PSPgo handheld will 'fail miserably,' says UK game chain

PSPgo handheld will 'fail miserably,' says UK game chain
Don McCabe, managing director of the UK game chain Chips had some harsh words for the newly released PSPgo handheld, saying he expects the console to "fail miserably" in the market.

McCabe says: "My own personal opinion is that it's a no-go. I've been to a number of presentations to see if there's anything there and I don't feel it'll go anywhere to be honest. I'm 99.9 percent sure it's going to fail miserably, in which case it's going to put back other potential people coming into that digital space."



The director believes the same as most other retailers and analysts that claim that Sony's latest handheld will fail because of lack of retailer backing. The retailers make pennies on the sale of the actual hardware and lose out completely on used game sales and software sales, where they make much higher margins.

McCabe does see great growth for digital downloads however, but is unsure who will profit from the eventual boom.

"It's going to come, no matter what, but a very small amount of people are actually going to go on to make any money out of it. One or two will make serious money and they'll be held up as 'you too can do this'. Whenever you see anyone producing fantastic figures, just ask them how much they actually made from it."


Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 7 Oct 2009 19:28
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  • 14 comments
  • pphoenix

    Lets all hope that Don McCabe is correct as if the PSP Go actually takes off you can kiss goodbye to ownership of all your games & say hello to Sony's wet dream of anti-consumer licensing forcing everyone to purchase new titles only!

    Bend over for sony & their anto consumer PSP Go as you are now:

    NOT allowed to trade your games,

    NOT allowed to lend your games,

    NOT allowed to sell your games,

    NOT even allowed to give your games away for free.

    with this anti consumer move Sony has rendered all software purchases worthless.

    the sony bloggers will argue that you still have a choice with the psp 3000, but this is only temporary, sony will no doubt switch to digital "stab us in the arse" distribution asap.

    the other argument is steam, sorry sony the "they were anti consumer first" is not an excuse.

    7.10.2009 19:58 #1

  • Se7ven

    i agree 100%.

    7.10.2009 20:14 #2

  • buddyleem

    iphone apps are like that .

    trading in psp games didnt give u much money anyways
    just make sure you buy good games
    i guess when you sell your psp you can sell all your games with it

    7.10.2009 20:52 #3

  • KillerBug

    Originally posted by buddyleem: iphone apps are like that .

    trading in psp games didnt give u much money anyways
    just make sure you buy good games
    i guess when you sell your psp you can sell all your games with it
    If you only bought good games, you wouldn't have very many games. In fact, I can only think of one PSP title that I would want (Gran Turismo). In spite of my love for the series, I am not willing to buy a PSP just for one game...and I can't find any other games worth buying (very few that are even worth the bother of pirating).

    8.10.2009 06:09 #4

  • pphoenix

    The accredited Arstechnica have submitted a scathing review of the PSP Go, for some reason afterdawn staff/mods did not see this as news worthy!


    http://arstechnica.com/gaming/reviews/20...r-much-less.ars

    FTA: PSP Go review: Sony is charging you much more for much less

    We've finally had a chance to get to know the PSP Go in detail, and here are our thoughts: this isn't aimed at a clear market, it's more expensive in every way, and it takes away the choice of gamers. When your older, cheaper hardware is better and more able than your new offering, you need to fire some designers.


    Everything is proprietary

    The PSP 3000 simply works with the cables you have. The hardware has a mini-USB port on the top of the system so you can move files or hook up accessories, and you can connect your PSP to your PS3 using any USB cable. In fact, one USB cable attached to your PS3 will let you both charge your controllers and connect to your PSP to move content.

    That was a good thing, so of course it was time to get rid of it.

    The PSP Go now uses a proprietary plug, which means no more generic USB cables. Your old chargers won't work either. In fact, the charging solution is rather tedious: you plug the cable into the PSP, and then into a block of plastic, and then you plug the power cable into the other side of the plastic, and then plug that into the wall.

    Let that sink in: the cable you use to charge the hardware comes in three parts. You don't own a single cable that will work with the PSP Go.

