Game Shops Rage at Sony's PSP Go

Sankaku Complex writes: "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."

[MGOelite]

gamestops gonna brick its pants lol. with the 360s instant game thing as well lol

[velcry]

the gameshop nearest my house is already selling the patapon 2 umd case with the download voucher inside, no umd included. they might be getting a smaller cut of the pie, but it's still money to be made.

sony already said that they will be ensuring that games can still be distributed at gameshops, just that they will sell the download vouchers instead of the UMD discs.

so don't be alarmist. business is carrying on as usual.

[sniper-squeak]

Just imagine if the PS3 went digital...

[Demonsdown]

Gamestop has known for years that its going to happen the owner even said in an interview that the reason for the used game pricing is so they can take as much as they can while they still have a physical based distribution to do it to.

Although it wouldn't surprise me at all if some governments that have Reselling laws force the game and other digital distribution items like movies and music to find a way to enable trading and reselling this type of thing eventually.

[Syronicus]

These stores start seeing Kiosks put in place of used games racks. Kiosks that will be there for DLC. Just bring in your PSP or memory card and purchase and DL the games right at the store. They have had this in Japan for a long time now. I wonder when it will come to the States?

[Baliw]

Not everyone likes the idea of give away his credit card numbers.

Shops just need to offer the service; the one to download the game to your PSP Go!. your memory card, or any other storage media.
In other words, they will 're-sell' the game to you instead of you buying it from PSN Store.

So guys, chill, there's no problem with this thing.

[anh_duong]

the author does know that sony is still selling psp 3000 doesn't he?

furthermore this is the future of all hand held gaming devices.

the iphone, zune hd will all have digital delivery.. i think game shops can b1tch and moan as much as they liked but even they can't stop the inevitable..

[N4g_null]

A smart retailer would like this even more. They could sell online currency and vouchers. They can also still be a place for the publisher to advertise also. The cool thing about online downloading is the fact that a old good game will still be around and it doesn't get lost at retail. This is why I love the VC for old school games. Yet some thing tells me some retail space may rail against this idea because they don't know how to evolve. You may not hear them do it openly but you may see it in the sales push.

[ThanatosDMC]

PS3 all ready went digital a long time ago.

Side Note: Demon's Souls is freaking awesome! Being a Black Phantom is just great. I completely ruin other people's games!

[sniper-squeak]

I meant fully digital lol, like no format at all, such as Blu-ray.

Just Digital Downloads... but mind you, you'd need a heck of a lot of space!

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Agreed. A $200 PS3 'slim' that forgoes blu-ray for digital downloads. Have it sell with Wifi and a 80GB harddrive and a introductory voucher of Killzone 2 to download.

[Dir_en_grey]

One Japanese retail store owner wrote a rant on his blog, and now it's game shop"s" rage at Sony?
People on 2ch are laughing at this idiot anyway.

[falcon]

one day we're going to say bye bye to gamestop... and I believe this is a good thing

[Homicide]

@1.1, I agree. That is my issue, and also you can find used copies or brand new copies cheaper than the retail price. With DD, you only have one price. Also, I wonder if they'll have the whole PSP library available for download including niche games.

[SuperM]

Actually downloadable games are usually cheaper then if you buy them in the stores.

[s8anicslayer]

welcome to the digital age, If the next round of consoles uses the same method of digital distribution then say goodbye to places like gamestop and especialy gamefly

[life doomer]

gamestop deserves to go out of business.

[gta2800]

I disagree. Yes I hate their rip off business tactics, but that's business. You just have to simply avoid going there and that's that. I wouldn't want them to go out of business. Think of the thousands of employees they will have to layoff. Sure, it doesn't pay well but it's still a job and the employees are still getting paid. Just think about that next time you wish a big company went out of business.

