Pachter Clarifies PSP2 "Dead On Arrival" Comment

Sony hasn't yet confirmed its existence but perhaps it's time to start referring to the PSP2 as if it the press release has already been sent.

When Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter recently said Sony's latest handheld iteration would be "dead on arrival," those looking forward to the nifty unit got a tad bit annoyed. Of course, we should acknowledge that while the PSP is definitely burning up the charts in Japan, it doesn't fare so well in North America, and the PSP Go wasn't exactly a rip-roaring success. That being said, Pachter has since reevaluated his stance; it's a bit more diplomatic, explanatory approach:

"We can't rule out the 'dead on arrival' PSP2, which is likely to be introduced [next year], and if it has the right feature set and is competitively priced, it could actually perform well in the marketplace. My 'DOA' comment was based upon an assessment that Sony won't price it right (look at the PSPgo), but of course, I have been wrong once or twice before, so maybe they'll surprise me."

Price is certainly a major factor and most are hoping the unit will have a reasonable, inoffensive price tag. We also have to remember that the DS rules the portable world and for the PSP2 to make serious waves, it's going to have to feature a competitive price and enough "coolness" to appeal to the gamers and gadget lovers. We just want to see the thing.

Tags: psp2, sony psp, michael pachter, psp2 info

12/10/2010 9:01:21 PM John Shepard

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Comments (49 posts)

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swapnilgyani
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 9:44:41 PM
Reply

"I have been wrong once or twice before"

Understatement of the millenium

23 up, 0 down

fstop
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:31:26 PM

I couldn't agree more.

0 up, 0 down

nilos95
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 1:34:56 AM

he lost count so he just pointed out the minimum number of mistakes one can make before being classified as unreliable. Or maybe he said: 'I have been right once or twice so you never know', but the interviewer made a mistake while noting Pachter's answer.

1 up, 0 down

CH1N00K
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 7:25:32 AM

He should have said "I have been RIGHT once or twice before"..That would have made more sense.

2 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 9:50:11 PM
Reply

He's only been wrong 'once or twice' because most of his statements are obvious to all but the most uneducated consumer...

I think that, yes, if the PSP2 isn't priced correctly then it will take a huge popularity hit coming out of the gate but, like the PS3, catch up a bit later in its lifecycle as a result of the quality of the device. That being said, from everything that we've seen and heard about it so far makes it seem that it will have a rather exorbitant price. No doubt that it will be value for money immediately, but most will wait to see the price go down, and a few must-have pieces of software.

So, I propose a question: When will the PSP2 be announced and detailed? I'll say CES in January.
Peace.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 9:52:22 PM
Reply

As I posted before in the other PSP2 thread. The biggest reason for the so called failure of the PSP in North America (and the English speaking world) is the great willingness to pirate games. When you compare the software vs hardware sales of the PSP in Japan to the same numbers in the US, it's utterly embarrassing. It's no wonder that western publishers do not commit 100% to the platform, and Japanese publishers won't localize as many games in the West. They know, thanks to bitter experience, that it's simply not worth the trouble thanks to the rather rampant piracy of games.

Yes, there is some piracy of games in Japane, but you just have to look at the massive software sales of games on the PSP (and PSP hardware) in Japan to understand that it's impact is negligible compared to here in the US market.

You can bet that one of the things that Sony has worked very hard on is security measures to combat game piracy and custom firmware on the PSP2.

I disagree completely with Pachter about Sony getting the price wrong. I think the man is a fool sometimes. How much does an iPod Touch go for? What about an iPad? $300 for the 32GB Touch and $550 for the 16GB iPad with 3G capability. Someone please tell me why Sony pricing the PSP Go at $249.99 is so hideous but the gouging by Apple isn't a consideration?

The PSP2 is supposed to have a slightly larger screen, but be roughly the same size as the PSP. If it's capabilities are as suggested it will be far, far more capable than the iPod Touch, and about as functional as an iPad, with a smaller screen. However, Sony is extremely unlikely to charge more than the cost of a PS3 for it, even though the PS3 is now 4 years old, there will be huge psychological resistance to paying more for the handheld than the home console. So you can expect that the PSP2 will come in between $249.99 and $29.99. That is right in the range of the iPod touch - which the PSp2 will be far more capable than, and about half the price of an iPad which the PSp2 will outdo on just about every feature except screen size.

