Topic: Report Says DS Outplays PSP

[WindyMan]

Although everyone is talking more about the PSP, the DS is still the better overall handheld.

UK research firm WaveMetrix has been snooping around the Internet lately, gathering up data on what people think about the two new handheld systems, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.  After taking in comments from online forums and analyzing them, a finalized research report shows that two screens are apparently better than one.    

The report took a look at four areas that many gamers are most interested in for handhelds: Games, overall hardware quality, screen quality, and value for money.  The DS beat the PSP in all of the above, most decisively in value.  Despite all the extra bells and whistles the Sony handheld offers, the large price difference in hardware and software makes the DS a better buy for those just looking to play games.    

In addition to DS games being cheaper, the games are also better.  According to the report, consumers enjoy the steady release of good titles for the Nintendo DS, as opposed to Sony's initial flurry of releases and current drought.  Titles like Electroplankton, Need for Speed Underground 2, Trauma Center, and the Star Wars Episode III game were just some of the broad list of DS games customers were positive about.  On the other side of the spectrum, Madden 2005 and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent got a thumbs down for issues like poor graphics and computer AI.  Gamers would also like to see fewer puzzle-type titles on the DS, and eventually hope that the overall library of titles will broaden out.    

Although the Nintendo DS does fare better than the Sony PSP in the quality categories, consumer opinions are still generally negative for both.  The report claims many DS owners are unhappy with the thin and easily scratchable screen covers, but compared to PSP complaints that include battery life, sticky buttons and a poor analog stick, DS owners are better off.  Both systems do share a common problem, though.  Dead pixels and other screen defects are something manufacturers have always had problems with, but customers expect that a screen be flawless.  Needless to say, many are disappointed with what they wind up with.    

In addition to taking a look at what people feel about each system, the WaveMetrix report also examined "the buzz factor" of each of the four categories.  For the most part, the PSP is being talked about twice as much as DS.  However, the report concludes that since the PSP was outperformed in every aspect, all of that extra discussion about the PSP is mostly negative, despite Sony's big advertising push.  In other words, there are a lot of people that aren't as happy with the PSP as Sony would like.

[King of Twitch]

PSP is doomed.

[Bloodworth]

Also, the latest Famitsu charts are telling.  9 DS games listed in the top 30, and only 2 PSP titles, one of which just came out and the other is a Golf game that's been out since launch.

[BlackNMild2k1]

stolen from somewhere else

Quote
Hardware sales :
DS = 35 000
PSP = 21 000

Software sales for the week :
DS = 160 000
PSP = 50 000

All this based on Famitsu data.

Take that PSP!!! Ohh that hurts don't it? maybe you should fight back.....

[Mario]

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Gamers would also like to see fewer puzzle-type titles on the DS

Not this gamer! More puzzle games please!

[IceCold]

"Titles like Electroplankton, Need for Speed Underground 2, Trauma Center, and the Star Wars Episode III game were just some of the broad list of DS games customers were positive about. "

LOL!! I love how they don't mention Yoshi, WWT, Kirby, Meteos etc while they say the customers are positive about Electroplankton (a game only out in Japan, and this is a UK research corp), Trauma Centre (which isn't out yet), and NFSU & Star Wars (which can't hold a candle to Kirby et al).

And Electroplankton sold how many, a couple of thousand units in Japan? So exactly how many customers "were positive" about it?

[ruby_onix]

As this is an "Internet study", it's safe to say that we already know everything that's in it. We might even be the source for some of it.

Of course, that's not to say that this is a bad thing. You just need to know how to take this.

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And Electroplankton sold how many, a couple of thousand units in Japan? So exactly how many customers "were positive" about it?

They probably came across a couple of "Electroplankton Appreciation" threads. And came to the conclusion that "people liked Electroplankton, and thought it was a good game" (even if not many people bought it).

[stevey]

Yes teh psp suckzy ballz!

[WindyMan]

Quote
Originally posted by: IceCold
LOL!! I love how they don't mention Yoshi, WWT, Kirby, Meteos etc while they say the customers are positive about Electroplankton (a game only out in Japan, and this is a UK research corp), Trauma Centre (which isn't out yet), and NFSU & Star Wars (which can't hold a candle to Kirby et al).

