Sounds like Sony is trying to create artificial demand again

[finalgt]

...this time for the European / Australian PSP launch. From ArsTechnica:

It looks like European and Australasian gamers will have to hold on to their money - and patience - a little bit longer. Citing an inability to keep up with Japanese and US demand, Sony has put off the launch of their handheld portable gaming system until September. The electronics giant had hoped to release the system last month, but was unable to manufacture enough units in time for a spring launch.

Uhh, I don't know about everybody else, but every single store around here: Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Target and EB all have plenty of PSPs on the shelf. So what part of the country is making it such that Sony thinks they "can't keep up with demand?" Or maybe they're trying to fix some flaws in the PSP for a second revision?

 

[OriginalOCer]

Probably the part of the country that has to return MULTIPLE units (I've heard of many people returning 4 times, and still settling on a screen that still has a couple of dead pixels) to get one without a dead pixel or dust under the screen.

Personally, I imported mine in January along with 2 friends and none of our units have dead pixels. That said, if it were me, and I bought a unit here, I would return it as many times as needed until I had a perfect one.

peace,
OriginalOCer

 

[Vildayyan2003]

Or maybe they're trying to fix some flaws in the PSP for a second revision?

This is my guess also. The fewer people they burn the more Sony ass they'll save in the long run.

 

[Terpfen]

For all the reports that Wal-marts and Targets have spare PSPs... I couldn't find any there. A Toys R Us that had three PSPs in stock sold all of them by the time I made the 20-minute drive down. I only got my PSP because KB Toys had two left.

Don't forget that the Korean launch is in May, and Sony is still having troubles producing the PSP's graphics unit.

There aren't many flaws to fix. Dead pixels? Talk to Samsung, whose LCD screens are the highest quality in terms of manufacture, and they still get dead pixels. UMDs don't fly out, the square button works fine... I think you guys are grasping at straws.

 

[heatsinker]

PSPs are getting more readily available around California now though; the local Target had at least 10.

 

[ECM]

For all the reports that Wal-marts and Targets have spare PSPs... I couldn't find any there. A Toys R Us that had three PSPs in stock sold all of them by the time I made the 20-minute drive down. I only got my PSP because KB Toys had two left.

Uh, I live in SoCal and these things are everywhere: Target, Best Buy, EB Games, Gamestop, etc..

Don't forget that the Korean launch is in May, and Sony is still having troubles producing the PSP's graphics unit.

Considering they have 1.5 million PSPs floating around N. America right now, I don't think the GPU issue is as real as you (or Sony) would like it to be.

There aren't many flaws to fix. Dead pixels? Talk to Samsung, whose LCD screens are the highest quality in terms of manufacture, and they still get dead pixels. UMDs don't fly out, the square button works fine... I think you guys are grasping at straws.

Uh, yes, dead pixels are Sony's problem since it should be part of their QC process. Obviously they're coming off the line from Samsung in sorry shape, but that isn't deterring Sony from using them, is it? And while you didn't mention it, how about dust and uneven backlighting being added to the list of QC problems? And how about that wonderful warranty service?

Btw, did you get your official Sony !!!!!! shirt back from the dry cleaners--I think I saw you doing your Sony shill routine over at .Games Are Fun, too (assuming, of course, there are not mutliple "Terpfens" with a Sony fetish running around the net).

 

[ohgod]

Probably the part of the country that has to return MULTIPLE units (I've heard of many people returning 4 times, and still settling on a screen that still has a couple of dead pixels) to get one without a dead pixel or dust under the screen.

Personally, I imported mine in January along with 2 friends and none of our units have dead pixels. That said, if it were me, and I bought a unit here, I would return it as many times as needed until I had a perfect one.

peace,
OriginalOCer

I am doing the same thing. So far i've returned/exchanged my PSP 4 times and I am going to do it again. The PSP I have now actually has a fingerprint underneath the screen cover.

