So as I a gamer I, like most gamers, have been following E3. A lot of interesting things have been revealed. Project Natel, Social networking on Xbox Live, things like that.
Like most gamers, I was waiting for news on the new PSP. It was the worst kept secret in gaming after all. Unlike most gamers, however, I really didn't care much for it. No UMD Slot seemed like a stupid idea and , like the DSi, I figured it would be a minor upgrade.
So it comes out. The design was anticipated...the extras were anticipated, with the exception of a touch screen...or lack thereof. Still, it seemed like an interesting little machine. Until you get to the price.
Now the DSi is $40 more than the DS Lite. It's a modest little upgrade, so that seems pretty reasonable. If you're in the market for a DS, you can spend some extra money and get a DSi if you so desire. So everyone though this would be the same. Probably around $200 since the PSP is $170 brand new.
Not a chance.
In a move that showed everyone that they don't know what the HELL they're doing, Sony announced the PSPgo (terrible name) at 249 bucks.
$249 dollars for a machine that DOESN'T have a UMD slow and is indeed SMALLER than a PSP. Granted it has internal storage, but for that much, I can get a regular PSP and an 8gig memory card, which is all I would probably need. Plus I can play old UMD games and it just looks a lot better all around.
So it seems Sony hasn't learned from the PS3 debacle. They're number three for a reason. The PS3 would be a contender if it would only drop in price, but Sony's need to push propietary storage on us is their downfall. The main reason the PS3 is so expensive is because of the Blu-Ray Drive. Meanwhile the Xbox 360 is $199, 299 if you want a hard drive, though you can easily find a Hard Drive for cheap. The Wii is $250. If this were a console, maybe it wouldn't be an issue, but it's a handheld that is, in some cases, inferior to the current model.
I bet you anything that Sony will wonder why these aren't flying off the shelves. Perhaps this will stimulate the demand for the original PSP like the PS3 seems to be stimulating demand for the PS2. Perhaps that was sony's plan all along.
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
The Gamefly Aftermath
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An interesting thing happened this morning. I actually got a call from Gamefly. The guy explained that he saw my emails and my blogs and would try to smooth things over.
First thing I thought was "Wow, someone reads my blog?"
At any rate, I explained my grievances and he did something that reminded me of the Gamefly of old. He didn't do the whole "game availability spiel". Instead, he actually explained in explicit detail how the process works.
And he made sense.
The short of it is this. They don't look at just your queue order, but instead how long a game has been in your queue, along with how long it's been in other queues. If I put a game in my queue yesterday and a guy who had the game in his queue for a while puts it at the top of his list, when a copy becomes available, he'll get it first. Makes sense right?
He also explained that distribution centers serve their primary areas first. Again, that makes sense.
He stressed the importance of having games in your queue, which makes sense of course. I told him that since I split an account with my wife and rent for two systems, it's important that I get the games for that system instead of risking being sent something from another system. This is where a profile system like what Netflix has would come in handy. He stated the best thing to do would be to plan ahead and put those games in my queue instead of adding them last minute.
At the end of the call I was actually satisfied. He even gave me the phone number, which on the website is harder to find than the holy grail.
So apparently my problem is that I was using it like it was 2003. Back when I didn't have to worry too much about queue management. The system does have some flaws, but apparently I have to plan ahead somewhat, as there are other factors involved.
Now there's just one thing that Gamefly should do. Put all of this information on their site somewhere. Their FAQ is a joke for all intents and purposes. Also they should fire all the guys who handle the emails, since they seem to send canned responses for the most part. Then, have the guys who handle the phones do the emails as well. If someone would have explained this in better detail long time ago instead of doing the whole "game availability" shill, I wouldn't have this problem.
At any rate, only time will tell at this point. It's nice to know that they took the time out to try to keep me as a happy customer. Of course, as usual, it seems that if you actually complain about something on twitter, then the company will bend over backward for you. GameFlyInc on twitter kicks ass in this regard. Keep that in mind folks.
First thing I thought was "Wow, someone reads my blog?"
At any rate, I explained my grievances and he did something that reminded me of the Gamefly of old. He didn't do the whole "game availability spiel". Instead, he actually explained in explicit detail how the process works.
And he made sense.
The short of it is this. They don't look at just your queue order, but instead how long a game has been in your queue, along with how long it's been in other queues. If I put a game in my queue yesterday and a guy who had the game in his queue for a while puts it at the top of his list, when a copy becomes available, he'll get it first. Makes sense right?
He also explained that distribution centers serve their primary areas first. Again, that makes sense.
He stressed the importance of having games in your queue, which makes sense of course. I told him that since I split an account with my wife and rent for two systems, it's important that I get the games for that system instead of risking being sent something from another system. This is where a profile system like what Netflix has would come in handy. He stated the best thing to do would be to plan ahead and put those games in my queue instead of adding them last minute.
At the end of the call I was actually satisfied. He even gave me the phone number, which on the website is harder to find than the holy grail.
So apparently my problem is that I was using it like it was 2003. Back when I didn't have to worry too much about queue management. The system does have some flaws, but apparently I have to plan ahead somewhat, as there are other factors involved.
Now there's just one thing that Gamefly should do. Put all of this information on their site somewhere. Their FAQ is a joke for all intents and purposes. Also they should fire all the guys who handle the emails, since they seem to send canned responses for the most part. Then, have the guys who handle the phones do the emails as well. If someone would have explained this in better detail long time ago instead of doing the whole "game availability" shill, I wouldn't have this problem.
At any rate, only time will tell at this point. It's nice to know that they took the time out to try to keep me as a happy customer. Of course, as usual, it seems that if you actually complain about something on twitter, then the company will bend over backward for you. GameFlyInc on twitter kicks ass in this regard. Keep that in mind folks.
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