    In conclusion:

    The Good

    * The screen is beautiful in action
    * Clicky, responsive buttons
    * Hardware is aesthetically pleasing
    * The pause function is great
    * Bluetooth headset, to use with your bluetooth headset, PS3 controllers, or to tether to your cell phone
    * Sound is strong using the built-in speakers


    The Bad

    * The system can't download games while you're doing other things
    * Way too expensive
    * Absolutely no way to play any of your existing games
    * Controls are cramped
    * Smaller screen
    * Games tend to be more expensive than retail
    * No competition in pricing for games
    * No way to sell games you buy
    * None of your cables or accessories will work, except for headphones
    * Screen is wasted while closed, only shows clock, calendar


    The Ugly

    * Waiting hours to download a patch, charge your batteries, buy a game, download your game, and then install your game, and then finally... guess what? playing your game!
    * Your system can already do what this system claims to do, and better. Minus the bluetooth and the 16GB of internal storage, this is a step back in every way
    * If Sony continues this trend, expect a $500 PS3 that doesn't play Blu-ray discs



    Verdict: Skip

    8.10.2009 08:24 #5

  • bam431

    Epic Fail thats pretty hard to do to considering if they had just added a second anolog stick i would have bought it.

    8.10.2009 09:06 #6

  • pirkster

    Originally posted by buddyleem: iphone apps are like that .

    trading in psp games didnt give u much money anyways
    just make sure you buy good games
    i guess when you sell your psp you can sell all your games with it
    Exactly. Sign of the times.

    Fans of old media need to move on or get left behind.

    8.10.2009 10:11 #7

  • slickwill

    A world that is concerned about money will never reach it's full potential of efficiency b/c money acts as a barrier from reaching that goal. Digital downloads would reduce the need for manufacturing games and distributing them. And not just for games, but for all types of digital media. However, since money needs to be made, the companies put limits on what the end user can do with their products, which goes against being less wasteful and more efficient, and ends up being more about control. The causes the consumer to be less willing to part with their money to buy the product, which ends up hurting the company.

    It's better and more efficient to convince yourself that you are satisfied with what you have (in this case an older version of the PSP), instead of buying the latest model of the same product.

    8.10.2009 11:01 #8

  • pphoenix

    Originally posted by pirkster : Originally posted by buddyleem: iphone apps are like that .

    trading in psp games didnt give u much money anyways
    just make sure you buy good games
    i guess when you sell your psp you can sell all your games with it
    Exactly. Sign of the times.

    Fans of old media need to move on or get left behind.

    Originally posted by pphoenix: the other argument is steam, sorry sony the "they were anti consumer first" is not an excuse.to quote myself, because someone is anti-consumer does NOT give anyone else the right, in fact someone copying anti consumer is actually worse as they have weighed up all sides & thought "lets screw over our customers"

    have you looked at the eula of the digital games are you allowed to sell them with your PSP Go, they are linked to your psn account and when you sell your psp go you are ORDERED by sony to format your psp go, please dont spread fud?

    so you are saying people whom actually want to OWN their purchases are relics, out of touch & to quote sony public relations "living in the dark ages"

    digital distribution is fine as long as there is competition with prices not as it currently stands, sony holds the monopoly with pricing.

    You are allowed to lend, trade or give away your digital copy free of charge without sony blocking you from every side, you should also be allowed to resell ALL your purchases which is what sony is trying to achieve, the destruction of the second hand game sales & trades so everyone is forced by sony to purchase their own copy brand new.

    digital distribution is wonderful as long as sony are not actively blocking us from lending our games without some ridiculous 24 hour w8 period & 1001 verification checks, remember when you lent your mate tekken, he put it in his ps1 & it worked instantly, you took your disc home & it worked instantly, people are so out of touch for wanting to lend or trade their games with their friends at school!

    digital distribution is amazing as you don't have to go to the shops pity about peoples jobs.

    but what sony's psp go is really about, is testing the water on consumer backlash regarding removing your right of ownership, i would personally say that stealing ownership is a step back, not moving with the times unless you think daylight robbery is a step in the right direction?

    8.10.2009 11:33 #9

  • emugamer

    Quote:Originally posted by pirkster : Originally posted by buddyleem: iphone apps are like that .

    trading in psp games didnt give u much money anyways
    just make sure you buy good games
    i guess when you sell your psp you can sell all your games with it
    Exactly. Sign of the times.

