aaronspink
Veteran
try to justify it anyway you like, but the iphone is $97 bucks for the vast majority of people. And it has cheaper games and better hardware.
Can someone tell me exactly why the PsP is considered a failure?
- Thread starter Ghostz
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try to justify it anyway you like, but the iphone is $97 bucks for the vast majority of people. And it has cheaper games and better hardware.
aaronspink
Veteran
you just can't really do or really appreciate a hardcore game on a handheld. The screens are far too small, the controls are cramped, and anything to increase the controls makes it into not really a handheld. And really, spending 8+ hours holding one up, hunched over one just isn't fun and can get rather painful.
Honestly, the problem with the PSP is that it is the Lynx III.
Iron Tiger
Regular
I was in a Best Buy with my friend playing wiht electronics. He picked up an Archos media player that had its controls locked or something, because he wasn't getting a response when he touched the screen. His first reaction was, "WTF? You can't touch it?" and I was laughing my ass off realizing this is the age we live in. That's when I realized that the next PSP will be dead in the water if it doesn't have a touch screen.
Half of the checklist features on the current PSP are cumbersome and unpleasant to use because there's no pointing controls. It's excusable in a device that debuted in 2004, but not anymore.
Half of the checklist features on the current PSP are cumbersome and unpleasant to use because there's no pointing controls. It's excusable in a device that debuted in 2004, but not anymore.
Well, I am the same length as you, and I wear regular jeans. I have two PSP 1Ks. Maybe you just never really tried? Though I admit, two PSPs is definitely difficult to fit into jeans pockets, and even with one you'll notice it being there when you sit down.
Well, as a durable portable TV that my just-turned-two year old can watch Bambi on anywhere, including the car, I'd definitely get another second hand one. But I bought the PSPs in 2004 and (I think april) 2006 ...
But even today, the PSP has the games I personally would want to play on the go. However, the iPhone probably offers enough games to pass the time with and for a very small price, especially since I already have one. So the PSP loses out.
They still may want to play a game like Gran Turismo, or the new Metal Gear Solid.
I agree, although I'm not 100% sure I wouldn't prefer a PSP Go that still has the screen size of the original PSP.
What games are you playing on the PSP now? Are you still playing on UMD? Even something like GT on UMD now has a memory stick install option. Even for UMD, I've never had a game that loaded more than 1 minute (which is long, but it's not 10 minutes).
More importantly though, when you're playing a game on the PSP, surely you just always put it in sleep mode?
Well, I pretty much agree. Despite my niggles about not being able to lock the screen, my son learnt to stop and start a youtube movie and pick another one or restart it before he was two, and he picks his own favorite games. It's just that much more natural to control stuff with touch.
Ideally, I'd see the PSP directly compete with the App Store and also offer both an iPod Touch type device, and something with 3G built in, with good media capabilities but still with a firm game specialisation. I'm thinking that perhaps they need to find a medium where bigger games can still boot in a native PSP environment, maybe both for compatibility and performance, but the device can also boot into Android OS or something like that, and still offer full PSN integration in both cases, with friends list support, trophy support, etc.
I think the explanation as to why the PSP sold so well vs the software selling so badly is due in part to the fact that a lot of people bought them whilst they were really enthused by the Playstation brand and PS2 and they honestly thought they would appreciate that kind of experience on the go without considering the pitfalls. The PSP are probably the truest closet consoles of the generation.
The answers I seem to get from any of the hardcore PSP owners is funnily the reverse of what you state in that they seem to obsess over that 2nd analogue stick as if only it were 'fixed' it would 'solve' the issues of the platform.
In any case the explanations on piracy don't shed the whole light on the situation. It seems that the system sold on the idea that it was a Playstation handheld, much like the accusations being laid around the iPad range from Apple. However it seems people in general weren't enthused by the platform overall and after buying one or two games essentially gave up on the experience.
Overall I don't judge it as a failure on the hardware sales because there are numerous reasons for buying a PSP outside of the games in terms of media but in the software sales. In that metric a platform like the iPhone which was never designed as a gaming system at first is performing better as a handheld than the PSP in a short space of time. NPD put the sales revenue at double the PSP and many of the iPhone games have very small distribution costs so that the relative developer revenue would be even more skewed in favour of the iPhone.
