US PSP launch: Date, March 24th, Price $249.99

son_of_bael

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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050203/sfth050_1.html
Yahoo Finance said:
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.

$249.99 Value Pack. Higher than expected?
 

galfordo

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That's not a bad price point, but I'm way too leery of Sony's notoriously bad quality control to buy a launch model PSP. Well, that and plus they're evil.

:kekeke:
 

Highlander67

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$50.00 higher then assumed. I don't know. At $199.99, it was a deal, at 249.99, I'm not sure I would consider purchasing it given the defects that have already been reported with the import model.
 

Solidus Snake

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I was hearing about a Value Pack only release here. But this is a slap in the face. Some people (like me) would just prefer the system only and get a better case (I have one already), bigger memory stick, and etc.
 

BIG

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C.A.R25 said:
I was expecting that same price, considering it's ~same in Japan right ?

Yes,roughly the same price as the import launch. The cost is about $200 for standard,$250 for Value Pack,sans Spiderman 2 UMD and Demodisc,though.

So yeah,we're getting a better deal here in the US.

BIG-
 

ajk1080

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Highlander67 said:
$50.00 higher then assumed. I don't know. At $199.99, it was a deal, at 249.99, I'm not sure I would consider purchasing it given the defects that have already been reported with the import model.

The nice thing about not importing it is you can always return it to the shop you bought it from if there are any defects. I imported mine and I have 1 little dead pixel, my square button works fine, the games dont launch from the system :rolleyes: , and the shoulder buttons feel fine. I think you will always get a few defects with a new system, much like the first model year of a car, but i think if you look at the overall numbers of psp's sold you will see the ratio of defects to units sold isnt that high.
 

Tehcno

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Damn it those lieing bastards.

Well maybe this will allow Nintendo to keep ahold of the markte a bit longer.
 

Mark of the Wolves

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OMG They killed my happiness! You bastards! Well I won't get one until I start the fall semester of school. I only make $240 every 2 weeks before taxes Sony!!! Money doesn't grow on trees. Even though I could get a credit card yeah thats it and starve for a month.
 

BIG

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Tehcno said:
Damn it those lieing bastards.

Well maybe this will allow Nintendo to keep ahold of the markte a bit longer.

Yeah,I'm glad that Sony decided on a higher price tag,since this will prolong the life of the DS,as they could 've easily just kill off the DS by launching the PSP at $150.

BIG-
 
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ajk1080

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Bigp0ppaLarge said:
Yeah,I'm glad that Sony decided on a higher price tag,since this will prolong the life of the DS,as they could 've easily just kill off the DS by launching the PSP at $150.

BIG-


After playing this thing I think you will see that Sony's abitions are much higher than dominating the handheld gaming market. I think they want to dominate handheld ENTERTAINMENT. I think they directly take on Nintendo portables, apples iPOD and iTUNES, and portable dvd players everywhere. If they wanted to destroy just nintendo I dont think thier handheld would have been this versitile and powerful. For providing beter than 1st gen ps2 graphics, being sony's vers of the iPOD, and a portable dvd player, i think $250 is a great deal.
 

BIG

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ajk1080 said:
After playing this thing I think you will see that Sony's abitions are much higher than dominating the handheld gaming market. I think they want to dominate handheld ENTERTAINMENT. I think they directly take on Nintendo portables, apples iPOD and iTUNES, and portable dvd players everywhere. If they wanted to destroy just nintendo I dont think thier handheld would have been this versitile and powerful. For providing beter than 1st gen ps2 graphics, being sony's vers of the iPOD, and a portable dvd player, i think $250 is a great deal.

I've been playing,thought you knew? ;)

And yes,$250 is a great price for this nifty little system. As for all you nay-sayers out there,seeing is believing.

BIG-
 

C.A.R25

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ajk1080 said:
After playing this thing I think you will see that Sony's abitions are much higher than dominating the handheld gaming market. I think they want to dominate handheld ENTERTAINMENT. I think they directly take on Nintendo portables, apples iPOD and iTUNES, and portable dvd players everywhere. If they wanted to destroy just nintendo I dont think thier handheld would have been this versitile and powerful. For providing beter than 1st gen ps2 graphics, being sony's vers of the iPOD, and a portable dvd player, i think $250 is a great deal.

I was looking forward to having a choice... but you are correct on the fact that it's a good deal. :)
 

Alex0916

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MR. PSP

MR. PSP here I have returned from my business trip deciding what the price point should be for the US. I also believe that $249.99 is a good price considering what can been done with this machine. :D
 

Dean

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ajk1080 said:
After playing this thing I think you will see that Sony's abitions are much higher than dominating the handheld gaming market. I think they want to dominate handheld ENTERTAINMENT. I think they directly take on Nintendo portables, apples iPOD and iTUNES, and portable dvd players everywhere. If they wanted to destroy just nintendo I dont think thier handheld would have been this versitile and powerful. For providing beter than 1st gen ps2 graphics, being sony's vers of the iPOD, and a portable dvd player, i think $250 is a great deal.
Perhaps, but too bad there are too many issues with trying to do everything.

- sacrifice battery life to accommodate all sorts of uses (meaning rather than be a great music player with long battery life, be a mediocre music player that plays videos too)

- have to buy UMD disc movies = not a portable DVD player. Anybody remember Sony MiniDiscs? A massive commercial failure. Don't expect people to buy movies on UMD AND DVD formats.

- potential challenge to flash-based music players due to Memory stick. But not going to touch the harddrive based market. Not even close.

- not a rugged machine = not a portable music player at all. Would you take this thing to the gym and strap it to your arm?


