Result for: packaged goods
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has begun testing simultaneous day-and-date releases of their latest titles on DVD and VOD.
The testing began on October 7th, with the M. Night Shyamalan thriller “The Happening.”
Steve Feldstein, senior VP of marketing communications, added, “We’re looking at a lot of different models and looking at various incremental points of distribution that are available. We’re doing a little experimenting with dating and windows.”
Warner began similar testing last year and continues to do so with movies such as Speed Racer and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Warner senior VP of strategic promotions and communications Jim Noonan added that the studio is expecting to release 4 in 5 films simultaneously on VOD and DVD next year.
“We’re kind of learning as we go here,” Noonan said. “We’re watching very carefully. It has been very good for us in the VOD business. We’re not interested in growing VOD to the detriment of the packaged goods business.”