They do.   There were 15 or so games they listed under the positive chart, it's just that there were too many to list.  I just picked the games that were varied to give a good idea of the spectrum.

[Ian Sane]

This isn't really surpising.  The DS kind of wins by default.  The PSP had a good launch lineup but I cannot think of ANY game that has come out since then.  The PSP section in stores is full of movies.  The DS is the obvious leader just due to the fact that new games are coming out and the DS is in the news.  With most systems I don't own I pick up major news about them just by basically being on the internet.  It's only with a few odd exceptions like the N-Gage where I have no idea what's been going on.  The PSP oddly enough is like that.  I skim every section of IGN every day yet I cannot name a post-launch PSP title.  The thing has just disappeared.

Still I think that one huge title could put the PSP ahead.  The DS is doing better more due to the PSP's shortcomings than the DS' greatness.  In order to really get a clear lead the DS needs some more killer games and I see some in the release pipeline.  The DS right now is merely not as bad as the PSP.  The DS should be really awesome.

[Bill Aurion]

Sorry, but to me the DS is awesome...Kirby more than makes it by itself...

[nickmitch]

I think PSP sales will go up once GTA hits it. I could just see people saying, "PSP has GTA?!? OMG!!!" But If the DS could provide a serious online line up then that should keep things like this.

[Djunknown]

If Nintendogs, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing can get some good buzz and sales, the PSP will be shut down for a while.  Nintendog's rabid success in Japan is already documented, Mario Kart online done right will simply pwn the people. Animal Crossing somehow manages to bridge the gap between all sorts of gamers and non-gamers alike. Keep 'em coming Nintendo...

As mentioned earlier, the PSP needs that killer app(s) to get it going. Can something like GTA on a portable still feel fresh after all the years of hype and extensions?

[Deguello]

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I think PSP sales will go up once GTA hits it.

Maybe in America but it won't amount to a hill of beans in Japan.  The problem with the more recent games Sony and third parties are throwing up for the PSP in Japan is that most of them are either PS2 ports or PS1 ports.  Original games bomb hard and it becomes only financially viable to port old games or concurrent PS2 games instead of making entirely new games or at least new entries in a series.

Compare this to the DS whose best-selling game at the moment is some kind of DS IQ test with an egregiously long title, and whose various new games have sustained themselves on the charts for a long time, and you have environment that is friendly to both new games and ports.

Over here, Sony seems more interested in making the PSP some sort of movie player as opposed to a game device.  Only one game is scheduled for release this month, that was Coded Arms and it was released 2 days ago.  the next game scheduled is Death Jr.  More than a month away, and It looks like it is going to be the PSP's only release that month, too.  You know, the sort of thing that would land a Sony exec into the hot seat of a pointed IGN interview, if you catch my drift.

[Jonnyboy117]

PSP is the new GameCube!

j/k but it looks kinda true for now, in terms of the release schedule.

[Ian Sane]

"Can something like GTA on a portable still feel fresh after all the years of hype and extensions?"

I don't think it will.  A series only sells systems for a few years before the formula gets stale and only a major shakeup to the series like Mario 64 can revitalize it.  Sonic sold Genesises but not Dreamcasts.  Resident Evil sold Playstations but not Gamecubes.  GTA sold PS2s but unalterted I don't think it would sell PSPs.  When GTA3 came out you HAD to buy a PS2 to play a game like that.  Vice City and San Andreas then benefited from those PS2 sales and also sold really big.  However no one HAS to buy a PSP to play a GTA game.  It would probably be good but are you really missing anything when there are THREE similar games on the PS2?

If you bought a PS2 for GTA it's like GTA3 cost $350, VC cost $50 and SA cost $50.  Suddenly you get a price hike to $300 for the next GTA.  That game better be DAMN good and really essential to pay that high "entry fee" again.  

[Deguello]

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PSP is the new GameCube!

j/k but it looks kinda true for now, in terms of the release schedule.

