The next gen hand held war (3DS Vs NGP)

[Neon Ignition]

Bioshock 3? On a handheld?! I'd wait the 2 days for fear of being sick in my mouth

Depends on the game I guess. But then they had to go make the PSP2 Uncharted a new one

[JP]

Sony however, seem intent on touting the NGP as a "portable PS3", which for me at least, is totally pointless.

The only information that Sony have released concerning this is at GDC when David Coombes emphasised that it's certainly not going to be a portable PlayStation 3 and that they don't want PlayStation 3 style games on the platform as that was a large part of where they went wrong with the PSP.

I've seen that claim quoted previously and I think it possibly stems from third party developers saying that they are able to create games which are of PlayStation 3 quality which bears no relation to the console playing PlayStation 3 style games.

Just because developers are stating that they are able to get their PlayStation 3 assets usable on the NGP doesn't mean that companies are now going to release identical games on both platforms.

Some will of course do that in much the way that full console games like Ocarina of Time is appearing on the 3DS but I welcome that as I'd much have the option to choose what type of games I want to play depending on how I feel and what is best suited to that occasion.

Although I do believe that there were issues with the type of games that did appear on the PSP for some time I think the internet's ongoing migraine of the PSP having a shoratge of first class games makes no sense.

Even at the announcement Sony were demonstrating some games that I felt were decidedly portable in what they showed. Not all of them were and Uncharted stands out and I would say that I would happily sit and play a new Uncharted on any platform if the quality was as high as the other games in the franchise.

Of course, just because Sony showed a couple of fairly obligatory plaforming and shooting sections which could almost have been taken directly from the other three games doesn't mean that the game will play the same as the home versions.

The new game is being produced and led by Naughty Dog even though they aren't doing the programming themselves. It really surprises me that I'm able to honestly say this but I can't think of any other company who could announce a new game or franchise and I would feel comfortable that they would be able to produce an amazing game which would be suitable for whichever platform they are developing it for.

Not that long ago I would probably only have had that sort of trust for first party Nintendo teams.

I haven't bought a 3DS yet as I have a DS as irrelevant of whether the launch games are good enough or not, the 3DS at the moment offers me nothing new that I'd like my DS to be able to do. That certainly doesn't mean that won't change at some point in the future and I've certainly not dismissed the console but it's just not sold itself to me yet.

I no longer have a PSP and I am, at the moment, finding the NGP to be the more attractive proposition of the two consoles. That doesn't mean I feel the 3DS is poor in any way, I'm just not feeling the need to own one at the moment.

Although it may well be a very minor thing for many, one of the many things that is making the NGP look attractive to me is the fact that I can use a unified PSN ID and wallet. I do believe that people are underestimating just how important things like that will become as things move forward.

I do think that when the NGP was first shown some of the advances it includes were immediately obvious when I saw them, they mentioned the touch screen and rear touch panel and I thought it was terrible idea until they showed this demo.


Nothing particularly wonderful shown apart from what seems decent enough game which is seemingly perfectly suited to a handheld console but it did get me thinking about the combination of touch screen and rear touch pads.

I imagine that many games which use this will do nothing of interest at all with in much the same way that will happen with the use of 3D on the 3DS but I also think they have so much potential for developers with the imagination and skills available to take advantage of the new tools they've been given.

Maybe nothing useful will come of the rear touch pad and I know that I'm really overselling it but let's not underestimate the importance of opposable thumbs and maybe somebody will be able to do something not possible previously with this control method.


Although the thread title says otherwise I don't think there is any sort of handheld war, of course both Nintendo and Sony will want to get as many sales as possible but there's no requirement for there to be either one console or the other.

I'm glad that both will be available and hopefully they will be different enough to both stand on what they do well irrelevant of what the competition does.

I have no interest in sales figures as they don't effect me directly although indirectly they so, if I was the only person to buy one of these consoles then understandably the games are very quickly going to stop being released.

I'm certainly not an expert but I would presume that both Sony and Nintendo will look back at the last generation of handheld consoles as an outstanding success for them.

For Sony, the PSP still sells well and this is in a market has since 1989 exclusively belonged to Nintendo. Other companies have tried and each of them has failed miserably and although advice from pretty much everybody told Sony not bother because they had no chance they've still managed to sell about 70 million (just checked that now) PSPs to date.

That's 70 million PSPs and a many, many people who will be more than happy to throw money at them when the NGP is launched.

Win for Sony.

Nintendo can only be happy with selling nearly 150 million consoles to people, that's a fantastic figure and probably not that far behind the lifetime sales of the PS2. Not only have they sold 150 million consoles but they've many of those to people who may never have considered buying a console in the past.

As much as some people may decide that they don't like what Nintendo have done this generation or that they maybe don't like some of the games they've produced Nintendo have done what they've need to do as well as creating some games that I've loved just as Sony did with the PlayStation 2.

Win for Nintendo.

I'm really hoping that again after this newer generation that I'll still be able to say that both are doing really well and producing games that I love irrelevant of all the games that are sold to people who have no interest in games.

