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Famitsu Weighs In On Battle Between DS And PSP
Thanks to IGN Pocket for its discussion of a recent Famitsu-sourced Japanese magazine article quizzing readers and game creators about their impressions of the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP handheld consoles. In a reader survey, it's revealed that "14.8% checked that they'd like to purchase a PSP, compared to 11.8% who checked that they'd like to purchase DS... 7.1% stated that they think the PSP's design is cool while just 2.3% stated the same for the DS." It also polled developers and industry figures on questions such as "Which design do you like better?" ("PSP = 251, DS = 42"), and "Which do you want to be left standing in the end?" ("PSP = 84, DS = 156".) Which handheld do you want to be left standing?
I'd like them both left standing. Competition usually brings out the best in all competitors.
But I don't think the PSP will fare well because it seems like Sony is hoping people will buy movies for their PSP, so they can only play them on their PSP, or whatever home entertainment device Sony pimps to them. I don't think people will dig that. And I think that will be a very bad thing for Sony.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
I wasn't excited about either system until Nintendo said two important things:
1.) 802.11 connectivity.
2.) Use the sylus + on-screen keyboard to chat.
Then it occured to me. I can play against peeps on the net from my couch. VERY cool. Sadly, I don't see the PSP being as exciting in the multi-player area.
The DS's interface leaves a lot of room for interesting stuff. PSP is more 'Been there, done that'. I can see the PSP being successful, but I think I'll have a lot more fun with the DS.
"Derp de derp."
I really could care less which one is left standing, it just doesn't matter. I'm buying a DS no matter what and I'm not buying a PSP. There are two reasons.
1) I remember back in the game gear / gameboy days. Gamegear was the system with clearly superior technology and hardware, you could turn the thing into a TV even! But who won? Nintendo with their low res spinach screen gameboy. It was just superior enough to a tiger lcd game and you could switch cartridges out of it instead of buying games seperately. DS and PSP is history repeating itself.
2) Completely ignoring what I just said, lets say the DS fails miserably. Let's say that the DS turns out to be the worst thing ever. Great! I'll be the guy who's got one. I'll be just as cool as that kid down the road who still has a working Virtual Boy. Worth every penny. Not only that, but its guaranteed to have at least a couple good games for it. From the previews we have been given at E3 as we as its gameboy backwards compatibility and wirelessness, owning a Nintendo DS is guaranteed to entertain me for at least X hours. As far as the PSP goes there is no guarantee of that I have seen. So even if the DS bombs, it is a great investment on which I am guaranteed to make a return. Worst case scenario I end up buying ever game that comes out for it because they get marked down to a buck each. Best case, it wins. Can't lose.
Note that I'm not saying the PSP is a POS. I'm just saying that with the knowledge currently available to me the DS is showing every sign of being worth the price while the PSP is not. If its announced tommorow that the PSP is actually as good as a Treo 600 a gameboy and a light saber combined, or even close to that, I'll change my mind.
Or buy both...
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While I would prefer they both remain standing I think Nintendo will win this round of Mortal Kombat for the following reasons:
1. Nintendo already has a large portfolio of portable games. Sony will have to play catch-up much like Microsoft has been doing with its X-Box in the console space.
2. Nintendo has an installed base of customers. Kids want to buy whatever their friends already have so they can exchange games.
3. This means a lot more to Nintendo. Sony's focus is on the console market. That's where they'll put their best engineers and managers. Nintendo has to fight to survive. They are hungrier.
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Your Boss Might Be A Muppet
Which PC games do you envision yourself having more fun playing with a stylus or chintzy control pad?
The DS stylus and touch screen doesn't excite me in ANY way. I didn't need a Palm Pilot or any kind of handheld computing device, and I never bought one.
In fact, most of the games I saw for the DS at E3 made very minimal use of the 2nd screen. Oh look, I have a menu permanently open.
What's going to make or break this handheld battle...is battery life, though. Sony made the Betamax...tapes weren't long enough to record baseball games on TV, though.
So they lost to the VHS standard made by an upstart company. (This by way of the informative airline video I had on my last trip to Japan.)
Early rumors had the PSP's battery life at a paltry 2 hours. Then Sony said, "Oh, when you play games, the battery life specs are different, it's more like 10 hours. We just meant 2 hours if you're watching a movie." To me, this sounds like Sony got caught with their pants down again, and are hastily trying to increase battery life before it ships.
Honestly, I could care less right about now. When some GAMES come out, and the whole handheld debate isn't essentially pointless, I'll start deciding which line I'm going to get into.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
It was of both gamers and developers, as was this one. Check Magic Box, June 7.
