What were Sony thinking...?

Wertz

This whole EU PSP launch thing has been pissing me off more and more steadily the past few weeks.
Okay, sure I can understand that Sony release onto the Japanese/Asian market first; after all it is their home country/market and is the testbed for all tech products.
...and I suppose I can moreorless understand that they release in the USA/Canada next, before the EU.

The question here is why?
Well I know why in theory.
Packaging and ingame menus need to be more specific for the multilingual EU. More importantly, Sony's marketeers foresaw huge demand for this console (in the US) and were worried about not being able to meet demand whilst maintaining quality.
But it seems that most of the demand so far for the PSP is as much from eBay sellers and profiteers selling exclusively to areas where the PSP has not (and will not for some time) release, as from normal US consumers.
Basically the supply/demand caused by these staggered releases is what is causing the demand. I've been speaking to some people I know in the US and they say although it's a big thing over there, that they are easy enough to get hold of...or at least they were.
Now I'm seeing pages upon pages of PSPs on auction sites, many being mulitple unit sales from single sellers...
The conspiracy theorist in me says that Sony employees or someone else with a vested interest are riding on the $50+ per unit profit that is being generated in the current frenzy, and that this is the real reason that the release is being pushed back. But meanwhile in the real world...

All I wanna be able to do is purchase this thing for a fair price, without having to wade through pages upon pages of auction sites rife with pyramid schemes and people who won't mail internationally, all the while reading feedback and terms of sale. I'd like to be able to make what is a relatively expensive purchase in the safe knowledge that I am covered by a warranty and that the unit doesn't have to wing it's way halfway across the planet to be fixed.
Is that so much to ask?


Oh and while I'm at it, for those thousands of us in EU land who have forgone our supposed right to wait until paddy last in the games markets, and imported the console....
WHY HAVE THE F**KING GAMES BEEN PUSHED BACK TILL THE SAME DATE???
(rhethorical question)



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dceire

I feel your pain brother, I'm at the same place right now...
thank you so much sony

L5

buy from ebay tbh, its simple and straightforward if you bother looking into it.
You lads are making way too big a deal about importing, always posting questions about tax and import duty, just order the damn thing from a reputable seller on ebay, a Japanese version will cost you 220 euro shipping 20-30 euro, ask them to mark it as a gift with a value of 50 euro and post it by EMS.And your 99% certain to avoid any taxes.
If you ordered now youd have it by friday
:rolleyes:

KdjaCL

Get family to buy one in US for you and post it over.


kdjac

Wertz

Thing is I've been looking into it since last week. I spend a lot of time on ebay anyways so...
It's a chore in itself wading through pages of crap to find what you're after. I realise I'm gonna pay a premium; I'm not that naieve but as I mentioned stuff like variable postal rates and import/VAT fees make the end price very hard to even guess.
Money isn't that much of an issue, but handing over the purchase price + healthy profit and then not having the surety of backing in the event that the thing stops working IS.

Already trying the "mates in the 'states" route, but as I've said availablity is low due in the most part to people mass buying for resale to EU. Most who I've been talking to over there are having to buy on ebay themselves.

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[reboot] Anyway that's not my qualm. People see an opportunity for profit and they take it...more power to them. But it's always europe at the sh*t end of the stick.
What was wrong with the scenario where Sony released only 700,000 units in the US and 300,000 in the EU with more to come in both regions?
They still sell the same amount regardless.
Right now the EU market for these is at the mercy of exporters and it's going to be the same for the next 3 months. This is fine for all the adult gamers amongst us, but when your 3 preteens (and every other kid out there) start seeing these and wanting to get in on the action, the demand is merely gonna increase, along with the prices.
Simply put, it's all bullsh*t.

Gizzard

omg just order from the states and have it marked down so there is no duty, your only going to get ripped off here anyway, or order from japan if you want to watch euro UMD movies in the future

Boro

Gizzard wrote:

omg just order from the states and have it marked down so there is no duty, your only going to get ripped off here anyway, or order from japan if you want to watch euro UMD movies in the future

I take it that means the UMD's are going to be region coded then? Joy.

Zhane

Boro wrote:

I take it that means the UMD's are going to be region coded then? Joy.

UMD Movies are coded, games are not.

Gizzard

Boro wrote:

I take it that means the UMD's are going to be region coded then? Joy.

yeah for the trillianth time, UMS movies are coded games are NOT coded, I personly think they will change the movies to region free in a future firmware upgrade because of poor UMD movie sales, theyre too expensive atm, and old titles

bambam

On the ebay front, there are also english guys who have already imported from Japan/US, and are sellling on (in new condition). So you are guaranteed not to pay import duty/VAT.

Wertz

OK just to set thingst straight;
this thread was started as a rant about Sony's policy, NOT as an "OMG I wanna PSP and I want it now!" bitchfest.
I'm trying to incite debate on why this is how it is and how it might be changed (yes, I know it won't be).

To anyone who's advised me to buy from eBay, try to avoid dutys, etc; thx but I think that I as a customer have just as much right as the American or Japanese buyer to have my PSP covered by warranty without it having to be posted round the world at my expense if by some small chance something goes wrong.
I think I also have the right to pay roughly the same price as they do (+VAT) and to obtain it locally at around the same time they do.
Other's here don't think I have these rights and they're correct, but I (ie WE) should have. That was all I was trying to get across. eBaying for the thing is neither here nor there....at this stage it's the only option for europeans and it's just wrong.

Am I in the minority with this opinion?

L5

Wertz wrote:

Am I in the minority with this opinion?

Yes, we're all too busy playing our PSP's to care

Headshot

L5 wrote:

Yes, we're all too busy playing our PSP's to care

dam right

L5

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

dam right

you get your us games yet? the first of mine should be here tomorrow. And spiderman 2 was just shipped.

Headshot

L5 wrote:

you get your us games yet? the first of mine should be here tomorrow. And spiderman 2 was just shipped.

there on the way as we speak

L5

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

there on the way as we speak

nice

Pity fifa and mercury not out for another week :mad:

Headshot

L5 wrote:

nice

Pity fifa and mercury not out for another week :mad:

its a disgrace i want my fifa now

1huge1

3 words

get a ds

dceire

1huge1 wrote:

3 words

get a ds

Oh stop Ur killing me
Ordered my psp today should have it within the week, so now I won’t be nagging on about buying one!

FuzzyWuzzyWazza

Wertz wrote:

Am I in the minority with this opinion?

You are not alone!! I don't see the need for us to be $hit on when it comes to console releases, film releases, game releases and what not!! But then again, who's listening to us?

Headshot

dceire wrote:

Oh stop Ur killing me
Ordered my psp today should have it within the week, so now I won’t be nagging on about buying one!

about time you got one

dceire

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

about time you got one

Yea well what are ya gona do!