The news that Sony’s PSP Go will dispense entirely with the traditional physical distribution of games and other content in favour of digital delivery, not even including a disc drive, has filled game retailers with terror and anger, for they see the writing on the wall.
Plenty of those involved in the retail trade have expressed consternation at the move, and a representative voice is heard from one shopkeep below:
“With this PSP Go and its download only system, is Sony saying they don’t need us in the retail distribution channel? We’re no use to them?
But we’re business partners aren’t we? Shouldn’t there be some way we can improve distribution? If they go ahead specialialist shops are going to be in trouble. My own motivation is really suffering from all this uncertainty.
Has the time come for us to have to think of getting out of the business completely?”
Some retailers seem to have deluded themselves into thinking they are partners and not merely a distribution channel for products…
2ch is unsympathetic to the plight of these poor shopkeeps being ground underfoot by the wicked giant Sony:
“There’s no need for them so there’s no helping it.”
“You’re not needed.”
“Amazon’s there too, there’s no need for retail shops.”
“If your shop can take orders 24/7 and deliver to the customer’s home in 10 minutes I think there may be demand for you.”
“There’s just no need to buy games at shops anymore. You can order games online with free delivery and check they are in stock. Second-hand titles aren’t that cheap anyway, either.”
“If you’re going to sell downloads at least drop the price $15 or so…”
“It’s true that the age of physical retail is over, but it is also true that the PSP Go isn’t going to sell well.”
“Hurry up and change occupations…”
“What’s this going to mean for kids on their birthdays? Before it was ‘Here son, open your present!’, now it will be ‘Here son, let’s download together!’”
“This is the end of the market for used games.”
Via Itai News.
Clearly, consumers are not entirely ignorant of the fact that this represents the fulfilment of the long held wish to eliminate the market for second-hand games… However, otherwise it does not seem likely that many will mourn the loss of grubby little game shops and overpriced retail chains.
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Used games will become extinct.BTW Fuck gamestop.
yea fck gamestop
psp go still fails when they made it they werent smart enough to add another thumbstick!!
maybe they do know but plannin on putting it on the next psp so they can get more money those fckers1!!!!!
That's kind of funny... I don't thing they weren't stupid to not add another stick.
Because it's not the PSP2, they can't. If they add the second thumbstick, no current game will support it, and any future games that support it will screw over 50 million current PSP owners who only have one thumbstick. So, if they add a second thumbstick, and a game decides to support it, only a few million people, instead of 50 million people, can play it.
Although, if they make a PSP2, and don't add another thumbstick, I will take this back and call them morons.
You f-ing retard. Try to actually think why they didn't do that. THINK
PSP 3000 and PSP Go will be on the market at the same time, they will coexist. So....the same games that will run on the 3000 will run on the Go. If Go had a different control scheme, the games would have to be developed separately.
It would cost more....and since Go isn't actually the PSP 2 (a whole new platform - hardware is the same), there's no real need for that.
Hey, i was disappointed too when i first saw the pic, but then i thought about it, thought about why Sony didn't include the second nub.
My advice to you is....THINK
Nothing wrong with Gamestop.
Oh, also this whole thing is overblown. Even if PSP Go has downloadable games it will not affect game stores. Because just like the PS3, the PSP has no games.
i fucking hate gamestop. fuck gamestop.
and also yeah, the psp and ps3 have plenty of great games.
"Oh, also this whole thing is overblown. Even if PSP Go has downloadable games it will not affect game stores. Because just like the PS3, the PSP has no games."
You are truly a fucking moron. Let us know when you return from 2006.
This is the direction our society is heading in, computerization. Once AI is invented, it`s armageddon
AI already existed.
I meant real AI, the kind you see in movies, the kind that is of a human`s, but lacking a conscience.
"real AI, the kind you see in movies"
>_<
I think "real morons the kind you see on the internet" is more fitting.
The robots are going to kill us once they're smart enough to realize that humans are all assholes.
If I put your head in a jar, would you be in a better position to "cause the end of the world?" If you want an evil overmind you should aim a little higher.
I don't belive a human like AI can be made with out the pros and cons of the humand mind(there are some really good people, some really fucked up people and the people in between). Maybe we could be able to create a God like AI that would be vastly superior to human beings.
Well, Project Milo is pretty close to emotions.
It'll get more scary if I think too deeply of it.