Even worse.  No system has ever had a game drought this bad.  What's worse is what Sony is doing about it.  In lieu of trying to get new games from third parties or at least trying to develop some themselves, they instead let the third parties run wild with afterthought ports and delay some of their key summer titles like Armored Core and Ape Escape Academy to October and November respectively and stock the shelves with a boatload of movies.  While I realize that the movies and games have nothing to do with each other, Joe Casual doesn't.  When he looks at the huge PSP rack in EB and sees nothing but movies he is going to wonder WTF Sony is thinking.  Potentially worse is if Joe Casual actually buys up a lot of movies.  Then Sony will have created an environment where movies compete against games and possibly win.  I hear that one or two UMD movies have breached 100,000, which is more than some GAMES.  Who's going to want to develop new content for a platform when you might get beat out by a movie?  Is this Sony's convergence dream?

And I wholeheartedly agree with Ian for a change.  GTA PSP might be big game for it but I doubt it will be a huge draw for the PSP.  Like Ian said, you don't NEED a PSP for GTA.  On the other hand you NEED a DS for Nintendogs.  You NEED a DS for Pac-Pix and Trauma Center and Jump Superstars.  It just underscores that Sony has no idea what the handheld market is like.  

[gally]

I was able to convince a co-worker of mine to buy a DS...for his nephew. Ostensibly, at least! He said he'd try to "borrow" it from him so he could play the games. What games did I show him that caught his eye?

Wario Ware Touched
Another Code: Two Memories (I imported the European version)
Kirby: Canvas Curse (Japanese version)
Meteos

He loved those games. They ALL showed off what the system could do that was unique to it and not the PSP, which is the system he owns. He commented that the PSP doesn't have much right now that he is interested in, and that he now finds it hard to resist buying a DS, ever since Wario Ware grabbed his attention. He really liked it, and I was surprised to see he also liked Another Code as well (he said "this is my kind of game"). Kirby struck him as the type of game that might lack replay value, but he really enjoyed Meteos.

I think more and more people are beginning to realize that, as many of you touched upon, the DS has more ORIGINAL games for it that the other systems do not, and if you want these original experiences, the DS is the only way to go.

I was disappointed at first when I saw the DS's specs compared to the PSP's, and then I was afraid that Sony's efforts to get people to buy movies for the PSP might actually take off, but looking at things now, it seems as if Nintendo had made the wise choice here. Cheaper price, ORIGINAL games, a system that can do things others cannot (the two screens and the touch screen impressed a number of people I showed it to), all work in its favor.

I'm impressed.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"this is my kind of game"

SUPER KAWAII SCHOOLGIRL LOVE ADVENTURE WINS AGAIN!

[stevey]

"I hear that one or two UMD movies have breached 100,000"

You hear wrong! All IMD movie have sold 100,000 total.

[BlackNMild2k1]

PSPorn was just released in Japan yesterday or the day b4, I wonder if those will show up on sme charts

[stevey]

GTAsa is being yell at by law maker for not get a AO rating because they didn't telling the esrb about the sex mingame and now psporn. oh boy I can hear the soccor mom now bitch about vg give porn to kid and want them to stop making it so they don't have to there job as mom and stop kid them selfs.

[Urkel]

I think the reason the PSP is in the position that it's in is almost entirely due to the higher development costs and system price.

If the cost of developing an original PSP game is similar to the cost of developing a console game, why would a publisher make an original game exclusive to the PSP when it has a much smaller userbase than the PS2? At this point, I think most PSP exclusives are simply there to be the big fish in the small pond. Coded Arms only exists to fill the FPS gap in the PSP's lineup. Why else would a Japanese dev make a FPS? Death Jr. is getting way more attention it ever would than if it had to compete against console platformers.

I believe part of the reason the DS is getting so many original games is because there's more an attitude of innovation with the DS. Odds are that the people who buy a DS are doing so because they want something new, so publishers are more willing to take a risk on delivering something different. At least, that's the only reason I can think of for Capcom to actually be willing to release a wacky lawyer game outside of Japan.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Capcom should take a chance and release Okami on the DS

I woulda thought that that would be obvious, even to them.....

[Urkel]

Knowing Capcom, they'll milk the Okami franchise with three DS sequels before the end of the year... and then port them all to the PSP.

Because Capcom enjoys pain.