Gamers voted that DS would trounce PSP in every category, and were more excited about it. A majority of developers were more excited about PSP.
My take? Many developers see the innovative features of the DS and scratch their heads, wondering why they should go through all the work of coming up with new ideas to take advantage of them, when old ideas still sell. Gamers, being the ultimate reason for the technology in the first place, see the potential of the Nintendo DS hardware and drool. The disconnect between the two opinions here should be surprising, but somehow it isn't, considering the game sales slump that Japan's been going through recently. Seems like a solvable problem, however....
"Which PC games do you envision yourself having more fun playing with a stylus or chintzy control pad?"
Seeing as how this is about a portable system, the real question is: Would you rather have that interface, or just plain not have it like the case with the PSP? The stylus is about as close as you're going to get to a mouse on a handheld system.
"What's going to make or break this handheld battle...is battery life"
I'm not so sure about that. If the battery life on either is more or less acceptable, then it'll come down to price and games. Nintendo picked a good strategy here by adding an additional interface capability to the system that has strong potential. Simply put: You will have games on the DS that could never be ported to the PSP.
"In fact, most of the games I saw for the DS at E3 made very minimal use of the 2nd screen. Oh look, I have a menu permanently open."
You have a menu and/or map that the stylus can be used to interface with. You didn't think that was cool? I did. They could actually port Starcraft to that machine and it'd be halfway decent. You can play wirelessly (maybe even on the net?), too. Slick.
While everyone looks at the dimension, number of games, size, screen resolution.... the only number that really matters is PRICE.
Will Sony screw themselves with a whooping $300+ handheld. If DC is $150 then PSP will technically have to be twice as good to win.
It seems pretty clear that the DS will have the right combination of price, battery and decent games to be successful. Nintendo has that down cold. And the form factor is a good one. (Though, does it have a headphone jack?)
Those variables are still up in the air for the PSP, though. If it's more than $300, less than 10 hours, or has nothing to offer but more of the same from the PS1 and PS2, it will be dead on arrival. Also, the PSP is kind of a brick: it's nearly an inch thick. And the design doesn't protect the screen.
As for playing back movies and MP3s, without recordable PSP disks, that dog won't hunt.
Honestly, I think Sony took one look at the DS at E3 and said "It's good. We're so screwed." That's why they're cutting costs elsewhere like in the handhelds division.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
I'm not terrribly fond of either, really. The PSP seems like it's doing too much to do one thing well. Speaking specifically of the DS though, graphic and processing power aside (which don't match the PSP), we're looking at three additions to the DS from the GB.
The stylus looks interesting, in that you can write messsages. And play variants of Wario-Ware. But beyond that, I'm having a hard time seeing any third party developer making a game that uses it. And I don't really see much beyond novelty - ala E-reader or power glove - for the stylus.
The best Nintendo had to demonstrate the Dual Screen functionality with were maps. I don't see how that fundamentally changes the gaming experience, or adds anything to the gaming experience the PSP can't do with a start button. Moreover, looking at the map means taking your eyes away from the main action of what's happening on screen 1. I can't see third parties supporting this beyond maps. Why? Because with two portable platforms they won't want to code platform specific games. They'll go with the lowest common denominator, which means the single screened PSP. And if the stylus works for gaming, why haven't PC stylus games taken off - at all?
The wireless multiplayer is pretty great, and perhaps is the DS's redeeming feature. Knowing Nintendo's track record with internet multiplayer (which is to say not having one), I wouldn't expect much more beyond being in the same room. You can do that now, even if it is wired. And if the PSP doesn't support it, why code it into the game enough that it dramatically improves/affects gameplay?
I think the DS will face the same problem that Nintendo has always faced. Nintendo comes up with these hardware ideas based on internal games, and then expects the third parties to follow along. The DS is closer to the e-reader, or the power glove, or the Gamecube - Gameboy interoperability. Novel, integrated with a few first party titles, but little more than that. Nintendo currently dominates the portable market, yet the e-reader and the GC-GBA connection are barely used among third party devs. It can only be harder when you have a team developing the same game for both the PSP and the DS.
I'm not saying the DS absolutely can't work, or that the PSP will bury it into the ground. I'm merely surprised at how overwhelmingly positive the response has been to something that hasn't really shown that it can do anything. Predicting the inevitable Nintendo fans who will retort simply with some accusation of trolling, I'm not an Xbox or PS2 fanboy. I love my Gamecube. I'm merely wondering why the DS is so great (or the PSP), and where the revolution in gaming is that Nintendo keeps promising everyone. I'm perfectly willing to change my viewpoint when someone tells me why the DS will be so great.