Project Milo is only a stepping stone. As an up-and-coming game designer, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!
You guys need to realize blue screen of death and the red ring of death. We as humans make errors and any AI we make will only be as good as the person who coded it.
I wont say an AI can not learn, because it can. But there's a limit to what it can learn. It's the programm made by its developer. Only humans are able to still dream and want more, after they achieved their goal.
An AI can and will be helpfull, but ground breaking inventions still will come from humans.
You are engaging in weird magical thinking. The chain of species that lead to humans were comparatively stupid, but that didn't prevent the emergence of more intelligent descendants that with development of language accumulated a vast body of knowledge. Is there a reason in particular that you think humans are inherently incapable of generating models of cognition capable of duplicating any behavior you happen to find interesting in the long-run?
Ah, yes. I can see how this is all related to the new PSP.
No, seriously. I love it when a serious conversation spawns from something totally unrelated xD I love this site. ;.;
Cleverbot will kill us all.
You are all fucking losers.
True AI is what science considers a theoretical artificial consciousness that isn't restricted to pre-programmed bahavior - it's an artificial being that can learn and adapt just as good, or better than organic life forms. Modern computers (even simulated intelligence a.k.a. game AI) relies on specific algorithms that are fed with realtime data (be it amount of ammo, position of objects in the world or simple random values) and the algorithm will make the best possible choice from a set of predetermined action. You can't tell a computer "go and kill that guy". You can tell it "if(numer_of_enemies > 0) attack(get_nearest_enemy())".
True AI is different. It is something that would reason the way we do. It would not follow any set programming, but rather create new set of program code when it's faced with an unknown choice. It will decide which behavior is aproparate (beneficial to the self) by examining the results of it's random behavior and then retain or discard the behavior. This is the equivalent of a child touching a heated oven and finding out this is a dangerous thing to do.
Now, considering the vastly superior computing power of silicon over carbon, such AI will make us meatbags outdated very quickly if it dvelops human level intelligence. A single $100-$200 CPU will likely have more computing power than the human brain in 20 years (assuming Moore's law holds for a while longer). And since AI will have full awareness of it's structure (humans understand silicon ICs -> AI with human level intelligence can understand it) it will be able to improve itself in much the same way as various super heroes from the Marvel universe.
Weather such machines develop enough compassion so they won't exterminate us is unclear, but unlikely.
Anyway, I'm drifting away too much.
The most basic idea behind (true) AI is this: make a self aware computer, that does not need to be programmed in order to accomplish it's task.
Such a creation will defiantly not be limited by the ability of it's creator.
Look, as long as this all leads to persocoms in the future, i don't care. However, well met lass/lad!
Does Arnie from the future has arrived??
tl;dr
@Anonymous
don't try and sound smart with all your stupid preprogramed arguments. humans have instincts that act the same as an if statement, if u know wat that it, and we can't overide it. the thing that would make AI as close to human as possible is by creating a new type of material for the processor. one that can retain memory without having to write it. if ur following my argument then u can fill in the rest.
I don't care, i'll still buy it anyway
The retailers have no right to babble about this. "Bussiness partners" it seems. I wonder how Sony will react, or will they completely ignore it?
It's a Japanese thing. I've seen similar scenarios in some anime. Can't remember though which.
tsskk... game retailers, the least kind of thing I worry about. Honestly, I feel SO much better not having to go all the friggin way to a game store just to buy or rent a game! waste of time.
This is excellent news to me, and couldnt care less about retailers myself.
This whole things is a fucking stupid idea. Not long ago I saw something about how North America's internet pipes are already clogged what with all the P2P and shit going on, and now they want to add an additional gigantic burden on the already taxed pipes in this country? So now I have to waste my allotted traffic per month to buy digital copies of the games for the same price as a physical copy, plus the over usage ($3 for every GB over 30)if I go over my limit!?
Fucking retards, all of them.
Brown outs are a myth, they were predicted before and they never happened. Also steam has proved to be very successful. Get a better connection or don't buy the console.
STEAM was a testament on how a system like this should work. And even distributors like EA are fast copying them. While it has some niggles, STEAM provides users with a fast and easy way to download games, and at such, you don't have to worry about disc check or DRM shit. As long as you are logged in to your account, you can play the games that you buy.