On topic though. This whole "PSP GO is gonna kill physical distribution" thing is really exaggerated. Sony already said they're still going to fully support UMD and that they're working on some software to convert your UMD's into downloadable files. So I don't see why some people are making a big fuss of it. I personally will just buy my UMD's and convert them with the software Sony will release(hopefully). But where are the "360 is gonna kill physical distribution" articles at? They're going in the same direction as the PSP too but that doesn't necessarily mean this is the doom for any physical game media. I think this type of stuff might take a small hit on physical media but nothing drastic. I mean just look at the music industry. They thought the CD was doomed when MP3 players came out, years later MP3 players have become a house hold item, yet CD's are still selling. Yes, CD sales aren't the same as they used to be but CD's still sell. It will be a while before everything goes to digital distribution, by that time we will all just have to accept it, but until then just relax.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

more competition. There is a Game Crazy in the Indianapolis area, but it is almost an hour from my house. I never hear anything negative about Game Crazy. We have Disc Replay that is better than Gamestop for used games with titles going back to the 2600, but their selection is low for current gen systems.

Best Buys and Ebay, sure. But I want another brick and mortar dedicated to games. Still, I don't hate Gamestop. They've just done some stupid things to me. They lost my Infamous $15 pre-order, recently.

[badz149]

games will still be sold on UMD because PSP Go! will not be replacing 3000. so...physical media and downloadable media will co-exist.

[Close_Second]

...continue to buy UMD. If the downloadable versions of the games work on my PSP-3000 then I will be downloading.

This move from Sony is a final indicator that UMD is dead...at long last.

[mastiffchild]

But lots of kids and/or people with no access to the net have a PSP so the Go is only an experiment to see what the margins are for Sony.

UMD may well be dying but til there's a decent way of getting a d/l when you personally have no way of doing it there's still a need for physical media, imo.

Maybe the retailers should have a way, with their cut paid by the dev/console maker of allowing d/ls instore in future which would also be cool, say, at the airport or train station if you wanted a new game for your holiday or journey. There will always, esp with portable gaming, be a way for retailers to get a foothold, im, as long as they are clever enough. And , honestly, I'm sick to death of the trade in rip off.

[y0haN]

They already saw the fall of PC gaming at retail. It's mostly online now, and for the better.

[KingDizzi]

Damn so much Hentai on the that website O_O

[CrimsonFox13]

Lol! I just noticed that! There's a lot of hentai on that website!

[PopEmUp]

from the name "Homicide" lol Hentai all over his room for sure :P

[frjoethesecond]

U see the tits between bars one?

[jovherye]

Whocares about the PSP GO! I like the website!!!! And yes, the jail chick is awesome!!! LOL!!!

[somekindofmike]

I never really thought about price competition? if you can only get games from PSN for the PSP GO, that means there is no competition for pricing, Sony can charge what the hell they like.

The simple solution would be to open the doors for retailers to sell products direct download to PSP, like say instead of buying a game for your PSP go off PSN, you go online and get it from game.com, or maybe even a way to buy it in store and transfer to your PSP?

As for used games sales. I sometimes trade in games. But due to retailers like Game charging insane amounts for a used copy, I rarely buy a used game. they've priced themselves out the market there in my opinion, sometimes it's like £35 for a used copy £37 for a new copy. I've even seen examples where the used copy costs more, i've asked at the counter and they say that is correct.

[qface64]

places like amazon do this with XBLA games and they sometimes have em on sale so that would be alright with me

[somekindofmike]

@ qface64

Cool, I was unaware of this. Still doesn't solve the problem of trading games in, but that's something console manufactures and game developers are trying to stop anyway. But as long as there is at least some healthy competition in the market place, and we're not all forced to pay RRP

[BBsin]

If walmart and Bestbuy can sell Ipods, then gamestop can do the same with the PSPgo. If game retailers want some of the money from the new PSP, then they should focus on selling some PSN cards.

[peeps]

cudda done with a nsfw tag tbh :/

[qface64]

honestly why would they be RAGING? no one was buying psp games anyways the games were being pirated left and right
wasn't that the reason for the psp go in the first place?

[cookieliaokai]

--==* Sugarbabymeet.C'om *==-- It's where Sugarbaby (women who are mature, rich and experienced) and men who like them can meet.

[Lord_Ranos]

lol????????

[caladbolg777]

oh open zone... <3

[-MD-]

Well it's probably not the best time to start a career at gamecrazy then..

I think these shops will be gone in 5-6 years with Onlive coming out and digital distribution gaining popularity.

