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Nintendo, Sony Start Handheld Gaming Battle At E3
An anonymous reader writes "There's a Wired News article up discussing the fight for handheld game console supremacy starting at next week's E3 Expo. According to Wired News, 'Nintendo, the biggest seller of video-game consoles 15 years ago, once again faces a tough street fight against Sony, the upstart that stole much of the video-game business with its PlayStation. This time, the fight is over handheld video-game machines, and if Nintendo loses, it could be in serious trouble.' It explains: 'Nintendo is expected to give peeks at its next-generation handheld system -- code-named the DS -- while Sony will release more information about its PSP. Both companies will be vying for the hearts and minds of gamers and -- more importantly -- software developers.' Who's gonna win?" Slashdot Games recently ran a related story that has developers and journalists analyzing the showdown to come.
The system with the best games will win.
Although I don't see either of these devices going the way of the Game Gear, They have to have simple, fun games or they will die. Its flat and simple. Most people only play hand held games for short bursts, and they play console games for hours on end (Final Fantasy). The puzzle games of old (tetris) had it right. Simple, Fun, Short.
Sorry to state the obvious, but the winner will be us as consumers. For once we'll have two powerful companies fighting for our money with products that kick butt.
There are enough people out there who will buy both to keep both companies happy.
Also, in a way, they go after two different markets. The Gameboy is poised for the younger crowd, with their Pokemon and such. This isn't to say there are no good games for adults, Advance War I & II come to mind, just that I see more GB, GBC, and GBA in the hands of little kids then I do adults. The PS2 will almost certainly go after the older teen market and adults.
And ask yourself how many of you own more then one gaming console. I used to own a Gamecube, XBox, PS2, and Dreamcast. I know of plenty of other people who own at least two. So I don't believe Nintendo is in that big of a trouble, if they can keep their niche alive and prevent the PSP from encroaching they should be fine.
Sir, there is a dragon outside with an armful of armor. He's inquiring if we offer free refills.
Nintendo has a stranglehold on handhelds, it will be tough for sony to break in, especially if their handheld is expensive.
Systems with better games get purchased. This is true. But this is not causation.
The root is that good games are developed for good hardware that's released at the right time with the right marketing effort. Developers create launch titles for systems that they think will do well (or that pay them). At launch, consumers buy systems that have good hardware.
The NGage wasn't dead because it didn't have game support - it didn't have game support because it was a horrible platform.
Conversely, you can't tell me that the PS2 had good games at launch - and yet it sold like hot cakes. Why? Because it was the right hardware at the right time - with the right marketing accompanying that hardware.
As a console matures, the two re-inforce each other. Good games get made for successful hardware, and those quality games in turn make that hardware more successful. There are anomalies here - like Nintendo's guaranteed quality first-party titles or Street Fighter II selling SNES's - but in general they hide the real truth.
The PSP/DS fight will be fought mostly on hardware. The DS should have a guaranteed lead going in in terms of software support (Metroid, Zelda, Mario...) - but I think it'll squander that marginal advantage by being silly hardware.
The much more conventional PSP will end up being the system that's more successful and has better games - but the latter doesn't cause the former. Both will be caused by it being a better platform.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
Looking at the descriptions, I have a bad feeling about the DS. I know I'm not the first one to say it, but it reeks of another nice system, much like the black-and-red '3d' system that flopped years ago.
So we have a nice two screen system by nintendo, vs a simple (and elegant, if anything like the VIAO systems) PS2 portable. The sony system will win hands down.
Chalk full of Palm OS emulators of old game consoles ;)
fooz
What is with this phrase "hearts and minds"? It's everywhere now, as if we're no longer allowed to say things like:
"vying for the loyalty of consumer group x"
"convince the Iraqi people we're not evil"
but now must say "win the hearts and minds of x". And while I'm being modded down, I might as well complain about "sea change", which I swear I never heard in the first 29 years of my life, but which now appears to have entirely replaced "watershed event", "paradigm shift", and "big deal".
Sony uses "Wand of Square-Enix!"
