Sony botches PSP launch

Feb 3, 2001
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So, on Friday I go pick up my preorder PSP: a cluster of about a *dozen* bad pixels glares back at me when I get home. Suck. Saturday comes, and of course, gamestop just had enough for preorders, so refundola and i'm feeling like I won't get one for awhile. But behold! Target has DOZENS of them just *sitting* there. So I buy one, feeling happy again! But wait! 4 dead pixels! So I exchange it because hey, they have plenty and the third times got to do the trick, right? Wrong!! Another 3 dead pixels away.

Suffice to say, refund came next, and I won't be buying a PSP until the bugs are worked out and the price drops. If there is anything else obvious it's that the PSP bundle SUCKS ASS and this unit, for all its cool potential, is WAY overpriced.

And Sony doesn't think the dead Pixel issue is a problem!

And they're still just sitting on shelves...

What do you guys think? IMHO, the price is too high, the bundle too lame and this dead pixel issue is just one too many for me to be a serious buyer right now. Maybe later when they get the bugs worked out and the price dropped by about $100.

Jason
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Bundles are ALWAYS lame. I think the price of this unit is fair. The dead pixel issue is a concern though.

I can't get the second link to work, but even as of saturday (and probably today) PSPs were readily available near me.
 

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
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81
I don't see the appeal in gaming consoles to begin with - so, meh.
 

royaldank

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2001
5,440
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I'm looking forward to receiving mine. I don't really care how many they sold so far. Every product has problems in manufacturing.

Looks like a great system.
 

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
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Originally posted by: miri
Why are these selling for over retail on EBAY?

eBay is nothing but a scam for things like this.
same thing with high end video cards like X850's... go for way over retail in early stages. pathetic.
 

osiris3mc

Golden Member
Oct 23, 2001
1,514
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71
I got the bundle pack - I'm not complaining. Yeah it has a couple issues, and I'll probably exchange it for another one soon. In the meantime though, the games are friggin' awesome and I think it's worth the money.
 

Gibson486

Lifer
Aug 9, 2000
18,378
1
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I saw people in my school ruuning in between classes to pick one up when they came out. They told me that the gamestop in the Prudential Center had sh!tloads still on the shelf.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
1 dead (stuck off) subpixel is ok. but reports of up to 25!!? Ive personally seen 11 stuck subpixels and its terrible.
 

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
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Originally posted by: miri
Why are these selling for over retail on EBAY?

There are 2 types of eBay users:

1) Smart people (sellers)
2) Retards (buyers)

And there you have it
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
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Originally posted by: miri
Why are these selling for over retail on EBAY?

They aren't selling for much more over retail. Sellers appear to be lucky to sell them for around $300. If there was truly a huge demand for them, they'd be selling for over $350.
 
May 12, 2004
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Got mine from BB (they still had a stack of them) and the first one had 1 dead pixel and 1 stuck one. Brought it back and got a replacement and no dead/stuck pixels! Lasted a little under 6 hours from gameplay.

Only thing i don't like about it is the analog stick is really tough to use when you're lying down.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
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Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I might go for one @ the $150 price point.

me too...actually I'd rather pay about $100. I just can't see paying anything near $250 for something like that since I don't think I'd use it that often.

We'll see, possibly at some point the games will "tickle my fancy".
 

royaldank

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2001
5,440
0
0
Sell it for $250 now to folks that can't wait and are geeks (myself included). When all the internet stuff is up and running for ahwile and a portable version of SOCOM (or other killer game) comes out, you'll really sell them. After that rush is over (next Spring maybe?), drop the price a bit and you sell even more. It's not hard to see what they are doing. Next comes the PDA software that has already been seen inside leaked firmware updates, and a whole new wave of folks might look at it.
 

everman

Lifer
Nov 5, 2002
11,288
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I think Sony is lucky that Nintendo doesn't really have many great DS games yet, or else it would probably be more of a disaster. As it is, neither system has much in terms of great games yet. At least Nintendo's policy was one where they shipped you a NEW DS in the case of dead pixels, and you sent back the defective unit. Sony on the other hand is saying just deal with it. Nintendo wins on customer service hands down.
 

Dulanic

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2000
9,951
570
136
We got 30 in at the store I work at, still have 15 left, sales have been very weak.
 

Hammer

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
13,217
1
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sony just overestimated demand at the $250 price point. i'm glad actually. prices on game systems have been going up and up. its good to see them get slapped finally. the average consumer does not want to pay more than $100-150 for a handheld.
 

slycat

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
5,656
0
0
for 250beans...not even 1 is OK.
They suck if they can't even get a 2x4inch lcd screen right. Where did they contract those screens..QA sux0red.

Originally posted by: Tiamat
1 dead (stuck off) subpixel is ok. but reports of up to 25!!? Ive personally seen 11 stuck subpixels and its terrible.

 

royaldank

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2001
5,440
0
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Originally posted by: slycat
for 250beans...not even 1 is OK.
They suck if they can't even get a 2x4inch lcd screen right. Where did they contract those screens..QA sux0red.

Originally posted by: Tiamat
1 dead (stuck off) subpixel is ok. but reports of up to 25!!? Ive personally seen 11 stuck subpixels and its terrible.

I believe the screens are from Sharp. Samsung is another possible manufacturer that is contracted to make PSP screens.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
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Poor sales...that's what happens when you don't launch during the holidays. People don't have an excuse to spend $250 on a handheld, nor do they face a deadline (Dec. 25th) to purchase it.

Nintendo DS, OTOH, sold huge and had many shortages during the holidays. But historically Nintendo is the master at product launches; they launch during the holidays and control the supply tightly to make sure the demand/hype is there.

The PSPs are selling for $280-ish on eBay, a $30 premium, which is barely enough to cover eBay and PayPal fees...Nintendo DS, OTOH, was selling for roughly a $70 premium throughout the holidays on eBay, and it cost a full 40% less.
 

liquidblue

Senior member
Jan 20, 2005
247
0
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Sony is losing money on these machines since they're selling them lower than they are worth (read that all over the net - and by 'net' I mean ATOT). Why would they drop the price? Maybe when the next gameboy comes out and release "Super Duper Mario 64 DS Sunshine VI" a couple of times.