Sony Drops PSPgo Pricing To $199 In U.S.
It's a fact: the world isn't ready to give up on physical media entirely just yet. Well, it's not really a "fact," but it's fairly clear that at least this is true in the video game world. CD sales have been in decline for years, just as iTunes sales have been on the rise. With music, people seem to be okay with downloading digital copies. But with movies and games, it's still comforting to hold onto a physical copy.
Sony's PSPgo was an experiment of sorts to see if people were truly ready to do away with physical game discs and go digital-only. The PSPgo lacked a UMD disc slot (that still exists on the traditional PSP), meaning that the only way you could purchase and play games on it was via download. The younger generation has no trouble understanding this concept, but the price seemed a bit steep from the beginning. With a limited amount of storage space for games and media, buyers knew from the start that they were hamstrung. And clearly, sales haven't been tremendous.
Sony has just announced that they'll be slashing the price of the PSPgo in Japan and America as the holiday season approaches. It's an important time of year, and Sony knows that they have a lot to compete with. Nintendo's DS line is selling well, and a 3D version is just around the corner. The PSPgo isn't new nor novel, making a price cut the only significant way to attract attention to it.
The PSPgo has sold for $249 in the U.S. since launch, but it will be cut to $199 starting today. In Japan, the retail asking price will drop from 26,800 yen to 16,800 yen. Only time will tell if the cut will be enough; we were hoping for a more noteworthy fall, but maybe enticing bundle deals will crop up as Black Friday draws closer.
Sony's PSPgo was an experiment of sorts to see if people were truly ready to do away with physical game discs and go digital-only. The PSPgo lacked a UMD disc slot (that still exists on the traditional PSP), meaning that the only way you could purchase and play games on it was via download. The younger generation has no trouble understanding this concept, but the price seemed a bit steep from the beginning. With a limited amount of storage space for games and media, buyers knew from the start that they were hamstrung. And clearly, sales haven't been tremendous.
Sony has just announced that they'll be slashing the price of the PSPgo in Japan and America as the holiday season approaches. It's an important time of year, and Sony knows that they have a lot to compete with. Nintendo's DS line is selling well, and a 3D version is just around the corner. The PSPgo isn't new nor novel, making a price cut the only significant way to attract attention to it.
The PSPgo has sold for $249 in the U.S. since launch, but it will be cut to $199 starting today. In Japan, the retail asking price will drop from 26,800 yen to 16,800 yen. Only time will tell if the cut will be enough; we were hoping for a more noteworthy fall, but maybe enticing bundle deals will crop up as Black Friday draws closer.
