Apparantly the PSP2 exists.

[TheChefO]

I'd bet anything that you thought this generation would be grim for them.

Actually, no.

I figured they would be successful for having such an innovative interface. I didn't figure they would have been as popular as they ended up being, but I figured Sony and MS would've been more aggressive in cost reduction and MSRP reductions.

Regardless, MS already dropped Wii2 (Kinect is the obvious evolution and well protected with patents). A heart monitor won't be a killer app.

Call me cynical, but I don't see how they can compete unless they've been doing heavy research on tapping directly into the brain for a wireless VR experience.

Best bet for them is to sit comfortably at the lower age group and capture more marketshare with leapfrog.

 

[Teasy]

I'd agree, but the fact Nintendo is trying to capture the $300 market is treading into I-things price range. Difference being I-things in that range are infinately more useful for things outside of gaming and gaming as well. And from what I've seen, the I-things also outclass what 3ds is able to do graphically as well.

3DS will release at a high price (guessing $249.99 though not $300) for the people who just have to have one straight away and then come down to something closer to DS (which was $149.99) within a year IMO. These people won't be thinking "what should I get in this price range", they'll be buying a 3DS and nothing else will do. In short I think the initial 3D without glasses craze will carry them through the intial high price and in fact that, IMO, is the only reason it has such a price.

Just looked up leapfrog. $400million mkt cap with a PE of 46. Nintendo should just buy them and at least have that market to fall back on.

Sony and MS just stole their dinner reservation next year at the big boy restaurant and the soccer moms are looking to start cheating too...

Sorry but I can't take you seriously here

 

[Teasy]

Actually, no.

I figured they would be successful for having such an innovative interface. I didn't figure they would have been as popular as they ended up being, but I figured Sony and MS would've been more aggressive in cost reduction and MSRP reductions.

Regardless, MS already dropped Wii2 (Kinect is the obvious evolution and well protected with patents). A heart monitor won't be a killer app.

Call me cynical, but I don't see how they can compete unless they've been doing heavy research on tapping directly into the brain for a wireless VR experience.

Best bet for them is to sit comfortably at the lower age group and capture more marketshare with leapfrog.

I meant before Wii was ever announcement, my point was you keep asking "where can they go" but I bet you were asking the same question before Wii. GC hadn't done well, where can Nintendo go?, neither of us can predict what Nintendo will do next so why bother predicting their demise before you've even seen their next system?

 

[TheChefO]

Sorry but I can't take you seriously here

Seriously though, I see Nintendo having real difficulty over the next decade.

 

[Teasy]

Well we'll come back to this thread in a couple of years

 

[TheChefO]

I meant before Wii ..

Yeah, I figured they were going for a heavy hitter SD machine actually. I figured 640x480 target res but with >4x AA and I heard they were planning on having their old library available online. I thought that meant all of them.

Regardless, you are indeed correct that we have no idea what N is cooking up, but their ability to innovate is limited with interface tech patent road blocks in their way.


All jokes aside, Nintendo is making a big mistake not teaming up with a phone company to incorporate 3ds tech in a smart phone.

Hopefully Sony is following suite as well.

 

[Teasy]

So they can sell their games with poor controls at 99c each?, on a system that might be an aweful phone and not even sell very well. Why?, they'll sell hundreds of millions of games at $30 each on 3DS.

 

[TheChefO]

Why?

Biggest reason is capitalizing on hardware synergy to justify such a high price.

Nintendo is too big a name to flop completely, but their marketshare will be a shadow of where DS was/is.

Kinda like Sony with ps3.

They are pricing themselves out of their traditional market and at a time when the market is shifting anyway toward smartphones.


The psp phone is about what I would have liked to see out of Nintendo. A smartphone with slide out traditional vg controls.

 

[patsu]

A large portion of Nintendo's user base are kids though. They don't have and can't afford phone service. All my nieces and nephews play Nintendo DS starting at around four years old.

Personally, I'm more interested in a dedicated portable console than a phone console hybrid. But only if the portable console is interesting (i.e., not another media player, or another analog stick controller console)

 

[TheChefO]

A large portion of Nintendo's user base are kids though.

Exactly.

Kids don't get $300 toys.

Now the other angle N could have gone for is the kid demographic eventually grows up. They eventually want a phone. Incorporating that tech is minimal cost above and beyond a smartphone. A lot of synergy there in hardware.


Either incorporate extended functionality into the higher price bracket offering, or stick to the lower price bracket.


They are entering no mans land with a $300 toy.

 

[Teasy]

Adding phone functionality to something that isn't a phone isn't going to make people want it. Releasing a phone that can do everything 3DS can do isn't going to be a good phone. I don't agree in the slightest about 3DS's prospects in the market, but I think its pointless to keep arguing on that point so I'll stop now.

Like I said I'll come back to this thread in a couple of years time.

 

[patsu]

Exactly.

Kids don't get $300 toys.

...

They are entering no mans land with a $300 toy.

