How am I gonna say this....

[stin]

....delay thingy, well me and zargz went to Edinburgh "Game" shop and ask for when the PSP getting release? and they told me the rest, according to them well they might release at the latest on September coming just to be on the safe side due USA shortage of suppliers and they want more hand held consoles! 8O

We could not believe it after they told us!

Just to let you know I did not ask for Pure and I`ve not thought of that way.

And lastly he did say to us, don`t worry hopefully things will come as quickly as we expected!.

stevie

[Leftism]

It's amazing how Europe is one of the largest buyers in the world of videogames and yet we're still treated like third rate citizens. Sony deliberately hold back supplies of their products of launch to create extra demand and hype. There was that PS2 launch waiting list fiasco in 2000 with the form filling, even though many of the shops had spare PS2's in the back. The PSP's sold quick time in Japan and there were still a ton of people turning up, hearing there were no PS2's left and going home, for then Sony to get an extra shipment out that very same day in the shops to sell on that very same day.

It's just how Sony work. Hand out pitiful numbers out in Japan, then go to the US and do the same even though shops have mentioned them selling very slowly, and then when they can be arsed they then remember that Europe and the rest of the world want PSP's too and then get to us and the rest of the world by the end of the year. It's ridiculous.

You could always import one.

RANT OVER!

[Sausehuhn]

yep. imoprt. I never thought I would say this, but a import looks like a good thing. but it's not just the PSP, the games and the shipping that costs money. You also have to pay... nah... say me the english word... in german it's "zoll". the money you have to pay if you want to bring it into the country. And that isn't cheap :roll:

[HurtQuake]

I would be leery of buying a PSP import. Although minimal, the PSP has a quality production problem. I live in Canada and bought one on launch date and the unit had a dead pixel. Easy to return to the store but a major pain if you want to return an import purchase. Oh and for shortages of units!? That’s baloney, every major retail stores are well stocked as I write this. I even picked up a 2nd unit 5 days after launch day. It is truly unfair how Sony is treating Europe.

[eLhabib]

well, I might just have been lucky, but I got my PSP from lik-sang import and I don't have any dead pixels at all. It cost me 299 euros (that's a PSP standard pack, Pure, an Aero Case and a USB cable) plus 60 euro taxes makes for a total of 360 euro! Plus a game! My local gamestore (which I really trust very much as he has always been right) says, PSP will come to europe in late summer and will cost above 300 euros and that's just the PSP standard pack without a game or anything.

I think the benefits of importing outweigh the disadvantages/dangers BY FAR. Even more so, now that we know there are no region codes encrypted in the games.

[Sausehuhn]

The problem are the taxes (that was the word I needed ) and the shipping. You think you get the PSP and the extras for a good price and then you've forgotten the rest

[eLhabib]

well, do you think 360 euros is too much for a PSP plus Pure?

my educated guess is the PSP will cost 349 euros over here and the games will be at 49 euros, so importing is definitely cheaper! (and you can own one NOW, like I do _on )

[kaiotheforsaken]

perhaps you could get someone here in the US to buy and ship one for cheaper then an online retailer? i'm not sure about exchange rates and stuff, but at least if you got someone here to do it that you trusted you wouldn't get shafted, but then again you'd probably want a japanese one cause its region free.

[Seek100]

They're all region free, US ones aren't any different, plus with a US one it's almost certain there'll be no dead pixels and the square button fix will have been implemented.

[def]

I personally dont think this massive supply shortage has much credit to it, i can go in most electronics stores here in california and find psps on the shelves. Importing is always a risk as far as warranty issues go but i think kaio has a great idea there, have someone in the us purchase the unit and check it out for any returnable defects ( sticky L, dead/lit pixels, etc ) and if defects exist return and get a new one, if they dont, stick it on a plane and away it goes ^_^

[Dogg Thang]

Seek100, there have been no changes in dead pixels for the US release. If anything there seems to be more reports o fdead pixels. I wouldn't imagine the square button is any different either but I couldn't be sure about that.

[Concept]

They're all region free, US ones aren't any different, plus with a US one it's almost certain there'll be no dead pixels and the square button fix will have been implemented.

Actually, the build-quality issue of the US launch appears to be worse than the Japanese launch. About 1/2 of PSPs intially available appear to be coming up with dead pixels (usually between 1-3) from reports I've been reading.

To be fair, unless there is an improvement of build quality or chance of region restriction I see no valid reason to wait for the European launch, where the machine is likely to be even more expensive. On top of the delay.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=58477

(Yes, September is looking likely. Although who expected any different? There are only two commercially advantageous launch dates during a year: Spring or Winter).

If Sony Europe have something in store so the wait is worth it then I hope they let people know, because thousands (of what would otherwise be initial adopters) at the moment seem to be going import, myself included.

[def]

Dogg Thang: They did fix the square button issue, im not sure exactly how but they did.

[eLhabib]

they widened the chassis around the square button just a little bit so it can't get stuck anymore.

[Concept]

I've had no problems with either the square or shoulder buttons, as some have reported problems elsewhere with Japanese models.

Each have been firm, noise free and responsive.

[UncleZeiv]

If Sony Europe have something in store so the wait is worth it then I hope they let people know, because thousands (of what would otherwise be initial adopters) at the moment seem to be going import, myself included.

I think they don't care at all. Wipeoutzone members are not representative of the mass gaming population. And even if 10000 gamers imported, that would be, I don't know.. < 1% of the expected initial sellings in europe?

_dave_

[kaiotheforsaken]

the its region free for games thats right, my bad, movies no though, i dunno if that matters. most of the people i know have at least one dead pixel but during gameplay you cant notice it. so its not an issue. like what was stated before, unless sony opts for putting in a higher quality LCD (the lowest quality is in it now i believe) then everyone has the potential for pixel issues.

[Concept]

I think they don't care at all. Wipeoutzone members are not representative of the mass gaming population. And even if 10000 gamers imported, that would be, I don't know.. < 1% of the expected initial sellings in europe?

_dave_

I'd imagine 10000 already from the UK alone have imported. At the very least.

Of course they don't care in the long run, but these people are also the core users that could easily be making up the market of the initial adopter.

It's the PR which could be the problem. Say for example, a consumer TV program such as Watchdog latches on to the fact we're being sold a system at an inflated price months after everyone else, and they highlight the fact tens of thousands of people have been impatient enough to import? And recommend it themselves?

Said publicity wouldn't look good. Europe always gets shafted - it isn't a big surprise.

However, that isn't to say Sony's competitors, or those who have a vested interest in seeing the company flounder in the media convergence market, may not be tempted to raise awareness of problems for their own agenda.