There’s just a week to go until the PSPgo finally goes on sale. But a Sony exec has said that downloads from the PSN store won’t be cheaper than buying UMDs. So the question remains, is it worth forking out for a PSPgo? Read on to see just what Sony has to say for itself.
In an interview with Destructoid, Sony America’s Eric Lempel was keen to make it clear that downloads from the PSN store for the PSPgo would not be cheaper than nabbing a UMD down at your local games emporium.
“Basically, we have pricing parity right now,” said Lempel. “It is part of our strategy. We’d like to keep it that way, keep a level playing field.”
PSPgo: is it worth the upgrade?
However, with most shops slashing game prices to compete for your hard–earned cash, titles on the PSN store could in fact cost more. This is already the case with WipEout Pulse and Capcom Classics Collection Remixed.
With downloads lacking the physical presence of a UMD, it’s hard to see how long Sony will continue to justify such a move. If the PSPgo doesn’t sell, expect to see PSN prices tumble.
Predictable to see the Sony Hate-fest FUD storm begin just before a Sony product launch…
Hi Mark
Thanks for your comment. We certainly don’t hate Sony here at EP. Take a look at our 5 star review of the PS3 Slim and features about the PSPgo. We’re just reporting that prices may be higher for PSPgo users than PSP 3000 ones. Surely downloads should be cheaper?
Cheers
Joe
I’ve got nothing but love for Sony since it actually remembers to put Wi-Fi inside its consoles, unlike a certain competitor. With the PSPgo, I get the importance of keeping prices up to keep quality high – see the race to the bottom on the iPhone app store, and the inevitable fart apps – but since downloads drastically reduce shipping and packaging overheads, surely Sony should at least try to tempt with a slightly lower pricetag on games?
This is the big problem with downloading games. It frustrates me that even now there’s a bunch of games on Steam and Direct2Drive that are quite old yet still at full price long after stores like Game and GameStation have reduced their physical counterparts on the shelves.
What’s more, how comes I have to pay full price in the first place. Server storage and bandwidth are tiny costs compared to printing, pressing boxing and delivering and if you’re buying direct from the publisher you shouldn’t even have the store commission on top.
If I remember rightly, games companies only get 15-25% of the price of a game sold off the shelf due to the cost of making and shipping a physical copy. So buying on-line they’re effectively getting up to 4x more money out of us and that’s still assuming they’re paying Steam or D2D the same commission as Game and GameStation!
I comment on all game IND. WHAT HPPEND 2 PLEASING THE CUSTOMER??? Now their just GREEDY…SALE CONSALS WITH OUT THE EQUIPMENT INCLUDED, SEPERATING EVERY THING 2 GET MORE MONEY FROM THE COSTOMER. When Nintendo,Sega,and other Co. sold stuff back when i was kid it came with every thing including a game. Besides my kids might want stuff but they wont be getting it becus COST 2 much money. SO JUST REMEMBER THIS… I LOVE GAMES BECUSE I WAS INTRODUCED 2 THEM WHEN I WAS A KID IF U DONT FIND A WAY 2 NEXT GENERATION ?????? SO YOU MITE BE BIG MONEY NOW 4 MY GEN. WHAT ABOUT NEXT 30 or 40 YEARS LATTER???GOOD LUCK……….