So, Pachter be damned, the PSP2 will not be DOA< and Pachter has simply lost touch with reality.

</rant>

Last edited by Highlander on 12/10/2010 9:53:15 PM

6 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:06:10 PM

Sony had better do something to curtail the piracy of the PSP for the second one. Without that, it won't have the support it needs from developers, and it may just wind up DOA.

As for the price, you're onto something, but Apple are able to charge whatever they want because of the rampant success of the original iPod. People automatically assume that all future products are going to be on par quality-wise, and the marketing campaigns don't hurt.

The reason that the 'high' price of the PSPGo didn't appeal to most was that, they knew that it was little more than a reworking of the PSP-3000, which was, at that time, about $80US cheaper (I think). Also, the fact that it was such a departure in getting rid of the physical media played against it in a big way. Meanwhile, the iPad has been marketed as a slimmed-down laptop computer, and the price seems right to many. It's a weird world.

If the PSP2 is targetted at the tech audience, and is capable of everything that the PSP is, and some of the things that the iPad is, it might see some success. I just had a thought though. We're talking about the iPad here, and while it does games, it's not on the same scale as the PSP. So, are the two products really competing, or should we be looking at the 3DS? Or, would you consider all three to be after the same market?
Peace.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:17:54 PM

The 3DS is a better gaming device than the iPad, but I mentioned the iPad because of it's insane, and yet somehow acceptable gougin...er...price point.

The thing about the 3DS is that although it features some updated processor technology, it's the parallax lens based 3D that really sets it apart. Other than that it's a relatively mild, adn long overdue, hardware refresh for the DS.

If the PSP2 meets the rumored capabilities/ specifications it will far exceed the capabilities of the 3DS, and be in the same territory as the iPad. Personally, I would have thought that a slab design like the original PSP with a touch screen would be more comfortable to use than a slider like the PSP Go with the touch pad on the back. That style of construction may make it impractical to use the PSP2 as much of a productivity tool. To compete effectively with the iPad, the PSP2 would have to have 3G and non-gaming capability. If the processor is even half as capable as rumored, it should be more than equal to the task of running a good browser and productivity applications.

One thought I had was whether or not the PSP2 might have the capability through an accessory card to become a cell phone in addition to being a 3G/4G data device. If it features BlueTooth, it would support a headset, and that would be a nice way to get the premium hand held gaming unit into those less price sensitive cell phone markets.

Anyway, the Apple products were chosen as a demonstration that price isn't necessarily as sensitive a thing as Pachter says.

4 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:54:06 PM

Ah, I understand now, but then I've read that the 3DS might end up costing in excess of $300US, so perhaps it is worth taking a look at in terms of value. Also, the GPU has been confirmed, but the CPU has not, although it's rumoured to be at least twice as powerful as the latest DS. Although I don't understand HOW the 3D works here. I get that the two images are rendered together, but how does it blend the images to present one in three dimensions?

As for the PSP2, I agree with you that a design more similar to that of the original that that of the Go would work better. But, if that were the case, then I don't think that there would be enough room for an additional analogue nub with the larger screen. However, the use of a touch pad on the back rather than a touch screen appears to be a better idea, to me anyway. This is because it would become a bit of a hassle to constantly have ones fingers in the way of the screen, although perhaps I say this merely because I've never used a DS. The only problem with it being on the back is that, when it comes to quick movements, it may be difficult to gauge precision. Regardless, it will be a beast. Sony has proven that they know how to create powerful hardware, and this should be no exception.

The idea of the PSP2 being able to be used as a phone is interesting. It's certainly realistic, given the talk of the PSPhone, but it wouldn't be advertised as a core feature I am inclined to think. It would help push sales though...

Anyway, thanks for clarifying.
Peace.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:05:56 PM

The 3DS 3D works by rendering both images at once on the same screen which has a very high horizontal resolution. There is a parallax barrier or lenticular lens system (can't remember which) that sits very precisely over the surface of the screen. That causes each vertical line of pixels to have a slightly different angle of visibility so that each eye of the viewer sees a different image. This type of technology has a very specific viewing sweet spot, so it's perfect for a single viewer.

