Sony Demands 150K Per Song From Customer.

[Big Orange]

Sony is as greedy as it is incompetent, and it is no surprise they're losing ground on many fronts. Here is the latest on Sony's brand of evil corporate idiocy:

Sony charging so much for PSPgo because ... well ... it can!
7:40 PM on 06.25.2009, Jim Sterling

Earlier today, we ran a story about SCEE's Andrew House claiming that Europeans don't care about the expensive nature of the PlayStation brand. Well, he didn't stop there, becoming quite candid about the PSPgo's ridiculous European price hike. Do you know why Sony's charging so much for the new PlayStation Portable? Because it can, dummy!

When asked by MCV if R&D or retail markups were the reason for the PSPgo's exorbitant 250 Euro price tag. House is remarkably honest, stating that there is no valid reason for the cost, Sony simply felt like charging that much.

"Those aren't the factors," House explains. "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."

That's all there is to it. Sony is simply taking the opportunity to "say" that the PSPgo costs as much as it does, and practically admits that they could be a lot less expensive if Sony simply said otherwise.

It's not like it's an uncommon practice, and it's not like Microsoft and Nintendo aren't equally as guilty, but just blatantly admitting that you're punishing early adopters through sheer greed leaves a sour taste.

Not only does Sony fail to learn from their own mistakes, but do not heed the mistakes made by other companies.

[SylasGaunt]

That's.. wow that's just stupid. I don't know what they charge for a PS3 over there but if google's $ to Euro conversion is to be believed that's almost as much as for a PS3!

[General Zod]

That's.. wow that's just stupid. I don't know what they charge for a PS3 over there but if google's $ to Euro conversion is to be believed that's almost as much as for a PS3!

The hilarious thing is it costs much less to manufacture than the regular PSP. (Pachter "apologized" later, but I think his first analysis was pretty spot on). Sony doesn't even bother taking currency exchange into account, they just take the $250 US price tag and slap a Euro in front of it.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter hates the PSP Go. Alright, alright, he doesn't quite hate it, but he does despise its price point. On a recent episode of Bonus Round, Pachter matter of factly states, "$249 is too much. Period." He goes on to say that while the handheld is priced to compete with Apple's $229 8GB iPod Touch, it doesn't deliver the iTunes App Store or downloadable music from iTunes (as conveniently, at least, as the iPod Touch).

Furthermore, he posits the $250 price of the PSP Go is vastly overinflated considering its contents, claiming it costs Sony less to build and ship the PSP Go than the PSP-3000 model, "The $169 PSP-3000 is a profitable device -- the disc assembly, for a UMD, costs more than 16 gigs of flash does. So this new device doesn't cost them as much as the PSP-3000 and they jack the price up $80?" When Keighley presses Pachter as to whether Sony is "ripping off" the consumer or not, he answers, "They're rippin' off the consumer ... they're making a lot more money on the PSP Go than the PSP-3000."

[Andrew_Fireborn]

I've not heard anything otherwise, but is the Go even any more powerful than the standard PSP?

Other than taking physical mediums completely out of the equation, (Unless I'm mistaken and they've gone the route of nintendo, with cartridges. As the "16gigs of flash" implies.) it seems to be a bland revision device, like the DSi, which has next to nothing worthwhile in it's stable.

[Starglider]

I've not heard anything otherwise, but is the Go even any more powerful than the standard PSP?

No; even Sony realised that splitting the hardware platform (i.e. making games that existing PSPs couldn't run) was a lossuing proposition. The PSP is being slaughtered by the DS in sales as it is, splitting their small fraction of the handheld market into two even smaller fractions would be suicide (particularly since PSP owners are much more likely to whine about being rendered obsolete than DS owners).

[Nephtys]

The saddest thing is, the PSP is a wonderful system... if you use it in a way which does not generate profits for Sony. Literally, it's greatest attraction is running homebrew software, playing old emulator games and watching ripped-from-your-collection non-UMD movies.

[Big Orange]

Despite their blundering and overconfidence that sometimes leads to hostile contempt towards consumers, they are still a popular brand name amongst teenagers.

Sony are putting their tendrils entirely into the Beatles after Michael copped it and it is not comforting, considering how dictatorial, hypocritical, and spiteful they are with music ownership:

Sony/ATV Plans to Keep Rights to Invaluable Beatles Catalogue

Bloomberg News
Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, co-owned by Michael Jackson and Sony, will keep control of Beatles songs following the pop singer's death, said a person with knowledge of the venture's plans.

Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50 in Los Angeles, owned 50 percent of Sony/ATV, which holds rights to more than 200 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as well as songs by Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and others. His stake is worth about $1 billion, said Ivan Thornton, a private-wealth adviser who has worked with Jackson.

Sony/ATV will continue to hold the Lennon and McCartney catalogue, said the person, who asked not to be named because the matter isn't public. Britain's Daily Mirror reported in January that Jackson planned to leave the Beatles rights to McCartney in his will to heal a rift between the musicians. Jackson paid $47.5 million in 1985 for the catalogue, outbidding McCartney and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.

"Michael was very proud of this partnership," said Martin Bandier, chief executive of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. "For him this was about really honing his business skills in an area that he loved."

Paul Freundlich, the New York-based media contact for McCartney, didn't respond to messages seeking comment on the status of the Beatles rights.

"I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael," McCartney said on his Web site. "He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever, and my memories of our time together will be happy ones."

Publishers license music and collect royalties, ensuring the owners are paid when a song is used commercially. Publishers can also be copyright owners.

In 1995, Jackson merged the ATV collection with Sony-owned recordings to create Sony/ATV, said Jimmy Asci, a company spokesman. In 2006, Jackson offered Sony the option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV, allowing the singer to refinance $300 million of loans.

Jackson's entertainment attorney, Joel Katz, said he is traveling to Los Angeles to be with the family and will meet with "many of his professional associates."

"Michael Jackson was a perfectionist and his business affairs are worldwide," Katz said. "Many of them are quite ongoing and will be dealt with appropriately."

Jackson's solo albums "Off the Wall," "Thriller," "Dangerous," "Bad" and "HIStory," were recorded with Sony's Epic Records and are among the top-sellers of all time, the company said.

He sold 750 million records worldwide and released 13 No. 1 singles, Sony said. Warner Music Group owns publishing rights to his music, a spokesman said.

The Washington Post