Official PSP Thread!

[zmweasel]

I wouldn't even pay $10, $5 would be a stretch. For one thing, the disc only holds enough for the movie, no special features or extras. Packing them in free with the movie would be the best way. Hell, I'd love a UMD version of Fifth Element.

The Spider-Man 2 UMD has two movie trailers, two language tracks, and optional subtitles--and it's a 128-minute flick, so extras are definitely possible. I never watch deleted scenes (which are deleted for a reason!), so I wouldn't miss those, but behind-the-scenes clips and music videos would be keen.

-- Z.

[goatdan]

I went around town tonight on a bunch of missions, and passed by a bunch of PSPs...

I was really surprised that out of the five gaming stores that I went into, three already had used PSPs. Oddly enough, between all of the stores that had used PSPs, they only had one game total that was on the floor marked as used -- a copy of Metal Gear Solid: Acid.

I was very tempted to pick up a used one, but didn't.

I can't imagine buying the system and giving up on it so quickly. As a note, I saw the same thing with Nintendo DS systems a week later. Just odd that people (kids? or stolen goods? probably?) give up on stuff so quickly.

[Putney]

I can't imagine buying the system and giving up on it so quickly. As a note, I saw the same thing with Nintendo DS systems a week later. Just odd that people (kids? or stolen goods? probably?) give up on stuff so quickly.

Maybe the used systems are some of the dead pixel ones so many people have returned? Perhaps Sony isn't taking them back, so the stores have to make some money somehow...

[Jasoco]

I wouldn't even pay $10, $5 would be a stretch. For one thing, the disc only holds enough for the movie, no special features or extras. Packing them in free with the movie would be the best way. Hell, I'd love a UMD version of Fifth Element.

The Spider-Man 2 UMD has two movie trailers, two language tracks, and optional subtitles--and it's a 128-minute flick, so extras are definitely possible. I never watch deleted scenes (which are deleted for a reason!), so I wouldn't miss those, but behind-the-scenes clips and music videos would be keen.

-- Z.

I'm an extra feature WHORE. If it doesn't have deleted scenes, commentary, a whole boatload of extras, I'd be hard pressed to pay anywhere near $10 for it.

[tholly]

well, add me to the list of people that will be returning their psp

at least i got the extended warranty

my system just stopped responding and on the main menu it said i had 2 umds in, but none of the buttons would let me do anything

i took the battery and the memory card out and put them back in and it seems to be working fine

it will last me until april 15th when i go home for the weekend....at which point i will be getting a new system

also, 1 dead pixel developed that i never saw before
i downloaded the dead pixel tester pics, and thats def what it is


so, im slightly mad right now

[Jibbajaba]

I feel myself cracking. I think I'll end up buying this thing this weekend. I'm going to get the extended warranty as well. Anyone know where it's the cheapest? (The warranty, not the system) Think I'll get Wipeout, too.

Chris

[halbert]

I couldn't resist, and ran out to buy one today, along with Untold Legends. The DS really doesn't touch it. Let's hope for a FFVII remake. Pleassee.

well, add me to the list of people that will be returning their psp

at least i got the extended warranty

my system just stopped responding and on the main menu it said i had 2 umds in, but none of the buttons would let me do anything

i took the battery and the memory card out and put them back in and it seems to be working fine

it will last me until april 15th when i go home for the weekend....at which point i will be getting a new system

also, 1 dead pixel developed that i never saw before
i downloaded the dead pixel tester pics, and thats def what it is


so, im slightly mad right now

Tholly, first of all, your problem with the unit appearing dead doesn't seem to be anything permanent, as other people have had the same problem but easily remedied it. If you take a look on some of the PSP forums, you can get some insight into this.

Also, dead pixels don't develop over time, what you get is what you'll always have. Sorry if I seem harsh, but it seems as if everyone is returning PSP's because they don't understand basic facts about LCD's.

[tholly]

I feel myself cracking. I think I'll end up buying this thing this weekend. I'm going to get the extended warranty as well. Anyone know where it's the cheapest? (The warranty, not the system) Think I'll get Wipeout, too.

Chris

EB's warranty was $25 for 1 Year

[SoulBlazer]

The one I got at Best Buy with my PSP was $40 for 2 years.

[tholly]

I couldn't resist, and ran out to buy one today, along with Untold Legends. The DS really doesn't touch it. Let's hope for a FFVII remake. Pleassee.

well, add me to the list of people that will be returning their psp

at least i got the extended warranty

my system just stopped responding and on the main menu it said i had 2 umds in, but none of the buttons would let me do anything

i took the battery and the memory card out and put them back in and it seems to be working fine

it will last me until april 15th when i go home for the weekend....at which point i will be getting a new system

also, 1 dead pixel developed that i never saw before
i downloaded the dead pixel tester pics, and thats def what it is


so, im slightly mad right now

Tholly, first of all, your problem with the unit appearing dead doesn't seem to be anything permanent, as other people have had the same problem but easily remedied it. If you take a look on some of the PSP forums, you can get some insight into this.

Also, dead pixels don't develop over time, what you get is what you'll always have. Sorry if I seem harsh, but it seems as if everyone is returning PSP's because they don't understand basic facts about LCD's.

yea .. i figured i probably just didnt notice it

but, as for the system appearing dead...im not gonna look at psp forums because its not something that should happen....it was an easy fix for me...took battery, put battery in...10 seconds total.....but, thats not something i should have to do.....no matter how easy

[Jibbajaba]

$40 for two years seems like a pretty good warranty deal.

I saw a system with a few dead pixels, and I dont think it's a big deal, BUT... In everyone's experience here, what store is the coolest about accepting returns/exchanges because of dead pixels. I probably wont return mine, but if I see a buttload of deadies, or especially if they are all in a clump then I will probably want a replacement. Has Best Buy been cool about this or are they the "piss off" type?

