PSP : Possible case of over ambition?

[Che Musashi]

I'll probably get one, I think it can deliver the goods. Right now it is too early to tell. Microsoft wants to make a minature xbox where you can play xbox games on the go, its called a Xlaptop. Man everybody wants some now that Nintendo has it all.

[Burai]

Sony have this whole thing nailed completely.

It's a consumers dream - it's a games machine and an MP3 player and a video player all in one affordable unit - it's basically what PS3 will be, but on the move (and obviously cut down).

With this device, not only do Sony stand to dominate the portable gaming scene, they could also dominate the MP3 player market and stand to make Memory Stick the de-facto flash media standard.

They are smuggling other tech into our homes via their games consoles. Nobody wanted a MiniDisc player, but people would love a Game Boy that played MiniDiscs for free, or at least what they perceive to be free. That is what this is.

Sony almost single-handedly started the DVD video scene with PS2 - I'd not be surprised to see something very similar in a few years time with this device.

[Boomah]

Maybe it will have an IBM microdrive for savegames and loading games on to, like a mini-xbox

it would have to be at least a micro-xbox, or even a nano x-box before you would be able to fit it in your pocket

[womblingfree]

I live in Tokyo and my mobile phone plays mp3's, takes 1.3 megapixel photos with a CCD camera and plays Ridge Racer. It is also fully online, Java enabled and cost me under ?100. I'm sure it does a bunch of other stuff I have no idea about also.

If the PSP can do the above things most would be happy. If it does any more and has great games then it will revolutionise the market just as the Playstation did.

[Ady]

when was the last time you released a new console system? Huh? Never? Thought as much...

Well pardon us for expressing an opinion. I must remember to actually build a console myself before daring to have any sort of an opinion on one.

What's stopping them putting a analog stick (or two) on there? They could implement a sunk down stick along the same lines as what SNK did with the Neo Geo Pocket (except that wasn't analog).

OK, but surely this already limits some of the ports that will no doubt appear as many PS1 games use both sticks...

And as for buttons, I see no problem in them including all the buttons present on a Dual Shock pad.

Don't you think a handheld gaming device with ten buttons on it is over-egging the pudding just a little bit?

3D is the only way to go for the handheld market to go, like or not, and it's good to see a company pushing things forward.

I completely disagree. Handheld and console gaming are two different beasts entirely.

In the 'proper' console world its about technology, handheld gaming is about practicality and accessibility. I really can't help but think that Sony's kitchen sink approach is all wrong. And this 'handheld' doesn't sound as if its going to be very portable at all.

Yes, its early days, I accept that I could be wrong and really wish Sony the best of luck, but on current evidence, they haven't really thought this out very well, IMO.

Oh, and memory sticks for saving? Yeah, forget being able to save instantaneously to a cart, farting around with external data storage devices is the way to go.

[martTM]

I completely disagree. Handheld and console gaming are two different beasts entirely.

In the 'proper' console world its about technology, handheld gaming is about practicality and accessibility. I really can't help but think that Sony's kitchen sink approach is all wrong. And this 'handheld' doesn't sound as if its going to be very portable at all.

Yes, its early days, I accept that I could be wrong and really wish Sony the best of luck, but on current evidence, they haven't really thought this out very well, IMO.

Sony does have a bit of a thing for 'winging it' in terms of making promises - after all, did anyone see them making a big fuss about the Emotion engine less than a year after the PS2 came out? Nope. It was a big cloud of hokum, manufactured to make us think the PS2 was going to be an ?ber console... and when we discovered it wasn't (shock horror), they soon shut up about it. If anyone hasn't seen UK Resistance's 'magic' handheld proposal in answer to Sony's PSP announcement, I suggest you do so - most amusing.

Oh, and memory sticks for saving? Yeah, forget being able to save instantaneously to a cart, farting around with external data storage devices is the way to go.

It is if you're a company intent on leeching cash out of anyone who buys your product. It's still ?27 for an official memory card down here - what a pile of arse. ft:

[MonkeyWrench]

Well pardon us for expressing an opinion. I must remember to actually build a console myself before daring to have any sort of an opinion on one.

But you are expressing an opinion on something that's never seen the light of day outside of Sony's labs. It's like expressing an opinion on Ferrari's follow up to the Enzo. We all know it's coming, and it's probably red with 4 wheels, but y'know I reckon Ferrari are going to screw up and make it with 3 wheels. Sounds daft huh?

OK, but surely this already limits some of the ports that will no doubt appear as many PS1 games use both sticks...

Notice I said "or two". As for many PS1 games needing the two sticks, that's bollocks, there are only a handful of games that actually require the two sticks (Ape Escape springs to mind), the other stick is merely optional (e.g. gas/brake in Gran Turismo). Why does handheld gaming need to be kept simple? If every handheld stuck with a limited control setup, ala GBA, then there'll going to be no evolution within the games. Sony doesn't need to use the full button setup from the Dual Shock, the four face buttons, L1 and R1 and start would be more than enough.