Final Fantasy series ports have been summoned!
Dragon Warrior series ports have been summoned!
Nintendo is paralyzed with fear, and cannot move!
"PS2 Ships. Aside from SSX, launch games are a crushing disappointment, as not one of them beyond this title demonstrates clear technical superiority to the aging Dreamcast, despite the huge gap in their release dates." Gran Turismo 3 A-spec.... This title by it's self was a HUGE selling point for the ps2. On top of that you have the ps2 leveraging all its past ps1 titles. That is why Sony's backward compatibility is such a big deal even today. Right now the ps3 could come out with zero games designed specifically for it and you'd still have more titles you could play on it than on the X-box. The possibility of MS X-box II not offering backward compatibility with the original is a big gamble. -Cho
Regardless of wether that is the case or not, it is going to be perceived as the sequel to the GBA. It is going to have the GameBoy name, and be a new handheld from the Nintendo. People will naturally assume it is the next GB. As a comparison, look at the GBA SP and how many times you had to tell people it was EXACTLY the same inside as the GBA, just a different case w/ a backlight and built in batter.
Also, if this is NOT a 'sequel' to the GBA, then they are introducing a device that will directly compete with their other products. Wether this would be a negative factor I'm not sure. I'd be curious to see how non-SP GBAs are selling now.
Lastly, is there any info yet on the backward compatibility of the DS? I agree with the parent poster, that backwards compatibility will probably make or break the system. Remember the Virtual Boy? That wasn't a direct sequel to the GB, but an addition to the line, and it failed miserably, mostly because it was a radically different platform to develop for, and had 0 installed game base, which makes it hard to sell systems, which in turn make it hard to get developers to produce games, which in turn, etc etc...
In an already crowded video game market it is going to be rough to get a new system off the ground. If the DS is backward compatible with the GB/A, it will probably sell well, if priced right. If not, it's going to be a tough sell when there are so many other options out there.
The PSP will have success based on 1) (in the short term) Sony/PS fanboys who will buy it and all the launch games just because, and 2) (in the long run) how easy it ends up being to port PS games to it. If a developer can take a PS1 game, run it thru a magical Sony PSP compiler setup and have a nearly ready to ship PSP game, it will be an easy way to build up a library of good games fast, and put a huge dent into Nintendo's handheld market.
Or I could be full of shit, who knows.
Rob
"Both companies will be vying for the hearts and minds of gamers..."
I find it absolutely mindbendingly surreal that someone was able use his phrase in this context, apparently in earnest.
Based on recent less-than-totally-successful attempts to win the "hearts and minds" other market segments, gamers are in for a rough time
Not confused enough? http://translate.google.com/translate?u=www.slashdot.jp&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=ja&tl=en
Maybe I'm just being naive, but it makes me believe that Nintendo, as a company, just might have a better philosophy and culture in regards to gaming.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Also, Sony is gearing the PSP as a multifunctional handheld for many things other than games. Think movies, GPS, MP3 playing, PDA, etc .. They have stated that they wont be in competition with Nintendo whatsoever with the PSP. Once again, Wired is spewing misinformation. How this made a news story is beyond me simply because its entirely full of factual errors and presumptions.
Its ironic that kids (12-16) hate "kiddie" games and have tarred Nintendo with that label for a long time.
Its only funny because they're more concerned with the image of the system than the actual games. I can't stand Pokemon, but I own one, and I don't really care if a bunch of 6-9 year olds love the console because of Pokemon. But the 12-16 crowd really really hates that label.
I guess X-Box and PS2 are "grown up" or something.
Nintendo still has a library of older games a lot of us grew up on that they can rerelease. Nostalgia is propping them up and maintaining their competitiveness, which I find pretty funny. Who cares if the Sony hardware beats out the next generation Nintendo handheld? That much more advanced Sony handheld won't be able to run N64 games. :P
Our Nintendo rep claims that the next gen Gameboy will be able to run Gamecube discs, btw. I don't buy it for a second, but... yeah. It WOULD be absolutely amazing.