0 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 12:44:59 AM

$29.99?
I'll take five.

But seriously, even $299.99 isn't a good idea IMO.

Apple may get away with their goug-- er, premium pricing, but with all the Sony hate, I foresee an uproar even if the price is the same as the 3DS. I mean, the 360 was $500, but Sony caught all the heat.

Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/11/2010 12:55:31 AM

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 12:54:26 AM

LOL! dropped a decimal place somewhere in there, I'm certain that it should be $299.99 and not $29.99

1 up, 0 down

godsman
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 2:00:10 AM

PSP Go is a failure for a reason. I don't think PSP2 should copy it so closely, in design and price point.

1 up, 0 down

nilos95
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 3:52:20 AM

where i live, ipad costs 700 euros = approximately 900$(as much as 3 PS3s)!And as far as we know PSP2 will be superior! So 250$ would be OK!

0 up, 0 down

sawao_yamanaka
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 10:45:44 AM

I have a PSP Go and I think its great for what it does. The failure would have to be that they went all digital for it. So many companies are not supporting it sadly *cough*Square*cough*. So unless you've used it you can't say it is a bad design.

0 up, 0 down

STAY3R
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 7:37:23 PM

ipad is not for gaming and media only, it has many other functions, itunes store, itunes, ebook reader and numerous amount of applications.
PSP2 should have a 200$ price tag, 200 is a fantastic price point for a handheld's launch.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 10:10:50 PM

Stay3r,

In order to have a $200 price tag, the device will not have half the capability it needs. People do not really understand how much it costs to cram all the functionality of a multi-function hand held media device into something as small as a Droid, or iPhone or even an iPad.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 9:54:27 PM
Reply

I think he's been wrong about 90% of the time. That said, Sony WILL overprice the thing for sure because it will have just about everything a handheld can have and no you can't sell that for 100-200 bucks and make a profit. The DS rules the schools because of it's simplicity and ease of use as a gadget just like the Wii.

0 up, 0 down

PasteNuggs
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:01:33 PM
Reply

While morons are being discussed, here is the finalist list of GOTY nominees from kotaku.

Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Xbox 360
Mass Effect 2
NBA 2K11
Red Dead Redemption

I mean honestly, no Heavy Rain, no God of War III, no AC:B. IMO the only one that is close is Red Dead.

3 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:09:44 PM

From what I've heard Mass Effect 2 was actually a really good game, and well worth running against Red Dead. But yeah, what is up with the serious lack of PS3 exclusives in GotY lists this year? And why in hell does anyone even consider Black Ops?
Peace.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:14:23 PM

OT, but it'll be interesting to see how the haters report on GOTY next year when PS3 has like half a dozen AAA games and Xbox has Gears.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:18:39 PM

The 360 fanboys strike back... LOL!

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:25:27 PM

Lawless, ME2 is not to be missed if you're even only somewhat interested in it's content.

and that goty line up of Kotaku's is weak. Black Ops?
Sometimes I wish I could be a gamer in a professional field just picking and choosing whatever game suits my fancy most. They proclaim goty status as some sort of monumental landmark in gaming history, despite the fact their lame opinion is no better, and probably less refined than my own. These guys aren't experts; rather, fanboys pretending to be objective. Who have no firm ideological basis for which all games are to be measured against. The fact that publishers plaster "XX GotY" awards all over their games only serves to falsely make the GotY awards something more than they really are.

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:30:00 PM

and btw, i'm mostly emotionally lashing out. I don't think goty stuff is totally worthless. I just think there's misconceptions out there.
I tend to find specific sits and reviewers and trust their judgement.

Does anyone remember Greg Kassavin from Gamespot?
He was one of my all time favs.

Check out his FFX review he did years ago.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/finalfantasy10/video/2832829/final-fantasy-x-video-review?tag=summary%3Bwatch-review

0 up, 0 down

sawao_yamanaka
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 10:52:18 AM

I was about to say temjin :\. Uncharted 2 has GOTY plastered all over its box! But agree on the awards on the principle that so many early 2010 releases get skipped or all together forgotten.

