Topic: The Panasonic Jungle

[MaryJane]

Mp3 players 'took off' before laptops 'took off' so that's not a fair comparison. And their functionality is so radically different it further makes your point moot. Mp3 players offer tons of music in your pocket, while a laptop is much too big for a pocket and does so many other things that using it only to play music is ridiculous. Even as I say that it makes me think of pocket-sized tablets which actually would be practical for only playing music on the go. Which also makes me think that tablets might negate the need for something like the Jungle.

[Guitar Smasher]

Mp3 players 'took off' before laptops 'took off' so that's not a fair comparison. And their functionality is so radically different it further makes your point moot. Mp3 players offer tons of music in your pocket, while a laptop is much too big for a pocket and does so many other things that using it only to play music is ridiculous. Even as I say that it makes me think of pocket-sized tablets which actually would be practical for only playing music on the go. Which also makes me think that tablets might negate the need for something like the Jungle.

My point's valid - why spend $800 for a system that's much too large to be truly 'portable', that lasts no more than a few hours before the battery's dead, and that's designed for way more applications than you're actually interested in?  Laptops aren't well suited to being portable music players, and they aren't well suited to being portable game systems.

Of course tablets would be better suited to portable gaming than laptops, but their prevalence is still so small that a dedicated MMO machine could carve out its own segment if it strikes with the right software.

[ShyGuy]

[Shaymin]

It's for MMOs.  Does it have World or Warcraft?  No?  Well then it is fucked.

There's always room for new killer apps.  I think the MMO community is ready for a new game that makes WoW look old.

They're way ahead of you. It apparently drops in early December and it's called "Cataclysm"... oops.

[MaryJane]

@Guitar Smasher
I wasn't saying that a dedicated MMO machine was a bad idea, in fact I've already said, in this thread, that it's a good idea. All I was saying was that Ian had a valid point, and your argument against his argument was (and still is) moot. Laptops are viable portable gaming machines, especially with 3G for MMO's. You couldn't play a game on a laptop while walking but what's to prevent you on a car, bus, plane, or train?

[Guitar Smasher]

@Guitar Smasher
You couldn't play a game on a laptop while walking but what's to prevent you on a car, bus, plane, or train?

Consider this:
- limited battery life (many MMO quests last multiple hours)
- heating issues (can't keep a gaming laptop sitting on your lap)
- control input (not having a mouse makes navigation difficult)
- need to plan ahead (you have to commit to taking your laptop with you; with a handheld it's likely already waiting in whatever bag you've got with you)

Yes, under specific conditions a laptop can be used for gaming outside the home.  However it is far from being truly 'portable'.

They're way ahead of you. It apparently drops in early December and it's called "Cataclysm"... oops.

That's a WoW expansion, correct?  So basically, more of the same?  Eventually WoW gamers are going to get bored with the theme, and look for something fresh.

[MaryJane]

Why would my portable already be in a bag? I don't have a purse (I'm not a girl my handle means something else) and I would likely have been playing it. Unless you're on a road trip there's no portable that would allow to play a quest that lasts more than a couple hours because you simply wouldn't have the time. If you were on a road trip you would be able to plug the laptop into car charger. Also you don't need an actual cooling pad, just something to take it off of your lap without blocking the fans, like a couple of hardcover books.

All of this makes me think of another point, how important is battery life? When do really need your portable to last more than a few hours? In all the situations I can think of needing more than a few hours I also think that the opportunity is there to charge the device. I think 5 hour battery life would be the magic number, 2hour commute each way and half an hour to an hour lunch is about the max a working person would have to play, and a student who has time to play between classes also has time to charge up in the library or elsewhere. I suppose you may forget to charge it one night, but that's hardly the manufacturers fault. Most people play their portable at home anyway, and if you can get away with playing at work, you can probably get away with charging it too.

Edit: As for control input, WASD is used for movement in most PC games, and if you need a mouse ALL laptops have a trackpad, most of which you can change the sensitivity on so you not making furious swipes to move across the screen.

[Stogi]

Why would my portable already be in a bag? I don't have a purse (I'm not a girl my handle means something else) and I would likely have been playing it.

Best opening statement.

Listen, I think you guys are forgetting something. The screen, while gorgeous, is tiny. Well tiny compared to laptops and computer screens. I've never played WoW, but it seems like there's a **** ton of things on the screen at all times, some of which looks squint worthy on a nice sized LCD. Now imagine that shrunken down. That's why it won't work.

Something like Pokemon, something simple, could work though. But this is never going to work. There is a small, scratch that, extremely small niche for this product. It first cuts the gaming market by selling to MMO fans only, then to fans who would like to play an MMO while on the go. But I don't think there are many of those people. I maybe wrong, but after being forced to live with someone that lived and breathed WoW, I think he truly liked sitting his ass next to his liquid cooled computer in a secluded room. Why? Because he could be his dorky little self without being judged.