Win for bloody everyone.

I know that I've used them here but I genuinely have no interest in sales figures until they start affecting me directly. If they do start affecting me directly...there's crap all I can do about them so I'll not pay any attention to them anyway.

[rmoxon]

And yet people are still playing Ridge Racer on their 3DS. SFIV. Lego Star Wars. Some are playing Monkey Ball and I think one person even played Rayman 2.

Most, if not all of the 3DS games released so far are structured in a way thats suitable for a handheld though.

Ridge Racer, Street Fighter and Monkey Ball are all very typical "arcade" type experiences in that you can get stright into them and one go on them doesnt usualy last that long. Every Ridge Racer game thats released now is based on a PSP game, which means that even when you play the big console versions youre actualy just playing a handheld game on a big screen. Even the lego games have always been structured a bit like handheld games, with very quick cutscenes and levels that generaly dont last more than about 10 minutes. Nearly all the 3DS games so far can deffinitley qualify as "bite sized" gaming.

[Brad]

Some of the ghost recon missions take a fair while. Way longer than a ridge racer race or a SF match. But, you can save at any point so it works. Like I said, with the right save points huge epics games are possible and actually make sense on a handheld. No one is making anyone play the but its nice to have the option.

[Dogg Thang]

God Of War worked great on PSP. If anything, they could have done with being bigger and meatier.

[Jimmyboi]

Yep and Valkyria Chronicles moved away from the PS3 onto the PSP without any compromise (except the visuals) and seemingly became more commercial as a result. Some of the biggest sellers on the DS are large scale RPG's, Dragon Quest IX for example is a 30 hour or so game without any real compromise from a console based JRPG. Obviously the argument that handhelds are all about Peggle and Pinball is one that only really stands up in isolation, when you look at the full library of handheld titles they contain all sorts of game genres many of which are structured in the same way as the console version. Of course bite sized gaming has taken the Apple and phone devices by storm and there is always a danger dedicated handheld gaming will be unable to complete with low development titles in the future.

[Brad]

God Of War worked great on PSP. If anything, they could have done with being bigger and meatier.

This!!!! Chains of Olympus kept me satisfied to Cyprus and back a year or so back. Must get the sequel at some point.

The main focus for portable gaming is always going to be the angry birds etc. as those games appeal to 'non-gamers' but I hope we can still have bigger, meatier games as well.

[rmoxon]

Some of the ghost recon missions take a fair while. Way longer than a ridge racer race or a SF match. But, you can save at any point so it works. Like I said, with the right save points huge epics games are possible and actually make sense on a handheld. No one is making anyone play the but its nice to have the option.

Thats what I mean though. its doubtful games will allow you to save in the middle of a 20 minute cutscene (unless you just put them into sleep mode) and even if you could it would simply ruin the flow.

Big budget type games like the ones you mentioned are always big on atmosphere and that will never be recreated as well on a handheld.

I like God Of War as much as the next person but I really couldnt get into it on the PSP. For me personally handheld gaming is too stop and start for me to become absorbed into somthing epic like that.

As far as big adventure games go I think RPG's can somtimes work on handhelds, but again its usualy ones like Pokemon and Golden Sun, games that feature many standard RPG hallmarks but are clearly designed for handheld systems so you can dip in and out of them with ease. I think Monster Hunter works pretty well on a handheld becuase again you can get stright into it (as long as you know what youre doing), or well it does at first, but once the hunts get longer and start taking up 50 minutes of your time with no way to save them it starts to get a bit much.

If you want to play big console type games on the go then I guess the NGP looks like it might be a good option, but I really cant see the appeal myself as they will still be diluted experiences that would be best saved for consoles. There are plenty of other games you can play on your way to work that wont have the experience sullied becuase they are on a handheld. I want the best experience possible from any game really.

[JSR]

Some of the ghost recon missions take a fair while. Way longer than a ridge racer race or a SF match. But, you can save at any point so it works. Like I said, with the right save points huge epics games are possible and actually make sense on a handheld. No one is making anyone play the but its nice to have the option.

The 3DS also lets you simply close the console at any time, and when you open it, you can resume where you left of. The PSP got a similar feature not so long ago, but that one requires you to open the home menu, choose pause, and wait for 10 seconds while the console makes the necessary arrangements. Afterwards you still have to power it off. So it's still functional, but hopefully the NGP will have a smoother function for this purpose.

[Hazuki]

Personally when i'm out and about the last thing i want to be doing is gaming. I'd be getting on with what i was meant to be doing, enjoying the company i was in, my surroundings etc. The vast majority of my time spent with a handheld is at home. This is why i think its important for a handheld to distinguish itself from the big home consoles. Its something Nintendo clearly feel is important too. People might be playing Ridge Racer, SF, Pro Evo etc on their 3DS, but the important factor, is that most of them are doing so in 3D without glasses, which makes it a different experience to the home consoles. How would you play Face Raiders, the AR Games, Puzzle Swap, Puzzle Quest, take 3D Photos etc with the 360, PS3, Wii? Answer - only available on 3DS. The DS didn't do as well as it did, because it had mindblowing cutting edge graphics. It sold well because the touchscreen provided something different, and was fun to use. The NGP just seems to be offering "shiny, shiny graphics" with improved, though fairly standard home console controls. I'm sure loads of people will be happy with that. It's not for me though. I'd wager its the same for the vast majority of people too.

