Sony plans PSP comeback in America

[wco81]

How long has the PSP been out?

Time for a new model. Doesn't need to be more powerful, just have some built-in storage, better battery, maybe better form-factor and controls.

Sony better watch out. With iPhone having capabilities approaching the PSP already, as well as a very easy and centralized distribution of media and games, more games developers might be tempted.

A dedicated games handheld can only work at a low price like the DS, which seems to have more appealing games (more hits anyways).

If you want to get up around $250-300 with any kind of usable storage, it has to offer other virtues. How many PSP owners are NOT investing in higher-capacity memory sticks and importing media into it with various apps?

I don't know that porting PS2 games is the way to go. They have to have more games which are pick up and play and can be put back down at any point. Portable/mobile gaming is about short bursts of gaming, not extended sessions which console games sometimes command.

As big a hit as God of War was for the PSP, how does it compare to the lower-priced DS games, mobile games? They have to assess what kind of gaming experiences the market seems to be valuing.

If you want an engrossing, graphics tour de force like God of War, wouldn't it be better playing it at home on the console? GoW PSP may have sold well but were people mostly playing it at home?

 

[infinity4]

Gran Turismo PSP would be more than enough to motivate me to buy it.

 

[patsu]

Time for a new model. Doesn't need to be more powerful, just have some built-in storage, better battery, maybe better form-factor and controls.

I agree with everything you mentioned, except for this item. Sony typically wants to release "ground breaking" hardware because their software packaging is not industry leading (yet ?). If they release only incremental h/w improvements, it may not work well against iPhone/iPod Touch and clones. They could pull a PSP-2000 because their competition was/is DS (and now it's leading in Japan market).

They need to work harder than everyone else in the software packaging and integration. Then when the hardware concept is ready, do a major rev. That's just my 2 cents worth. Nothing more.

Gran Turismo PSP would be more than enough to motivate me to buy it.

And then ? Sustained usage is a harder problem. Lacking a clear vision make it even harder.

 

[wco81]

My point is that more powerful hardware can only go so far because of battery limitations and the kind of content which seems to work best on a little screen, on a portable device which has to run on battery and which doesn't lend itself to long gaming sessions (not just because of battery but because of where people would use the device to play games, i.e. on the run, some dead time during the day).

So if they can make use of the more advanced silicon while improving battery life and still deliver at competitive price, fine. But if they have to sacrifice battery life, keep prices high, it's not worth it.

 

[eastmen]

My point is that more powerful hardware can only go so far because of battery limitations and the kind of content which seems to work best on a little screen, on a portable device which has to run on battery and which doesn't lend itself to long gaming sessions (not just because of battery but because of where people would use the device to play games, i.e. on the run, some dead time during the day).

So if they can make use of the more advanced silicon while improving battery life and still deliver at competitive price, fine. But if they have to sacrifice battery life, keep prices high, it's not worth it.

carmack seems to think the iphone is more powerfull than the psp and ds combined.

Sony could make a new psp thats more powerfull and most likely has better battery life if they wanted too.

The current psp just sucks in alot of ways ... i know as i own the starwars bundle one

 

[obonicus]

carmack seems to think the iphone is more powerfull than the psp and ds combined.

So hardware that is 4 years younger and costs twice is a lot more powerful? That's some insight.

I've also heard (from Iphone game developers) that Iphone is going to be the Wii of handheld gaming. Funny, though: I thought the Wii was the DS of console gaming.

 

[manux]

I doubt power is what would help to make psp2 instant success. After all having the most powerfull handheld in the market hasn't done that much good to psp so far. Also psp2 would start from 0 sold devices, might be hard to get third parties to make games for it.

What sony needs in my opinion are good original games for psp that are not just shrunk ps2 games(well, that's ok for now, locoroco2, patapon2, etc). Also sony needs to bring the always on sync/media features via ps store/ps3 to psp. Online experience is lacking heavily on psp. PS3 connectivity is good start but sony needs to market that(i.e. watch tv via psp if one has playtv at home). Also we need good network enabled games for psp. We also need the community/social engineering aspects(home, facebook, etc). What PD is talking about mobile gran turismo and extending the ps3 experiene sounds like very interesting idea to me.