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 1:58:18 PM

Yeah, I know Sawao. I think history has shown that goty winners are always at least great games. My issue tends to be about the specifics critics lean on to claim one nominee superior over another. It shouldn't be about sales/popularity or even how marketable or accessible the content is. Gametrailers gave overall GotY to MW2 last year for an absurdly subjective reason. They gave Mario Galaxies goty over Halo 3 because Mario Galaxies had a lower cost of entry. They also ruled out Crysis from having the best graphics of the year because it's too expensive to buy a rig to run it well. These reasons have little to do with the game themselves, rather, dollar value oriented justification.
If Black Ops gets goty from anyone it'll blow me away.
Black Ops took one step forward and two steps back from it's closest competitors. How can anyone even nominate that game and be right about it?

Sometimes I think I'm better off entirely ignoring what the gaming media thinks and just rely on my favorites. The games I value most because of my own criteria because that's what's most meaningful to me. The criteria that motivates me to buy and play, and continue to play a game. Which isn't the same criteria that most sites would even consider or value as much as I would.

The only real universal goty concept I can buy into is awards that helps bring recognition to games that expand the gaming medium in new directions while maintaining a high level of presentational quality. How does someone really compare a driving simulator to something like Heavy Rain? Or how does one gamer claim SSF4 is better than RDR? These comparisons don't really make sense. I could create lists of reasons by trying to write them out and then add up point values based on how significant those components are, but even then, that opens up a whole of other arguments I don't want to delve into. The only concept I can buy into is in the innovation+quality presentation one. Which puts big red bars over games like Black Ops or Halo.

1 up, 0 down

jimdude99
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:02:28 PM
Reply

I fail to understand why I should care what Pachter thinks.

2 up, 0 down

Gone
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:24:07 PM
Reply

What happened to Marcus?

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:26:40 PM

He had school and will be back after spring break.

4 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:32:24 PM

He sucked, that's what.

4 up, 1 down

RebelJD
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 10:44:02 PM
Reply

He's right, the PSP2 needs to be competitively priced AND offer a few must have features that prove its quality.

Also, for the PS3 to not only compete but basically leave its competition in the dust, it needs to start lowering the price as well.

Quite honestly if the PS3 starts to offer its systems with smaller hard-drives at $250 and even $200, like the Xbox 360 does..it'll be flying off the shelves well into the next 5 years.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:10:24 PM

Dude, you do realize that the PS3 and 360 have an identical price point. The difference is that you can buy a rather gimped 360 without an HDD for $199, or one with an HDD for $299. I'm not sure why you think Sony needs to drop their price to compete. Like for like the PS3 costs the same as a 360, except of course it's far better value since it plays BluRay, and has free online.

7 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:02:28 PM
Reply

Pachter's great at doing a full-court press, only he does his backwards in the M$ reverse 360 back-pedaling style..

<<<<I have been wrong once or twice before, so maybe they'll surprise me.">>>>

"Didn't Pachter predict Dewey the winner"

(LOL all the older gamer's & US history buffs should pick up on my reference)

2 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:29:34 PM

The famous picture of a smiling President Harry S. Truman holding up a newspaper declaring that Dewey won the Presidential election. Memories.

2 up, 0 down

jdt1981
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:07:55 PM
Reply

I couldn't care less what Pachter thinks anymore. I tried watching his show on GT.com and about 4 episodes in I got sick of him taking every opportunity he could to brag about his Porsche and hot wife...

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:28:24 PM

Is she a little RUF?

Sorry, a small car joke....but, it had to be done.

5 up, 0 down

godsman
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 1:56:31 AM

In case one porsche is in use, he has a spare in his garage.

0 up, 0 down

AshT
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:31:15 PM
Reply

i guess M$ pays a lot to Pachter.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:45:07 PM
Reply

And what about the PSP2? Yeah it sells well in Japan because those people can't get enough Monster Hunter. Put that game out on the PS3 Sony and let's see some REAL sales numbers in Japan.

