Gameboy should have been a Sony product? Help finding quote.

[Kolgar]

You know, PCE, I doubt Sony means for PSP to outdo dedicated MP3 players, DVD players, photo viewers, etc.

PSP is meant to appeal to everyone who might like to watch movies, listen to music, view photos, and play games - all in one unit. It does this, and that makes it both unique and desirable. Why does this seem to scare you so?

And please - about the 32MB cards. We've had to buy extra memory cards for every game system save Xbox, so this is hardly a dealbreaker. In any case, I'm sure future generations of PSP will include a sizable hard drive, which will put this argument to rest and make Sony's detractors sweat a little more.

 

[PC-Engine]

You know, PCE, I doubt Sony means for PSP to outdo dedicated MP3 players, DVD players, photo viewers, etc.

PSP is meant to appeal to everyone who might like to watch movies, listen to music, view photos, and play games - all in one unit. It does this, and that makes it both unique and desirable. Why does this seem to scare you so?

And please - about the 32MB cards. We've had to buy extra memory cards for every game system save Xbox, so this is hardly a dealbreaker. In any case, I'm sure future generations of PSP will include a sizable hard drive, which will put this argument to rest and make Sony's detractors sweat a little more.

Uh my response was to reiterate what see colon said which was:

what you said was that the PSP is low cost for what it does. the PSP plays games, displays pictures, plays movies, and plays music. the ngage does all of that and is $150 cheaper. other devices can do what the PSP does (like portable mp3, DVD, pda's, high end phones) and many cost less than the PSP.

saying that the PSP is cheap for the quality of what it does is another story. it's not what the PSP does it's how well it does it.

Now really why would I be scared especially when PSP already has its own set of problems like declining sales, dead pixels problems, stuck button, poor battery, and sub DC level graphics? I think Teasy said it best...

It's a beautiful model, and scary powerful. If I were Nintendo right now, I'd be stocking up on clean underwear, 'cuz the next few years are gonna be messy.

I've really heard everything now. Obviously being well in the lead doesn't panic Nintendo as much as it does you..

BTW I have to say the way you talk about PSP I think you may be the one who needs to stock up on clean underwear mate

 

[Kolgar]

You might be scared because despite all of PSP's "failings," it marks Sony's entry into a market that is Nintendo's last stronghold. And deep down, you know it's got potential to be very successful.

You are right when you say that PSP has its problems, but if I had ever once seen you acknowledge that the machine also has its merits, I would be less apt to dismiss your criticisms as simply those of an anti-Sony zealot. No offense.

 

[jarrod]

it marks Sony's entry into a market that is Nintendo's last stronghold.

Pokemon licensing?

Mobile gaming has always been a heavily crowded, secondary, almost disposable games market.... there's far more than just Game Boy out there. PSP's novel in that it's taking a high end approach, with a loss taking platform and console sized game budgets. I hope it works out for Sony, but honestly PSP looks to be a risky venture at best right now. Hopefully they hang on long enough for costs to normalize and make the platform a desirable enterprise for all involved. Right now it's moving software at Game Boy levels and being outsold worldwide 2 to 1 by Nintendo's antiquated dual screened cockblock. I really see little reason for any developer to consider PSP R&D over PS2, there's almost no benefit.

 

[Kolgar]

Good points, jarrod, but I just think all Sony needs is time.

They're in it for the long haul with this device, with the intent of reaching beyond just the portable games market. Sooner or later, PSP's price point will fall to a point where Sony can compete more directly in the middle to low end of this market, as well as others.

Perhaps this first effort will turn out to be a stepping stone, a way for Sony to get its foot in the door as Microsoft has with Xbox. But ultimately, I think it's a good idea that's destined to take off.

 

[see colon]

Perhaps this first effort will turn out to be a stepping stone, a way for Sony to get its foot in the door as Microsoft has with Xbox. But ultimately, I think it's a good idea that's destined to take off.

the question is will the idea take off for sony. thus far nintendo has proven time and again that it can sell handhelds that are underpowered compared to the competition by reputaion (and proper advertising) alone. sony's entry to the handheld space might drive nintendo to release a high powered gameboy, elcipsing the psp graphicly and with a backlog of games big enough to keep gamers happy for years.

