PSP Price and Release Date

[Crash]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050203/sfth050_1.html

Quote:
PSP™ (PlayStation® 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™ (PlayStation® 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™, 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™ 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.

PSP sets a new standard as the first truly integrated portable entertainment system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment experience including games, music, movies, communication, and wireless networking. Featuring graphics rendering capabilities comparable to the company's leading in-home console, PlayStation®2, PSP brings an unparalleled gaming experience to a portable platform, allowing users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality, full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also allows for digital photo display and supports digital music playback in both MP3 and ATRAC formats.

"PSP will evolve and elevate portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music and connect wirelessly on their terms, their time and their place," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "More than ever, today's consumer demands access to entertainment outside the home without compromising quality. With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to digital music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in one package."

PSP features an unmatched 4.3-inch, 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. PSP also comes complete with built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, enabling users to connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network.* Up to 16 PSPs in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly in ad-hoc mode, allowing for wireless head-to-head competition. In addition, wireless capabilities will allow software and data to be downloaded to a PSP and saved onto a Memory Stick Duo.

PSP also adopts a newly developed proprietary, compact, but high-capacity optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD™), as its storage medium. UMD is the next-generation compact storage media, only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data -- more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM. A broad range of digital entertainment content such as high quality 3D games, music, movies, video clips and other programs can be distributed on UMD. To protect this content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed for UMD, which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, 128 bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware unit.

PSP (PlayStationPortable) Basic Specifications and Features


I like how it said psp sold out in japan on day one... i distinctly remember them saying it took 3 days to sell out... oh well, i'm still going to buy one... but i doubt if i get it on launch day

who in their right mind would pay $250.00 for a portable game system???

[Blackmane]

Wow, $250. I know you get a good deal of stuff with it, but...

...that number is a turn-off for me.

[Stray_Bullet]

I'll be waiting for a couple price drops.

...Scary though, PS2 didn't drop for a long time.

Well, if I had the money, I would buy it. Maybe I'll trade in my XBox for it. Whee.

[Stonecutter]

Originally Posted by Stray_Bullet

. Maybe I'll trade in my XBox for it. Whee.

REPENT!

[Jonbo298]

Originally Posted by Stray_Bullet

I'll be waiting for a couple price drops.

...Scary though, PS2 didn't drop for a long time.

Well, if I had the money, I would buy it. Maybe I'll trade in my XBox for it. Whee.

That's because there was no competition yet so there wasn't a reason to drop the price, plus the fact people were willing to keep paying the high amount for it until Nintendo and MS brought out their offerings.

But thats good news for anyone wanting a PSP. Price is a little high but considering you get alot in a package, its not a horrible deal. But for me, its all about playing games so if I decide to get one, I'll wait a price drop or 2 since I dont want to pay $250 for stuff I'll rarely use

[Crash]

not bad if you compare it to mp4 players (portable video/mp3 players)

but $250? I could get an xbox and a gamecube for that!

[Null]

maybe i didnt catch it from just skimming through.. but it says the VALUE pack is 250. thats not news at all. it was reported here months ago that the normal package will be about 200, and the special or value pack whatever they want to call it at 250.

for me personally tho i wouldnt pay anything over 100 for ANY portable game system, they're no where near worth it.

[DeathsHand]

Originally Posted by Null

maybe i didnt catch it from just skimming through.. but it says the VALUE pack is 250. thats not news at all. it was reported here months ago that the normal package will be about 200, and the special or value pack whatever they want to call it at 250.

Exactly... I knew right away when I saw that Crash had made a topic about the PSP release details, the price would be quite steep...

As Null pointed out, this is the value pack... The bad thing is, in the US apparently you'll ONLY be able to get it in the value pack (no stand-alones)...

So yes 250 for a portable game system seems steep, but the reason for that is you're getting a bunch of (mostly) useful extras too...

However I think that not releasing it as a standalone for around 175-200 is a big mistake, and expect Sony to offer them a short while after launch...

[Blackmane]

I know that Sony fanboys are going to jump on this thing, but as others are stating here, a normal customer is not going to see a $250 price tag on a handheld and want to buy it.

I also think a price drop will come pretty soon.

[Crash]

naw, other message boards are having sonybots getting pissed at sony saying they will never buy a handheld now... they never would have played it anyways.

sure... i love to buy stuff at the store and have them automatically tack on stuff I dont need or want, like warrenties, screen wipes, and useless crap so sony can try to make back some of it's profits

they are just pissed because due to the japanese launch of the PSP they're profits fell 28% from last year... (and the ps2 shortages)

so now we're all going to pay (heh suuuuuure we are) the difference

[DarkMaster]

They would be fools not to release a pack with just a PSP for significantly less money. Seriously, it's not even logical to refrain from giving the option. I'll buy a PSP most likely, but not a value pack. Hopefully they smarten up before launch.

Originally Posted by Crash

I like how it said psp sold out in japan on day one... i distinctly remember them saying it took 3 days to sell out...

They were sold out before they hit store shelves, mainly due to the fact that they shipped less units than the amount preordered.

[Xantar]

I think Sony is trying to grab the iPod generation who is willing to pay a premium for a slim, cool looking device. Which is to say people who aren't exactly in this board's demographic.

The problem is when it comes to playing music, Sony really doesn't want people comparing the iPod to the PSP.

It's a risky move, and I'm not exactly sure it was a wise one. Simply raising the price of a product doesn't necessarily generate demand. But that's what they're going to do, for better or for worse. One thing is certain: Nintendo is sleeping much better at night.

[Ace195]

Hrm If I could make VCD minicd's and use them with the PSP I might consider it

[Jonbo298]

PSP uses a special case you have to put inside so I dont think you can use mini cds. Best option is memory sticks

[Blackmane]

PSp is doomed, thats all their is to it.