Sony rules out PSP price cut (again)

SCEA product manager restates no discounting is in the offing, touts soon-to-be-230-game library.

With Grand Theft Auto: Vice City stories just weeks away, people who never considered purchasing a PlayStation Portable before are giving the platform a second look. For many, the main stumbling block is price. The bare-bones version of the handheld costs $199--$70 more than its rival, Nintendo's DS Lite. It is also available as part of the $250 PSP Entertainment Pack, which bundles it with ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, the UMD movie Lords of Dogtown, and a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo.

Given that the DS has been outselling the PSP all year, rumors have percolated that Sony might cut the device's price. However, the company has consistently denied any such move is in the offing, with the latest repetition coming this week, courtesy of John Koller, a product manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"We don't necessarily see the need to cut the price," Sony Computer Entertainment America product manager John Koller told Reuters. "We need to offer broader value and introduce new consumers to what the PSP can do."

Besides the PSP's connectivity with the PS3, Koller feels that the "value" will come in the form of a new wave of games for the handheld. He told Reuters that "there will be about 110 new titles available by the end of 2006, bringing the roster to about 230." GameSpot's own release schedule has approximately 80 titles coming to US PSPs before year's end, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, Brothers in Arms D-Day, Medal of Honor: Heroes, Call of Duty 3, and Lumines II.

Reuters also mentioned the PSP's oft-touted multimedia functions--including video and music playback--which Sony has used as a selling point for the handheld. However, film studios' support for the PSP's Universal Media Disc format has been waning, and the promised relaunch of a PSP-compatible Connect download service has not yet occurred.

563 Comments

  • dcgames

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 9:34 pm PT

    I'd say at this point anyone who doesn't already own a PSP would be wise to just wait until the PSP2 comes out.

  • skatersonik2009

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    Sony, you guys suck. Maybe if you lowered the prices of the PSP, you could sell as many units as NDS. Maybe thats not your goal, maybe your goal is to piss off everybody and encourage them to buy an NDS.

  • Kurtisadei

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 6:28 pm PT

    wow instead of buying a psp, u can buy a ds and 2 games. sony, youre pathetic. some of u think 2 games. wow big deal. thats where u are wrong. as the article says the ds is outselling the psp all year. thats because maybe it doesn't cpmpare with the psp in garphics but it destroys the psp in gameplay.

    guess what system dominates EVERY chart besides the uk chart in terms of handhelds?actually, the ds covers up all the charts in terms of cosoles also. the ds has wifi gaming that never gets old. every game has months of replay value and they are cheap for what u get. the psp has to get a price cut to even barely,maybe,luckily,get a slight chance to even live long enough to see domination.

  • Breakfast_Clubber

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    it appears that once again the difference between sony and nintendo is black and white.

  • MoldOnHold

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 3:51 pm PT

    sony needs to work on its marketing strategy. nobody will buy a psp (who didn't already buy one) if they don't drop the price, nor if they don't do something innovative or original for the system.

  • donmega1

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:39 pm PT

    BrodiMan
    Anything with a USB and memory card is vulnerable. It’s Sony’s fault because they added these features.... and gave crappy firmware to protect it. I really don’t care anyway because I got my PSP for $100 bucks about 6 months ago from a friend....best $100 I ever spent in recent memory.

  • ssjtrunks6

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 2:10 pm PT

    The psp stays good for no matter how long youve owned one, unless you did not take care of it, I dont think it really needs a price drop, well they already have came out with bonus budle packs, and those are some great deals, but I bought mine the release date, so I have no worries about the future deals, I will just buy the accessories if I need them, I dont really care for anything extra at this time, but if this small price is still too much for you and you still dont want to get one, then just stick to the old school gba

  • pimpicle

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 2:00 pm PT

    The price of the PSP is not really the issue, because for the price you can get a game system, movie player, and internet browser all in one package and a memory card that can be interchanged. The real problem is the design of the system.I wish that Sony would do something about the design of the PSP. This system has some major flaws including the screen scratching way too easily and dust getting into the system. As the scratch problem is pretty much taken care of, the dust inside the system is a major problem. If you get dust inside of it, there is nothing you can do. I wish there was a way to clean the PsP and change the faceplate (like the micro) so you would be able to clean it and not void the warranty. I know this has nothing really to do with the subject of the price, but it is a problem that should be addressed.