[MajesticBeast]

sorry got distracted by the Japanese boobies on the site what was this about again:P why put some b00bies next to your article it will not get seen people will just click the b00bies anyway

[Automat]

they were nice though. Admit it. All 462 of them..

[Ellessdee]

Sony: "well, maybe you shouldn't of been encouraging used game sales so much ya dooshbags, now were even."

[Johnny Rotten]

To a developer a used game sale holds the same value as one downloaded from the net illegally. But at the same time I'm not against used games because weather I buy it new or not I still see it as more of a value to me compared to something that's digital.

[ceiltsei]

I do not think that the consumers or stores should be raging just yet. With the typical high speed internet capping out at about 50 GB and charges beyond, we are not going to be seeing people download 5 15gb ps3 games or a ton of PSP games every month. I do not know about your ISPs but there is a bit of a monopoly where I live and they keep shutting down peoples connections due to downloading too many mp3s and videos due to going over the download cap. Some people are trying to get the higher GB packages but they are quite expensive for an average consumer to spend. Even with netflix and all of these game downloads, the ISPs have been trying to stay within these caps. I have talked to representatives of a few big companies and they are planning on keeping these caps as long as they can, even though there is high demand. Those who dream of 1000gb internet caps will probably not be seeing those for another decade or more.

[HoofHearted]

There are plenty of games I NEVER would have bought had I not had a trade in. These are usually games I'm only mildly interested in.

If we ever go fully digital and I cannot trade in games, I will probably end up buying only half the games I used to and I guarantee you there are plenty of other gamers who feel the same way.

[Christopher]

Actually, what you will do is wait for them to come down in price and buy them anyway. Similar to how I wait for a lot of PS3 titles to hit the $20-30 mark before I buy them.

But, this is better for the game developers since they will still get money from these lower-cost purchases, whereas they would never see any money from the used games people buy.

[HoofHearted]

The reason I don't buy older games when they come down in price is because there's always something else to play by that time, new and refreshing.

[swinesucker]

LET THEM RAGE their used game prices are ***** anyway and UMD's needed to bite the dust two years ago.

I can tell you one thing if I ever do get a psp it will indeed be the go but I cannot see that happening as I have enough to spend with the PS3.

[Christopher]

Honestly, this whole industry is about give and take. For every new game sold, game shops make some money off of them and developers make some money. With every used game sold, game shops reap all of the rewards and give a big middle finger to game developers.

When the game shops started taking more than they gave, what did they think console and development companies would do?

Perhaps they should have thought of this earlier and created deals where used game sales wouldn't start until two or three months after the release of a game or something similar?

[keysy420]

as a future developer yeah fk gamestop. but im wondering why the psp isnt going to sell well. people what ever you think your wrong the ipod sells y
because kids stump their feet, cry, wish , dream ,want parents want to please their kids. This will happen !!! Problem is with the incredible line up of games and a 400 dollar system to play partner. parents might not be able to shovel out the cash. still their are alot of is ipod owners who like the digital download and want to game. For us we will get the go i fits in the pocket. no extra stuff to carry just click and play. i think the ipod just met its match.
with the ps3 being more accessible to the ps3, you could possibly see some type of coexistence of the ipod and ps3 sometime in the future.
still the point is the psp go looks fantastic and they didnt use it to replace the go so my child can keep her 3000 and play my go. lol
not adding 2 thumb sticks wasa smart move and to use the psp go as a stepping stool to the next gen handheld is a great idea. psp2 will look like the psp have the functions of a milo(my life online)two thumb stick and alot more. were not ready for a the next gen handheld but with the psp go we might be

[360DownINflames]

The last thing on parents minds is buying kids stupid video games. Last year was the lowest sales xmas ever and many predict that this year will be worse.

Video game industry over the next year is going to take massive hits.. As will most electronics.

[RadioactiveTouch]

It was inevitable. The only problem that I have with the 360 is that even with a 120 gig HD, the room is fairly limited for people who want to have say a dozen or so games on their system at all times. However, online distribution was going to happen whether they liked it or not. When you start streaming movies or even selling them in digital format, you have to imagine that gaming is the next step.