Another one that I love is how they thought up of the free play weekend, where you can download a certain game for free to test for one weekend and in that timeframe, the game is sold with a discount. Valve showed that while they the profit is less per sale, the sheer volume of people buying it offset that and they got a lot more profit than by selling it for the full price
what are you whining i need pay for each extra
1 Gigabyte = €1,02 (1,42 USD) Abo limit = 30 GB price = € 40 (55.85 USD)
Those charges are less about congestion than they are about (1) exploiting regional monopolies (2) keeping ip traffic from competing with cable/vod/voice packages.
It's just the PSP, stop having a fucking conniption.
Although, maybe now retailers will try to earn their keep a little, Gamestop is garbage.
I can understand that the issue of Mom and Pop Shops are worry that if Sony won't distribut the product in the Store then whats the point?
Although I do prefer owning physical media, If it can screw Gamestop I'll support it.
Seconded.
cmon think about buy a game from Sony or from a Game retailer the price is same ?? Damm Sony making more profit !!!
I'll continue what I am currently doing. Torrenting all my PSP games. I ony ever bought one game and that was Kanon Portable.
Did it work (Kanon Portable) for you? It was one of the few PSP games I bought and it had a bug where the voiceovers stopped after a certain date early in the game. This sucked since I bought it specifically for being able to listen to the voiceovers. Total letdown.
what a bout those without a computer or internet isnt sony shutting out some people from its distribution sector with this
People without a computer or the internet aren't worth catering to in the first place. They'll never cough up all that extra money in DLC...
Do you or anyone commenting here realise if you dont want to get a psp go you dont need to. Its being sold along side the psp. 50 million would still buy physical media, and however many that buy the go wont. If you dont have an internet connection and you buy a go, it serves your dumb ass right. No one is being shut out. The psp will be supported along side the go. DID ANYONE HERE F#@!ING LISTEN DURING E3? It doesnt look like it. Also half the people here need to go back to school and learn how to speek english, I can bairly understand what half these people are trying to write.
They COULD just set up download points in store ¬_¬
Or is that too simple to think of? xD
‘Here son, let’s download together!’
I'm pretty sure they're not doing away with UMDs. The PSP Go! will dispense with physical copies, yes, but they're not stopping their distribution. The PSP Go! is not replacing the PSP.
Yeah sony said it will be sold with the 3000 side by side.
Anything that can be digitized should and WILL eventually be digitized. Deal with it.
The last comment is right. With this "download to play" model, it basically means there is no value to the game once its completed (no matter how many multiplayer options they add, it will still get boring after awhile). What that means is that you can no longer sell the games you dont want anymore. This also means that prices will inflate, instead of deflate. It's happened with CD's before P2P showed up, its happening now with Bluray with no competitor around. Now with digital downloads, you dont own the game anymore, you're just renting it from Sony.
It does however, cut down on resources in order to make those fucking useless methods of storage.
It cuts down but it doesn't mean the price will go down. Companies will still charge you the full price of a game now (30-60 bucks) because each download is supposedly a brand new game.
People have already been burned by this model, in regards to music.
People who bought licenses to songs from Microsoft lost the ability to re-download those licenses when they changed music players, had a hardware failure, etc., because Microsoft made a business decision to close down the licensing servers. (I believe that was fraud on the part of Microsoft, even if the EULA allowed them to legally do this.)
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006844.html
The same thing can and will happen with downloadable licenses for games.
When Final Fantasy XXXV comes out, you know it won't be long before you can no longer (re-) download Final Fantasy XXXIV. Companies hate it when their toughest competition comes from their own products.
I've seen multiple posts here, reading, "fuck GameStop". I don't know why that is, from a customer perspective. I've bought a few used games and anime DVDs from them, and not had any problems (perhaps the comments were posted by unhappy _employees_ of GameStop).
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
The existence of used consoles and used games helps keep down the price of new items -- this is a benefit to the consumer.
If anything, I'd say, "fuck Sony!" -- I won't buy into this no-media plan, and I won't give them any money for their consoles.
That's also my policy for PC games which require on-line activation, or an always-on Internet connection. I won't buy 'em!
Having said that, I am okay with requiring DVD #1 to be in the optical drive when I start the game. I protect my game DVDs with those "condoms" (clear plastic anti-scratch covers which attach to the DVD and stay attached, even when the DVD is in the drive).
I doubt the PSP GO will take off in japan tho. From my understanding, it's impossible to play monster hunter on it properly!!