All said, sure, it's a beautiful LOOKING piece of hardware. And sure the games look great on the screen. But considering that it will never do everything well (hell, it doesn't even play games well with the analog stick and button issues), this is a bit of a mistake by Sony I think. Name me one gadget that does multiple chores that has widespread acceptance. Maybe the only ones are cell phones and playing games on those sucks.
 

BIG

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D-Lite said:
Perhaps, but too bad there are too many issues with trying to do everything.

- sacrifice battery life to accommodate all sorts of uses (meaning rather than be a great music player with long battery life, be a mediocre music player that plays videos too)

- have to buy UMD disc movies = not a portable DVD player. Anybody remember Sony MiniDiscs? A massive commercial failure. Don't expect people to buy movies on UMD AND DVD formats.

- potential challenge to flash-based music players due to Memory stick. But not going to touch the harddrive based market. Not even close.

- not a rugged machine = not a portable music player at all. Would you take this thing to the gym and strap it to your arm?


All said, sure, it's a beautiful LOOKING piece of hardware. And sure the games look great on the screen. But considering that it will never do everything well (hell, it doesn't even play games well with the analog stick and button issues), this is a bit of a mistake by Sony I think. Name me one gadget that does multiple chores that has widespread acceptance. Maybe the only ones are cell phones and playing games on those sucks.

Dean,have you ever even played this thing? Trust me,at one point,I was saying the exact stuff that you are saying now,but once I got first hand experience playing it,I changed my mind completely.

True,you've got some valid points about the UMD movie format and its MP3 capabillities,but seriously,does it even matter? I bought my PSP for the sake of playing games,so all the extra features are just icing on the cake for me,really.

One other thing,both the analog stick and the square button shouldn't even be considered an issue. That whole ordeal was blown way out of proportion,if you ask me.

BIG-
 

TonK

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Bigp0ppaLarge said:
Dean,have you ever even played this thing? Trust me,at one point,I was saying the exact stuff that you are saying now,but once I got first hand experience playing it,I changed my mind completely.

True,you've got some valid points about the UMD movie format and its MP3 capabillities,but seriously,does it even matter? I bought my PSP for the sake of playing games,so all the extra features are just icing on the cake for me,really.

One other thing,both the analog stick and the square button shouldn't even be considered an issue. That whole ordeal was blown way out of proportion,if you ask me.

BIG-

I have to agree with Dean, good buddy.

He is looking at it form a mass market perspective... not through a hardcore gamers eyes.

I agree with you on everything you said though about it being a superb gaming machine.

Too bad the launch titles suck ass.
 

Dean

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Bigp0ppaLarge said:
Dean,have you ever even played this thing? Trust me,at one point,I was saying the exact stuff that you are saying now,but once I got first hand experience playing it,I changed my mind completely.

True,you've got some valid points about the UMD movie format and its MP3 capabillities,but seriously,does it even matter? I bought my PSP for the sake of playing games,so all the extra features are just icing on the cake for me,really.

One other thing,both the analog stick and the square button shouldn't even be considered an issue. That whole ordeal was blown way out of proportion,if you ask me.

BIG-
Oh no, you're not fully getting my point. You are right, the games look great on it. But my point is that instead of putting all the other crap in, Sony should have worried more about making it the best gaming machine. Save some money by not worrying about developing the extras and focus on making everything else right.

This machine will not be a kid's portable. Nintendo is safe in that respect.
 

BIG

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D-Lite said:
Oh no, you're not fully getting my point. You are right, the games look great on it. But my point is that instead of putting all the other crap in, Sony should have worried more about making it the best gaming machine. Save some money by not worrying about developing the extras and focus on making everything else right.

This machine will not be a kid's portable. Nintendo is safe in that respect.

Agreed.

But then again,what is the best gaming machine? No need for an answer,it's apples and oranges,if ya ask me.

BIG-
 

BIG

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TonK said:
I have to agree with Dean, good buddy.

He is looking at it form a mass market perspective... not through a hardcore gamers eyes.

I agree with you on everything you said though about it being a superb gaming machine.

Too bad the launch titles suck ass.

ehhh...:eek_2:

BIG-
 

ajk1080

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Im having alot of fun with Ridge Racers....no fog, no draw in no pop in. The thing looks beautiful, i realy cant get enough out of ridge racers. Lumines is a cool title too.

I do not think the umd thing will take off(although i bet FF:AC will be almost 1:1 ratio to psp owners), but you can put movies on the stick. Full metal alchemist, samurai 7, my anime looks awsome on this thing. They have a slick little case coming out for it too, it recharges the system 3 time on its batteries. Its this hard shell case thing, ill be pickin that up.

You are right about the working out thing, its too bulky to do that, but if you are on a buisness trip or long car ride with the fam, I would rather have the psp 10x more than just a dvd player, just and ipod, just a gba/sp.
 

BIG

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ajk1080 said:
Im having alot of fun with Ridge Racers....no fog, no draw in no pop in. The thing looks beautiful, i realy cant get enough out of ridge racers. Lumines is a cool title too.

I do not think the umd thing will take off(although i bet FF:AC will be almost 1:1 ratio to psp owners), but you can put movies on the stick. Full metal alchemist, samurai 7, my anime looks awsome on this thing. They have a slick little case coming out for it too, it recharges the system 3 time on its batteries. Its this hard shell case thing, ill be pickin that up.

Linky to said case? :drool:

You are right about the working out thing, its too bulky to do that, but if you are on a buisness trip or long car ride with the fam, I would rather have the psp 10x more than just a dvd player, just and ipod, just a gba/sp.

Amen.

BIG-
 
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