The new Sony PSP which is set to force users to download software from a Sony owned web site was planned to be released without a UMD disc drive from “the very beginning” according to Naoya Matsui, head of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Product Planning.
The new Sony PSP which is set to force users to download software from a Sony owned web site was planned to be released without a UMD disc drive from “the very beginning” according to Naoya Matsui, head of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Product Planning.
“We’d planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning,” Matsui told GameBusiness.jp.
In a a remarkable admission Matsui said “If we’d simply released the hardware, there wouldn’t have been much to enjoy,” said Matsui. “We needed things like the transferral of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as ‘Media Go’. We wanted to release it when the delivery of digital content was on par with the delivery of physical media. Thats what we’ve been working on these past two years”
The decision by Sony to bypass retailers and sell software directly for their new PSP is the start of what several analysts have said is a move by vendors to sell directly. Earlier this year we exposed that Sony had registered 19 business names for Sony Central stores in Australia. We have also been told that Sony plans to sell directly to consumers, games for their new Playstation console due next year as well as movies downloaded to their Bravia LCD TV’s.
One gaming magazine said “The end result? Sony appear to have made three mistakes. They’ve saddled consumers with a device that crosses two formats (UMD and digital downloads), have waited too long, with the Apple iPhone the digital download device of choice among most consumers now, and have still priced the PSP Go “too much” for most commentators. Will the Sony PSP Go thrive despite its format issues, high price and iPhone rival, though?
We doubt it as the Nintendo DSi already has over 80% market share.