Probably more of a western thing...
sony said they will continue to realease UMD (to psp 3000 owners)
I never really liked buying from those retailers, anyway.
They keep overcharging me.
For once, I have to side with 2ch. Game retailers--okay, Gamestop has gotten embarrassingly greedy since they bought and subsequently lobotomized all the good guys. I'd have no problem with one day being able to look back at the PSP Go as the very first bolt in the eventually-gigantic machine that brought about Gamestop's downfall.
But, as long as you have people whining about the problems of not having a tangible disc, and as long as the current restrictions of digital downloads (DRM and what-have-you) actually lend credibility to some of their arguments, I suppose it's just a pipe dream.
Microsoft has announced direct downloads for new games aswell, so lets see how the North American retailers react. (Although physical copies will still be produced)
The future of shopping is the internet, adapt or perish.
Sigh, no more borrowing discs from friends. Bye bye second hands.
The retailers do this to themselves. Why shop at a store like gamestop when I can go to amazon.com and find exactly what I'm looking for and it costs 10-20% less plus I get free 2 day shipping with prime. Not only that but I can get reviews on the game I'm looking at from other consumers without being told that I should buy an x box because it's the superior product and that I should pre-order FPS clone 65 that's coming out in 2314. Oh do you have your edge card btw? It comes with this awesome magazine subscription. Retailers can go screw.
Replying to myself because I can't edit:
As far as used games go, there will always be ebay at least until some time in the distant future when all games are 100% digital download.
I guess these fucking stores werent satisfied with selling a million copies of the same game to the same customer.
Theres always gonna be a need to sell a physical copies of games anyway, I see why they're bitching. besides, how strong of a format was the UMD anyway?
UMD never gained popularity. Don't think it was worth money to the manufacturers to produce another format that only works with a niche market when DVD/Blu ray is the universally accepted format.
its a pretty fail format imo. pretty much specific to PSPs prolly have to allocate extra effort to get them designed, shipped, and produced = weeping wallets.
It's no secret that Sony hates the second hand market because the company does not reap any profits from it. So downloadable games means a reduction of the 2nd hand market since users won't be able to sell a downloaded second hand game. To a certain extent, Sony views the second hand market as a bigger threat than piracy.
And what one 2ch user posted is true: it's not like 2nd hand titles in Japan are cheap, especially the more popular titles. And sometimes the price reduction on some titles aren't really that worth it. Sony is capitalizing on the growing demographic of gamers who are Internet-savvy and don't want the hassle of physical mediums impairing their enjoyment of games.
I'm not buying a PSP Go now.
I will never pay for something I can't hold in my hand and that can vanish with a simple malfunction .
not even your laptop or desktop PC?
You can touch your PC/laptop.
I take it you don't buy mp3s?
The way I understand it, it'll be like the current PSN with PS3. You can buy games, dl them to your HD, delete them if you need space, and re-download them later on if you want. If you bought it on PSN it should still be on your account.
Granted you may have to take the time to dl it again, but that's not so bad, is it?
I can see why they are worried, but good riddance.
Physical media has always been the most efficient way to exploit costumers since we pay tens of time the production cost.
And the future won't wait for anyone anyways. Other "movements" like this one can't be stopped also, like piracy for instance, because it is, quoting the Aviator, THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!
doesn't matter they will settle things like always i just wish it would be by death match
Its just the beginning of centralized mega corporation who will take over the world . Kill all small business , take the monopole and sell your shit at whatever price you want .
"...sell your shit at whatever price you want..."
->
"...sell your shit at whatever price THEY want..."
Fixed
but the psp go is probably going to suck anyway. at least in comparison to the ds. then again pretty much everything is inferior to the ds in sales.
The new designs kinda difficult to play with the d-pad and analog arrange like that. and isn't that idiotic post like 'first' gets deleted right away?
In the U.S. at least, "game shops" are mostly Game Stop, a chain that has worked hard to maximize profits in the most obnoxious ways possible. While fully digital distribution is probably still a ways off, I for one will not miss Game Stop.
now fatties don't even have to walk to their car
If this makes Game Stop rage, then I'm happy.
This won't take off.
Some people, myself included, like to have physical copies of their games just so they can display them and brag about how many games they've beaten.
And as people here have said, the danger of digital data is that it can be deleted very easily.
The future may be now, but gosh is it ever fragile.
I agree with this, I love having my games displayed showing my gaming style. With the DD going on now this won't happen cause it will all be on the computer.