  • tek-9

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 5:29 pm PT

    sony needs to educate people on the amazing versatility of the psp. it is a great multimedia device and a great value for what it is. as far as nintendo is concerned, you just cant compete with the company behind the gameboy. many people just don't know what the psp is all about.

  • The_Dielan

    Posted Oct 14, 2006 6:41 pm PT

    the psp is tanking...

  • Rengoku2TSTH

    Posted Oct 13, 2006 6:23 pm PT

    Hmmm...

  • BrodiMan

    Posted Oct 13, 2006 1:04 pm PT

    Donmega, why is it sony's fault that people keep hacking their system? Sony is releasing security updates as quick as they can but people keep hacking it. And that is the reason the PSP price has not gone down...or so goes the theory.

    Why is it sony's fault that unscrupulous people keep illegaly hacking their system?

  • gam3r3OOO

    Posted Oct 12, 2006 2:56 pm PT

    The president of Sony must think that all gamers have deep pockets.

  • jgon_9

    Posted Oct 11, 2006 10:09 pm PT

    I don't really play games on my PSP, I use it more for video and web browsing. Of course GTA:LCS was the one exception. I can't wait for GTA:VCS. But, other than GTA games and a couple sports games, I'll play my White DS Lite. Sucks that they didn't sell the black one until later.

  • ScionofEntropy

    Posted Oct 11, 2006 7:44 pm PT

    PSP looks as if it's going to have some great games coming out over the course of the next year, so I wouldn't quite rule it out yet. However, given the rate it's been going at to this point, Sony had better pick up the pace.

  • vrizzle

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 5:40 pm PT

    i like both my psp and ds lite

  • donmega1

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 3:33 pm PT

    Sony screwed up by making a device that is extremely hackable. Theft of their games keeps the price of the PSP where it is. Fortunate for consumers these hacks are easy to use and it unlocks powers of the PSP much greater than the Nintendo handhelds and even the PSP's original intentions. With that said the PSP is worth every dime! As for the games I enjoy some of them I think with time they will get better.

  • RockMan-NEO

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 1:02 pm PT

    wow.....thats nuts. If they dont drop it oh well. DS and PSP are BOTH GOOD. I hate fanboyism....

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 10:49 am PT

    PSP has nothing interesting to offer as far as gaming goes. Great technology, but when u got no good games it's not worth buying that overly expensive unit over a DS. DS may not be up to par with a PSP but it rocks as far as games are concerned.

  • Rich2244

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 10:12 am PT

    I usually buy a system based on games that I want to play (that's why I waited until Dead Rising came out to buy a 360). I bought the DS because I wanted to play the Castlevania game when it came out, and it was such a great decision. I had been debating on getting either a DS or a PSP, but the PSP really didn't have any games that I NEEDED to play, and it still doesn't. A Metal Gear Solid card game? No thanks. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories? Came out at a budget price for my PS2 (Vice City Stories will be the same way). The only game I'd want to buy/play is Daxter, but I'm not about to pay $200 for a barebones handheld PLUS the price of the game just to play it. I'm more than pleased with New Super Mario Bros., Brain Age, Trauma Center, Mario & Luigi, and all of my other DS games. As far as I'm concerned, Sony can wait for my money on the PS3 too. All the games I'd be likely to play will be on my shiny new 360.

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 6:39 am PT

    Drop the damn price

  • rammstein044

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 10:55 pm PT

    DAMN!
    I should of waited!!!! I spend almost 500 bux on my PSP with a 512mb duo.
    LAME.
    DAMN SONY I HATE YOU!!!!
    im gonna wait more often from now on!