Sony could ofcourse bring some kind of psp slim to market with full backwards compatibilty but more exciting packaging. Though if the screen is smaller the media features might not be so usable...

I would also like to see psp phone that would have the mediafeatures, ps store/ps3 connectivity etc. Perhaps even the same gaming functions as psp. Just distribute games via digital downloads from ps store.

 

[Skrying]

A new model isn't all about power...

It's about really getting a new product out. Starting over completely (which Sony needs to do with the PSP brand). Making adjustments to the hardware design so it's more friendly to what it seems to be used for. As of right now I'd never even consider the PSP for media as it's way to long. Make it smaller and then maybe, make the interface better for the needed functions. Really I just don't see the point in rebooting a now older device like the PSP. Just move on and count it as a learning experience.

So hardware that is 4 years younger and costs twice is a lot more powerful? That's some insight.

I've also heard (from Iphone game developers) that Iphone is going to be the Wii of handheld gaming. Funny, though: I thought the Wii was the DS of console gaming.

It's absolutely amazing how badly you missed his point, and why you missed it...

 

[obonicus]

It's absolutely amazing how badly you missed his point, and why you missed it...

Really, then explain it to me. Tell me how the power of a handheld makes any difference whatsoever when it comes to marketshare, and then we'll talk about the DS' position in the market.

 

[Skrying]

Really, then explain it to me. Tell me how the power of a handheld makes any difference whatsoever when it comes to marketshare, and then we'll talk about the DS' position in the market.

wco81 made a point about battery life being an issue, with which eastmen pointed out how the iPhone is decently faster and has comparable battery life. It being newer was the point, new developments would allow better hardware without lose of battery life.

The PSP and DS are totally different types of products. The games have never been there for the PSP to compete when it comes to actually playing games. As this very thread topic demonstrates it would help the PSP if it was a more coherent device and a better jack of all trades. I contend that the device itself is to badly designed for it to do that and software changes wouldn't be able to do it alone, nor would such an announcement be able to help the image of the PSP. A new device, more powerful or not or maybe just refined, would not only get a lot of press but also allow Sony to start over and make everything better in the regard as a all around media device. I don't think Sony ever intended the PSP to be in the position it is now, and that's rather clear I think with how addons and disjointed services are available to bring in these extra features.

Actual performance of the device can be pretty important as some functions just simply need it to be a good experience. But, I still think from an image point of view a "PSP 2" would be more important than just pure power gains. It could be the exact same performance envelope for all I care but make it more compact, easier to place in my pocket, longer battery life, and include the features all built in. Then it might be worth having because games certainly are not a draw right now.

 

[eastmen]

lets also not forget that apple sells the iphone for a profit. It has at least 8 gigs of flash ram built in and it has a multi touch screen and limited forms of rumble. While its screen might not be as big ( i think its the same resolution) its actually the right size for a portable media player / game device. It just needs better controls .

If it wasn't an apple product i would most likely have bought an iphone , but well thats a whole other can of worms .


My basic point is you can make a good handheld now that easly out classes the psp and offers many upgrades for a comparable price or slightly more. Why invest hundreds of millions more into a failing product when you can simply move foward. Sony should learn from the first xbox .

Everyone with a psp has it hacked or uses it for 90% video and music and plays only the biggest games when they come out every 6 months or so .

If sony was to show off a new psp at next e3 that had a more friendly form factor for on the go gaming , video and music along with touch screen capabilitys and perhaps xbox 1 level graphics and they were able to get some good fsaa (the part i hate the most about the psp) with a slew of great games from the ps2 and xbox they could do well. Currently though the psp is in shambles and just a new marketing campain isn't going to help. An old product doesn't suddenly get hot because a company throws alot of money at it .

On and they should get rid of umds the load times , noise and battery life is horrible

 

[patsu]

Is PSP still sold at a loss ?

