Topic: Sony getting hit Hard lately

[Chozo Ghost]

B.A.L.L. = Bad Ass LED Locomotion

or

Blatant Aping of market Leader's Latest innovation

Okay, that last one is kinda lame, but its true...

[mac<censored>]

GEM = Gimme Extra Money!

[broodwars]

GEM = Gimmicky Electronic Motion-controller.

[EasyCure]

GEM = Gimmicky Electronic Motion-controller.

Win.

[BlackNMild2k1]

GEM = Gimmicky Electronic Motion-controller.

Wiin.

fixed

[broodwars]

*sigh*

Due to the appearance of a foreign ad for LittleBigPlanet PSP (which can be viewed here: http://www.pspgen.com/lbppspcase-zoom-331489,191485.html ), it is now rumored (I guess, depending on whether this ad can be believed to be authentic or not) that Sony is working on yet another iteration of the PSP known as the PSP 4000.  Sony, for the love of all that is holy make it stop.  We know the PSP Go is a worthless POS in the sales department, but if you're not going to put a second analog nub on the 4000 (likely) there's no reason to put out yet another version of the PSP.

Damn Japan and their love of portable systems.

[mac<censored>]

Sony is working on yet another iteration of the PSP known as the PSP 4000.  Sony, for the love of all that is holy make it stop.  We know the PSP Go is a worthless POS in the sales department, but if you're not going to put a second analog nub on the 4000 (likely) there's no reason to put out yet another version of the PSP.

The question is, how will Sony manage to screw up this one?

Second analogue nub -- in the middle of the screen?

Giant wooden handles, bizarrely fixed so that you must hold the unit between your legs and bend over to play?

Features neither UMD drive nor digital download?

"Battery life:  1 minute"?

[broodwars]

Sony is working on yet another iteration of the PSP known as the PSP 4000.  Sony, for the love of all that is holy make it stop.  We know the PSP Go is a worthless POS in the sales department, but if you're not going to put a second analog nub on the 4000 (likely) there's no reason to put out yet another version of the PSP.

The question is, how will Sony manage to screw up this one?

Second analogue nub -- in the middle of the screen?

Giant wooden handles, bizarrely fixed so that you must hold the unit between your legs and bend over to play?

Features neither UMD drive nor digital download?

"Battery life:  1 minute"?

My personal guess will be that it will be an exact copy of the PSP Go, just with a UMD drive this time.  So yeah, on top of being smaller, it'll actually have a worse battery life than the 3000 series (the Go supposedly has an identical battery life to its predecessors, because the reduced electric drain from losing the UMD drive was compensated by a smaller battery).  I'll still only have one analog nub as well.

But ok, you want wacky guesses.  Alright, how about taking a page from what EA is doing with Command & Conquer 4 and requiring your PSP 4000 to be connected to the internet at all times for security authorization on your games, or else the unit shuts down and is useless?  You'll also be able to use any previous PSP models as controllers for the PSP 4000 via a special proprietary (USB) cable (firmware update, baby!).

[Chozo Ghost]

Maybe this revision will add touch screen capability.

[Deguello]

Yeah I was wondering when Sony would catch up to the rest of the industry instead of selfishly holding out with gimmicky distribution systems nobody cares about.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Sounds kinda familiar, sorta like a certain other company that just refuses to conform to the standards that have already been set.

Sony's taking notes, they are just aren't learning the lessons.

[Deguello]

Yeah I think you got what I meant. ;)

I think one thing Sony might want to look into is not taking franchises from the PS3 downward.  For one you can't graphick your way out of a shallow game experience on the handheld.  Nobody is a handheld graphics enthusiast.  And for two it may hurt the brand of whatever you are taking downward, if it is true that people only bought the PS3 version for graphics.

Take LittleBigPlanet for instance, a muted success on the PS3 turned bonafide bomb on the PSP.  Or Resistance: Liberation.  (Or was that Killzone: Liberation?)

Another thing, and this is critical for any future handhelds (and maybe their only next system).  Do not emphasize non-gaming features.  If your next handheld uses another Trojan Horse media format and you demonstrate it with "Pocket-sized High Definition Movies"  and another slate of titles that are just PS2/PS3 downports, you are going to fail harder than this time.

And don't even think of doing Digital Distribution agai-  On second thought, go ahead.  Do it again.  Please.

[vudu]

Doesn't the 3000 model have a janky screen?  Maybe it's just a fix for that.