 

[Kolgar]

the question is will the idea take off for sony. thus far nintendo has proven time and again that it can sell handhelds that are underpowered compared to the competition by reputaion (and proper advertising) alone. sony's entry to the handheld space might drive nintendo to release a high powered gameboy, elcipsing the psp graphicly and with a backlog of games big enough to keep gamers happy for years.

You mean this high-powered Gameboy would still use carts? Unlikely. Unless Nintendo includes a cart slot in addition to a disc tray, which would add to the cost of this much more expensive (compared to previous Gameboys) hardware.

Would this new Gameboy be a "pure" games machine? If so, PSP will still appeal to those who want to do more than just play games. If not, Nintendo better launch it under a different name, because the brand names "Nintendo" and "Gameboy" aren't going to fly very well with people outside the company's core audience.

Then too, the price can't be too high, 'cause Nintendo's target audience isn't going to be able to pay much more than $199 for a handheld.

Don't worry, Sony's committed to PSP. I think this system may be part of the reason Sony got into the videogame business in the first place... to not just take a bite of the games market, but to take a big share of a new "lifestyle" market - built around personal entertainment devices and encompassing all variety of media.

For that, they're positioned better than any company out there.

 

[see colon]

Would this new Gameboy be a "pure" games machine?

nintendo has a long history of selling non-gaming add-ons to it's gameboys. music players, video players, cameras, printers, ect have all been released officialy from nintendo and 3rd party devices have included tv tuners, videoconfrencing, and instant messaging devices. even if the core device is a "pure" gaming machine it won't be limited to being one with the proper accessories.

 

[jarrod]

Good points, jarrod, but I just think all Sony needs is time.

They're in it for the long haul with this device, with the intent of reaching beyond just the portable games market. Sooner or later, PSP's price point will fall to a point where Sony can compete more directly in the middle to low end of this market, as well as others.

Perhaps this first effort will turn out to be a stepping stone, a way for Sony to get its foot in the door as Microsoft has with Xbox. But ultimately, I think it's a good idea that's destined to take off.

I agree, SCEI's clearly taking a "step down" approach here... the question though is if the company is really heathly enough to try and force a console model on an overwhelmingly low end marketplace. With Sony's board turnover (resulting directly in Kutaragi losing influence) combined with the utter failure of T-60 and gigantic impending investment/losses for PS3/Cell... I'm just not sure the timing's right for PSP. Sony's in a tough spot right now, they really need PSP to take off... they can't afford an "Xbox" of their own really.

 

[jarrod]

You mean this high-powered Gameboy would still use carts? Unlikely. Unless Nintendo includes a cart slot in addition to a disc tray, which would add to the cost of this much more expensive (compared to previous Gameboys) hardware.

I don't see why not really, plenty of PS2 games shipped on CD-roms and 3DM media is already in mass production at 256MB. I don't doubt the next Game Boy will use a solid state solution, there's just too many inherent advantages over optical when it comes to handhelds (drive cost, formfactor, durability, etc).

Would this new Gameboy be a "pure" games machine? If so, PSP will still appeal to those who want to do more than just play games.

I think Play-yan is a good indication of where Nintendo's headed. I could definitely see a SD slot in the next Game Boy used for MPEG/JPEG/MP3 support.

If not, Nintendo better launch it under a different name, because the brand names "Nintendo" and "Gameboy" aren't going to fly very well with people outside the company's core audience.

Thing is the "Game Boy audience" is nearly as large as the "PlayStation audience". You say "Nintendo core audience" as if that's all Nintendo's likely to attract. I'd say it's more likely PSP's reaching to the "Sony core audience" for the foreseeable future than anything.

Then too, the price can't be too high, 'cause Nintendo's target audience isn't going to be able to pay much more than $199 for a handheld.

