Wanne buy a PS.. err.. brown box?

[Vandenh]

Importers of the PSP have apparently found a good excuse to continue selling the handheld in UK/Europe. The court now has to decide if this is possible. GamesIndustry has the story (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9951).
Nuplayer said in its defence this week that not only had it offered to remove all Sony trademarks from its web site, and from the boxes it ships out. Sony said that amounted to a defacement of its products. Nuplayer maintains that this way, it doesn't use any Sony trademark - the Sony and PSP names and logos do not appear until the customer opens the box, by which time the product is the property of the buyer not the seller.

[Beelzebud]

What is so different about Europe that makes every console maker wait a year to release stuff over there? Is it the power cords? Is it the NTSC/PAL issues? I don't get it.

[Goronmon]

I always thought it was the number of systems that had to manufacture. Instead of making them all at once, they make them for Japan and the US, then use the leftovers (if any) to determine how many to manufacture for Europe.

[Vandenh]

Good question. I think the European market is a bit less market driven and people probably pick up "new stuff" a bit slower.

Well MS seem to support Europe 100% now, so at least someone knows how big the market is.

[Kamalot]

The more I think about their process of coming down on importers the more I think it has to do with perception.

As long as the PSP is vapor, the product is perfect. Once your firend imports it and you can see how long the load times are, how many dead pixels the units have and how uninspired the games are, the less perfect the system becomes.

They aren't really worried about people importing the system, they are worried about the effect of their hype-powered reality distortion machine not being completely effective when they do decide to launch.

[Goronmon]

They aren't really worried about people importing the system, they are worried about the effect of their hype-powered reality distortion machine not being completely effective when they do decide to launch.
I'm sure thats a major motivation behind Sony's actions.

Still doesn't answer why there is even a difference between the launch dates.

[Rommel]

Penis cream

[MrMeatshake]

Good question. I think the European market is a bit less market driven and people probably pick up "new stuff" a bit slower.

Well MS seem to support Europe 100% now, so at least someone knows how big the market is.

i wish i knew why we don't get stuff promptly or in as big numbers as the RoW except that the market share for individual territories is so much lower - they need to make a marketing effort across a lot of disjointed cultures and ways of thinking in the EU compared to the US or japan (as large, distinct areas). actually, hang on, that doens't work for japan, does it? hmmm

[Savok]

It's a combo of language and not giving a damn that screws PAL. Also shithouse PAL publishers, I used to like Koei until they sold me those awesome Nippon Ichi games on fucking CDs.

[Klade]

Sorry fellas buts its none of the above. There are two reasons that in the end mean a much slower launch for Europe. The first is that its a pain in the ass. Europe as you all know is not one country. Its a whole bunch of em and they all have their own laws, their own import regulations to follow, their own unique little issues about what is acceptable for a video game. Heck many have their own language. Think about trying get together an advertising campaign that needs to be in at least half a dozen different languages, cover 3 times as many magazines, newspapers, and tv stations as it would in either US or Japan.

All of that is a big hit to getting a launch together on time. Then combine it with the fact that Europe sells less then either Japan or the US in most launches of products and you lose incentive to try and get everything out at the same time. Better to do the two bigger launches first and then put your team to work on Europe in their own time.

[Savok]

Sales also tend to be less because we've all said "fuck it" and imported.

[Royal Fool]

Its a whole bunch of em and they all have their own laws, their own import regulations to follow, their own unique little issues about what is acceptable for a video game.
This is true in a sense, for example Germany tends to be very strict about the content of videogames and movies and their rating systems are overall harder to satisfy.

Heck many have their own language.
Amazing! But although some countries get their own "localized" translations of games, there's a whole bunch more of them that just get the same stuff as the big ones - mainly Spanish, French (Wait, aren't those mandatory in America/Canada anyways?), German and... possibly others, although it's sort of rare. And anyway, the content of the games isn't always altered, it's more often than not just the manuals and packaging that gets translated, the games themselves are usually kept in English except for the very big releases.[/quote]

Think about trying get together an advertising campaign that needs to be in at least half a dozen different languages, cover 3 times as many magazines, newspapers, and tv stations as it would in either US or Japan.
Which is why advertising firms exist. And this is usually the job of the distributor/licensee anyway, rarely do the actual publishers bother with this sort of stuff.

[Heretic Machine]

(Wait, aren't those mandatory in America/Canada anyways?)

Nope, it's not. Many games in the USA are in English only. Then there are other games which are English/Japanese. It's pretty rare for me to see one in French or Spanish.

[Kamalot]

Yeah, the language barrier is huge for selling a product in Europe. I used to work at a Localization company and getting your product prepared for purchase in another country is a lot of work. To launch in all of Europe is a nightmare, especially when you have to coinside with marketing and inventory.

So we know why Sony hasn't launched in Europe, cause it is a pain in the ass. That does not explain 2 things:


How come Nintendo managed to launch the DS so quickly in Europe and Sony CAN'T.
Why crack down on importers? -See my original post for ideas on this one- (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=59049&postcount=5)

[Zanzibar]

SEE?!?! I TOLD YOU SONY WAS EVIL!! They want to spank a poor merchant for SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS!!!!

I jest, of course. Microsoft Legal Division would bomb these guys back to the Stone Age if it was a MS product.

[Stryfe01]

i got lucky. no dead pixels or any other problems with my psp.

[Kelegacy]

What is so different about Europe that makes every console maker wait a year to release stuff over there? Is it the power cords? Is it the NTSC/PAL issues? I don't get it.

Yeah, what the HELL is up with the powercords? Driving on the left? PAL/NTSC? (though i hear PAL is superior??) Videogame name changes? (SMT: Nocturne changing into SMT: Lucifer's Call)

Do you guys eat dessert first?

[Okamura_Takashi]

One good thing about getting games later in Europe is that they are less bug ridden than their NTSC counterparts.

[Savok]

Really? I've always hit the same bugs and suffered from terrible slowdown in shitty ports.

PAL has more lines on the screen but a lower refresh rate. Of course there's PAL60 to get both. Originally PAL kicked the shit out of NTSC as NTSC really was quite awful when it first appeared. These days they're pretty hard to tell apart, and with modern TVs doing both no one cares anymore except the pricks and their regions out to make a buck.

[Kamalot]

Why on earth are people talking about Pal and NTSC? The PSP does not have the PAL problem since it runs at its own resolution on its own hardware.

Why on earth has Sony put off selling the unit in Europe when every day more people buy the Nintendo DS?

[Savok]

Sony hates Europe (and Australia/NZ), they've hated us from day one.

[Nimos]

We are getting the PSP almost a year after it's initial launch for cryin'out loud ! I bet Zimbabwe got their PSP shipment faster than that ! If their gonna treat EU like that then one thing is left to do : Boycott sony... hit them where it hurts !