  • BlackDragon110

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 9:07 pm PT

    SouthAmerica09 your comments are typical of a fanboy that can't face the truth about their beloved system not being the almighty system you want it to be. It's just really funny to me how you can say that PSP's sale aren't that bad when the DS's sales are far better than it. An what really makes you look silly is to say is to say that the DS doesn't come internet ready. Clearly you don't have a DS because if you did you'd know that it comes Wi-Fi ready. You only have to buy the Wi-Fi connector if you don't have wireless access at home and want to play an online DS game. It's just so sad to hear fanboys call the DS's touch screen or the WiiRemote "gimmicks". Of course they aren't saying that about the PS3's SixAxis (can you say ripoff, goood I knew you could). I guess that's to be expected but it just sounds so childish. It's too bad that Sony won't lower the price of the PSP, it could have really helped sales. But what the PSP really needs is games that are more fun than they currently have out there. Right now the games that they are putting out you can play on the PS2.

  • jimmy_bean

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:48 pm PT

    Just get a DS, odds are you will have more fun. See how easy that was!

  • alberto2045

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:42 pm PT

    yeah am not buying one until its cheaper or the new WHITE psp, with the 2 analog sicks comes out

  • ClandestineZero

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:24 pm PT

    "I don't get it ! All of these people are complaining about the price of the PSP yet I bet 90% of them spent as much on a crappy I-Pod that you can play music and watch video on a crappy small screen. "

    Not at all. I refused to pay more than 130 on something like the ipod, and I certainly wont pay more than 130 on the PSP. I do have an ipod video, but that was after a $180 rebate. Since Sony doesnt offer rebates of that size, I guess I'll wait for the price drop. As for the iPod, it isn't crappy, nor is the screen size an issue during vacations.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:06 pm PT

    that's too bad. I want a PSP, but I'm not getting it until it's cheaper

  • Blazer88

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:04 pm PT

    Apparently at Sony, failure "is" an option.

  • firebreathing

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 5:55 pm PT

    No cut=no brains

  • GrimBee

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 5:10 pm PT

    t_walk1 thats exactly how i feel. I was sure that the psp was going to rule and that the ds was a complete gimmick and was going to be second rate, or even third rate (next to the gba).

    But after playing phoenix wright on the ds etc, i was just so surprised. And so was the rest of us who have a ds (and especially a ds lite).
    Next to the psp, the ds is a marvel. Its so superior for a games machine because the games are already lower in price sooner (more budget titles). The battery is fantastic and the whole design of it is perfect for your pocket, or play on a table or whatever.

    The psp is quite limited. Its got the power, but the limitations. Who knows in a few years sony will update it like they do with the walkman (and as nintendo did with the ds). But until then, still not convinced.

    Nintendo totally turned sonys plans upside-down IMO, and i think the wii is the final blow to dominate the market. Then, the 360 is there to supply the rest, whilst the smaller portions of the world dont even HEAR of a ps3. And the rest of us still bask in the psps high price, and lack of titles which are actually worth the price..

    Competition is fierce, interesting to see how it will go!

  • Keldor73

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:58 pm PT

    BlueBong, Try some Q-Tips maybe you'll hear better ! To Clarify for the less intellegent *Cough BlueBong *Cough Azurewind Cough* Why click on news about PSP if you have no interest in it ? Let alone leave comments on it ?

  • bluebong321

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    Keldor, this is a news article featured in the Home section, trust me i've never visited the PSP section. Also, your overuse of generalisations make you yourself look like an "immature fanboy" or whichever image you're trying to paint. Please get YOUR info correct before you type. Feel free to open your mouth as I can't hear you from here.

  • Keldor73

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:46 pm PT

    AzureWind : first off I have had my PSP since launch and friends bought one a few months later, You obviously need to get your info correct before you open your Fanboy mouth, My PSP nor my friend's have not had a single problem with pixels or even pixels dieing over time. You obviously are listening to all the rest of the Fanboys whose mommies wont shell out $250 for a Handheld gaming device. BTW if you are so anti-PSP then why even bother going on to a PSP article or board ? Trying to enlist more Fanboys?

  • t_walk1

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    I bought one of these things when they first came out convinced that it would kill the DS. I guess I am a moron because it was and is the biggest waste of cash I have ever spent. I guess the fact that it can play movies is nice at times but it hardly justifies the price.

    Weak sony very weak.