Maybe you should look up the word 'majority'. Saying the system is $97 is nonsense.
And it does have cheaper games, but, for all its better hardware its games are much simpler as well, so I'm not sure that the 'cheaper' games are even directly comparable.
Lately the PSP's been getting its share of localizations -- I think that for all the piracy woes there's a critical mass of western gamers who just love the Japanese game genres that they're not getting on consoles. It must be profitable, otherwise why would NIS or Atlus or Xseed keep bringing these games over? (Now, whether actually bringing them out on UMD is profitable is another story.)
A phone-like experience is stupid too. Sony would price it incredibly high, and they're particularly bad at software programming. Unless they partner with Google or someone with better software, they're pretty much up shit creek.
They're trying to encourage adoption now!
DuckThor Evil
Legend
They're trying to encourage adoption now!
The warehouse they have full of dusty Go's must be the size of Canada...
Might have to pick one up!
I don't know all of them, but LBP, Gran Turismo, Arctic Edge, Wipeout Pure, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, and China Town wars are all good games afaik. China Town scored 90 on metacritic, and is on number 2, Wipeout Pure is in 4th with 88 (although it's from 2005). LBP is 87, Motorstorm scored 79 (has very good multiplayer), Gran Turismo scored 74 (although I think that's partly because everyone was expecting a career mode or something, personally I'd have ranked it 90, just for having so many cars and tracks and driving and looking so good, and having fun ad-hoc multiplayer that also works neat with the online through PS3 features). Pursuit Force scored 73%.
It's interesting to look at the full list to appreciate the PSP's software library: there are 239 titles scoring an average of 70 or higher! And number 240 is actually Super Stardust on PSP, which I thought was pretty good too, particularly with the added DLC which is probably not reflected in the scores.
Apple is giving away the 8 GB iPod Touch for their back to school special if you buy a computer through their educational discounts.
That should be the target of the PSP2, try to hit $200 or less, with at least 16 GB built-in, touch screen, GPS, camera, compass.
Hope that the HW sells enough that developers support the system. And that means they have to cut the licensing fees to no higher than what Apple charges. PSP2 has to try to get the 99 cents games and more importantly, the various useful apps.
That should be the target of the PSP2, try to hit $200 or less, with at least 16 GB built-in, touch screen, GPS, camera, compass.
Hope that the HW sells enough that developers support the system. And that means they have to cut the licensing fees to no higher than what Apple charges. PSP2 has to try to get the 99 cents games and more importantly, the various useful apps.
In terms of software sales, the PSP is somewhat a failure, but overall it's pretty much been the only profitable competitor to Nintendo in the actual handheld console space. Sony could've encouraged more PS2 developers weary about PS3 development onto the PSP where their skills could've continued to bear fruit. Was not the PSP similar to the PS2 with two main engines, both being MIPS centered (about half as powerful as the PS2 in totality if it's possible to quantify it?)? How about a PSP2 using a derivative of the Cell/SPURSengine architecture, running perhaps 1 GHz at most, 4 SPU + PPC? PS3 developers could readily use the knowledge they have developing on the Cell to develop for a PSP2. I imagine a traditional GPU wouldn't even be necessary except integrated texture and ROP hardware integrated on to main processor, it's package, or a seperate die.
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I see the PSP struggle as a problem related to the Wii phenomenon. They are competing against Nintendo, which has the best 1st party titles of every platform.
There are a looooooot of serious first-party Nintendo fanboys and fangirls, the current sales reflect that.
Who can realistically in today's gaming world compete against this? :smile: (some first party titles that blast most other franchises):
- Super Mario platformers
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Mario Kart
- Wario Ware
- F-Zero
- Metroid
- Zelda
They are ridiculously fun. Compared with those titles, the only PSP titles listed in this thread that appeal to me are GT and Wipeout. I don't see myself playing a MGS game on a handheld, argh!! ufufufufufu. XD
Also there are a lot of things you can't do with a PSP that you take for granted with the DS. The later is family oriented, too.
