UK publishing and development giant Codemasters has told CVG that it expects the price of Sony NGP (PSP2) to be in line with Nintendo's 3DS in the UK.
Although Nintendo has refused to put a Suggested Retail Price on 3DS in Europe, stores have begun taking pre-orders for the device at around £230 / EURO 240.
Sony premièred its NGP yesterday morning (UK time) in Tokyo. It confirmed impressive technical specs - including a five inch OLED screen.
Cousens claimed that Sony had "[learnt] the lesson of over-engineered hardware" with the first PSP, and suggested that NGP's more social capabilities may give it a stronger footing in the market.
Following NGP's reveal, Sony yesterday clarified that the console would arrive over multiple SKUs. All will have WiFi connectivity, but only one - almost certain to be the most expensive - will also house 3G.
Sony also unveiled PlayStation Suite at its Tokyo event - which will allow its games to be played on Android mobile devices.
Cousens added: "The portable segment is highly contested beyond traditional hardware vendors, so to succeed is no small task.
"Sony knows the lesson of over-engineered hardware and high software development costs only too well - so the more interesting aspect is NGP's eco-system and infrastructure.
"The crossover network and Playstation Suite might be well heeded by the young pretenders in the space; they could well find they have a fight on their hands in getting noticed, and the stakes are rising.
"It's all to play for and reputation, past glories and technological superiority are not guarantees for leadership."
Comments
20 comments so far...
spam23 on 28 Jan '11 said:
I paid £230 for my PS3. Just throwing that out there.
NGM Cube on 28 Jan '11 said:
They have?
Very_Silver_Ownz on 28 Jan '11 said:
'' I paid £230 for my PS3. Just throwing that out there. ''
I payed £300 with GTA IV for £40 but that was way back in the summer of 2008. no chance im spending over £200 for a handheld which is meant to be played once in a while.
originalbadboy on 28 Jan '11 said:
I'm sorry but I will say this again ... anybody who thinks the NGP will be as cheap as a 3DS is smoking some serious drugs ... There is no way (in the UK) that the NGP will be even close to the 3DS price.
Considering the tech inside, Quad core CPU/GPU and OLED screen which are not cheap, I can't see Sony getting it out for anything less than £300.
Also lets not forget we probably wont even see it in the UK till April 2012 anyway , which gives the 3DS a year to lower its price even more , or get customary 'XL' upgrade.
Nah not happening
g_marrs on 28 Jan '11 said:
Her's an idea. Announce that Last Guardian will be ported to the NGP and I'll consider. Seriously, I haven't bought a PS3, it didn't appeal to me after my PS2. But Ico and SOTC were so good that Last Guardian seems a loss. One game won't convince me to buy a PS3 though. however, match or come in lower than 3DS with Last Guardian as a launch title, AND launched for Christmas could definitely tempt me.
boskersrevenge on 28 Jan '11 said:
Sony's NGP price-plan
Japan: they will not be asking for money, in fact they have developed NGP trees and will be planting them all over Japan where anyone can go up and pick a ripe one off. They'll hold special events where cake and money will be given out and finally, everyone gets super powers, too.
America $300
Europe: An internal organ and your first born.
Imaduck on 28 Jan '11 said:
Bosker nailed it
boskersrevenge on 28 Jan '11 said:
We get such a crap deal in Europe sometimes, America and Japan might get a price close to the 3DS, but we sure as hell won't.
MattyR95 on 28 Jan '11 said:
yeah, america doesn't get charged enough i think, we in the UK usually have to pay the same numbers but a dollar is 0.6 of a pound, so were getting ripped off.
Chiisu on 28 Jan '11 said:
I paid £150
Domin666 on 28 Jan '11 said:
If it launched at £199.99 without game at the base model I for one would be waiting outside the shop on launch day,But I do smoke some crazy garden herb's so wouldnt hold for that price.But if Sony did yeh they would make a loss like the ps3 but what a user base they would build,and could still pull in good proffits IF and only IF they have some good quality titles.Should happen guys look 2 sticks yeh 2 sticks FPS on wifi on the loo wicked.
me4pd on 28 Jan '11 said:
That's cos we'd buy a Sony machine if it was made out of cardboard.
altitude2k on 28 Jan '11 said:
I am almost certain that it will be priced higher than the 3DS, because of a little thing known as 'perceived value'. Pricing it equally makes it an equal, pricing it higher makes it appear superior.
Jon Ahmad on 28 Jan '11 said:
Lay off the strong coffee Codies; it' never going to happen.
djreplay on 28 Jan '11 said:
Let me throw this out there, I paid £440 for my first with 2 games and 2 controllers, after 2 and a half year's it broke but got it fixed on extended warranty. Then it broke again and warranty had expired so I bought a Slim for £250. So I've only paid £690 for the privilege of one PS3.
Basically this means it doesn't matter what price they put on this NPG because as long as it's under £700 it won't have cost me more than my PS3 Slim.
wrightandrewjame on 28 Jan '11 said:
They can have a kidney (they've been giving me trouble over the last few years) but I don't have a kid. Hmm... they did say the end of 2011 though...
I expect it'll be £249. It's a nice price point. People pay that and more for all those Apple products, hell I paid £425 for my PS3 back in 2007. I bought a PSP day one and I reckon I'll get this one on day one too. Just need to sign the consent forms and impregnate a woman and I'm there.
g_marrs on 28 Jan '11 said:
Unless it breaks as well and you have to buy another one.
Imaduck on 29 Jan '11 said:
I do think for sales sakes they need to keep the price low. It's killer hardware, but the average person won't give a s**t. Personally, as an devoted gamer since I was 4, handhelds never pulled me in. Only the Gameboy, but even then it felt limited, battery, power, immersion all suffered due to the size. The PC at home was so much more fun to me.
I just couldn't justify shelling out for the smaller screened, lower visual quality, tiny battery life (5 hours is nothing, come on), cramped buttons, stealable, breakable, cumbersome handheld if the "desktop" full version console (PS3) was way cheaper and better supported so far. Paying more for less isn't my idea of fun.
Bryanee1983 on 29 Jan '11 said:
Whilst they have to try and compete with the 3DS price wise I just dont think they can afford to take a huge hit by selling it at a loss. Sony isnt in a great place financially and that has to be taken into consideration. I think we'll be lucky to get it for £300. The PSPgo was £220 when it launched or thereabouts so I really do fear for the price of this handheld.
g_marrs on 29 Jan '11 said:
But the PSPGo at that price was a failure. In fact, this is probably why the NGP is using flash cards. Sony's financial worries were the product of a stupidly expensive to make and even more expensive to buy home console, i.e. the PS3.