PSP Go pricing a ‘rip off’ says analyst

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter claims Sony are “ripping off” consumers with the $249/€249 price point of the PSP Go. Speaking in an episode of Bonus Round recorded following Sony’s conference at E3 last week, Pachter said, “$249 is too much, period.”

The crux of Pachter’s argument is that the PSP Go is cheaper to produce than the UMD toting PSP-3000. “The $169 PSP-3000 is a profitable device,” said Pachter. “They make money, so it costs less than that. The disc assembly for a UMD costs more than 16 gigs of flash does. So this new device doesn’t cost them as much to make as the PSP-3000 and they jack the price up $80… They’re ripping off the consumer… They’re making a lot more money on the PSP Go than they’re making on the PSP-3000.”

The PSP Go hits the US and Europe on Oct. 1, followed a month later in Japan. Will you be picking one up, or are you afraid of getting your fingers burnt?