Sony's NeoGeo Pocket's (PSP2/Vita) business/non technical ramifications talk

[patsu]

…mostly because phone was a single function device that people see no reason why it should be big.

With more capabilities crammed in, some folks may want a reasonably sized one, rather than the smallest one. iPad is bigger than the phone, we usually take it with us since the kid can play it in the car.

 

[AlphaWolf]

…mostly because phone was a single function device that people see no reason why it should be big.

Smartphones are a single function device? Which function are you counting? I can wish my phone had a much bigger display, but the reality is that if it were much bigger I wouldn't be carrying it at all. The PSP is way beyond that point.

With more capabilities crammed in, some folks may want a reasonably sized one, rather than the smallest one. iPad is bigger than the phone, we usually take it with us since the kid can play it in the car.

Can use my 16" laptop in the car too.

 

[patsu]

You didn't say smart phones:

There's a reason phones got smaller.

Smartphones cannot be too small. Same for a portable and specialized entertainment device.

Can use my 16" laptop in the car too.

Too cumbersome, especially for kids… A touchscreen works much better.

 

[onQ]

There's a reason phones got smaller. Because portability is important to customers. It's not a matter of being capable of carrying. It's a convenience issue, its too thick to stick in a pants pocket and not everyone wants to wear a jacket or bag wherever they go.

which is why I said people have just become use to the size of the smartphones , but to people that just want a handheld video game system the PSP is not that big, have you ever seen a kid say the PSP is too big for them to play games on?

it may be big for a music player now a days but there was a time when people was walking around like this

http://amygrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/FP_5112611_ICON_Eminem_053110.jpg

the PSP / NGP is not too big to be carried around as handheld gaming system we have just become accustom to the size of the smartphones that let you play games,

Japan a place where they like everything to be small don't seem to have a problem with the size of the PSP .

 

[AlphaWolf]

And 10 years before that there were guys walking around with a ghetto blaster on their shoulder. That doesn't mean people want to revisit it.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Japan a place where they like everything to be small don't seem to have a problem with the size of the PSP .

The whole Japan likes small devices thing isn't always true.

While phones in Europe and NA were getting smaller and smaller, phones in Japan were getting larger, this was before the advent of smartphones becoming desireable.

The rise of more feature rich phones in Europe and NA actually saw phones growing in size (similar to Japan) before smartphones became desirable.

And current smartphones now are quite a bit larger than most cell phones from 5-10 years ago. This is a response to AlphaWolf suggesting that phones are getting smaller. They've actually been growing for quite a few years now.

Regards,
SB

 

[AlphaWolf]

The whole Japan likes small devices thing isn't always true.

While phones in Europe and NA were getting smaller and smaller, phones in Japan were getting larger, this was before the advent of smartphones becoming desireable.

The rise of more feature rich phones in Europe and NA actually saw phones growing in size (similar to Japan) before smartphones became desirable.

And current smartphones now are quite a bit larger than most cell phones from 5-10 years ago. This is a response to AlphaWolf suggesting that phones are getting smaller. They've actually been growing for quite a few years now.

Regards,
SB

Modern smartphones are much smaller than the first iterations. Screen size has increased but overall phone size is smaller.

 

[Toaddio]

Modern smartphones are much smaller than the first iterations. Screen size has increased but overall phone size is smaller.

I think that points to the fact that end users don't necessarily want small, but efficient. If they carry something around they want it to use their personal space wisely.

 

[onQ]

And 10 years before that there were guys walking around with a ghetto blaster on their shoulder. That doesn't mean people want to revisit it.

all I'm saying is I never remember people walking around with handheld video games in their pockets , maybe gameboy micro but I have never seen anyone with one in real life, even if NGP was the size of PSPgo it would still be the same story your phone would still be more portable & you wouldn't be walking around with the NGP in your pocket instead of your phone, so why lose screen size & good controls trying to compete with the iphone for pocket space?

PSP/NGP is not pocket size but it's not so big that it would be like going back to the days of boom boxes on your shoulder walking down the street

 

[wco81]

I don't know, in a collision, a tablet could do some damage as a projectile.

 

[Xenus]

Indeed handhelds will always have a lower limit on size that is higher from the phones. The larger screen to better see games is far more important to me then the it won't fit in a pants pocket issue. Plus mall size at some point becomes a hindrance. For me the PSP-2000 is much more comfortable to play then the go and it's not like I have large hands.

 

[RudeCurve]

I wish Sony could get this up and running by the PSP2 release. If not, I'll settle for the PSP2 refresh

Why?

 

[Rangers]

I was high on NGP at first, but as time has gone on I've grown pretty sure it's going to fail, possibly miserably. Reasons:

#1 People dont want "console on a handheld", and I think the proof was PSP (and believe me, I was the #1 guy saying PSP was going to crush DS back in the day). I was listening to a guy on YT rant about that the other day. He was saying handheld gaming to him was, 45 minutes to kill while you wait at the doctors office. Meaning puzzle games or Final Fantasy Tactics type games that can be played in short bursts. He said what good are (his words, I know it's incorrect) 1080P graphics and super duper sound when youre playing on a 2" screen so you cant see any detail and crappy speakers. (Yeah, NGP has a 5" screen I know, it was more the general idea he was getting at).

#2 Price. They were talking on weekend confirmed and they were discussing NGP price, and Garnett says "it's not going to be 299" and they all agreed, with Jeff hoping for 349. It hit me right there, theyre right, it's most likely going to be 399. Am I going to touch one with a ten foot pole at that price? Not on your life. Plain and simple.