I wouldn't say PSP is in shambles. It could do better, yes. But it's selling rather well in Japan right now, being the leading hardware. The God of War red PSP also did well in US (330+K units in June ?).

If they could repeat the PSP hit games more frequently, follow up on its unique gaming/entertainment vision, and have truly easy to use media functions, it would grow organically (like in Japan), instead of relying on deliberate marketing campaigns to drive sales. It's hard work and very tiring that way.

 

[Skrying]

It's also based on great luck and chance and it's still very expensive because of development costs and getting out those features to be known. It sounds to me you're more interested in the PSP being just a better device for those who already have it then really drawing new buyers.

 

[eastmen]

has it grown organiclly in japan or is it just infalted by having a huge game or two come out ? Will they sustain those sales or will ds come out with another huge game and start to out pace it again.

Don't you think the money creating these tools would be better spent on a new device that actually makes those tools worth while . As I have said before , why lug around a huge psp when you can lug around a dedicated device that does each thing better and actually fits with what you want to do.

 

[obonicus]

lets also not forget that apple sells the iphone for a profit. It has at least 8 gigs of flash ram built in and it has a multi touch screen and limited forms of rumble. While its screen might not be as big ( i think its the same resolution) its actually the right size for a portable media player / game device. It just needs better controls .

Hold on. What's the iphone's price? I was under the distinct impression that their price isn't even close. I'm not in the US, so I seriously don't know. I see $199-$299 with a 2-year plan, is this correct? What's the price in Europe? I was under the impression it was in the $600 range, if not higher, which would suggest that the $199 price is subsidized. So using the iphone price as a basis is tricky to say the least. Could Sony make a better system and sell it for a similar price? Certainly. How much better, though, and how much of a loss -- and why exactly would this system convince people to get one? Ipods sold like hotcakes even though there always have been technically superior players on the market. (There's even the semi-famous slashdot post: 'No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame. ')

My basic point is you can make a good handheld now that easly out classes the psp and offers many upgrades for a comparable price or slightly more. Why invest hundreds of millions more into a failing product when you can simply move foward. Sony should learn from the first xbox .

Except it's not failing. The hardware sales are not bad, the software sales are bad. Unless Sony is selling them at a loss, they're making money off the PSP. And this new attempt is probably based on what Sony's learning about the PSP in Japan; what's selling systems isn't multimedia capabilities, but games. If anything, Sony probably should look at the Nintendo philosophy, and focus on selling the PSP on merit of its games, which is the one thing the PSP does very well. As others have pointed out, it's not a very good media player and only an okay video player. It has very decent graphics, decent controls and built-in wifi.

If sony was to show off a new psp at next e3 that had a more friendly form factor for on the go gaming , video and music along with touch screen capabilitys and perhaps xbox 1 level graphics and they were able to get some good fsaa (the part i hate the most about the psp) with a slew of great games from the ps2 and xbox they could do well. Currently though the psp is in shambles and just a new marketing campain isn't going to help. An old product doesn't suddenly get hot because a company throws alot of money at it .

Again, I think this is the opposite of what Sony should do, at least game-wise. The PSP2 doesn't need a bunch of console ports, that's what hurt the PSP. It needs games that speak to its strengths, whatever they'll be. Monster Hunter 2, for instance, tapped into the handheld's social strengths: playing a mini-MMO over wifi. Phantasy Star Portable, which came out recently, did the same and is doing quite well. The best part is that it may be that the PSP in Japan has gotten enough critical mass for other, non-monster hunteresque games can do quite well. Enough that Square-Enix is shifting two cell-phone games onto the PSP (unless you think that Sony moneyhatted SE).

On and they should get rid of umds the load times , noise and battery life is horrible

I think the only way a new PSP could thrive would be if it retained backwards compatibility. UMDs suck, but I'm not sure how Sony could get rid of them, unless they offered to repackage existing games on flash cartridges. We already have an incrementally more powerful PSP - the PSP-2000 has double the RAM of the PSP-1000, but as far as games know they're the same thing.

