Sony's digital download-only PSPgo is, at its launch price, a hard sell for some portable gamers spoiled by the less expensive, UMD-playing PSP-3000. Some UK retailers are doing something about it, discounting the portable in its first week on sale.
According to a report from Eurogamer, at least four retailers in the region are asking less than the £224 suggested retail price. Amazon UK, HMV, Game and Play are playing with the PSPgo's built-in wiggle room pricing, asking £199 for the portable. Is that a reaction to slow sales?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Some of those retailers listed above were selling the PSPgo at £199 before the unit officially went on sale, so it doesn't appear that four days worth of slow movement initiated some sort of panic. Officially, the PSPgo is selling "in line with [Sony's] expectations," according to a report from GamesIndustry.biz.
That marked down price may be a reaction, however, to slower pre-orders of the unit. Before the PSPgo launched in Europe and other PAL territories, some retailers appeared hesitant to carry the platform at all.
At £199, the device reaches a psychologically more appealing price point, especially with Gran Turismo PSP thrown in for "free." We'll have a better indication to the reaction to the PSPgo in the States when NPD time rolls around next month or Sony Computer Entertainment feels good enough to brag about its adoption.
PSPgo now available for under 200 quid News [Eurogamer.net]