As for North America, they might as well figure out a way to get CoD on the PSP2 along with trophy support. Then maybe you'd see some interest.

Last edited by Alienange on 12/11/2010 12:28:58 AM

4 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 11:54:27 PM

As funny as that is, you're 100% correct.

3 up, 0 down

godsman
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 1:55:10 AM

It has to do with the culture in Japan. They have wifi everywhere. It makes sense the portable gaming is so popular.

Games like pokemon has been selling like hotcakes on a portable device. It will be a total failure on the Wii. Same goes to Monster Hunter.

I read somewhere that development for a PSP game is about $1 million. PS3 games range from $5-10 million. Monster Hunter probably sell 2 million at most on PS3. It's almost 5 million on PSP. It just won't happen on PS3, but no developer/publisher would settle for more development time, higher cost, less copies sold.

0 up, 0 down

swapnilgyani
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 12:41:21 AM
Reply

Dead on arrival...

That's what most of Pachter's statements are!

0 up, 0 down

godsman
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 1:41:37 AM
Reply

I really hope Sony's idea of having the touchpad on the back of the PSP2 will work out. I am really pissed at the iphone games. The screen is so small, with my finger blocking most of the screen, there's no hardcore games that work flawlessly. DS didnt have that problem because it has a stylus.

Sony... don't fail me. I have faith in you.

0 up, 0 down

Ludicrous_Liam
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 6:43:16 AM
Reply

Jeez...kotaku GOTY line-up makes it seem like this was a crap year for games...serioiusly that site is tottaly getting paid by M$, theirs NO WAY you include NBA over God of war 3, it just DOES NOT happen.

No GT5 GOTY anywhere makes me sad :(
This is the ONLY site I use for gaming news etc. I used to use IGN but the articles they put up are just WRONG. I might start diving into the forums...any disscusions about LBP2 beta?

0 up, 0 down

redman479
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 7:09:25 AM
Reply

Why do they even post anything Patcher says?

0 up, 0 down

tes37
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 8:10:22 AM
Reply

A couple of Pachter's paychecks being dead on arrival may improve his accuracy.

0 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 8:16:16 AM
Reply

Michael Pachter is somebody I dread hearing from. How many fanboy wars has he started from opening his mouth? I wish video game sites wouldn't report any of his comments but the guy has that knack for getting them hits. Sadly, you also have to read comments from 14 year-old boys who failed English. I won't remember this generation for video games, consoles, portable gaming or motion controls. It will be for endless flame wars filled with terrible grammar started when Michael Pachter has to say something.

Last edited by n/a on 12/11/2010 8:16:58 AM

0 up, 0 down

Orvisman
Saturday, December 11, 2010 @ 8:40:17 AM
Reply

Way to backtrack.

0 up, 0 down

ionai
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 5:40:23 AM
Reply

HI all, A little off-topic but I see that there's a few of us here that I can get across too....fingers crossed.
Just a little thinker for everyone.
All this talk of VerSuS.....I have PS3 & XBOX360.
I buy games mostly Used (basically cause they're too expensive for me). Anyway, I refuse to pay for ONLINE memberships.IE..xboxLive Gold (especially) and/or PSN PLUS(what a Ripoff)SEPERATELY.My online experience is generally reserved at PSN (Free).That said....I am sick to the backteeth of FAGGOT Fanboys of both Platforms comin'on and slagging off each other as who/what is the BEST(360 owners/PS3 owners).I say....lets put it to the TEST shal we. I for one WOULD pay for a joint online experince (PS3/360) AIO (rounded down) payment so that on Multi-platform games we shall SEE for a fact who is truely a capable Multiplayer on COD or B:BC2 etc. I wanna see SONY & M$ pull their Fat F%^%&% useless fingers out their Ego Corp A-oles and do whats best for the Gamers and the future of ONLINE Multiplay. It's what we really want...NO? I for one am very BORED competing with the same old USERS day-in/day-out.And for the next 5/10 years (vomit). Wouldn't you like to give the opposition a good thrashing from time 2 time?!

PLEASE DISCUSS....but don't CUS...cheers!

Last edited by ionai on 12/14/2010 5:48:17 AM

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