Especially when it looks like you're going to get, a very big machine for a portable, you're going to get graphics not as good as what you get on a console, you're going to get poor battery life (the 4-5 hours thing was only a rumor AFAIK) and you're going to get IMO an uninspired lineup of Sony Killzone and Uncharted franchises.

I'll be watching NGP with interest, I would really like to see what kind of gfx they can push in time, and I could very well be 100% wrong, just like I was dead wrong when I was 100% sure PSP was going to crush DS. But the more I look at it the more I'm getting this feeling that Sony hasnt learnt any lessons at all, and this might be a PS3-for-the-first-two-years-five-hundred-ninety-nine-us-dollars (substitute, three hundred ninety nine US dollars ) type of disaster.

Imo they probably should have thrown everything, and more compelling hardware, behind the PSP phone. Like Onlive imo, PSP phone (aka, a phone with slider gaming controls) has the potential to be a disruptive idea, but they dont seem to be backing it much right now.

 

[gongo]

It is ironic but..the success or failure of NGP boils down to....how many non-gaming tasks it can do...reasonably well, with a good UI, so people will only want to use their Android/iOS ...for phonecalls and facebook updates...

Keep pushing the hardcore gamers route....NGP will bomb harder than DC..roflmao.. I hope Kaz Hirai realize "Its about the games" wont work....it didn't even helped the PS3 much..in NA.

you're going to get IMO an uninspired lineup of Sony Killzone and Uncharted franchises.

Agreed - both games are not even in the league of.....GTA and Halo or now COD.

 

[Nesh]

Keep pushing the hardcore gamers route....NGP will bomb harder than DC..roflmao.. I hope Kaz Hirai realize "Its about the games" wont work....it didn't even helped the PS3 much..in NA.

I find your comment funny considering that the PS3 was being stoned by the media for supposedly not focusing on games and that the 360's number one reason for its success is the games and game-related apps.

Agreed - both games are not even in the league of.....GTA and Halo or now COD.

I believe COD was announced for it during the conference. The GTA franchise was released on th eoriginal PSP, so I see no reason why there wont be any on the NGP.
I am baffled by your general stance on what has been shown. Its not like these will be the only games released for the device. And its not like that no other game should be released for it except massively successful third party franchises

 

[onQ]

I find your comment funny considering that the PS3 was being stoned by the media for supposedly not focusing on games and that the 360's number one reason for its success is the games and game-related apps.


I believe COD was announced for it during the conference. The GTA franchise was released on th eoriginal PSP, so I see no reason why there wont be any on the NGP.
I am baffled by your general stance on what has been shown. Its not like these will be the only games released for the device. And its not like that no other game should be released for it except massively successful third party franchises

I was about to say the same thing,


& why are people acting like this is just a more powerful PSP that's only going to play console ports even when it has all these different interfaces that's not on consoles?

& people are still talking about the PSP failing because of console ports even after Sony made a platform for small games that's handheld friendly called minis

 

[patsu]

why are people acting like this is just a more powerful PSP that's only going to play console ports even when it has all these different interfaces that's not on consoles?

…because people may want to see these benefits realized before committing. Sony hasn't really delivered great UI, or proved themselves in marketing portable consoles (to the west) yet.

It's a sentiment they need to overcome.

 

[Nesh]

…because people may want to see these benefits realized before committing. Sony hasn't really delivered great UI, or proved themselves in marketing portable consoles (to the west) yet.

It's a sentiment they need to overcome.

When you say "yet" you are speaking about the PSP right? Because some people's complaints about the NGP arent being directed on the right areas and some of the newly introduced features and ideas that are meant to help remove some or all the problems that the PSP was facing are being ignored. You cant complain about the products offerings before it doesnt even release them in the market. Nothing's been materialized fully.

The platform looks like it is open to both casual and hardcore gaming so far, and a few examples from both worlds have been demonstrated. I dont understand the hasty myopic perception.

Some of the "complaints" are already touched upon

 

[Silent_Buddha]

#1 People dont want "console on a handheld", and I think the proof was PSP (and believe me, I was the #1 guy saying PSP was going to crush DS back in the day).

I'm not sure you can use PSP as a valid gauge for how PSP2 will do. If you look at a place where piracy didn't arguably destroy software sales (Japan), you can see that software sells quite well.

When you get to the US where piracy was rampant, HW sales were still good indicating that people liked the machine. Piracy would have boosted sales somewhat, but someone wouldn't have bought it just for piracy if they didn't find the platform compelling. Oh the other hand not everyone that bought it to play pirated games might have bought the PSP. So it's somewhere in between. But even at lower sales numbers the hardware sales in the US would still be quite respectable.

And we can't really use PSP Go as an indication as that was full of fail as soon as they launched without a plan for Day and Date DD for all PSP game releases.

This isn't to say I'm convinced PSP2 will do well, just that the PSP isn't exactly a good barometer to use due to the rampant piracy in many parts of the world.

Regards,
SB

 

[RudeCurve]

I hope the NGP does well because I love what SONY has been able to cram into a "handheld". I can't think of any other company that is brave enough to take on a project like this.

With that said personally I can't see myself owning one for a couple of reasons. For one it's too cumbersome to carry around everyday so that pretty much relegates it to home usage and those few times as a travel type device. I'm also pretty sure it's going to cost at least what a netbook costs while not being able to do as much non-gaming type stuff as a netbook. I also don't see Mini-games doing all that well on it either reason being people play mini games on-the-go which NGP contradicts with its large form factor.