It's just a matter of time before Sony moves into this area head-on with the PS3. They have already started and they will only increase their online distribution when they realize that there are much larger profits in doing away with the middle man for good. Besides, the fact that us PS3 owners can change the hard disk for something much larger at a low cost makes this whole online distribution thing so much more interesting.

[Troll-Killer]

1.) Sony CAN'T go download-only with PS3 games, because:
a.) That would only serve to hurt Blu-ray as a "necessary innovation" and

b.) The games are too large for downloading.

2.) Sony is already proving Microsoft was right, when they said the "future of gaming and other entertainment is in digital distribution", by continuing to offer more and more via PSN. NOW they're going one step further, by dropping YET ANOTHER failed proprietary format, and going digital.

So, they've really backed themselves in the corner. MS has FULL 1080p streaming movies AND downloadable games...and NO INVESTMENT in a format. But Sony is MARRIED to Blu-Ray...and it's about to be rendered completely obsolete and pointless. The prices on storage are getting low enough, that I expect MS to offer much better HDD options in the near future, for the 360; by next gen, that won't even be an issue.

[moparful99]

AHHH yes now we have some abstract thought.... If half the people on this site thought outside of box maybe fanboyism wouldnt be so dramatic..... I definintely see where you can draw that conclusion however I do not believe that the ps3 is married to blu ray.... Odd that I use ps3 and not sony? This is where this gets interesting. Yes sony pushed blu-ray to the point that it appears like they were relying on it to make or break the ps3... But what if you actually flip the script... Sony isnt as shortsighted as alot of people think... Lets pretend for a moment that sony used the ps3 in order to ensure the sucess of blu-ray.... Hmm gets the cogs turning right? lets go furthere. Sony knew that the online functionality was going to be a very big part of this generation, which is why they are pushing psn so feverently... Sony knows that with online capabilities comes ease of access... Sony didnt make the ps3 wholly dependent on blu-ray... For example the ps2 helped pushed dvd into the commercial success that it was right but imagine if dvd failed? With the failure of dvd comes the downfall of the worlds best selling console... Now the risk for the ps2 wasnt as dramatic and apparent because there was no other means of getting a game into your hands.. YOu had to buy discs... I really do think that sony has been groomin digital distrubution long b4 microsoft had the idea...

[lewis]

why dont retailers use download cards. such as the psn or wii point cart axsept instead of points you get a game.

[Johnny Rotten]

Sony already started that with the release of Patapon 2. You can buy a copy at the store which includes the case, instructions and the code to download it from the PS Store.

[N2NOther]

Considering that physical media will most likely never go away I'm not concerned. The amount of things that would have to improve for this to be a viable way of getting all media in the future is way too large.

You need universally faster internet. You would need more storage at a more affordable price. Which could be remedied with faster internet speeds because once you pay for an item it's always yours, in theory. So you could just delete older games and dl them again should you want to play it, but again, no one wants to wait hours to dl large files so a much faster internet would be required. The other thing is that all of this has to be available to everyone who owns a system. Not everyone who owns a PSP has access to high speed internet, or the means to purchase these games. So unless EVERYONE who owns a PSP, 360, PS3 or whatever medium their thinking of going digital on can access these medias then developers and publishers aren't going to jump on board.

And me, personally, I like the freedom I have to sell a game to Gamestop or someplace similar. And I doubt, highly that I'm alone in this. You may not like their practices but it has, MANY times, helped me pick up a new game that I otherwise couldn't afford at the time. I rarely play through games that much, even online. The only game I've had for an significant amount of time was Call of Duty 4 which I've had since launch and Left 4 Dead which is going on 8 months now.

[N2NOther]

Would it be too much to ask the phantom disagree to articulate what they disagree with? Here? Yes, yes it would.

[DevastationEve]

there's hentai all over that site, not advised for everyone!

(...they do know they could just get REAL girlfriends, right...?)

[kewlkat007]

We all know Digital is slowly becoming a more popular way of distribution.

This changes the business model of many retailers and thus will shrink their profits unless they somehow adapt.

