PSP Go is expensive because.. people are dumb enough to buy it

By Benedict Wee

We know that when it comes to our country, New Zealand gets ridiculous mark ups on mobiles, handhelds and pretty much everything else gadget-adjacent. So when the new PSP Go's price was announced in the US and UK we gave the estimated cost of Sony's new handheld based on the how much we're paying for the PSPs on the shelves currently. But have you ever wondered how Sony came to pricing their new handheld much higher than the older models?

UK video game site mcvuk.com recently interviewed Andrew House, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and asked the same question. His response should shed some light on the price of the PSP Go:

MCV: There’s a clear price difference there, too. Are you charging more for the PSPgo to protect retail margins as they won’t be selling software? Or to cover R&D costs?

Andrew: Those aren’t the factors. When you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account.

So there you have it. Sony is not charging so much more because they've spent a lot on research, development and to compensate for the lack of game sales, they're selling it at a high price because (at least, they think) people are willing to pay for it.

Source: MCVUK