Topic: PSP Slim

[Chozo Ghost]

Nintendo probably has their next DS revision well under way to counter this.

[Ghisy]

Meh. Releasing a "better" model of the PSP won't solve the lack of games.

[Ceric]

It could.  Handheld games, even the PSP, turn-around time from concept to release is relatively short.  Though I do hope this sparks a new DS revision as well.  Better speakers, better ergonomics, maybe even a bigger improved screen.  Also, a pipe dream none the less, it could have a d-pad like the Max controllers did.  I actually hope they use that design if Nintendo ever puts analog on there handhelds.  I'm fairly sure it could be adapted.  Also build in the rumble pak.

[Spak-Spang]

I don't think the answer for Nintendo is another DS revision.  I think the answer is simply great DS games and a price drop in the DS.  

The DS is pretty long in its lifespan.  As long as it does not have a drastic drop in sales it will be fine.

What Nintendo needs to be doing is preping the next DS or next gameboy unit to be released in a year or two.  2008 or 2009 would be a great release for a new handheld for Nintendo.  Wii will be in full stride, and the next handheld could be compatiable with the current DS, and offer something to kick the butt of any PSP revision.

[that Baby guy]

Nintendo should probably hold off until at least 2009 for a next handheld.  They have to be careful, though, as they don't want the next handheld to eclipse the Wii's graphical capabilities, which is something that might be possible by then, it's hard to say.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: Adrock
I hadn't heard of that. Could you perhaps provide a link? I've only read about revisions reducing manufacturing costs or using smaller or higher quality parts (like a CD drive) which is no different than any other hardware manufacturer.

I'd have to look for one, but the reason why I know that is because a friend actually demonstrated this for me.

He showed me an older PS1 running Gran Turismo and it was choppy and terrible. Then he took a newer PS1 and GT ran smooth as silk on it.

[WuTangTurtle]

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Originally posted by: Ghisy
Meh. Releasing a "better" model of the PSP won't solve the lack of games.

It took how many posts before someone posted up the only thing relevant?

I'm sorry, Sony could redesign the PSP to give my hands orgasms but I still wouldn't buy one.  The only decent game I've played on it is Lumines, and i still prefer Meteos and Tetris over it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

EDIT: WRONG BLOODY THREAD

[stevey]

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Which is exactly why Nintendo needs to take this very seriously. I just hope they know that.

Nintendo souldn't worry about a psps, a psp2 that rip of the ds/wii maybe but not a psps. A new version wont help the psp at all since making it slim wont fix the fact that...

UMD movies are dead.
There are a total of 3 good games for the psp.
There aren't any new good games on the way.
psp has worst hype than the dreamcast had.
Even the more stubborn gaphic whores know the psp is a failure and own DS.
DS own japan, US, and world in sells and market shares.
3rd partys know that has and are making more/only games for the DS.
Stores already cant get ridd of their psp stock and wont be so anxious to stock more Phailure System after almost drop the last one off selves.
Only people currently buying psp are modder who dont care what it used to look like or how fast the UMD drive is.
ect...

Also a biult in 8 gig of flash is fake, sony makes up all if its loses on hardware is with overprice flash cards.  

[that Baby guy]

Yeah, you're completely right, there aren't any good games on the PSP.  There isn't Monster Hunter Freedom, Lumines, The Godfather, LocoRoco, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, GTA Liberty City Stories, GTA Vice City Stories, Tekken: Resurrection, or Maverick Hunter X.

And there isn't anything good coming out for the PSP either.  It's not like there's a Final Fantasy Tactics remake on the way, nor a Final Fantasy 7 prequel.  A remake of a rare CastleVania game won't be released for it either.  R-Type Tactics is obviously going to be a no-name flop.

It obviously does not have online play, and the price cut certainly did not help boost sales numbers.  It isn't currently the best selling platform under Nintendo at the current time, and the PSP definitely hasn't sold as well as the Gamecube did last generation in much less time.  The firmware certainly can not be the most flexible firmware ever to widely be accepted in platforms, and it doesn't matter anyways, because the PSP obviously has sold less units than the Dreamcast did.

Of course, this is just me thinking off the top of my head about all the things the PSP should have that would make it a valid contender to the DS.  If it actually had these things only half-way through a platform-war, you never know, it could stand a chance to become the heavier platform, but probably only with a nice, fancy looking redesign to strengthen it's public appearance, like what was part of why the DS has been successful.  Aren't we all glad the PSP doesn't have these things so we're 100% sure Nintendo will stay far on top?

