Brad and Bryan review important games like Halo3: ODST and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. Sony makes big  sales because of the PSP Go and PSP 3000 but which system gets a better profit. Plus, Brad and Bryan exchange ideas to why a study says gamers feel more aggression towards perfect strangers. This and much more on Opinion Unlocked.

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However, Sony has no current plans to do the same thing for consumers in the U.S. Calling this a “dual platform” strategy, Sony is going to sell both the 3000 and the Go! at stores for people to decide.

Brad’s Take: More and more, Sony is dropping the ball with the Go!. Higher prices on digital downloads, escalating prices on the system itself and poor marketing just drops the Go! farther and farther into the eyes of American consumers.

Seriously, what kind of business strategy is Sony thinking of?

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• 225 Downloadable Games
• 2,300 Moviea
• 13,300 Television Episodes

Brad’s Take: Well…at least Sony seems to be something right…for now.

Let’s not forget, we can go by over a month on PSN before they actually update it with any games, which is where I am pretty skeptical about how well Sony will actually support this platform. If they do take every week to update the store with new game releases, whether it be UMD Legacy, PSN Exclusives or Minis, then they would have support from their community.

But let’s not forget: The Go! needs to sell for all of this to be worth while.

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This is especially surprising, since Japan’s PSN has their PSP downloadable titles slightly cheaper than its retail copies, which Lampel was quickly dismissive of the idea. “We’d like to keep it that way, keep a level playing field, and again, there’s not that much more to say on that topic.”

Brad’s Take: So…let’s run this down:

PSP-3000: $170
Jeanne d’Arc: $20
8 GB Memory Stick: $50
Total: $240

PSP Go!: $250
Jeanne d’Arc: $25
Total: $275

And yes, I know the PSP Go! has 16GB of Memory, but the fact that Sony charges $150 for a 16GB is absurd. Besides, if you have the disc drive, you don’t need to memory to download the game itself, so 8GB is sufficient.

The amount of price gouging is ridiculous with Sony at this point. First, you overcharge for a system that has less than the other 3 iterations. Then, you tell people who are going to buy your new iteration that, hey, we’re going to charge you MORE for the downloadable versions of the games and, sorry, there’s nothing you can do about it because this is how it is.

I understand that Sony needs to make money back from their losses, but screwing their consumers isn’t the way to do this. If you need to make games smaller and more affordable, do that. But charging more for premium games and the system when you are getting LESS in both circumstances is not only poor judgment, it also doesn’t make a lick of sense in a business and marketing perpsective.

I think we have Sony’s first Virtual Boy

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What are the reasons cited for this refusal of business?
1) Too pricey. The 3000 unit sells for about $110 less than the Go! and they feel none of their customers will feel the need to upgrade.
2) Smaller screen. The Go! just doesn’t look nearly as attractive to PSP owners, citing that the screen is too small.
3) No UMD drive. That means the game you want to buy for your PSP you can’t get at Nedgame, which also means you can’t trade in games. Which means…Nedgame makes nothing off the sale of a PSPGo!.

Hmm…now which is the reason that helped their decision making?

Brad’s Take: Wow, that took longer than I thought. I can put good money that some stores in the US will refuse to sell the Go! for the same exact reason.

Then again, Sony has come forward (by means of third parties) to say the reason for the mark-up in price is to make the retailer happy. So, is Nedgame just trying to make a statement against Sony, which may not have the greatest of relationships with the retailer?

Still, expect some key retailers to refuse to carry the PSPGo!…including a taste little rumor I heard that a certain key retailer in America that will not carry the PSPGo! in stores…

Stay tuned.

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Brad’s Take: Definitely a step in the right direction for the PSP, but let’s hope they decide to put some of the “Legacy UMDs” into this price range with some cuts. Currently, Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 is about $25, even though you can get the game for $16.

My only problem: Why are you puting iPhone games that were released over a year ago onto the system?

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Shortly after it was discovered, Best Buy changed the listing.

Brad’s Take: Although it is a decent deal to get a completely new game free with the price of the system, it still doesn’t help that the system itself is still way overpriced. So, you’re only getting overcharged $50 for the game? Yay?

Why not just give a $50 credit to the PSN store instead? Let the consumer decide what they want to download, especially since you need to give them some reason to upgrade (or downgrade, according to what your point of view is).

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“$249 is too much. Period.” – Goes on to say that while its direct competitor, the iPod Touch, is $229, it doesn’t deliver and easy to use AppStore or a quick to download iTunes Music Store
“The $169 PSP-3000 is a profitable device — the disc assembly, for a UMD, costs more than 16 gigs of flash does. So this new device doesn’t cost them as much as the PSP-3000 and they jack the price up $80?”
When pressed by Geoff Keighley, asking whether the device is a rip-off, this is the response: “They’re rippin’ off the consumer … they’re making a lot more money on the PSP Go than the PSP-3000.”

Pachter has spoken…

Brad’s Take: Finally, everything I’ve said on the last podcast is more than vindicated by the man, the myth, the analytical legend: Michael Pachter.

Seriously though, this has been a major point in contention with the reveal of the new PSP: Why is it so expensive even though it offers less than the current hardware?

And let’s get John Koller in here for an old fashioned verbal beatdown!

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The video was actually from a early release of Qore, Sony’s subscription based downloadable video magazine for the PS3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObElhJIcOKE&feature=player_embedded

The leaked video announces a few games previously rumored, but then shows the actual PSP Go! unit. Of course, this is a big reveal announcement, so no answers were given on the fact of how you’ll get to play those UMD games you have on your PSP.

Another ominous rumor posting about from this weekend was another factory picture of the PS3 Slim. What makes this picture more interesting and believable is the fact that one the picture is the box for the PSP Go!, which is quite similar to the box of the PS3 Slim that was rumored, shot down, then given a shot in the arm when Sony started sending out cease and desist letters to websites carrying the photos.

It also seems more credible since the photos of the PSP Go! looks exactly like the one that is on the videos for the PSP Go!

Brad’s Take: First off…what a foul-up by Sony for shooting their load too early on the PSP Go!. Yes, everyone knew this was going to happen anyway, but you couldn’t hold off for 3 more days?

Anyway, I suggest you watch the video to see what the PSP Go! looks like because it actually looks pretty slick. The small slide screen with the nice interface definitely screams playability and portability that the PSP simply never aspired to. Personally, I love the look and would love to get my hands on it.

Of course, the video doesn’t really answer many of the key questions. What happens to your UMD games if you want to play them on your Go!? How much does it cost? Is there or is there not a rental service?

John Koller specifically says on the video that this is not replacing the PSP-3000, which could very well mean that they have no intentions of making every game downloadable anytime soon, so it looks like the PSP Go! exists, but there are still numerous questions to be answered.

As for the photos of the PS3 Slim and PSP Go!, these still could be made up and false. But, with the fact that the photo on the box has the actual PSP Go! unit on the box, these PS3 Slim and PSP Go! photos seem more and more credible every day.

Bryan Take: I see where Brad could get upset but as a company, they probably don’t want to bring it to the public yet because of competition. If Nintendo and Microsoft knew about this before the handheld came out, it could be a way for them to use some of their ideas.

I can see both sides of the story on this one:

1. The public wanted to know about a new PSP and Sony said ‘F-Off’ which was totally rude
2. Sony doesn’t want to give anything away until the release date it set
3. Companies like to keep these kinds of secretes for bigger ‘wow’ ending.
4. The end users are like the children who can’t wait for their Christmas present.

When it’s announced at E3, we will finally know what is true and what is not. As a consumer myself, we need to just wait.

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