If it's really just going to be the 4000 model it's not going to be something completely new.  It's likely just a minor hardware revision.  90% of the population probably doesn't know if they have a PSP-1000, PSP-2000 or PSP-3000.  They just know they have a PSP.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The PSP has more revisions than the Health Care bill.

But vudu is right, most people don't know the difference between them.
Another new revision is probably just to try and help curb piracy again.
The 3000 has been successfully hacked and they probably want to apply some stuff they learned from the PSPgo.

[nickmitch]

They'll probably forget the on switch this time.

[D_Average]

But are revisions really a bad thing?  I don't mind at all what Sony and Ninty are doing with the handhelds.  It makes it interesting.  I've got an iphone and I don't mind the new model each year, so long as the others do not become close to obsolete.  It the end, it just gives us more options.

Now if only Apple would release an iphone with a d pad.  Oh the rejoicing on that day.  It'll never happen though.  The games sales are already through the roof.  Probably wouldn't' change them much.

[broodwars]

But are revisions really a bad thing?  I don't mind at all what Sony and Ninty are doing with the handhelds.  It makes it interesting.  I've got an iphone and I don't mind the new model each year, so long as the others do not become close to obsolete.  It the end, it just gives us more options.

Well, it bothers me.  Let's say I wanted to pick up a PSP (after all, with games like Persona and Valkyria Chronicles 2 on the thing, I'd certainly find games I'd want).  This habit of Sony's of putting a new PSP model out each year just makes me take pause and ask "why should I buy a PSP now when they'll just put a better version of the thing out next year?"  This becomes a perpetual question over time, and in the end I just don't buy the thing.

[nickmitch]

But if you buy it now, you won't have to buy another one next year. You'll just have the last year's model.

As for options, I don't the iPhone or PSP really give "options" like the DS.  With the PSP, more games are supposed to be for download, so you basically wouldn't need the UMD drive at all in theory.  The iPhone does away with older models (for the most part).  The DSi is at least giving you one that's regular sized, and one that well, "XL."  That's more of a real option.

[broodwars]

But if you buy it now, you won't have to buy another one next year. You'll just have the last year's model.

As for options, I don't the iPhone or PSP really give "options" like the DS.

It's these "options" that would give me reason to wait for the next model, because Sony actually adds more capabilities to each iteration of the PSP (even the Go, despite losing UMD functionality).  When there really aren't enough games to get me to buy it immediately, why not just wait for whatever ends up being the "best" version of the handheld?

[D_Average]

But if you buy it now, you won't have to buy another one next year. You'll just have the last year's model.

As for options, I don't the iPhone or PSP really give "options" like the DS.

It's these "options" that would give me reason to wait for the next model, because Sony actually adds more capabilities to each iteration of the PSP (even the Go, despite losing UMD functionality).  When there really aren't enough games to get me to buy it immediately, why not just wait for whatever ends up being the "best" version of the handheld?

Because you could end up waiting years.  And once a model comes out you really want, you can always sell yours.  I have the 3000 and I love it.  No desire for the Go.  Aside from the lack of UMD, the thing is just too small for my hands (though the recessed nub is a nice touch).

[oohhboy]

I wouldn't buy an iPhone for gaming. Besides the fact it isn't a gaming machine, Apple releases too many revisions that are partially incompatible with the last. When I buy a Nintendo handheld, I know it will be good for the next 5 years and there will be backwards compatibility with the previous iteration at least for the first revision.

[NWR_insanolord]

The iPhone isn't a game machine in the same sense that a PC isn't a game machine; it wasn't built specifically for gaming. Like on the PC, though, that hasn't stopped it from amassing a library of great games. It does get a revision every year, but nearly all of the 100,000+ apps on the App Store are still compatible with the original model. The 3GS is a significant hardware update from the previous models, but requiring it is like making a game DSi-exclusive; it doesn't make financial sense to shut out the millions who own the older hardware. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the iPhone/iTouch is a better choice for handheld gaming than the PSP

[BlackNMild2k1]

and the iPhone/Touch has a larger movie selection too.

[oohhboy]

In this situation, if given the choice between getting an Iphone or a PSP as a gaming machine, I would walk away. If I was given one for free, I would choose the Iphone, but not to game on.

Always remember you can always say no.

[NWR_insanolord]

I compared the iPhone to the PSP because it's not better than the DS, but if you remove Nintendo's titles from the DS's library it's not that far off. There is a tremendous amount of quality software on the iPhone and it's a platform that anyone who calls themselves a gamer should own, or at least want to own.