If you're only referring to 3DS (Nintendo is more than 3DS), then we may need to look at the total package of that device. It's likely that the initial 3DS customers are not kids, but that's not a bad idea because they already have a hold on the kids via DS.

 

[Squilliam]

The one thing I wonder about is the relative video games market shares of Microsofts Windows Phone 7 if you consider that the latest generation platform vs Sony's PSP 2 given the competition between the devices. This is especially interesting because the former is a software platform over multiple devices and manufacturers and the latter is a single device replacing a relatively successful and high unit portable video games device.

 

[patsu]

http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/113/1138871p1.html

we've received a comprehensive rundown of the device's features from someone with direct hands-on experience with the forthcoming handheld.

…

As would be expected, the PSP 2, like the PSPgo, lacks a UMD drive and will run downloadable or expandable memory-based games. The device also incorporates both front- and rear-facing cameras, presumably for pictures, video recording and communication, and augmented reality-based games.

...

As far as graphics are concerned, the PSP 2 is a beast, packing enough processing hardware to produce graphics comparable to early PlayStation 3 titles. The processor, we're told, is just over half as powerful as the PS3, though the specific framework of the cores and the clock speed was not revealed.

…


All things considered, it seems that Sony aims to allow developers to port or custom-tailor PlayStation 3 titles for use on the handheld, potentially to create a ubiquitous gameplay experience that could sync seamlessly between the console and the handheld. In other words, players could potentially start games on their PlayStation 3 and continue them on-the-go with the PSP 2.

Not very interesting *if* it's only a souped up PSP with a rear trackpad.

 

[Xenus]

That has to be an exaggeration or taking one spec out of the the whole thing and making a bold claim on it. Over half as powerful as the PS3 in something that small and running on batteries I seriously doubt it.

 

[Npl]

Not very interesting *if* it's only a souped up PSP with a rear trackpad.

As it has to have any recently hyped feature, Im sure it will use the 2 cameras for full body tracking - surely should be better than Kinect since its as powerfull as a PS3.
I always dreamed of gesturing like a fool in public places and transport systems and now I got an excuse.

Seriously, what are people expecting instead of a more powerful PSP and a nice "retina display"?
The remaining and more interesting part of the puzzle to me is what kinda software-support it will receive, Android hopefully alongside a own PSN-Store.

 

[patsu]

These are hardware-related rumors. Based on the limited info we have, it sounds like a more powerful PSP, or a powerful gaming phone without the phone module. Assuming there is no other hardware surprises, it means Sony may innovate in content, software or business model to differentiate.

 

[Bigduo209]

http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/113/1138871p1.html



Not very interesting *if* it's only a souped up PSP with a rear trackpad.

True, but we haven't seen or heard anything about it's software, or the UI and how that's improved from PSP1.

I just hope Sony isn't pushing a company agenda of what should be implemented to make the PSP2 work. I hope they look from every angle, at what possible improvements they can make to the PSP inside and out. They need better infrastructure for PSN and their game selection (along w/ better pricing), and better support for what kind of games should be made by 3rd-party developers.

I hope they improve the PSP's multimedia capabilities (like an OS standard to play music and games at the same time or true multitasking), improved wi-fi standards, useful integration with the PS3, and if they use Google-Android I hope they have an app-store for new interesting and practical applications.

Oh and a better sound system (because sound from UMDs was good, but videos and music from the memory stick was pure crap).

 

[wco81]

A large portion of Nintendo's user base are kids though. They don't have and can't afford phone service. All my nieces and nephews play Nintendo DS starting at around four years old.

Personally, I'm more interested in a dedicated portable console than a phone console hybrid. But only if the portable console is interesting (i.e., not another media player, or another analog stick controller console)

Anecdotal but it's surprising how many parents are buying iPod Touches for kids. Maybe not under 5 years old but certainly under 10 years old.

Meanwhile, you have this data:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...-away-at-ds-psp-for-handheld-gaming-crown.ars

Note the Michael Pachter pronouncement that the PSP Phone and the PSP2 are both dead on arrival.

Yeah the gaming experience isn't as good as a dedicated handheld. But the convenience and the cheap games factor apparently overcomes the touch control limitations for a lot of people, including many who own a DS or PSP in addition to a smart phone but are no longer using them, according to that survey.

 

[liolio]

Anecdotal but it's surprising how many parents are buying iPod Touches for kids. Maybe not under 5 years old but certainly under 10 years old.

Meanwhile, you have this data:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...-away-at-ds-psp-for-handheld-gaming-crown.ars

Note the Michael Pachter pronouncement that the PSP Phone and the PSP2 are both dead on arrival.

Yeah the gaming experience isn't as good as a dedicated handheld. But the convenience and the cheap games factor apparently overcomes the touch control limitations for a lot of people, including many who own a DS or PSP in addition to a smart phone but are no longer using them, according to that survey.

I'm not to say that Patcher is right or wrong but clearly smart-phones are becoming must have devices, 3DS, PSP2 has to fight to be the second mobile system in people pockets clearly that's an uncomfortable situation.