Yesterday Sony indicated that sales of the PSP platform were up 120 percent in the U.K. after the PSPgo launch. However, ShopTo has reported to GI.biz that the system hasn't flown out of the gates for the online retailer.
"PSPgo has seen a slow start for ShopTo and we have kept stock quite tight in consideration," said the company's CEO Igor Cipolletta. "We remained at the RRP for PSPgo so that we can achieve the maximum margin considering that there will be no further software sales for this format for us as an e-tailer."
Despite expressed hopes from Sony that the launch of the PSPgo would lift sales of the PSP-3000, Cipolletta commented that hasn't happened either. "PSP-3000 has not yet seen an uplift and until the stronger software titles are released we don't expect a significant upturn," he said.
"We had a fantastic pre-order quantity for the PS3 slim and consumer appetite for that has remained strong with the great bundle deals promoting the new release games such as FIFA 10 and Need For Speed Shift," added Cipolletta. "Not being able to bundle the PSPgo with physical software or accessories means that the consumer offer is standard and then price becomes the key issue."
Additionally, GI.biz indicates that U.K. retailers HMV, GAME, Play.com and Amazon have all cut the price of the PSPgo down to 199.99 British pounds from 224.99 British pounds, a roughly $40 difference. No such price cuts have happened with retailers in the U.S.
With the mixture of messages coming out about the PSPgo launch, we'll be very interested to see how the NPD says the system did a month from now.