    Fans of old media need to move on or get left behind.

    Originally posted by pphoenix: the other argument is steam, sorry sony the "they were anti consumer first" is not an excuse.to quote myself, because someone is anti-consumer does NOT give anyone else the right, in fact someone copying anti consumer is actually worse as they have weighed up all sides & thought "lets screw over our customers"

    have you looked at the eula of the digital games are you allowed to sell them with your PSP Go, they are linked to your psn account and when you sell your psp go you are ORDERED by sony to format your psp go, please dont spread fud?

    so you are saying people whom actually want to OWN their purchases are relics, out of touch & to quote sony public relations "living in the dark ages"

    digital distribution is fine as long as there is competition with prices not as it currently stands, sony holds the monopoly with pricing.

    You are allowed to lend, trade or give away your digital copy free of charge without sony blocking you from every side, you should also be allowed to resell ALL your purchases which is what sony is trying to achieve, the destruction of the second hand game sales & trades so everyone is forced by sony to purchase their own copy brand new.

    digital distribution is wonderful as long as sony are not actively blocking us from lending our games without some ridiculous 24 hour w8 period & 1001 verification checks, remember when you lent your mate tekken, he put it in his ps1 & it worked instantly, you took your disc home & it worked instantly, people are so out of touch for wanting to lend or trade their games with their friends at school!

    digital distribution is amazing as you don't have to go to the shops pity about peoples jobs.

    but what sony's psp go is really about, is testing the water on consumer backlash regarding removing your right of ownership, i would personally say that stealing ownership is a step back, not moving with the times unless you think daylight robbery is a step in the right direction?
    I have a question....when you buy a game on the PSN, isn't that game yours under your account? As long as you have a PSP, then you can download the game as many times as you want to your account? This would mean that if you bought a PSP now, and a new one 5 years down the road, you should be able to access the same games you purchased 5 years prior using your PSN account. Just wondering, as I don't have a PSP, but I am familiar with the PSN for the PS3.

    8.10.2009 12:10 #10

  • pphoenix

    @ emugamer

    it depends on sony & how man times you are allowed to download a title or if you could transfer it to another device.

    in a world where drm is being demonised as anti consumer sony come up with an even more orwellion nightmare to strip our rights.

    what else could we expect from the leading RIAA, MPAA member though :(

    interesting read here regarding the first sale doctrine, its not about sony so oner should be happy:

    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/...le-doctrine.ars

    Quote:
    AutoCAD resale ruling a messy win for first-sale doctrine

    Despite Autodesk's claim it has never "sold" a copy of AutoCAD to anyone, a federal judge found that restrictive software licenses can act much like sales. Thanks to the decision, AutoCAD can be resold on eBay—but courts are still all over the place on this issue.

    8.10.2009 12:46 #11

  • salsa36

    Quote:
    Bend over for sony & their anto consumer PSP Go as you are now:

    NOT allowed to trade your games,

    NOT allowed to lend your games,

    NOT allowed to sell your games,

    NOT even allowed to give your games away for free.

    with this anti consumer move Sony has rendered all software purchases worthless
    Never though about this but you are absolutely right!!!!!

    8.10.2009 17:46 #12

  • Oner

    Originally posted by pphoenix: interesting read here regarding the first sale doctrine, its not about sony so oner should be happyYou just got off a 1 week temp ban, posted a slight against aD & it's admins/mods in a different thread to then specifically post this towards me here...and you STILL don't learn or get it. I would be justified in removing you permanently as it stands (and every new account you make forthwith) but I'm giving you this final warning. Keep up the personal insults/slights and you will be removed with justification and without equivocation. PERIOD.

    8.10.2009 18:19 #13

  • akoli

    i reckon this is going to flop .... too many negative aspects going against it... I mean for one you can buy a Ps3 for an extra $100 .... it only has 16gb memory so whats that 10 games or so at the one time....Im sure it will get hacked soon enough and then maybe it has a chance to do well ...

    I wont be getting one ... nor will I get a DSI ... neither brings that much extra to the table to merit the purchase.

    8.10.2009 18:26 #14

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