News
Australian EBs May Not Carry PSPgo
Proves How Stupid Australians Really Are.
by 00.19
According to GamesIndustry.biz, Australian EBs may not be selling the PSPgo. Apparently, unlike every other EB/Gamestop in the world, they feel like they're special. Oh, they're special all right. Special Ed.
I'm a bit sick of hearing all these retailers bitching and moaning about the PSPgo. All these stupid stores running their mouths about how the PSPgo is going to affect their sales is just nonsense. Everyone knows that PSP games are probably the lowest on the sales totem pole at a retailer, and that even though retailers hardly make any money on consoles or systems, more sales is more sales. I have absolutely no facts to back any of this up other than my experience in video game retail, but for a company like Gamestop, losing out on UMD sales is like Scrooge McDuck losing a penny down the drain.
Even though I'm sure the lack of UMD sales is going to cripple all these retailers, like Glenn Beck said to the families who lost loved ones during 9/11, "Get over it."
Comments
Don't dismiss PSP sales so quickly. A November 08 report by Ars Technica stated that the average PSP game sold 133,000 units per release, with the average PSP owner buying 4.2 games (compared with 4.8 for DS owners). And with close to 400 UMD games, that comes to somewhere around 5 million units sold. Maybe the "lowest on the sales totem pole", but certainly no small amount of money.
pocket change.
I agree with the Australian EBs and this was a problem that I foreseen to happen. Sony is trying to convince retailers to sell their product for one it's selling price is at $ 250.00 and that their costumers will not return to their stores because they can buy their games online, but the only problem with that is retailers make their money off of the gaming accessories and not the consoles. It doesn't matter if it's a Gamestop or a Best Buy and with the economy as bad as it is, a penny earned is a penny gain. To top it all, the other PSP models are not selling like hotcakes and a costumer can get a PS3 slim for $ 50 more that is capable of more functionality and playability and they can come back to the store and purchase more games. So, I'm sorry why shouldn't retailers bitch?
@Selly: Maybe. However, Gamestop/EB has been screwing Sony for years with used game sales, and I'm sure they'd still bend over backwards to allow for some sort of retail system (codes, whatever) for PSP downloadable games.
@selly: you answer your own question with your second to last sentence.
"a costumer can get a PS3 slim for $ 50 more that is capable of more functionality and playability and they can come back to the store and purchase more games."
there are plenty of other things for retailers to make their money on, and what you neglected to mention, but coop points out, is that used everything is where places like EB and Gamestop make their money. Sure, Best Buy doesn't do used, but they have so many other products available that the loss of such a marginal product doesn't necessitate all the bitterness.
Let the customer decide what they want to buy, don't decide for them.
Well Coop, Sony has been screwing the gamers for years as well and telling us what we want instead of listening to the people buying their products and wonder why they have been struggling in this next gen race. Again 00.19, if the PSP models are not selling well, a PSP Go for $ 250.00 without the UMD drive is not going to encourage retailers to take it up the product. Just like Sony who refused to drop the PS3 price for almost 2yrs because they don't want to lose any money invested in the system and like the retailers everyone wants to make the most money possible. Granted that retailers can still make up the money I agree with you ( ie: the Gamestop I go to had over 500 pre-order reservation on Halo ODST and 800 on Modern Warfare 2) but just like Sony refused to drop their price, so can the retailers in selling their product.
But... they can't lose money on the PSPgo. If it sells at all, regardless of the price, they make cash. What does it matter how much it is, from a retailer perspective? I mean, lower is better, but I doubt that's the issue.
the price point of the PSPgo has nothing to do with why retailers aren't carrying it. they're not carrying it because they don't want to promote digital distribution as a more effective way for games to be sold.
The issue is not the system it's the games and accessories that go with it, this is where the retailers make their money. Now if someone decides to get a PSP go, there is no reason to return to a store to purchase games because everything is on the PSN, thereby retailers will be losing money. Also on that note, now if you can't find a game that you like on the PSN but it's available on a UMD how is Sony going to remedy that problem?