 

[eastmen]

1) the iphone can be had for $200 with a 2 year plan . Apple doesn't subsidise the plan , that is at&t , apple makes money on each phone they sell. We really don't know the actual price for the device for apple . But does it matter , the iphone is actually in demand and they can really charge whatever they want for it at this point as people want ot buy it , that isn't the case with the psp currently

2)Sure sony could make smoething just as good or better and if they did it right i doubt it would cost more than the psp did at launch . Actually if they got smarter with the design it could be cheaper than the psp was at launch and fix many of the glareing problems with the psp that still exist to some extent .

3) I'm sorry but isn't hte point of the psp to sell software . That is why they create games and other software for it correct ? If its not selling software then its failing , The psp is selling in japan because of monster hunters. What do they have for north america that is as big as monster hunters is in japan ... the answer is nothing .

4)the psp2 would need good games. thats what hte psp lacks . Can you tell me 5 games worth buying a psp for and out of thoes 5 games how many of them will keep you coming back to play the psp over and over again. The only game i picked up for my psp is gow and i beat it in 8 hours and haven't touched it since.

I much rather have a newly designed psp 2 that actually makes me want to carry it around with me. Even if sony was able to put games I want on it , i would play them at my house as carry the system around is not worth it to me. it fits in none of my pockets and even with a belt clip its way to big to rest on my side. So really except for a car trip or at my house there is no need to bring it with me . Now a device that is slightly bigger than an iphone that fit in my pocket would be something I and alot of others could ge behind.

5) just set up a download store for the games and people will rebuy them , as you can see from the ps3 bc is not important (at least to sony ) anymore .

they coudl set up a psp2 with a memory stick slot and add 8 gigs of flash ram into it and thats that . Put some type of drm on it and let it go .

 

[obonicus]

2)Sure sony could make smoething just as good or better and if they did it right i doubt it would cost more than the psp did at launch . Actually if they got smarter with the design it could be cheaper than the psp was at launch and fix many of the glareing problems with the psp that still exist to some extent .

They certainly can: but they could do this with a next revision. None of the PSP's big problems are unfixable, except maybe for the presence of UMDs and the ease of cracking it. Note that I don't consider the system's performance to be a big problem.

3) I'm sorry but isn't hte point of the psp to sell software . That is why they create games and other software for it correct ? If its not selling software then its failing , The psp is selling in japan because of monster hunters. What do they have for north america that is as big as monster hunters is in japan ... the answer is nothing .

No. If it's not making money it's failing. There isn't some ideology to game consoles: they're meant to make their companies money. And no, they have nothing, but isn't that the point? Sony should try (and apparently is trying) to find its its killer app, the Monster Hunter of non-Japan, rather than go tilting at windmills by designing more powerful hardware that we're not even sure people want.

4)the psp2 would need good games. thats what hte psp lacks . Can you tell me 5 games worth buying a psp for and out of thoes 5 games how many of them will keep you coming back to play the psp over and over again. The only game i picked up for my psp is gow and i beat it in 8 hours and haven't touched it since.

Well, it's a matter of taste, naturally. The PSP is an SRPG machine, which are one of the areas where ports to handhelds work really well. So there's FFT, Disgaea, Jeanne D'arc to a lesser degree. Crisis Core, GoW. Portable Ops if you like MGS. Patapon and LocoRoco. If you like racing there's the Wipeout games. Space Invaders Extreme is very very cool. The system is hardly devoid of good games, it IS however hampered by half-assed ports and attempts to treat the PSP as a mini-PS2, rather than as a handheld. But that's more than 5, right? I don't own all of those, but I own 6 of them, and those are games I return to. (I know there's even more.)

I much rather have a newly designed psp 2 that actually makes me want to carry it around with me. Even if sony was able to put games I want on it , i would play them at my house as carry the system around is not worth it to me. it fits in none of my pockets and even with a belt clip its way to big to rest on my side. So really except for a car trip or at my house there is no need to bring it with me . Now a device that is slightly bigger than an iphone that fit in my pocket would be something I and alot of others could ge behind.