[Chozo Ghost]

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Originally posted by: Spak-Spang
I don't think the answer for Nintendo is another DS revision.  I think the answer is simply great DS games and a price drop in the DS.  

The DS is pretty long in its lifespan.  As long as it does not have a drastic drop in sales it will be fine.

What Nintendo needs to be doing is preping the next DS or next gameboy unit to be released in a year or two.  2008 or 2009 would be a great release for a new handheld for Nintendo.  Wii will be in full stride, and the next handheld could be compatiable with the current DS, and offer something to kick the butt of any PSP revision.

Yes, Nintendo should be prepping their next handheld for a few years from now, and I'm sure they are, but they should also be preparing an interim DS revision to release in the meantime. The DS is selling like hotcakes, so there is no reason to release a DS2 anytime soon.

I think a 99$ DS revision that included built in MP3 and video capabilities would mop the floor with any PSP revision. There is no reason they can't release such a DS revision now, while still preparing a DS2 for the future.

[SixthAngel]

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Originally posted by: thatguy
Yeah, you're completely right, there aren't any good games on the PSP.  There isn't Monster Hunter Freedom, Lumines, The Godfather, LocoRoco, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, GTA Liberty City Stories, GTA Vice City Stories, Tekken: Resurrection, or Maverick Hunter X.

And there isn't anything good coming out for the PSP either.  It's not like there's a Final Fantasy Tactics remake on the way, nor a Final Fantasy 7 prequel.  A remake of a rare CastleVania game won't be released for it either.  R-Type Tactics is obviously going to be a no-name flop.

It obviously does not have online play, and the price cut certainly did not help boost sales numbers.  It isn't currently the best selling platform under Nintendo at the current time, and the PSP definitely hasn't sold as well as the Gamecube did last generation in much less time.  The firmware certainly can not be the most flexible firmware ever to widely be accepted in platforms, and it doesn't matter anyways, because the PSP obviously has sold less units than the Dreamcast did.

Of course, this is just me thinking off the top of my head about all the things the PSP should have that would make it a valid contender to the DS.  If it actually had these things only half-way through a platform-war, you never know, it could stand a chance to become the heavier platform, but probably only with a nice, fancy looking redesign to strengthen it's public appearance, like what was part of why the DS has been successful.  Aren't we all glad the PSP doesn't have these things so we're 100% sure Nintendo will stay far on top?

Yet the DS has continued to surpass every predecessor and has been moving on like this system doesn't exist.  A redesign is not going to regain interest in the psp for more than a week.  There should be no response to this since it will almost assuredly have no impact on the DS and doesn't really offer much the psp doesn't currently.  Lets cram more useless features into it because nobody cared about the other features we included!  If the DS changed because of this it would only give this redesign some actual attention instead of everyone passing over it.

When I first read your psp games list I thought it was a ps2 list and that makes it very poor.  

[oohhboy]

Surely this is really no more than an Elite style price hike assuming any of this is true. MS has already proven such a product doesn't work. It may make a good replacement unit if your current one has kicked the bucket, but as a completely new purchase at a higher price point trhan before?

[Chozo Ghost]

The main group of buyers of the PSP revision will likely be "homebrew" people who are sick of their current PSP's short battery life. That said, it may very well outsell the DS in the first month or two it is launched, but I don't think it will spontaneously propel PSP games into the top 10.  PSP buyers in general seem to ignore the disc format and run their stuff off the memory sticks... I can't see this revision changing that.

Maybe if Sony released writable UMD drives that allowed people to burn content onto discs from their PC, or if there were other devices which supported that format, then I think it would be more successful. For as expensive as the PS3 is, why doesn't it support UMD? For that matter, why doesn't the PSP at least have a TV-out option? All these reasons (and of course the price) are why UMD has failed.

The hardware has been selling so well only because of the writable memory sticks and the homebrew. UMD movies are a total failure, and the UMD games don't top the charts, no matter how good their few fans consider them to be.

[Chozo Ghost]

Quote
Originally posted by: thatguy
Yeah, you're completely right, there aren't any good games on the PSP.  There isn't Monster Hunter Freedom, Lumines, The Godfather, LocoRoco, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, GTA Liberty City Stories, GTA Vice City Stories, Tekken: Resurrection, or Maverick Hunter X.

Those games may be great, but do they top the sales charts? Do they offer anything that is radically different from games that have been rehashed on the PS2 and other consoles since the last generation? They have their supporters no doubt, but I don't see them elevating the PSP beyond its current "hardcore" audience.