  • snoobo117

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:36 pm PT

    Microsoft XP ( XboX Portable) is the way to go. they should come out with that instead of Zune

  • Buckeye556

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:25 pm PT

    no price drop is the one thing keeping me from buying one

  • CoolSkAGuy

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:23 pm PT

    Man I was actually think of buying a PSP if they lowered it I gues that aint happening anymore.

  • inferno_gnomes

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:21 pm PT

    iPod is easier to hide from teachers at school

  • deadmeat59

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:08 pm PT

    the psp is cheap ot costs alot to make one. i have a psp but dont use it for games.

  • bluebong321

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:02 pm PT

    Also, I bet all the I-pod fans haven't tried any of the quality 3rd party players that can do the same excact things without exlusivety and gimmicky.....well gimmicky everything, Itunes is a nice program, admittedly, but it has rivals and the I-pod is a glorified, oversized, cultish tampon.

  • crills

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:27 pm PT

    SouthAmerica09 how about metriod prime hunter" with voice chat mario kart "trama center "resident evil' tony hawk" and the new one down hill jam it has in game voice chat "pheonix wright' castle vania " star fox" and all those sold more then a million and some are 3rd party.and i can name more and the ds future get better soon it will have final fantasy 3 and the spin off to the new one the comes out for the ps2. and a sequel to zelda wind waker and more. and what silly wi fi thing you talking about you dont need nothing to play people online just your ds a wifi router a wi fi enabled game mario cart" metriod" hunters" tetris "club house games" yea thats a good one in case you didnt know you can play your friends around the world in a game a chess or poker or the other 30 some thing games and trash talk to them in with the built in mic. any way back to what i was saying you turn on your ds with the game inside and you contect to nintendo wifi connection and start playing online im shore its similar to the psp wifi service i just better with the 2 MILLION USERS AND MORE THEN 70 MILLION GAME SESSIONS

  • GrimBee

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:14 pm PT

    I dont have an ipod nano... it doesnt play videos. Im not on about the ipod nano, im on about the ipod video

    Anyways.

    Sony cant afford to drop the price of software or hardware because they are selling at a loss as it is.
    PSP will sell alot, but once those umd titles slip away from the shelves.. this can only mean one thing ..
    Drop the price of memorysticks and the release of ps1 games!! woohoo!!

    I for one cant wait to get my teeth into destruction derby, broken sword, tomb raider, metal gear solid, SILENT HILL, resident evil 2... I cant wait to get into those games again.
    BUT, how much processing power and battery power will this need? I for one run homebrew from my psp, and the battery just gets eaten alive.

    Once the memorystick prices drop more and the ps1 stuff comes out, i think the psp will start putting up a bit of a fight then. And people will be happy to pay the £179.99 then.

    BUT, this would mean that umd sales will slip even more.. and basically, it would deterr people away because of all those "hidden" costs like, costs for memory cards, purchase of ps1 games you probably own..

    Im happy with the ds lite at the moment, i just buy a game, and play it for as long as i like really. I never have it run out on me, i always end up sticking it on charge without any need to. I can stick the ds in my pocket and use it for a few days, then its on charge after that when im home. Its great.

    I think the ds will totally ravish the handheld industry, but its interesting to see how the psp will change the media player industry.. could be cool.

  • meimnobody

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:14 pm PT

    SouthAmerica PSP execs lie about how PSP sales. Their own reports do not state sold units just produced units. Independent tracking agencies confirm what Nintendo says while the psp has six million unsold units sitting in warehouses, store shelves. PSP game sales are in the toilet. The psp game prices in Japan are ridicously lowered after a week the game comes out since they bomb and bomb badly.

    PSPs in Japan are cheaper then DS lites. Sony has already lowered the prices but you guys don't realize they won't do that in the US since the US is the best selling terrority and Sony execs are in denial.

  • ciryorel

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:13 pm PT

    Nothing on the PSP attracts me.

