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PSP Go “Will Die” Without Digital Game Price Cuts
Jon Burton, director at Traveler’s Tales, believes that Sony either needs to reduce the price of downloadable games or their new digital-only handheld will perish. He also thinks the company won’t hesitate to pull the trigger on price reductions for digital games versus physical UMDs.
“I’m betting on Sony making PSPgo games much cheaper than the UMD versions or the PSPgo will die,” Burton told Develop-Online in a recent roundtable discussion.
“I own a PSPgo, but don’t want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20 percent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I’m finished with it. But if I download it, I get no discount, and no chance to resell – how annoying is that?”
Burton thinks that physical media will eventually be usurped by digital, but believes strongly that consumers need more incentive to pass up owning the disc. He also touches on the relationship between retail stores and platform holders.
“At the moment the [UMD and PSPgo] prices are kept at parity as the platform holders need physical stores to sell their consoles and PCs, so don’t want to undercut them,” Burton continues.
"At the moment it’s kind of a stalemate as both sides think they need each other and no one wants to blink – I’m betting on Sony making the first move by making PSPgo games much cheaper than the UMD versions or the PSPgo will die."
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