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PSP Delayed Into 2005?
Thanks to the numerous readers who alerted us to the Gamespot article mentioning that the PSP may be delayed until next year. This analysis comes from games industry analysts and is the result of Sony's game title weakness and battery issues. David Jenkins at Gamasutra has additional analysis as well.
Not supprising at all that it was delayed. Companies set really early release dates to stir up hype, then push them back a little, because they arn't done; People don't mind either because they are used to delays.
I think the reason the Gamboy over took Sega as far as the handheld gaming market went was because it came bundled with Tetris. When was the last time you saw a game so accepted by such a wide range of people? Sonic while fun and exicitng, only appealed to a fraction of the age group that Tetris did. I remember being in Elementary school and having to ask for my Gameboy back from my mom (who incidentally liked the "puzzle game" on it).
I've always held that the key to any game system is the games that run on it; simple, fun, and open ended games. I think Tetris is a really good example of a hit title booming a certain market.
The gameboy hasn't gone up against a better all around handheld. Each of it's competitors failed in an area it had covered.
Sega Gamegear: Battery life you could measure in minutes. Couldn't even get me through a lunchhour when I was in high school.
Turbo Xpress: Battery life, and cost. The thing was damn expensive. By the time it came out, TurboGrafx was dead/dying which limited its future.
Sega Nomad: Batteries, and size. Ever held one? That sucker is huge. It's worth it to a hardcore genesis fan, of course.
Atari Lynx: Poor game selection, battery life.
NeoGeo Pocket: Poor game selection, released by a dying company. Never really had a chance with GBA announced.
Wonderswan/GP32/game.com/etc: Too obscure to really mention (in north american markets, at least).
My predictions for PSP?: Battery life, load times, and fragility of the game discs will kill it. GBA carts can take a pretty good beating, and don't mind being stuffed in your back pocket all day. For that matter, neither does the SP.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
FUD about battery life "problems". Sony has said from day 1 that developers shouldn't stream content. This should be obvious to everybody!
The real issue here is that Sony just isn't saying anything. See, the media gets nervous when there is no news... since that's their job. So they have to make up the news. Except that Sony has done an excellent job about keeping their secrets, so this is what we get. Rumors and hunches.
Trust me, you'll know more when Sony marketing deems it exactly the right moment.