I agree here, which is why Nintendo's waiting. They don't want to charge $299 for a PSP spec machine right now, they'd prefer to wait a few years and charge $99 in 2007. Obviously there's the disadvantage of giving PSP a huge lead time this way though, hence their DS stall tactic.

 

[PC-Engine]

I don't see why not really, plenty of PS2 games shipped on CD-roms and 3DM media is already in mass production at 256MB. I don't doubt the next Game Boy will use a solid state solution, there's just too many inherent advantages over optical when it comes to handhelds (drive cost, formfactor, durability, etc).

Kolgar doesn't know that PSP games are only using a couple hundred MBs at best even though they're on 1.8GB UMDs.

 

[see colon]

Kolgar doesn't know that PSP games are only using a couple hundred MBs at best even though they're on 1.8GB UMDs.

beynd the fact that a few hundred MB is generaly enough for most portable games, craming your optical media with data only leads to more disc access, which leads to less batery life. i think this might be the reason why PSP games usualy have lower texture detail than comparable ps2 games, dispite the similar memory configurations on both machines.

 

[Kolgar]

PCEngine - sorry, but after enjoying CD-quality speech, music, and video in my games since the PSX days in 1995, I'm just not going back to cartridges - EVER. 8)

 

[see colon]

PCEngine - sorry, but after enjoying CD-quality speech, music, and video in my games since the PSX days in 1995, I'm just not going back to cartridges - EVER

did you ever play resident evil 2 on the n64? it had all of the speech and video from a 2 disk psx game on one cart with 0 loading time.

there were several n64 games with cd quality sound, music, and FMV and they were all cart based.

 

[Kolgar]

Never played it, but I remember being impressed that Capcom managed to stuff all that content onto an N64 cart.

Still, carts were more expensive back then... I remember paying $70 or $80 USD for a few of the big Super NES and N64 carts.

And the industry had moved on. Had N gone with an optical media with N64, it just may have crushed Sony's PlayStation that gen. Things might look very different today.

So I think it'll be an interesting choice if N stays with carts for its GB successor. Personally, I'm not sure how I'd feel about going back to carts. I've become accustomed to loading times, and I like that space restrictions are no longer a big concern. Devs may not need more than a few hundred megabytes for most games, but there's always a GT4 or something that comes along and makes you glad for the extra space.

 

[see colon]

personaly i'm less excited about having a relativly unlimted space for read only data than i am for the psp's virtualy unlimited potential for writable data. imagine a portable timesplitters, complete with level editor, and the ability to share relativly huge maps with friends. or an RPG maker where you could easily trade the games you made with others. or a sports game where you could record your whole season and edit it down to a sweet demo real to share with friends

 

[Fox5]

PCEngine - sorry, but after enjoying CD-quality speech, music, and video in my games since the PSX days in 1995, I'm just not going back to cartridges - EVER

did you ever play resident evil 2 on the n64? it had all of the speech and video from a 2 disk psx game on one cart with 0 loading time.

there were several n64 games with cd quality sound, music, and FMV and they were all cart based.

Not true, it had load times caused by decompressing all the data. Plus it had compression artifacts. However, I've been quite impressed by DS's sound quality compared to n64, and starfox 64 was even a fully voiced game, so it's not like cds are needed for sound beyond beeps and bops.

 

[see colon]

Not true, it had load times caused by decompressing all the data.

huh? i saw no load times (at least none more than a second or two) in the whole game.

 

[Fox5]

Not true, it had load times caused by decompressing all the data.

huh? i saw no load times (at least none more than a second or two) in the whole game.

I remember the fades to a black screen taking a good couple seconds, just long enough for it to register that it was loading and not just cutting to black.

 

[Apoc]

20+ hours on 4 AAs? In your dreams maybe!

It lasted about 8-10 hours... and if you used rechargeable batteries, it was more like 3. Less than the PSP, omg! Yet somehow I coped!

Comparing the price of dedicated MP3 players to the PSP is ridiculous, the MP3 playback on the PSP is just a bonus. $175 is a bit rich for a 1gig duo stick btw.

Last time I did the benchmark my old gameboy lasted 31 hours in 4 2400mah rechargeable AA's.