Sony NGP Price Could Reach as High as $350 USD

         One of our contributors, Sharif, made us aware of a rumor that is circulating on the Internet about the eventual price of Sony's NGP. As long as it doesn't face any delays as a result of the recent quake in Japan, the NGP is slated to reach store shelves in fall 2011. But what price are eager early adopters willing to shell out for this magnificent new piece of technology? A recent survey conducted by Ubisoft suggests that gamers might expect to pay in the range of $250-$350 for the device, depending on what mobile data options it comes with. Sony Europe has already revealed that one version of the NGP will rely on Wi-Fi for data transfer, while a more expensive unit will have 3G capabilities as well.
The Ubisoft survey, conducted by French market-research firm Toluna, confidently states that "the retail price of the Sony NGP is expected to be around $350", and asks respondents to rate their likelihood of purchasing the device at that price. It is unclear why a third-party software publisher is so interested in the price of the hardware, since their primary concern ought to be the price of the games that they are developing for the system. Personally, I think that $350 is a bit steep for a gaming handheld, no matter how awesome it is.
Nintendo, which is currently accepting pre-orders for its 3DS device, has priced its next-generation handheld at $249.99 USD.
What's our prediction? We're going to say $299 for a Wi-fi only bundle on launch day, with the 3G device coming in at a heftier $350. Are we prepared to pay that much for more Sony handheld action on launch day? Probably.

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