How long until you can buy a PSP not in bundle form?

[javeryh]

I'm thinking about buying a PSP but I'm not sure when I should take the plunge. I'm tempted to wait until there are games out that I want to play but I think launch day will take care of that due to HSG and Lumines... do you think that the PSP will always be sold as a bundle or will Sony eventually break it out so you can buy the system for $200 (or less) and a game without all the other crapola?

[cdeener]

Probably not until the first shipment have been sold off.

[maxflight]

I'm thinking about buying a PSP but I'm not sure when I should take the plunge. I'm tempted to wait until there are games out that I want to play but I think launch day will take care of that due to HSG and Lumines... do you think that the PSP will always be sold as a bundle or will Sony eventually break it out so you can buy the system for $200 (or less) and a game without all the other crapola?

what is HSG?

[donkeykong91]

I preordered just the PSP at Gamerush and it only required $50 deposit. They only had 5 preorders available total. Total cost was $249 before tax.

[cdeener]

I preordered just the PSP at Gamerush and it only required $50 deposit. They only had 5 preorders available total. Total cost was $249 before tax.

Trust me on this if you bought a PSP for 249 then you got the bundle pack not just the PSP by itself.

[javeryh]

I'm thinking about buying a PSP but I'm not sure when I should take the plunge. I'm tempted to wait until there are games out that I want to play but I think launch day will take care of that due to HSG and Lumines... do you think that the PSP will always be sold as a bundle or will Sony eventually break it out so you can buy the system for $200 (or less) and a game without all the other crapola?

what is HSG?

Hot Shots Golf

[donkeykong91]

I preordered just the PSP at Gamerush and it only required $50 deposit. They only had 5 preorders available total. Total cost was $249 before tax.

Trust me on this if you bought a PSP for 249 then you got the bundle pack not just the PSP by itself.

You're right. I forgot this is the value pack that comes with the memory stick, case, etc., etc.

[darkje]

I believe hot shots golf is delayed sadly.

It's smart of sony just to sell the value pack at launch, alot of people just want the newest thing and making it a bundle boosts profit.

[epobirs]

I believe hot shots golf is delayed sadly.

It's smart of sony just to sell the value pack at launch, alot of people just want the newest thing and making it a bundle boosts profit.

No. Sony is losing money on each PSP sold. At best the value pack with its overvalued accessories lessens the blow a little.

It's entirely possible Sony will never offer the US PSP in any other form until there are different accessories that merit a new bundle or a bundled software promotion.

[Spoon_si]

I would guess til after x-mas 2005....

sony is goin to milk the value package for alls it worth...

[Zoglog]

Because they know they can hehe. Bastards D:!

[javeryh]

So if I'm planning on buying I mightas well get one now? I take it there are no known redesigns coming too? I assume Sony will make a better model eventually since they continued to update the PS2...

[aaronprather]

There is a possibility Sony may release a base pack for the Holiday '05 season. By then all the early adopters would have bought theirs, and lowering the price would attract a whole new demographic of people.

[PrivatePixel]

There is a possibility Sony may release a base pack for the Holiday '05 season. By then all the early adopters would have bought theirs, and lowering the price would attract a whole new demographic of people.

I read somewhere (IGN, I think) that Sony will make the base unit available in November 2005, in time for the start of the holiday shopping season.

[javeryh]

There is a possibility Sony may release a base pack for the Holiday '05 season. By then all the early adopters would have bought theirs, and lowering the price would attract a whole new demographic of people.

I read somewhere (IGN, I think) that Sony will make the base unit available in November 2005, in time for the start of the holiday shopping season.

Nice. If it were up to me I'd buy the PSP, a protective case for it and a 1GB memory stick to hold everything I need... plus a few games of course - HSG (when it comes out) and Lumines...

[PrivatePixel]

I take it there are no known redesigns coming too? I assume Sony will make a better model eventually since they continued to update the PS2...

I don't think Sony's looking that far into the PSP's life cycle. *If* any revisions, whether cosmetic or functional, are made, it would likely be during the maturity stage, i.e. as strong sales begin to diminish.

Keep in mind that with the PSTwo, some features were added (such as the built-in Ethernet port and IR receiver), others were removed (such as the IEEE 1394 Firewire port) because neither Sony nor a third-party accessory manufacturer developed an application for it, and some were revised to save on production costs (e.g. incorporating the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer into a single CPU). From a current technological standpoint, the PSP is fairly loaded; getting the most out of them, via firmware upgrades, will take time. I don't see a better model scheduled for release any time soon. I'm sure Sony will begin, if not already started working on a successor to the PSP.

[punqsux]

as i was saying in the DS thread, know what you are buying.

[epobirs]

I take it there are no known redesigns coming too? I assume Sony will make a better model eventually since they continued to update the PS2...

I don't think Sony's looking that far into the PSP's life cycle. *If* any revisions, whether cosmetic or functional, are made, it would likely be during the maturity stage, i.e. as strong sales begin to diminish.

Keep in mind that with the PSTwo, some features were added (such as the built-in Ethernet port and IR receiver), others were removed (such as the IEEE 1394 Firewire port) because neither Sony nor a third-party accessory manufacturer developed an application for it, and some were revised to save on production costs (e.g. incorporating the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer into a single CPU). From a current technological standpoint, the PSP is fairly loaded; getting the most out of them, via firmware upgrades, will take time. I don't see a better model scheduled for release any time soon. I'm sure Sony will begin, if not already started working on a successor to the PSP.

It may only occupy them a few hours a week but I assure there are indeed engineers keeping an eye on developments to see whether they can be applied to improving the product or reducing the cost. But these thing take quite lot of time from conception to implementation to manufacturing. If an engineer at Sony came up with an idea that would reduce the power consumption of the PSP chipset by 10% it would definitely receive further development. 10% is a big win for a portable device. But it would likely be close to a year before this appeared in retail units. The time to produce new versions of a chipset implementing a significant change is quite lengthy, especially for a chip produced in the current cutting edge process.

Other things can be planned for all along. The PSP is a 90 nm chipset but the next major level, 65 nm, is already well on the way. (See http://eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60405744 ) I guarantee you that a 65 nm revision of the PSP chipset is already planned. It may not be on store shelves for three years but the job has already started. Much like the dieshrink and integration of the PS2 chipset it is easier to test a new process with an existing chipset that doesn't need to advance its performance in the new process. A smaller die and lowere power consumption are sufficient reasons to do the job. It also provides valuable experience for when you set out to create products at that level that do try to advance performance