PSP: Piracy and the necessary steps towards a solution
Ok so we know that the biggest issue with the PSP is piracy, this not only hurts developers but also gamers who enjoy the Playstation Portable. Unfortunately the issue has grown worse for many reasons and has yet to find a solution for what I believe halts any forward movement on Sony’s part to push the handheld gaming environment to where it needs to PSPGO.
Let’s first talk about the hardware, the PSP-1000-3000 and the PSPGo. The biggest difference in these platforms is the level at which they can be used to pirate games. I have owned each unit and have mentioned many times before I feel the PSPGo is the best PSP platform for gamers who want a solid handheld experience in terms of features, functionality, and portability. The issues many gamers have with the PSPGo stem from the price and the lack of UMD support. The price, although comparable to other devices and actually cheaper than most when compared side-by-side, will always be an issue for the gaming audience. Today, the value of technology and what it can do, hold very little monetary value with today’s gaming community.
The Solution is to take the same route as Apple did with the IPod, and make downloading games the best way to use the PSP, then drop the PSPGo to a price lower than the PSP-3000 but equal or greater than the DSi. The steps, some would say are logical but not realistic, but everything I’m about to layout here is attainable, affordable and reasonable.
- Drop the price of the PSP and make it no higher than $169.99 and include a PSP minis game and a full download title, but continue to sell the PSP-3000 only at the $199 bundle price.
- Reduce the number of UMDs released to the retail channel, they don’t sell anyway, but it’ll allow those few honest PSP owners to continue purchasing legal copies. Also it’ll keep retail happy and they’ll still have some used game sales to look forward to regarding the PSP.
- Release a couple of key titles as downloadable only. Also, push for third parties who are hesitant to release PSP games to try a couple as download only.
- Work with retailers to create a download kiosk. This allows users who only purchase physical copies due to no home internet access, to use a PSPGo the same as they would a UMD capable PSP.
- Create Cross promotions with local retail stores to offer PSP only capable wifi hotspots, to be used for downloading software and content off of the PSN.
Step 1:
Dropping the price of the PSPGo below the price of the 3000 and other UMD models. As much as I disagree with what many consider the value of the 1000-3000 over the PSPGo due to having a UMD slot, perception is key. The perception has been set by the media and gamers in general that regardless of what you’re used to on the IPod or the Ipad, the PSP using that same pricing model has the opposite effect. It’s funny but if someone told you they think a portable CD player is a better choice than an IPod you would laugh uncontrollably. That’s the same response you hear people when talking about the PSPGo vs. the PSP-3000, but that’s beside the point. Portable gaming is meant to utilize downloads for all of its content, allowing gamers to grab anything and everything they need wirelessly without the need of a PC for instant gratification. The idea of taking as much content with you on the go as possible, with something you can easily throw in your pocket is what portable gaming is about. In order to bring more gamers kicking and screaming to the inevitable portable future the PSPGo has to be their first choice, not the luxury item Sony wanted it to be. So make it the same price as a DSi and make gamers spend more money to keep UMD as their primary.
Step 2:
Pushing digital downloads and the Playstation Network over UMDs. Originally UMDs we’re the Achilles heel of the PSP and the gaming community wanted nothing to do with it. At the same time retail needs something physical in their stores to be happy and to have a reason for consumers to come in and buy something. Since UMDs have been out for 5 years and haven’t sold half the numbers of the PSP games that have been downloaded, reduce the shipments. If they run out of UMD stock, all PSP owners have the option to download the game from any wifi hotspot. (Source?)
Step 3:
Ties directly into step 2 by offering key titles as downloadable only. Also, release titles for download early on the PSN before their regular Wednesday retail release date.
Step 4:
Requires building a process or a PSN infrastructure in certain retail stores which would make Steps 2 & 3 easier, and create a way for customers who need help getting games on their new go and familiar with digital downloads more comfortable with the process. Make the PS3 demo units a PSP hotspot and transfer station. A customer can come to the counter, purchases a card for a PSP game download, and can redeem the code at the PS3 demo kiosk and download the title via USB onto their PSPGo. This helps parents who aren’t tech savvy understand how to get content on their kids’ PSP via PS3, and avoids the fear of installing software on their home PC if their uncomfortable with the process.
Step 5:
With all the steps above combined, retail would have multiple reasons to carry the PSPgo and new incentives to get customers in the store. Since we know they want to sell strategy guides, accessories and pre-orders, they would still get “download only” hardware customers coming into stores. This allows them to increase their traffic for customers who would normally no longer visit a store.
I have a strong appreciation for the Playstation Portable, and knowing how much potential it has and what it has to offer makes me only want to see the platform thrive. If the content and the features weren’t there I would move on, but the platform is struggling with software sales due to game thieves, and that’s not acceptable.
I’m looking for feedback and thoughts, so let’s go!
There are 3 Comments to "PSP: Piracy and the necessary steps towards a solution"
I agree with most points and that something like(your plan) seems feasible… to the best of our knowledge at least… it might be much more of a headache for Sony and retailers to achieve than we initially think. Who knows.
But your comparison of the PSPgo to the Ipod/pad and that of a portable cd player vs Ipod can be… I dunno, attacked – as a weak point to your argument. The biggest problem I see in their comparison is A) pricing of downloadable content and B) the amount of storage available, to the PSPgo.
32gb (stock + mem stick) sounds like a lot initially, but when a number of full blown games are clocking in at over 1gb (yes a lot are less than 1gb, but there are a number over that) each it gets eaten up in a hurry! Especially if you’re into buying a lot of games. That doesn’t even factor in minis, psn games, demos, movies, music, etc etc that you’d also want to take advantage of. Pretty soon your little handheld is packed and if you factor in those “Un-techsavy folk” who are using a hotspot as their only source for games… there’s no such thing as backing it up to your PC.
Then there’s pricing. Sure, one can argue the value of the hardware itself and whether or not they could recommend it to another at a certain price. But what I’m concerned about is the huge price difference the casual person is going to see in PSPgameX vs IphonegameY. A general consumer will much more likely slip apple $0.99 for a simple game on their platform than they would for a game priced at $39.99 on Sonys. We can argue that there’s much more of a game in the $40 title… but the casual person doesn’t care, there’s a $39 dollar difference there and I think that’s where you’re going to have your struggle trying to convince others that the PSPgo = Iphone when speaking of downloads and using the system for that kind of medium.
Lastly, because the PSPgo is merely a system evolved from the original PSP and not even a new model in terms of stepping up to the successor of the PSP you’ve got tons of people out there sporting the PSP 1000-3000 where space for digital content is even less spacious and perhaps enjoy owning a physical product like a UMD. Sony knows they can’t just up and alienate that group of millions in favor of pushing forward. MAYBE with PSP2 they could cut the UMD cord… and go digital only (or maybe some other medium?) but not till that day… and even then there’d be some upset people
I really hope Sony is able to at-least lock up the PSP2 for as long as possible so the piracy rate doesn’t screw with the quality of games come time for that system.
all good points and some of the things you bring up that I’ve left out are included in the upcoming Helcast. Thanks for the feedback bro, it’s greatly appreciated.
My pleasure. Can’t wait for the next cast