In the 'proper' console world its about technology, handheld gaming is about practicality and accessibility. I really can't help but think that Sony's kitchen sink approach is all wrong. And this 'handheld' doesn't sound as if its going to be very portable at all.

So why shouldn't handheld gaming evolve technologically too? See you're second guessing Sony again. What's stopping them from making a technological leap in a package that's practical and accessible? As for the kitchen sink approach, the music and movie playback is a mere by-product of the new media Sony is using, just like the PS2s DVD movie playback was. I'm sure Sony will market the PSP as a games machine first, and entertainment system second, just as it did with the PS2.

Oh, and memory sticks for saving? Yeah, forget being able to save instantaneously to a cart, farting around with external data storage devices is the way to go.

Yeah cause it's such a hassle saving to a memory card.

[Ady]

But you are expressing an opinion on something that's never seen the light of day outside of Sony's labs. It's like expressing an opinion on Ferrari's follow up to the Enzo. We all know it's coming, and it's probably red with 4 wheels, but y'know I reckon Ferrari are going to screw up and make it with 3 wheels. Sounds daft huh?

:igh::

I'm just speculating based on what's beens said of the proposed handheld. I never criticised the PSP, per se merely expressed some concerns on some of the issues surrounding it.

Notice I said "or two". As for many PS1 games needing the two sticks, that's bollocks, there are only a handful of games that actually require the two sticks (Ape Escape springs to mind), the other stick is merely optional (e.g. gas/brake in Gran Turismo).

Actually you're right, I was thinking of the PS2. No need to be rude, though...

Why does handheld gaming need to be kept simple?

Duh!

So why shouldn't handheld gaming evolve technologically too?

I never said it shouldn't. What I'm saying is that with handheld gaming technology isn't the focal point. It's about making something quick and immediate that's usable on the move.

See you're second guessing Sony again. What's stopping them from making a technological leap in a package that's practical and accessible?

They may well do. I already acnkowledged this in my first post (which I assume you read completely). Again, I haven't made any definite claims about the PSP, merely speculated and expressed concerns, that's all.

You seem to think I'm attacking Sony. I'm not. Chill.

Yeah cause it's such a hassle saving to a memory card.

So you're happy to fiddle around with memory cards, happy to have extra stuff to carry around with you whenever you want to play a game as well as paying extra to save games - on a handheld device?

Well, it's great that someone is.

As before; practicality not technicality.

[MonkeyWrench]

Yeah, fair enough. Didn't mean to come across as rude. Sorry. It's just the jounalist in me doesn't like to negatively speculate on anything until I have something more to go on.

[Burai]

The device will probably be 3D and I have no doubts that will be a good thing. The GBA is a 2D machine at heart and all anyone ever seems to do is port across 3D stuff like Monkey Ball, Crazy Taxi and Sega Rally. What do those games have in common? They push the envelope too far and are nearly unplayable.

At least with dedicated 3D hardware, you'll get less crap 3D botching.

[Concept]

Let's not take a well-worn detour into blamezville.

The PSP will be a success because it will have the Playstation brand behind it.

[JibberX]

If there is one thing Nintendo proved, you can sell a gratuituosly flawed system to 25million people, then why can't anyone else. 25million+ people bought the GBA with the terrible screen, Sony can't do much worse.

[Treble]

Ninty have Pokemon - the biggest toy phenomenon I can remember (bigger than Cabbage Patch Kids, bigger than Transformers....just bigger than everything bar the Hula Hoop, I guess). That's what sold the GBA. The decline to software sales on GBA can be linked directly to the fact that:

A) Most of the GBAs sold are to kids
B) 99.9 recurring of these kids bought/got their parents to buy Pokemon for it
C) They don't really want anything else, and their parents will only buy them a new game at a birthday and/or Christmas..which is bound to be Ruby, Crystal, Sapphire...

Nintendo are handheld gaming but, without Pokemon, handheld gaming would be a teeny-tiny part of the games market. Ergo, if you don't have such a killer app, who are you going to appeal to? Handhelds are perfect for kids, and Pokemon is the biggest merchandising phenomenon (bar Harry Potter...possibly) of our era.

I can't see Sony replicating this kind of success at all. I think Nintendo will dominate for years to come, with the GBA and its successor aimed directly at kids. As I said before, I don't see the PSP as having the penetration Sony hope for it unless it's a phone. After all (and, again, as I said before), the phone has replaced the Walkman as the portable entertainment device of choice for adults, as they can still look important and mature using a phone, even if they are really using it for play purposes.

[MonkeyWrench]

So how come the GBA sold millions before we even saw a Pokemon game for it? You can't put the system's success on it's backwards compatibility to play the original Pokemon titles. Handheld gaming was a HUGE part of the games industry way before Pokemon was even a glint in it's creators eye. I would say that the GBA sold better on the back of the success of it's predecessors than it did on the potential of a new Pokemon game.

[Treble]

Original GBA sold to kids and adults
Pokemon comes out for GB/GBC
Kids start buying GameBoys
Kids eagerly await new GBA
Kids get GBA for Christmas
Kids wait 6 months
Kids get new Pokemon

Rinse and repeat from point 5, ad infinitum.