Poor start for PSPgo sales in Australia
Just over 1000 units sold in launch week, but "it's not something that we're concerned about," says Sony
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment is a Japanese videogame company specialising in a variety of areas in the...
Sales of Sony's PSPgo have got off to a poor start in Australia, with just over 1000 units sold in its first week.
The hardware retails in the region for AUD 450 and like other PAL regions has been criticised for its high asking price.
Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia told The Age that first week sales were "not under 1000 but it's slightly over 1000" units.
"Clearly we haven't done massive numbers but it's not something that we're concerned about ... because there are still some issues that we need to work through," added Ephraim.
The Age claims that a source close to GfK Chart-Track has suggested the console sold less than 1000 units in its first week. Specialist retailer EB Games refused to stock the console in Australia.
In the UK the hardware was greeted with a lukewarm reception as independent retailers snubbed the console, while Chips MD Don McCabe suggested the PSPgo will fail miserably. Major retailers such as Amazon and Play.com dropped the price of the console during its launch week.
However, Sony said that its launch sales were in-line with expectations.
With the incredibly strong Australian dollar you can buy them for something like $250 on ebay, why would you pay $50 less than a PS3 to buy a handheld with less features than the PSP3000?
The established status quo of higher costs for Australians compared to the rest of the world is reaching a crisis point with the strength of the dollar, it's very hard as a gamer to see why you'd buy anything locally.
The sheer number of parcels arriving in our office for our staff marked with US and Hong Kong origin stickers feels like a pretty strong indicator...
Posted:3 years ago