Pop Quiz: The portable Sony Playstation went on sale last December for about $200 in Japan. It sells on the grey market today in London for about $600. How many Playstations will you have to carry in your luggage from Tokyo to London to pay for your $1,000 plane ticket? (And we know what you'll be doing on the long flight :-))
Hey, if folks are lined up to pay $600 for a portable game player, imagine the lines when the next-generation Cell-based set-tops arrive? Staggering!
Meanwhile, the U.S. press and media launch of the PSP is today. This will likely drive grey market prices even higher. You'd think Sony would keep the PR event bar tab as profits and let PSP sell itself on word of mouth. Lukewarm review by the Washington Post here.
Out on a Limb Prediction: The Sony Portable Playstation will be the next iPod in consumer bling-bling, pushing from young adults (with jobs and ~$600) down to teens and tweens. Demand will wildly outstrip supply and you won't see this toy at discount for a year. Parents be warned: you have 287 shopping days until Christmas to line up your brat's PSP.
Peter S. Kastner
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are moderated.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.