And I'm one of those people who doesn't mind the PSP's size. I don't like how the big screen is mostly unprotected, though. I'm not crazy about where the analog stick is, though the buttons and D-pad are much better on the PSP-2000. It could use a redesign, though I'm not sure I'd be willing to give up screen real-estate. Though possibly a folding design like the DS lite could be interesting.

5) just set up a download store for the games and people will rebuy them , as you can see from the ps3 bc is not important (at least to sony ) anymore .

they coudl set up a psp2 with a memory stick slot and add 8 gigs of flash ram into it and thats that . Put some type of drm on it and let it go .

Well, even the PS3 had BC at launch. It's important because it gives you access to a catalog of games, especially on launch systems. Maybe have early PSP2s have UMDs, but release games on carts, and then eliminate BC from subsequent versions. But I think that it'd be important for early versions to have it. Hell, if we go by anecdotes (and it seems we are) the 80 gig PS3s are selling exceedingly well BECAUSE of BC. The biggest whine you'll see on neogaf involving PS3 SKUs is 'bring back BC!'.

 

[eastmen]

1) form factor will not be fixed as long as the screen and umd stays the size it is , battery life may slowly get fixed but when playing games on umd its still crap , loading times are the same .. crap.

2)I'm sorry the psp is failing , its in dead second place and its software sales are crap and have been for 4 years. Everything about the psp here in the states is a failure including the bright idea of charging for umd movies a format that was not suited for a handheld . Sure sony may make some money on the psp but just making money does not mean its suddenly a sucess . Sony had its own goals and projections for the psp before it launched and i'm sure the way the psp turned out was far from what they thought it be.


3) srpgs ? Really on a hand held ? come on your telling me someone is going to want to play a final fantasy game one train trip at a time or one commute at a time . Why would u continue to retun to GOW after you beat it or crisis core . Does the story change in GOW each time you play it ? That makes no sense to me .

4) Where do you normaly use the psp ?

5)UMD is crap , they need to move foward , mabye 4 years ago 1.3 gigs wasn't bad , but you can buy 2 gig sd cards for $10 bucks and i'm sure prom carts are even cheaper . Neogaf is not the be all end all of consumers. Those snaping up 80 gig ps3s are those who were waiting on more price drops but saw that the bc was leaving the system and jumped on. I'm sure those are the same people that own a psp already and is not the target market sony now wants to reach.


I've listed for you all the complaints I have about my psp and why I rarely use it and instead choose my zune and ds . I'm sure they are complaints often repeated as i hear them from my friends also. As a guy who owns 23 ds games and 4 psp games I'm telling you what sony has to change for me to be interested in a psp again and its not a relaunch with tools that make things the system isn't suited for easier to do. If sony wants to become the next ipod and ds at the same time it will take nothing short of a new version of the system that is able to do everything very well and nail the proper form factor . The psp is in the end just too big and clumsy and over priced (in the long run) compared to other devices.

 

[patsu]

has it grown organiclly in japan or is it just infalted by having a huge game or two come out ? Will they sustain those sales or will ds come out with another huge game and start to out pace it again.

It's been leading for some time now. I think the Japanese gamers embraced portable gaming more so than western gamers. DS activities will affect PSP, but it may need larger guns to overtake PSP. They both have good games out now: http://ps3.qj.net/Media-Create-Japa...reaches-2-million-sales-mark/pg/49/aid/122832

Don't you think the money creating these tools would be better spent on a new device that actually makes those tools worth while . As I have said before , why lug around a huge psp when you can lug around a dedicated device that does each thing better and actually fits with what you want to do.

Yes and no. I think they need better software and vision on the current PSP hardware first (or in parallel with new hardware rollout). The old hardware is still larger untapped for consumers even though the homebrew people kinda have their ways with the platform already

I carry a PSP because it has all the entertainment functions but doesn't take up my cellphone battery life. It's like carrying an iPod and a cellphone separately, but the iPod doesn't play deep games (yet).