The audience the PSP has will not expand beyond the hardcore. Why? Well, Sony could start pushing out pet simulators and brain games, but they will never be as popular on that as on the DS because of the lack of a touchscreen. The PSP is ill-suited for non-combat games, and this is the impression people have of it... people who love combat games may prefer the PSP over the DS, but they are the only group to have this preference.

No hardware revision for the PSP will ever shake this "hardcore gamers only" perception people have of it. Sony may change that perception with a PSP2 that offers a touchscreen and a strong library of non-games at launch, but I think they've lost the majority of the gaming market to Nintendo for this generation.

[KDR_11k]

The main group of buyers of the PSP revision will likely be "homebrew" people who are sick of their current PSP's short battery life.

Yeah except this new PSP will probably come with a new firmware and new anti-homebrew technology.

[Ghisy]

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Originally posted by: Chozo Ghost
That said, it may very well outsell the DS in the first month or two it is launched

Thank you for the good laugh! It was a great joke!!

[Ceric]

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Originally posted by: Chozo Ghost

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Originally posted by: Spak-Spang
I don't think the answer for Nintendo is another DS revision.  I think the answer is simply great DS games and a price drop in the DS.  

The DS is pretty long in its lifespan.  As long as it does not have a drastic drop in sales it will be fine.

What Nintendo needs to be doing is preping the next DS or next gameboy unit to be released in a year or two.  2008 or 2009 would be a great release for a new handheld for Nintendo.  Wii will be in full stride, and the next handheld could be compatiable with the current DS, and offer something to kick the butt of any PSP revision.

Yes, Nintendo should be prepping their next handheld for a few years from now, and I'm sure they are, but they should also be preparing an interim DS revision to release in the meantime. The DS is selling like hotcakes, so there is no reason to release a DS2 anytime soon.

I think a 99$ DS revision that included built in MP3 and video capabilities would mop the floor with any PSP revision. There is no reason they can't release such a DS revision now, while still preparing a DS2 for the future.

I agree that a revision needs to come but I disagree on giving it multimedia capabilities.  I'm all for Nintendo releasing a Multimedia card with memory pack.  I just don't think the DS itself should have it built in.  That is part of the reason the PSP is were its at today.

Now I will also argue that saying the PSP is selling no software is lie as well.

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Lots of Numbers and things ...
DS
...

Has already caught and surpassed the PSP by 11,933,970 units
...

 If you keep up with the Official Wii Sales Thread you may have noticed that the PSP has been consistently keeping ~4 games in the top 50.  It has even taken the #1 spot on different occasions.  Which would also mean that a larger percentage of the user base would have to buy a game for that to happen.  Some of the games even have legs, Monster Hunter <insert version here>.  Unfortunately for Sony is that it is really easy to just download games for the PSP and play them.  Which really hurts them.  In all actuallity, thinking about it, with the new revision Sony may want to consider just releasing games for a little cheaper price all digital and be done with it.  We know it can be done as proven by the hacking community.  It probably be a lucrative compromise for them.  They even sort of have a system in place to do such with the PS3 adding more "value" to the PS3.  Better load times, less power consumption, and increase card sales.  I could see that working out for Sony quiet well.

[that Baby guy]

I don't care what you think of the PSP as a gaming machine.  I don't care if you don't like the games or think they are all basically ports.  The fact is, several have sold well.  The fact is, the PSP continues to sell pretty well.  The fact is, the DS didn't vastly oversell the PSP in most markets until it received a revision.  The fact is, Sony is the strongest handheld gaming platform maker to go against Nintendo ever in this segment of the industry.  If you want to write that off like it's nothing, go ahead.  The numbers disagree, though.  They disagree completely.  They say the PSP is a viable platform, and if there's some sort of spark, it could still take off as a gaming machine.

Is there any actual reason why it wouldn't  After all, it is the next best selling platform behind Nintendo's duo at the moment, meaning that interest is still being maintained.  So if what Ceric's number showed isn't enough proof for you, what would be?

[denjet78]

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Originally posted by: thatguy
I don't care what you think of the PSP as a gaming machine.  I don't care if you don't like the games or think they are all basically ports.  The fact is, several have sold well.  The fact is, the PSP continues to sell pretty well.  The fact is, the DS didn't vastly oversell the PSP in most markets until it received a revision.  The fact is, Sony is the strongest handheld gaming platform maker to go against Nintendo ever in this segment of the industry.  If you want to write that off like it's nothing, go ahead.  The numbers disagree, though.  They disagree completely.  They say the PSP is a viable platform, and if there's some sort of spark, it could still take off as a gaming machine.