Game library wise, on the PSP I can't play some classics like Super Mario World, which I played when I was a kid and it's easily one of the best games ever made.
Even recently Nintendo admitted Sony isn't an "enemy" anymore, according to them the "enemy" is Apple now.
Some reasons for the failure of PSP as a serious contender are pretty clear, like patsu :smile: and others pointed out. Also, even if Nintendo machines aren't as powerful as they used to be, Sony and MS can't compete in the imagination, innovation department.
If I may be permitted the analogy it's like comparing Einstein to Edison. Einstein had powerful concepts and ideas but Edison greatness resides on the fact that he had a creativity of the very highest order.
By the way I'm not a Nintendo fan, in fact I didn't own a Nintendo console since the Super NES days. I'm planning on buying Nintendo 3DS though, which suits my current lifestyle well.
There are a looooooot of serious first-party Nintendo fanboys and fangirls, the current sales reflect that.
Who can realistically in today's gaming world compete against this?
:smile: (some first party titles that blast most other franchises):- Super Mario platformers
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Mario Kart
- Wario Ware
- F-Zero
- Metroid
- Zelda
They are ridiculously fun. Compared with those titles, the only PSP titles listed in this thread that appeal to me are GT and Wipeout. I don't see myself playing a MGS game on a handheld, argh!! ufufufufufu. XD
Also there are a lot of things you can't do with a PSP that you take for granted with the DS. The later is family oriented, too.
Game library wise, on the PSP I can't play some classics like Super Mario World, which I played when I was a kid and it's easily one of the best games ever made.
Even recently Nintendo admitted Sony isn't an "enemy" anymore, according to them the "enemy" is Apple now.
Some reasons for the failure of PSP as a serious contender are pretty clear, like patsu :smile: and others pointed out. Also, even if Nintendo machines aren't as powerful as they used to be, Sony and MS can't compete in the imagination, innovation department.
If I may be permitted the analogy it's like comparing Einstein to Edison. Einstein had powerful concepts and ideas but Edison greatness resides on the fact that he had a creativity of the very highest order.
By the way I'm not a Nintendo fan, in fact I didn't own a Nintendo console since the Super NES days. I'm planning on buying Nintendo 3DS though, which suits my current lifestyle well.
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I know I'm most certainly in the minority, but personally I enjoyed Daxter more than any of the handheld Mario games. The DS titles you mention are hardly the reason why the DS 'won'. Apart from having a better position to begin with (being the market leader and having been the market leader since basically handheld gaming supported swapping between games), they had 'games' like Brain Training and the Pet games that expanded the market and brought interesting new stuff to the table. Of course the end result is similar - Nintendo are great with software, and they are kings with software outside of the 14-40 year old boys demographic.
The PSP is very healthy in Japan. When we westerners wonder why it is being "kept alive" despite its apparent languishing in our markets, that's because we are removed from the Japanese perspective. From Sony's perspective, there may be some gnashing of teeth that it didn't work out better, but even as it is, the platform produces good returns.
I like my PSP. It's very comfortable to hold, very light, nice screen. It would have been worth it as a portable PSone alone, even ignoring all the great native games it got.
Every once in a while I try to get back to DS games, but the ergonomics are simply unacceptable to me. The DSi XL appeals a lot to me but I still won't buy it because I know at 300+ grams, with the weight distribution that comes natural with the second screen in the top flap, it will be a nightmare to actually hold and play. Maybe it's age kicking in, but my hands just don't let me to do this anymore.
I like my PSP. It's very comfortable to hold, very light, nice screen. It would have been worth it as a portable PSone alone, even ignoring all the great native games it got.
Every once in a while I try to get back to DS games, but the ergonomics are simply unacceptable to me. The DSi XL appeals a lot to me but I still won't buy it because I know at 300+ grams, with the weight distribution that comes natural with the second screen in the top flap, it will be a nightmare to actually hold and play. Maybe it's age kicking in, but my hands just don't let me to do this anymore.
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