Chris

[mieu_c]

I get the feeling you have to be very gentle with it. My real concerns forget the dead pixels is can it take the handheld beating? I found 2 dead pixels but I am going to keep it because I probably would not have notice it if people weren't obsessing and overblowing the issue. On the other side I think some people have valid concerns, if I have one dead now will I have twenty in 5 months? Will the issue ever be resolved I doubt it because with perfect quality comes a perfect price.

What I've seen working with monitors is that if you get one with a dead pixel, in a few years you'll still have one with a dead pixel. Pixels do not suddenly spring to life (as Sony seems to state they do) or die easily. We have a laptop loaner program at work where students get a laptop with their tuition if they are in a certain program, so they don't exactly treat them nicely. When we get these laptops back four years later, about 90% come back with no dead pixels, and they are beat to hell. The 10% that come back with dead pixels I assume had them when we got them and no one said anything. So, in my opinion based on personal observations, as long as you're not throwing or dropping your PSP, you'll have two dead pixels in five months, and in five years.

Just a bit of an edit -- knowing this doesn't mean that I don't worry about my own monitors getting additional dead pixels in the future. As I've stated many times before, if I had two, personally I'd trade it in... but realistically, you probably don't have too much to worry about.

Yeah.. ok.. Maybe, but I know for a fact that in digital cameras you can get dead pixels that just pop out of nowhere.
It's happened to me a few times with a cannon GL1. Cannon had a problem with dead pixels. The bigger problem was that it was very expensive to fix, because they have to replace the whole board. My dead pixel appeared after almost a year of ownership. And believe me.. that camera was like a child to me. I treated it like gold. So anyway... I'm not buying one until they fix the problem. Cause I will not spend my money on something that isn't perfect.

[Jasoco]

Apparently, Sony plans on selling these UMD movies separately for $20-30 each. So screw them on that. I'll just buy a GB card and take my own movies with me.

Secondly, Ridge Racer kicks ASS! The system is worth it for RR and Lumines alone.

[Jibbajaba]

Apparently, Sony plans on selling these UMD movies separately for $20-30 each. So screw them on that. I'll just buy a GB card and take my own movies with me.

Secondly, Ridge Racer kicks ASS! The system is worth it for RR and Lumines alone.

I think that Sony is going to learn real quick that people arent going to pay that much for movies here. I mean, damn. For the price of 3 or 4 movies, you could invest in a 1 gig memory card and then stick your own movies on it.

RR and Lumines are the two games I was planning on picking up if I can find a system this weekend.

Chris

[FlashStash]

Just a quick note on availablility in Philadelphia...

Everywhere around here has stacks of them...the Best Buy I was in yesterday had over 100 of them.

I'm interested in hearing sell-through numbers...it seems to me they're not flying off the shelves here.

Not that I don't love the system, but if sales were that great, don't you think we would have heard from Sony by now? And how many have been returned because of the pixel issue?

FS

[vincewy]

1 week after launch, both my store and K-Mart have sold ONE, not kidding, looks like Sony doesn't have to worry about restocking the systems, it might take a while to sell the launch units anyway, now, how about moving the European launch date back up early.

[Beefy Hits]

Sales solid, but not a sell-out.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/31/tech...ales/index.htm

[poloplayr]

Just a quick note, a friend of mine who's a manager of an EB had an almost 100% rate of dead pixeled PSPs; almost every single sold unit had dead pixels.

[zmweasel]

Sales solid, but not a sell-out.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/31/tech...ales/index.htm

The most important quotes in the piece:

"'We believe that the PSP has come close to shipping its target 1 million units in North America, with a range of 475,000 to 575,000 sold to date in the U.S. with roughly another 250,000 to 300,000 in the channel,' wrote [analyst P.J.] McNealy, who said he still believes Sony will sell 4.5 million to 5.5 million PSPs in North America this calendar year."

and...

"The Nintendo DS, which many say the PSP competes with, sold 500,000 units in its first seven days on the market in North America. The DS, however, went on sale during the 2004 holiday season which is typically a much busier sales period."

So you can spin the first-week sales figures into a loss for Sony (selling through not quite two-thirds of its initial ship, despite gobs of hype) or a win for Sony (selling as many first-week units as the DS, despite a $100-higher price point and a launch in the slowest period of the videogame year).

It also seems safe to assume that more PSPs were returned or exchanged due to dead-pixel issues than DSes, although I don't know how that affects sell-through and sell-in numbers.

Oh, my, but this Christmas is going to be interesting.

-- Z.

[goatdan]

So you can spin the first-week sales figures into a loss for Sony (selling through not quite two-thirds of its initial ship, despite gobs of hype) or a win for Sony (selling as many first-week units as the DS, despite a $100-higher price point and a launch in the slowest period of the videogame year).

I wonder how Sony really sees it -- according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (The real paper), Sony expected to sell out of all one million shipped units at launch. While selling through somewhere between 475,000 and 575,000 units is one of the four best launches ever (what does beat it? Anyone have these numbers?), since Sony seems to have set their own bar at success = 100% sell out, even though I would call this a huge success in any other context, Sony's own comments make me wonder if it is or not.

It also seems safe to assume that more PSPs were returned or exchanged due to dead-pixel issues than DSes, although I don't know how that affects sell-through and sell-in numbers.

I would assume that it wouldn't affect sell-through rate, but would affect consoles-shipped. Sony doesn't have to claim that they got 2,000 or 200,000 back for defects, and the more they can claim to have sent to stores, the better it looks for their analysts and stock holders.