Some will like the strictly net download for the game, and Sony will lose the customers that want physical media. Only time will tell if Sony made the right decision in going in only one direction.
Ugh, really not into that psp go...
It was clear, from the start, that this would be bad news for retailers. What's really sad, though, was that this wasn't reported sooner.
Like I said before in previous post about PSP GO:
Only catch is that u have to depend on your local sony store of ur country. for US and Canada we rarely get good games unlike Japan Sony Store...
And with PSP GO, u cant even import UMDs....
So unless they have a tool to "transform" UMDs into PSP GO files, - NOT GOTTA GET IT.
Make JP Account, Get JP PSN card and download games
Oh dear yes; many small vintage game stores selling second-hand merchandise will be SORELY missed. That said, eBay makes an acceptable substitute.
Still, as long as game sales are locked into the console through some form of digital rights management, there will be people looking for hard copies of video games -- partially on account of having physical media for backup as well as out of principle against the system itself.
Retail stores have one thing over Amazon -- if they have stuff in stock, you can take it home that day.
thx to DarkAlex, i never went to retail shops for my psp be4 xD
Ok i have a question. Did anyone fucking watch e3 2009 or am i the only who read and heard that they will be selling the psp 3000 along with the psp go. so if im thinking right there is still gonna be hard disk copys so its pretty much the same as the new dsi. which is mostly download games and flash card games or what ever you want to call them. so i say this whole issue is doing nothing but making sony looking like a bad guy thought i wish they do lower the price on the psp go. there will still be people buying the psp 3000 and buying umd copys of the game so people look up the info first before talking about shit you dont know all the facts on . (Im talking to the mom and dad game companys and gamestop which should know better. plus we all know this 20 percent for a trade in game crap is a rip off in its own so they cant talk)
Somebody actually put that a couple posts up, though it was brief.
with the products (games) not passing through the middleman (retailers) the products can be bought cheaper!! retailers are not partners their leeches!!
Hmm... nice idea. P:
Though it'd be nice if they put the disc slot in, for the UMDs of the original.
Although wasn't a different company creating a download-only system as well? I remember reading that somewhere...
Yeah, it's called the Zeeboo, and is developed and released exclusively in South America. Article on gamasutra.com: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23776
Retailers may be obsolete in the coming years. Online distribution/download even helps to get around issues with limited product availability. Hopefully, you can still get pre-order goodies (by mail?)! And if any gamers out there (or anybody in general) does not have internet access, evolve and get some dammit >_< stop livin under that rock and join the rest of society!
I like my privacy. No ISP, no cable, no landline (cellphone is via pre-paid card).
I like being able to walk into a store, plunk down some cash, and take away my newly-purchased game or movie, without being profiled, catalogued, info-matched, and sold off to the highest bidder.
The happy-go-lucky "Hey, Amazon/Craigslist/eBay, here's my credit card info, send me some shit!" crowd clearly is "livin' under a rock" and not paying attention to computer security / corporate malfeasance / identity theft news.
(The sad part is that while it's technically possible to have what I would consider reasonably-anonymous-and-secure on-line transactions, there are sufficiently powerful commercial and governmental interests opposing that, that I don't think it will happen.)
And by the way, typing comments into a forum via the Internet -- which you and I both are doing -- is not "join(ing) the rest of society!"
You shouldn't forget the reliability issues with the 2 things that matter here. A hardware failure can wipe out all the games you have bought and with digital copy only policy that can meen a lot of money wasted.
And second the sony network security. I don't want to use some company network and give them my personal information. Heck I have enough understanding about how internet works to NEVER GIVE CREDIT CARD INFORMATION to any internet service. That's just begging some asshole to steal it and use it.
Isnt it so that at PSN you buy the right to downoad it? So all you need to do is remember youre account name and download the things you bought again with the new hardware.
Yeah...I would assume that they have the info on their system as well as SEVERAL backups so even if there's one failure there would still be a record of what you'd purchased so you can re-download.
And the kid working at the retail store may be good enough to memorize your CC#, should we have been living in fear all these years? Do you really think Sony is going to be hacked every week or something? Someone steals your # from them you just get your card reissued. It's really not a big deal.
how gives a F**k sony said the PSP 3000 is going to sell right along side it so they will still have that plus there are too many otaku out there who want the phisycal content so they'll still buy the UMD's too
Thats like buying thin air
The electronic distribution has already started some years ago. I think valve was the first. For me its frightening, as it is for the game retailers. As log as it is on pc, the system is still open. On consoles, specially providing only download the whole system will be a closed shop, so no more 2nd hand games, no more possibility to play Japanese or us games, since the distributor will decide what you gonna see.
