PSP Launch May Be Hurt By Lack Of Games?

Thanks to Bloomberg for its article discussing a seeming lack of development kits for Sony's forthcoming PSP handheld, and the logical possibility the system "may be hampered by a lack of new games" when the handheld "goes on sale in Japan before yearend." According to the news article: "Sony has yet to send the final development kits for PlayStation Portable to any of its outside game publishers, said Yoshiko Furusawa, a spokeswoman with Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo. Sony had already sent the final kits to publishers for its best-selling PlayStation 2 home video-game console at a similar stage before its debut in March 2000, Furusawa said." Hirofumi Otsuki of Sega added: "We don't know if we'll meet Sony's schedule... PlayStation Portable details still seem to be in development."

Comments

Same as it ever was...

[schild]

Every single new system that is to be released has at least one article accompanying it that says 'may be hurt by lack of games at launch.' Even if 2 of 5 games are killer apps. When Gamecube was launched we saw the articles that said, "BUT NINTENDO HAS NO THIRD PARTY DEVELOPERS. OH NOES!" When Playstation was released we saw the articles that said, "Will the playstation be able to hold it's own against Nintendo and Sega? Will the lackluster release be enough?" When Dreamcast was launched...bad example. When XBox was launched we saw this same article (albeit for different reasons). But then Halo was released, all was forgiven. Seriously, this isn't news. This is just typical speculation of the cutthroat industry that is gaming.

Ironically enough, I don't remember seeing these articles for the Virtual Boy.

--
schild
editor, f13.net

Re:Same as it ever was...

[cgenman]

Ironically enough, I don't remember seeing these articles for the Virtual Boy.

I don't think there was any controversy about the likelyhood for success of the Virtual Boy.

You're right, in a way, most systems do ship with too few killer games. The N64 was an oddity in this regard: it shipped with Mario 64, Waverace, and Pilot Wings, three truly killer games. Sadly, that's all it had for a very long time, leading to 2nd tier status. But the Playstation, Saturn, XBox, 'Cube, PS2, 3DO, Jaguar, Sega CD, TG16, Genesis... all shipped with weak lineups, especially in Japan.

However, the difference between those systems and the PSP's situation, is that the PSP looks to ship before ANY 3rd party developers get development hardware. At least Halo was in production... That really great must-have PSP game that is going to come out someday hasn't even been started yet. In two years when it is ready to ship, will the PSP even still be there? That the system is shipping before the great games are ready is no surprise. That the system is shipping before the great games have been started is a first for the industry, and doesn't look good for Sony. They're going to need all the help they can get in unseating the Game Boy, and going in without even giving your posse a map to the fight seems a little rash.

Re:Same as it ever was...

[Anonymous Coward]

...going in without even giving your posse a map to the fight seems a little rash.

Dude, that is an awesome way to put it. Why is it that I can't find a single worthwhile comment when I have mod points, and then I stumble across this right after they expire?

Re:Same as it ever was...

[StocDred]

finally a game machine that I don't mind being seen playing in public!

Please. Spare us the lines cut directly from Nokia's marketing copy. You're playing a goddamn virtual car racing video game in public where everyone else is driving real cars. You will not be respected to any greater degree than the 14 year old playing Advance Wars on his SP.

Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember how dismally the PS2 performed, after it was launched with a mediocre set of release titles? Remember how it never got any good games, the public turned away from it in droves and Sony ended up selling three units, one of which turned out to be a catalogue error whether the buyer had really ordered a dishwasher? Remember how the PS2 ended up getting completely buried by the mighty Gamecube?

Yeah, right...

The importance of having big launch titles is over-stated. They only matter to very early adopters, while most shrewd consumers will wait for the prices to drop from their early silly-point to something more reasonable. Putting out a console, be it traditional or handheld, isn't just a short-term effort. You could have amazing release titles, but unless these are followed up consistently throughout your product's life-span, you aren't going to succeed. The PS2's sales have only really started diminishing in the last few months. If Sony can bring the range of quality 3rd party titles to the PSP as they have to the PS2, they'll succeed.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[Scott Robinson]

Funny, I remember the PS2 being backwards compatible with PS1 and capable of playing DVDs.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[BigDork1001]

The PS2 had plenty of jump on the competition, that's why they weren't buried by the other consoles. By the time that the GameCube and X-box came out PS2 had already been out for a while and was able to recover from their... pathetic start. Also the backward compatability helped them out a lot. Something that the PSP will not have and that the DS will have.

Compairing the launch of the PS2 to the launch of the PSP is, as the cliche goes, like compairing apples to oranges.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[bugbread]

Funny, I remember the PS2 costing less than a plain ole DVD player in Japan when it came out.