The only way I see them adapting is having download station at Gameshops that offer a cheaper download vs a console makers network(psn/xbl..etc. Of course were talking about used games.

There have to be some incentive to go into a store to download new sh!t at the store, as opposed to online, at home were thyy do not make a sale.

[Christopher]

Digital is really only taking off for the smaller games. Things that don't take up 1GB+ space on a disc. The mainstay of your hardcore games sold on disc will still result in a profit from second-hand sales for game shops.

[MTEC8]

I still want to physically "own" a game, how will I buy or sell rare games 5-10 years down the road if its all digital.

[Christopher]

That is one huge concern with digital. What happens if the title fails by the wayside down the road? Will it no longer be produced? Will we be able to put that game onto a medium for long-term storage?

[BRG9000]

In the ideal world, each digital product would be supported by the console company for as long as they are in the gaming business (i.e. the entire foreseeable future). Hopefully they would even continue to be distributed, or perhaps cycled in and out of distribution as a marketing gimmick. Any product that you have bought, you own the rights to, and can re-download if necessary in the future. If this all happens I am perfectly comfortable in switching to digital, but the worry is whether this is really how the transition will play out.

@22, not owning discs would be the least of your worries. Presumably a transition to download distribution would eliminate the concept of "rare" games, as they would be available at low prices long after their original release. Just look at how many old-school games are released for cheap on Steam month after month. This is a hit to you who like to hold games looking for their resale prices to rise, but it is a great development for the average consumer IMO.

[yog-sothot]

The PSP Go is expensive, Sony wants to market it as a premium product, but I guess that a part of the extra margin will be given to the retailers so they keep selling the hardware... If it's true, I don't think they can really complaint

[I-SEE-YOU]

Not that its bad for retailers or consumers as that is a given, its because now you have nothing to show for the money you spend. Not having anything psychical to show for what you buy will not only leave customers feeling like they have received nothing for there money but this will have the life span of a downloadable film or song. You loose respect for a product you do not see. When you purchase a game, its all about going to the shop (or online) buying your game and receiving something that you can touch and know is yours. Its ok when you have the choice between the two but when its pritty much being forced on the consumer to purchase games only from an online store.

Just sounds like a dirty trick to me and I have high respect for Sony as a company but this just sounds to fishy and like they will loose millions through pirated games and loss of interest in the market. As most people like to browse online or in a shop, if you don't see a product in a shop. You may never hear about it.....

[ReBurn]

Not even. I'll show you the memory card that I downloaded it onto if you want to see something physical, but I have hundreds of songs on my iPod that I don't have physical media for and I'm perfectly content. Physical ownership of media will really only be a factor if you have to pay per play, which isn't the case here.

[kewlkat007]

Oh yeah, go look at everyone's IPOD and ask them let me look at your CD collection for 1:1 match....

[kwyjibo]

Get with the f-cking program.

The technology is already here, and services like Steam have shown us that a digital only platform can bring benefits to the consumer as well.

Not only is the cost of distribution near-zero, the catalogue is infinite, and developers can cut out an entire level of middlemen. Digital distribution allows for all sorts of pricing flexibility, it allows for package deals and free weekends.

Why is it that indie games have garnered a whole new level of exposure and revenue? Digital distribution is why.

It also kills off the second hand games business, where gameStop et al rake in the profits for doing absolutely nothing, and the developers get nothing.

[fatstarr]

blame sony for killing physical media, cause if the go is a success
microsof will copy. and then the world will end. stupid sony stop making 5 diff versions of the same thing and just release the second psp lol.

[joevfx]

good i hate gamestop, i will be happy when i never have to go in there again.

But can you see the future of this and what sony and microsoft are leading too? No more used game purchases in the future. Devs have been complaining about this for years, that they dont make any money off of used game purchases. if all games eventually go digital there will be no more used games to buy or sell. this means devs will get money for every game sold.

sneaky companies i see what your doing, you cant hide from me!!!

[KeenanTheSavage]

poor little GameStop can't make 2 billion off used games??? waahhhh!!!

[divideby0]

How about an article...

"Gamers Rage at the cost of digital distribution of games"

These companies have to take out a LARGE portion of the games price with DD since there is no retail distribution and packaging needed. So far we have not seen it.
These PsPG0 games should go for 20 or less...yea right..

