vd0man

http://www.portagame.com/index.php/2...ails_psp_japan

Dan Average

Japanese prices are typically a lot higher. The PS2 was 39,800 yen when it first came out (around $360 at the time) but ended up retailing for $300 in the U.S. I'm guessing $250 for the PSP.

Fok

I'm going to hold off on this, the price sounds a bit too high right now.

jediwicz

For something that might break after 6 months...I'll wait a year for a pricedrop and see how they hold up over time. Plus next-gen consoles are looming...

Breakfast with Girls

Holy crap, that's expensive. Most analysts were pricing it closer to $199. Even if it debuts in America at $249, that's still way too much.

Frankly, I wouldn't even consider one unless it was around $149.

darkside

That is a pricey item, but considering what it can do $250-$300 is just about what I expected. Its basically a pocket PS2 so you had to expect it to be pretty expensive.

young

whoa... too much for my blood as well. i was hoping for $99... was that too unreasonable?

even if it's a pocket ps2, i gotta think that the market isn't going to bear a $250 portable game console.

but, who knows?

darkside

The market has never had room for one before and Sony has had some recent failures trying to market high end Palm OS PDAs. They may be headed for failure with this device as well, but they have a strong following and their audience for games is quite a bit older, so they can pull this off if anyone can.

With the price differences though it really seems like the PSP and DS/GBA are going after different markets to me.

efftimmy

$150 for a DS is looking a little more attractive.

young

well, imo, the DS suffers from an altogether different problem... but, that's another subject.

ebgames has a PSP game page now... $50/game and shipping 1/21/2005
http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/groups/psp/

man, i was hoping for a FFTactics game in there...

Tarantino

Needless to say, I'll be waiting on this one...

tanman

Wow, that is really high. I don't really know if they'll be able to get the kind of market hold that they are hoping for. I'm thinking that most people would be willing to pay for a home system at that level but few a handheld system. I know that for what you get it is a resonable price (just look at the screen!) but I don't know if it will sell that much.

Plus, don't laugh, but it won't play Pokemon games. I know they are marketing to a differnt consumer but that consumer already has palm pilots and other gadgets to get into. I don't know if they will be able to draw that kind of an audience. I could very easily be wrong though.

Draven

I've predicted a $300 price tag all along.

A price like that combined with a proprietary movie format means a big pass from Draven on this one.

Lastblade

Seems high, but not unreasonably so. I doubt it will do well other than the "must have everything" crowd.

darkside

Man, Sony had better pull this off. They have failed with PDAs, minidisc players, and their latest harddrive MP3 player to compete with the ipod is already being called DOA with its high price tag and lack of built in MP3 support. They used to be a leader in small electronics, but they have fallen so far behind the competition I wonder if they will catch up. They constantly try to push proprietary technology in their devices like Atrac3 and memory stick instead of going with the standards for the industry. However, that does seem to work better in the video game arena where everyone uses proprietary technology and consumers are used to it.

Homer Simpson

It doesn't matter what it costs as far as I'm concerned, if there is a compelling game then I'll pick one up. Nothing compelling on the horizen from what I've heard though. It would have to be pretty good to match that price though.

Kumar J

Anyone coming to Tokyo Game Show?
http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/index.htm

PixyJunket

I wish.

You can pick me up some Tales and Dragon Quest goodies though.

Kumar J

Yes man, I could do that....you have to pay me premium price also for them. I hate paying the enterance fee , I think around $15

Trigger

Nah - my friend is though. :/

The Franchise

That price is BS.... for now. Sony said they wont release the price or the launch date until TGS starts on the 24th. No other major game news site is showing that price so I call bullshit.

kvrdave

This could be bigger than betamax

I wish they would just make something that used standard formats. I hate to second guess a company with a lot of success, but it sure seems that they don't listen to consumers.

young

i actually like that sony pioneers (hehe) new formats... b/c it breeds competition and lets the consumers choose.

sometimes they fail, and other times, they make it. i guess blu-ray is their latest format war.

it is good that they are innovating, even if that means they walk to the beat of their own drummer.

Josh H

Will be $250-300 here then. Way too much for a portable IMO, especially for someone like me that rarely games outside of the house.

gp98

It's expensive and I'm not going to buy it but I believe it could be successful at that price. I was surprised at how many people were willing to pay $300 for the PS2, not just at launch but for a while afterwards.

But that still hinges on if it meets expectations....if it does, I think it will be successful at that price.