Is there any actual reason why it wouldn't  After all, it is the next best selling platform behind Nintendo's duo at the moment, meaning that interest is still being maintained.  So if what Ceric's number showed isn't enough proof for you, what would be?

Considering how badly every non Nintendo made system is doing right now saying the PSP is doing well because it's the top of the non Nintendo market doesn't really mean that much. If the DS sells 150,000 units a week while the PSP sells 30,000 units a week but it's still the highest selling non Nintendo system, I don't think you can really consider that a success by any stretch of the imagination.

As for Sony being the only major competitor to be able to actually carve some of the handheld market away from Nintendo? Well, that is true. However, I wouldn't doubt that the only reason the PSP even has the market share that it does is because everyone assumed that from day one Sony was going to completely clobber Nintendo. There wasn't even a hint of doubt that the PSP wasn't going to be the next Gameboy.

Of course it's taken a while for people to realize that the PSP is just more techno-crap but as can be seen from weekly sales, the system is dying. DS is outselling it by INCREDIBLE numbers. What's more, after Sony's failure with the PSP it's going to take a lot more to sell people on the PSP2. Before all they needed was the Sony name and the promise of great graphics. Well, that all tanked. With the PSP2 most likely they'll come up with a touch screen or a built in camera or both even. On the other hand though, Nintendo will probably come up with some new innovation that will make the PSP2 look just a antiquated as the PSP.

All of Sony's strengths that carried the PSP to huge sales numbers when it first came out have evaporated. GTA couldn't even save it and that was the franchise that ensured that no one was going to be able to catch up to the PS2. Something "could" happen sure, but if you ask me the big breakout hit of this generation has already been released: Wii Sports. I just don't see anything coming down the pipe that could have anything on the same level of impact for any other system. And without a massive impact title like that, the PSP isn't going anywhere.

[BlackNMild2k1]

You guys are all spoiled by DS sales. From what I've seen on past sales, DS sales average waaaaaay higher than anything before it, so to say that "the PSP only doing 30k a week sucks" is laughable. 30k a week is actually not that bad if you take the phenomenal DS sales out of the picture and just compare it to all the other past system sales. Where PSP fails is in software sales (games and movies), that cannot be argued.  

[that Baby guy]

Exactly!  And when you add in the fact that it's making these sales while in direct competition, you really see that it's doing amazing, especially as far as non-Nintendo handhelds go.  With a redesign and an FF7 prequel on the way, that's quite a big break too, that could really amount to large sales numbers.  My gripe with the PSP has never been about the games.  I've always thought the system has a decent line-up.  However, marketing has been so poor for the system, it can't overcome this.  If there are advertisements for both the new PSP and for FF7 on the air around the same time, and the ads don't suck, the public might receive the setup much better than most of you are suggesting.

[Adrock]

I think PSP's lineup is pretty decent too. My problem has always been that they're basically portable PS2 games. I know that's the point, but I have a PS2. It's so pricey for what I can essentially experience on something I already own. They have some good games, but few killer games to justify a purchase at this time. Those killer games are coming and with a price drop, I'll pay, just not yet.

When GBA hit, there weren't many old school 2D games on consoles. It was still a different experience than what I had on home consoles. DS came at just the right time so while the technology was catching up, Nintendo introduced some much needed innovation to portable gaming to differentiate itself from consoles.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1
You guys are all spoiled by DS sales. From what I've seen on past sales, DS sales average waaaaaay higher than anything before it, so to say that "the PSP only doing 30k a week sucks" is laughable. 30k a week is actually not that bad if you take the phenomenal DS sales out of the picture and just compare it to all the other past system sales. Where PSP fails is in software sales (games and movies), that cannot be argued.

I personally suspect Sony of fudging the numbers somehow. I know how hard that may be, but I still suspect it.

There just aren't enough games/movies/emulators to justify the sales of the PSP.

WHAT are people supposedly buying it for?

[BlackNMild2k1]

People are buying them to watch movies, play music and games. Why else do you think people buy these things?
The major problem is that most everyone I know that has one, doesn't actually pay for any of those things. And they are not tech savvy people that hack systems or anything like that. They download/rip music from each other or the internets, rip their own movies to a HDD and then convert them to play on PSP using a memstick and probably download games from the internet(emulators), ocassionally buying a game* if they can't find it elsewhere.

*I've only seen two people that own a PSP actually playing a PSP game on it, and only one of them paid for the game and owned it on a UMD. He was also the only person I knew that was feverishly going out and buying UMD movies to watch "cause the quality was great" or some such nonsense like that.