 

[heatsinker]

Is backlight leaking really that big of an issue? I can understand about dead pixels since my first unit had about 8 or so, but backlight leakage can't be that big a deal.

 

[DizzySHK]

i thought the current lcds are from sharp, no? i think they will start switching to samsung lcds with the korean launch.

 

[Terpfen]

Uh, I live in SoCal and these things are everywhere: Target, Best Buy, EB Games, Gamestop, etc..

That's fine. In what way did my anecdotal evidence amount to a representation of national PSP availablility? I meant to imply that the supply issue is being overblown, not that it's bogus. And the conclusion that Sony's creating artificial demand could be legitimate, but I'm not seeing it based on what was posted earlier in this thread. They did it with the PS2 last fall/winter, and I wouldn't put it past them to try it with the PSP at some point, but a European delay equaling the creation of artificial demand? Doesn't add up.

Considering they have 1.5 million PSPs floating around N. America right now, I don't think the GPU issue is as real as you (or Sony) would like it to be.

Given that they still haven't sold the initial amount of 1 million, I doubt Sony has pumped another half million PSPs into the NA market. What source are you using for your figures?

Uh, yes, dead pixels are Sony's problem since it should be part of their QC process. Obviously they're coming off the line from Samsung in sorry shape, but that isn't deterring Sony from using them, is it? And while you didn't mention it, how about dust and uneven backlighting being added to the list of QC problems?

Read up on LCD technology: you seem ignorant of its current QA limitations. As far as Samsung goes, so far they're considered the leader in LCD quality, and IIRC the only company with a "no dead pixel" policy in any country in the world (South Korea, for the record.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I bought exactly one PSP: no dead pixels. No dust behind the screen. Actually, "dust behind the screen" complaints have died completely, leading me to believe that people received exchanges, and/or it was a problem with only a few units, just like the excess plastic molding on the Japanese square buttons.

And how about that wonderful warranty service?

Oh, the warranty. Well, I seem to recall an official statement from Sony saying that dead pixels are covered by the warranty and will be exchanged, no questions asked, but they merely asked people to keep the PSPs for a couple of weeks to see if they could get used to the pixels. And that's fine--Nintendo did the same thing when some DS units had dead pixels.

Or if you're referring to the section where Sony states that "dead pixels are normal, and not a sign of a malfunctioning unit" (paraphrased), time to get pissed at every other LCD manufacturer on the face of planet Earth, because they all say the same thing.

As always, the Internet has blown legitimate problems into a sign of the apocalypse. I wonder when we're going to hear about ejecting UMDs...

Btw, did you get your official Sony !!!!!! shirt back from the dry cleaners--I think I saw you doing your Sony shill routine over at .Games Are Fun, too (assuming, of course, there are not mutliple "Terpfens" with a Sony fetish running around the net).

Sorry, not me. I read GamesAreFun once in a while, but don't have an account. Decent news site, but I prefer The Magic Box.

And hey, as long as we're going ad hominem, it's nice to know there's only one irrational, flamebait-throwing ECM running around. If you're the same ECM from Gamefan, it sucks to learn that you've gotten bitter.

One last thing: I'm not a Sony !!!!!!. I've been burned with the PSX (three faulty units in total, including a PSone), and waited three years to grab a PS2 just to increase my chances that the hardware wouldn't die on me after six months. The DRE incidents were a total disgrace. But I'm not going to illogically hold it against the company years after the fact, especially when the problems are fixed. Did you know that most of the GD-ROMs available at the Dreamcast's launch didn't work? I don't hear anyone bashing Sega over that.

i thought the current lcds are from sharp, no? i think they will start switching to samsung lcds with the korean launch.

Sharp produced the first batch of Japanese PSP screens--Lik-Sang's photos proved that much. Somewhere along the line, Samsung took over production, and all PSPs produced are using Samsung LCDs now, be they Japanese, North American, or Korean. Samsung's screens have slightly lower image quality, but arguably better construction, so it's not too bad a tradeoff.