I can see this selling to a person like me for one reason though. Homebrew. Let me play hacked PSP/PS2/GC/N64....games on it and I'll buy one in a second.

[MaryJane]

I like your idea of homebrew for the Jungle, but infortunately for Panasonic they can't market it that way.

Also, there are so many people who play MMO's, especially in Japan, that if they can convince people they're getting a good experience it can sell. As for all the extra stuff on the screen, that can be mapped to the QWERTY keyboard, and only the 'action' screen is displayed on the device.

For the record, I'm not saying this is going to work, but as has been mentioned Panasonic still gets a lot of crap for the 3DO and if they wanted to redeem themselves, the MMO market is a good place to at least try, because of it's massive (yes, pun intended) established base, and because of Nintendo's dominance and Apple's headway in the 'normal' portable gaming market.

[MegaByte]

I can see this selling to a person like me for one reason though. Homebrew. Let me play hacked PSP/PS2/GC/N64....games on it and I'll buy one in a second.

If you really want that, there's already Pandora and the GP2X series of handhelds (though none are powerful enough to go beyond Dreamcast at this point).

[Ian Sane]

The reason this will fail is because it designed specifically with MMOs in mind.  The whole selling point of such a device would be that you wouldn't be tethered to your PC to keep playing your MMO.  You could also play it on the go.  I think a key part of this is that it has to be the same world, same character, same everything.  It's not like you have your Jungle exclusive MMO.  No, you want to play your regular MMO at home and then be able to connect to it on the go using this.  That's why a laptop is an ideal solution because you CAN do that.

Without that feature this is just like the DS or PSP except you're very specifically trying to cater to one specific genre.  I don't see the market for that.

The remote connection point to your MMO is the good idea hidden in this but this doesn't seem to be truly capable of doing that.  So unless Panasonic can create their own MMO killer apps I don't see this going anywhere.  I think what's important is that you take the MMO nut who already has found the game they're addicted to and let them play THAT game on the go.  Not sell them a new game but let them play THAT game.  That's why I think having World of Warcraft is essential and not like a port, it has to run the existing game.  This can't do it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I haven't been able to stop hearing the title to this thread sung as part of that song ever since you posted that.... [smite]

[Chozo Ghost]

"Welcome to the Jungle" would be an excellent choice to use as the official theme song to the Panasonic Jungle... at least up until it becomes an obvious commercial failure and has to have its MSRP slashed, at which point "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" would suit it better.

[ThePerm]

this is sad, i've made better joke mockups then this product.

[Chozo Ghost]

"Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees"

[vudu]

this is sad, i've made better joke mockups then this product.

No you haven't.

[BlackNMild2k1]

this is sad, i've made better joke mockups then this product.

No you haven't.

oh snap!

he just called you out... your move.

[ThePerm]

expect some sort of incredible commercial later on in the week

http://www.tetrametrics.com/theperm/rev3.avi

until then watch this ancient terrible mockup

[ThePerm]

edit: nevermind im just going to put this in the art thread

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=26270.msg641853#msg641853

[TJ Spyke]

During the Game Developers Conference, Panasonic announced that they have ceased production of the Jungle: http://www.industrygamers.com/news/panasonic-cuts-down-the-jungle/

[BlackNMild2k1]

Can't say that I'm surprised.

Panasonic has wanted in on the gaming industry for a while, but they just never seem to know what to do to get in.

[Stogi]

Probably a smart move, but still a shame. I'm all for competition.

What would I have made if I were Panasonic? A little slate like device that is a little smaller than a shirt pocket, that has a touchscreen and a back touch pad and is extremely thin. The processor and gpu would be inferior. Only good enough to top average cellphone games like Angry Birds. Have WiFi and 3G built-in with the same kind of plan Kindle has (only for downloading). Make the screen resolution decent and have the battery life top 15 hours. Sell it for 79.99 with a brain age type game built-in and market it towards older people who like to play soduko or chess when they are bored.

[Chozo Ghost]

While I'm sure it would have been a complete and utter failure, I'm still disappointed it wasn't released. Its nice to have more players in the market. Long gone are the days back in the 5th generation when there was the Saturn, Playstation, N64, Jaguar, 3DO, Neo Geo, and also the SNES and Genesis still clinging to life. That was a golden age because there was so much going on. Of course, over half those systems were dead in the water and did poorly but it was just nice knowing they were there and it was something that could be discussed.

[BranDonk Kong]

Get a Pandora.

[MaryJane]

With Nintendo offering glasses-free 3D and Sony offering a level of power never before seen on a mobile, that doesn't leave much room for Panasonic, or anyone else for that matter.