 

[obonicus]

1) form factor will not be fixed as long as the screen and umd stays the size it is , battery life may slowly get fixed but when playing games on umd its still crap , loading times are the same .. crap.

This is hardly scientific; you don't know what you're talking about, and, honestly, neither do I. So neither of us can say what the PSP's form factor can or can't be with UMDs, so let's drop this topic.

2)I'm sorry the psp is failing , its in dead second place and its software sales are crap and have been for 4 years. Everything about the psp here in the states is a failure including the bright idea of charging for umd movies a format that was not suited for a handheld . Sure sony may make some money on the psp but just making money does not mean its suddenly a sucess . Sony had its own goals and projections for the psp before it launched and i'm sure the way the psp turned out was far from what they thought it be.

You're moving goalposts here. The question is whether they're making money; it's not the success it could be, undoubtedly, that's the whole point of this thread. But it's not failing miserably just because you say so; being second place doesn't mean it can't make money. It's still second place in Japan, in terms of install-base, but Sony seems happy with their performance there. In fact, the PSP sells astoundingly well in the US for a platform for which there are almost no games released.

3) srpgs ? Really on a hand held ? come on your telling me someone is going to want to play a final fantasy game one train trip at a time or one commute at a time . Why would u continue to retun to GOW after you beat it or crisis core . Does the story change in GOW each time you play it ? That makes no sense to me .

Yes, really, SRPGs -- if you don't know about SRPGs and the PSP you're terribly out of touch. Now, here's the thing. If your criteria is games to beat and return to, very few games give you indefinite fun. SRPGs, on the other hand, take many many hours to beat (and Disgaea lasts pretty much forever). Crisis Core likewise; it takes time to get through the missions. True, GoW you don't return to, but other games you do. I do.

4) Where do you normaly use the psp ?

Same places I use my DS.

5)UMD is crap , they need to move foward , mabye 4 years ago 1.3 gigs wasn't bad , but you can buy 2 gig sd cards for $10 bucks and i'm sure prom carts are even cheaper . Neogaf is not the be all end all of consumers. Those snaping up 80 gig ps3s are those who were waiting on more price drops but saw that the bc was leaving the system and jumped on. I'm sure those are the same people that own a psp already and is not the target market sony now wants to reach.

Of course they're not the end-all be-all, but we're using anecdotal evidence, aren't we? You just brought up 'you and your friends', so I can use neogaf as counter-evidence. If you don't have an incredibly strong launch line-up, and no one does, these days, you need BC to help give people an incentive to play. Even the DS has GBA BC, the GBA had GB BC. Like I said, I'm not defending the UMD, but I'm not sure how you could keep and keep BC. And again, I think BC is very important, especially on a portable. For home consoles, I can have a PS2 hooked up next to my PS3 unless space is very limited. For handhelds, you can't as easily tell your customers 'to play your old games, well, you better lug around your old system too'.

I've listed for you all the complaints I have about my psp and why I rarely use it and instead choose my zune and ds . I'm sure they are complaints often repeated as i hear them from my friends also. As a guy who owns 23 ds games and 4 psp games I'm telling you what sony has to change for me to be interested in a psp again and its not a relaunch with tools that make things the system isn't suited for easier to do. If sony wants to become the next ipod and ds at the same time it will take nothing short of a new version of the system that is able to do everything very well and nail the proper form factor . The psp is in the end just too big and clumsy and over priced (in the long run) compared to other devices.

Honestly, I hope they're not trying for an Ipod+DS killer because that would be idiotic. What you're saying, though, is that if the PSP started getting really good games you wouldn't be interested in playing them? That's what I'm saying: bringing the PSP back should focus on its strengths as a game system. The PSP sells a couple hundred thousand handhelds a month just in the US. Games could potentially bring people to use those handhelds for games again. There is the serious problem of piracy, though I doubt that most of those many many pspsare running custom firmware.