I will actively boycott Sony from now on. The started the region code, an now this. The same will happen to DVD too and maybe also to music.
Means for the customer, higher prices, more restrictions, no more sales and so on.
Piracy Station Portable. No need for you.
fuck amazon! and anything alike
i prefer buying hand to hand
it feels better buying when u can actually test the things first hand
lol at any retailer that deals in solely PSP products. i mean, seriously, if you're an intelligent business owner, you'd have all sorts of additional products to cover the fact that you won't be selling any PSP Go games.
i live down the street from a local video game retailer, no connection to any large-scale, nationwide chain, and his shop is the largest and most popular game retailer in town (Gamestop is practically empty), and i doubt he gives a shit about sony's new portable console and it's download-only game distribution system.
if sony doesn't feel like using you to sell their games, just sell other forms of entertainment media. it's that easy.
Love the image.
Makoto <3
sony won't stop psp3k distribution and umd releases. the psp go just offers an option for those who don't want to walk the extra mile.
besides, umd, like any motor-driven storage, is a piece of shit. the drive drains the battery even faster than it does with just running the game.
many releases support memstick installation now, or you can get yourself a hackable psp and dump the umd yourself. i did so with all of my games, actually. don't carry a single umd around any more.
then those shops needs to catch up with the times rather than whining about it. maybe offer some sort of download service through the net or something...
Not surprised at all. It's a Sony, the overlord of draconian business practices. They forced Lik Sang to go out of business for importing Japanese PSP into Europe. And those guy were buying legit PSP and boosting sale for them. So why would the game retailers think Sony consider them as partners? Once Sony has no more business with them they will be thrown out like garbage. While I have to agree Sony makes good products most of the time, they have zero corporate responsibility and accountability. They terrorize people with potential lawsuits from their big-name Jew lawyers. I hope they go out of business soon.
As opposed to Microsoft (actually run by a "big-name Jew") becoming dominant?
At least Bill Gates is a philanthropist who donates billions to charities and scholarships every year. All Sony cares about is making profits and running down competitions. And Microsoft is getting curbed, while Sony is running out of control. Not that Microsoft is a lot better, it is just the lesser of the two evils. And I don't want Microsoft to become dominant. Why can't we just have a game console maker who makes good products AND doesn't treat people like dirt?
So, if you're robbed, you'd feel better if you knew a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the money would go to a charitable cause / tax write-off?
The biggest problem i see is that (very probably) games will be available only at one source, Sony online store.
Now the people can check different stores seeking for the best price of a game, special discounts, etc. When you have one store you have very few possibilities: pay the price, not pay the price, wait (probably) a lot of time waiting the price to drop.
I see often stores that don't change prices for games of many years old, often RPGs and so on. I fear that we will be more restricted than before.
Another thing i'll never accept is that already the price of the games contains a percentage of money that sony (as all the other console manufacturers) receive automatically for each copy sold. I'd like to pay more the console and pay the games less (and i say also, more proper) as in the PC market.
"Here son, let’s download together" hahahahaha.
I'm for downloading games only if I can get Japan Titles in the US. if not, no PSP go or download style consoles.
I'm not for second hand games since I don't sell anything for the nostalgia of after a few years popping it back into a system and playing it again. it's entertaining.
All media retailers are overpriced, and too many people just keep handing out money for the merchandise anyways. so I don't blame Game Stop, I blame you people that keep giving them money when you know you can find it on Ebay or Amazon 10 times cheaper.
When I buy a game I want to pay for the game. Not the GS employees, not their rent, not for the cost of the truck shipping it to the store. For ED games, even if they sell the game for the same price that means more of the money will go to develop the game, making it better (supposedly).
GS will only survive if it has some benefit over electronic distribution, like great service or super knowledgeable employees that can direct you to just the kind of game you are looking for based on your tastes and hahahahahaha yeah whatever. They simply don't care, and have had it way to easy for way too long.
And don't forget that 2nd hand games take a huge chunk out of developer profit, meaning lower quality games.