In terms of the games themselves, Nintendo really stand out, and have a far better and wider range of first party games than Sony. They really know how to get the most out of their own innovations and hardware. For me, its an area that Sony just can't compete with them in. Everytime i've looked at the PSP section in shops, it just seems to have been the exact same PS2, PS3, releases only in seriously cut back form. Just seems pointless to me, especially considering that the home console version of the same games have usually been far cheaper.

[Dogg Thang]

The 3DS also lets you simply close the console at any time, and when you open it, you can resume where you left of. The PSP got a similar feature not so long ago, but that one requires you to open the home menu, choose pause, and wait for 10 seconds while the console makes the necessary arrangements. Afterwards you still have to power it off. So it's still functional, but hopefully the NGP will have a smoother function for this purpose.

The PSP has had an easy sleep mode from day one. Just flick up the on/off switch and it goes into sleep. Do it again and you're back in the game. The newer feature you're talking about is handy as it allows you to pause a game, go back into the menu and do stuff, like get stuff on PSN or whatever and then go back to your suspended game. But it's by no means essential. The 3DS seems to have a similar feature with its home button but I haven't yet found a function that it will let me do without fully quitting the game.

[JSR]

The PSP has had an easy sleep mode from day one. Just flick up the on/off switch and it goes into sleep. Do it again and you're back in the game. The newer feature you're talking about is handy as it allows you to pause a game, go back into the menu and do stuff, like get stuff on PSN or whatever and then go back to your suspended game. But it's by no means essential. The 3DS seems to have a similar feature with its home button but I haven't yet found a function that it will let me do without fully quitting the game.

You can use all the icons in upper field; notes, friends list, internet browser etc. That's all though. Had completely forgotten the sleep mode, I always manually pause my games when playing the PSP.

[Shozuki]

Personally when i'm out and about the last thing i want to be doing is gaming. I'd be getting on with what i was meant to be doing, enjoying the company i was in, my surroundings etc. The vast majority of my time spent with a handheld is at home. This is why i think its important for a handheld to distinguish itself from the big home consoles. Its something Nintendo clearly feel is important too. People might be playing Ridge Racer, SF, Pro Evo etc on their 3DS, but the important factor, is that most of them are doing so in 3D without glasses, which makes it a different experience to the home consoles. How would you play Face Raiders, the AR Games, Puzzle Swap, Puzzle Quest, take 3D Photos etc with the 360, PS3, Wii? Answer - only available on 3DS. The DS didn't do as well as it did, because it had mindblowing cutting edge graphics. It sold well because the touchscreen provided something different, and was fun to use. The NGP just seems to be offering "shiny, shiny graphics" with improved, though fairly standard home console controls. I'm sure loads of people will be happy with that. It's not for me though. I'd wager its the same for the vast majority of people too.

In terms of the games themselves, Nintendo really stand out, and have a far better and wider range of first party games than Sony. They really know how to get the most out of their own innovations and hardware. For me, its an area that Sony just can't compete with them in. Everytime i've looked at the PSP section in shops, it just seems to have been the exact same PS2, PS3, releases only in seriously cut back form. Just seems pointless to me, especially considering that the home console version of the same games have usually been far cheaper.

Oh please. Your absolutely missing the point, by a country mile. NGP aims to suit the needs of everyone, want Augmented Reality?, Check. Want mini games in the style of iOS and DS?, Check. Want hardcore gaming on the move? Check. In-fact your more likely to get more originality out of the system due to superior online functionality in PSN. This is ultimately how Sony are marketing it, use it as you want to. Its probably best you consider reading up on the system or watching a video of it or something before posting that twaddle.

[Dogg Thang]

You can use all the icons in upper field; notes, friends list, internet browser etc. That's all though. Had completely forgotten the sleep mode, I always manually pause my games when playing the PSP.

Ah. The ability to go in and out of the notes will likely turn out to be very handy.

[Brad]

Yeah, the pauseable nature of the original ds and the PSP are what makes it possible and enjoyable to play bigger titles on portable devices. Allowing multiple save states (like Sony started with the Go) would make things even better of course.

So what if the experience of a 20 minute cut-scene is interrupted (that's interrupted, not ruined) because I run out of time in my lunchbreak? I had the cut-scenes in MGS4 interrupted by phone calls and the needs of my daughter. I knew it could happen but I played the game just the same. I didn't think ooh my daughter might wake up and need me so I'll only play peggle. I played the type of game I like to play and didn't settle for some 5 minute pointless bit of crap that doesn't interest me. Hopefully Sony will make it even easier to do that.