  • bluebong321

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:12 pm PT

    This sucks, Sony's overconfidence will be it's downfall just like MSoft. There is no question that Sony is dominant in sales that it's consoles generally have the premiere or close-to tech. But recently they've been leaning on their logo to justify overpricing their merchandise. I have bee a devout Playstation fan, buying only Sony brand systems since the PS debuted years ago, but i'm getting a freakin Wii this winter because Sony took my consumer loyalty, shat on it, and rubbed it in my face. i don't care if Blu-ray is expensive tech, I don't need it for MGS4. It's appearent that Sony thinks it can afford some fans for the sake of increased retail values, but that mentality is gonna bite it in the ass when it realizes that North Americans are trend following bargain hunters. **** overpriced systems and **** Sony's arrogance.

  • crills

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:01 pm PT

    vash_617 wi fi game card lol what you talking about i just stick my metriod hunters in my ds and connect to nintendo wifi connections and start playing online with any body around the world. and you can even talk to your friends online with the built in mic

  • SouthAmerica09

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 2:43 pm PT

    Boy it always amazes me how ignorant nintendo fans are, btw why do you guys love coming on ever single psp forum just to mock it?. Psp sales ARE better than you make it sound (read official sales reports if you want proof), albeit not close to ds sales. Why do you think there not lowering the price? 1. yes their greedy idiots 2. if sales of psps and games were as bad as most nintendo fanboys THINK they were then they would have no choice but to lower the price even if just a tiny bit to compete with ds. Psp comes online ready and you don't have to buy some silly wi-fi extender for a ds, and the games that are coming out now and in the future have psp owners very excited. Alot of people who didn' t want a psp are considering to get it now (read any psp game fourms). DS will end up winning this handheld war becuase it was significantly cheaper and they sold everything on gimmicks and several lame franchise ex. mario. Just look at wii, it's basically an upgraded xbox. And whats the killer app for wii, let's see a twilight princess port from gamecube. Nintendo's line up is going to be just predictable and full of gimmicks as gamecube's was. *stares at his old gamecube collecting dust* Please tell all these games that ds has that are so marvelous, becuase all I see are games that look so ugly that good gameplay can't justify me wanting to playing them. Face alot of people hate sony (understandably) for their greedy direction with ps3 price . That's why the japenese have so many kick ass exclusive psp games that we will never see becuase sony hears ignorant people like all of you and dismisses us as a risk. But in the end there is no denying the fact that ALOT of people love psp and sonys game franchises and THEY WILL CONTINUE TO SELL despite the fact ds is doing better. Btw I can't belive the losers comparing ipod to psp, uhh when did apple start making 3D handheld games beside bejewled or something like that?

  • stewart24

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 2:35 pm PT

    its called a tv, i will watch movies to that

  • AzureWind213

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 2:35 pm PT

    keldor, you ever owned an i-pod? Probably not, so don't knock it till you try it. The 6 Gigs on my mini didn't cost me an EXTRA 200 bucks, like anything close to that would on a bulky, overpriced and overhyped handheld console that's indeed getting STOMPED by the DS all over the world. Oh, and my pixels aren't dying one by one, either. Sure, it stores and plays music. But honestly, who buys it for that????
    Someone here said that the reason the XBOX 360 didn't start off with the bang it was supposed to have, as well as the reason the PS3 isn't looking good out of the gate, is that they didn't have must have titles at launch. You're right!! PS3 WONT launch with metal gear solid, and you can count the number of excellent xbox 360 games released in the last 10 months on 2 hands, if you're forgiving. Sure, there's GOOD games... but not the system sellers you are going to see the Wii launch with(Zelda... and maybe the pack in wii-sports for people who are too cheap to buy more games). Kids (and a lot of teens) are going to make their christmas lists this year and when they put PS3 on it, along with everything else they want, parents are just going to tell them to save their money and get them the rest of the stuff on their list. Even the ones that want to buy it won't be able to without spending $1500+ on ebay , expecially if the shortage will be any worse than microsoft's last year. Wii is going to be accesible to the masses, not just the hardcore tech junkies, and HDTV owners, who spend so much money on new tech that they'll probably buy a Wii later anyways, just for the novelty of it. I guess I'm just saying, no one should be suprised to see nintendo make a significant impact on the market while sony licks their wounds from the costs they suck in from their blu-ray gamble.

  • arsy130

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 2:35 pm PT

    GrimBee !!!! ... Dude your my hero... i totaly agree with you man.

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