[-EvoAnubis-]

Cry cry cry. Retailers need to shut the hell up; none of them seem to have problems selling iPods which, last I checked, don't use CDs that they also sell, nor DVDs which they also sell.

[Shendow]

I see Sony making cards like the PSN cards but to get you games off of the PSN, that is how I see Sony doing it.

[roflmuffins8]

The game retailers can still make money off the PSP Go through more unconventional ways, like download tickets and pre-payed PSN cards.

[ReBurn]

The margin on those things is so much smaller than on used game sales, though. They'll give you $20 for your used game and sell it for $50. They're not going to get a 150% markup on anything new.

[ReBurn]

I like the thought of digital distribution of PSP titles. Means I can have pretty much instant access to whatever games I want to buy and never have to step into a game store. I still have a PSP-1000 and I'm a fan of this approach.

[PotNoodle]

Game retailers have been ripping off both gamers and game publishers for years, i don't have any sympathy for them.

[Shnazzyone]

PSP go will be another epic fail for Sony's portable gaming division. They are actually trusting the consumer to be not only capable of getting all the games for a device off online store but also that they would want to. Am I supposed to believe that people who own a psp now want to own 2 psps... one that will play all their old games and one that will be just a portable media hub until it gets a downloadable game library worth noting?

I think sony is trying to push the envelope a bit too far once again. I am unsure about the pitch of... "how about a psp that will only deal in data and have absolutly no backwards compatibility? sound great to you?" Naaa I didn't think so. not to mention... am i supposed to be impressed by 16 gigs of space... half of what an iphone and an ipod touch have right now?

All the psp go is going to do is dig that hole sony is in just a lil bit deeper.

[360DownINflames]

DONT SHOP AT GAMESTOP EVER!

[Sibs]

This will obviously go 1000+ degrees, once everyone notices the site is NSFW

[aiphanes]

Sony will have a winner here...

The price will come down fast and soon you will be able to get a PSP go for under $200...

[PirateThom]

So, apprently, the PSP was holding together the gaming economy... :-/

[Johnny Rotten]

didn't you get the memo, the global recession started because everyone was trying to save up for a PS3!

[lewis]

with the bad economy and everything this has positive and negative affects.this is the first time i heard of a game console being a threat to game shops. i mean come on. aren't they exaggerating a bit???

[Iceman100]

good now they can't get any money im glad, and i don't care anyway since sony isn't ripping me off.

"The price will come down fast and soon you will be able to get a PSP go for under $200..."

yeah and it still won't be worth it.

[Rhezin]

sh!t they know my name, there. There are also a lot of chill people who work there (at least at that one). The economy blows yes, but that does NOT stop the videogame industry. More and more people are buying videogames. The recession hasn't really affected game sales. Yes it sucks for them, but it's not like were talking about the entire videogame DISC library for ALL systems is going to be abandoned. PSPgo is really the only system that's ditching the disc. I don't know what they're whining about.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Nobody can be mad at Sony for this. This is just the direction things have been moving in with all entertainment. Music CD sales have dropped rapidly over the last few years. Blockbuster has been holding onto a thread for a while now. It's only natural that games would be next up. We already have full libraries of download-only games on PSN and XBLA.

As far as people who say it's bad for consumers because they can't return a game, oh well. I don't buy games with the pre-determined notion of returning it later. That just makes it sound like I had no interest in the game to begin with. I haven't rented a game since I was in highschool, I generally know that I will like a game before I but it.

[Kleptic]

they get mad at Sony about it?...well what about MS offering 360 games on demand?...and MS's non stop back peddling as to digital distribution being he only thing worthwhile now, as cover for their lack of a real HD format in their 'HD' gaming console?...

who the fack cares about the PSP Go in this sense...as its not replacing the regular PSP...and every game will still have a UMD game as well (save the small PSN games, which is the way it already is)...it won't change anything...just makes the PSP more attractive to many people...me being one of them...UMD is a flop...don't want it wasting battery power and adding weight...

[Sanhlami]

good for sony. bad for retail shops.