And don't forget that while in downtown USA there are lots of game retailers, Electronic distribution allows some hope of selling games in like 80% of the rest of the world where there is no such distribution. Like all of China, India, Russia, South America, etc... Where they (we) couldn't even buy a legal copy of the game if they wanted to. Zeebo is doing it, and with a 3G chip of all things.
Perhaps if GS was a little progressive minded they could become an "Electronic Download" store the way iTunes store did.
Good. The less people working in retail, the better for their sanity.
Who ever made these complaints shouldn't be working in retail, as he or she clearly knows nothing of the market.
First of the PsP doesn't sell games, anyone that works in retail would know this and should not be bothered much about this. If anything it would make his or her job easier.
Second of, he or she is totally missing the point entirely. From the very beginning of this generation the issue between Sony and Microsoft has been disc based vs download based. Microsoft are saying that there is no need to have a HD disc format on their console cause they think downloads is the future. While Sony Decided to make a 50gb disc that would make downloads mute by todays technologies.
Forget wether or not we as gamers have sympathy for the vampire that is GameStop and similar companies. Wether this person actually works in retail (if he/she does then he/she should get fired)or wether this person is just trying to start a flame war I don't know. Either way this person clearly doesn't know what he/she is talking about.
I don't get what the problem is, they'll still be selling the normal PSP's right?
Awesome Fool
http://www.project-natal.com
I couldn't care less about retailers. Time is moving on, we can't be stuck in the same time forever, the world is digitializing, accept it and move to another aspect of business. I am looking forward to see my games arrive on download, much easier, faster etc.
Retailers will have absolutely nothing to worry about because the PSP GO will be an epic FAIL! Sony has NEVER listened to it's customers, for years we've been asking for dual analog sticks on the PSP, three versions later NOTHING! We want a built in camera, touch screen technology, 3G support ect and again NOTHING! I as well as many many many other people are not going to spend money on yet another version of the PSP that offers nothing new and looks like a flip up N-Gage. Get with the times Sony!!!!!!
o jesus christ stop your winging.
there just worried now because there going to loose alot of money and will now have to drive BMW's instead of lambos you poor babys.
seriously game retailers make 80% of there money on preowned games and retail games.
example EB games on release of resi 5 they had it for 120 AUD jbhifi had it for 85 AUD.
eat lead the revenge of mat hazzard on release EB 100AUD jbhifi 65AUD.
crysis on release EB 100 AUD jbhifi 90AUD.
i hate big companys because they completly rip you off.
and another reason i bought sonic unleashed the guy told me if you dont like it bring it back in 7 days for a FULL REFUND so i did that 4 days later and he would not give me a refund.
you cant offer someone something than refuse to give them it i should call consumer affairs onto them because thats illegal.
Think of it economically. Lack of physical media reduces jobs, meaning more unemployed, and cuts production costs while simultaneously reducing the value of the product, except that Sony has absolute control of availability. Charging for each independent download earns Sony more money, so they will, even if you have an account and have already paid for said game. Sony hardware has had a lot of problems lately, with the PS3 and PSP experiencing technical problems that could easily result in the loss of many games. Sony will charge you for each download because it will net more money. This also means that all of our funds, which would be spent locally otherwise, are sent directly to Sony, well away from the damaged local economy.
Second, Sony will phase out the PSP if the Go is successful because it will save on their costs. All they have said is that they will initially support both consoles at once. They are testing the waters to see if the new system will sell. If it does, no more PSP, no more UMD's, and get ready to buy all of your beloved old games in digital format, if Sony bothers to distribute the programs. For even more info on Sony's evil in this regard, consider how they stated they would allow us to gain programs for all of our PSP games free on the Go, then reneged on the offer at the last minute.
Third, if the Go works, other companies will have to compete in the same manner. In other words, all major systems will have to go digital in order to match Sony's savings. This means that every video game you actually physically own will rapidly become obsolete. This means that retailers that specialize in Video Games will either have to change product, or cease operation. More unemployed people. More weight on the World Economy. Admittedly, it's not like everyone and their mother works at a game store, but still. Ultimately, hard copies will become a ridiculously overpriced niche item, likely sold only at very expensive sites in bootleg format or in limited runs at conventions.
Finally, in terms of availability, good luck with the local censors. No imports not supported by the local hardware, and unless you read the language, no reliable imports, period.
This is bad. Just because it makes things easier to get a game does not mean it is a good thing.