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Sony PSP/Nintendo DS Opinion Piece
Mr Nash writes "The Armchair Empire has posted a lengthy op-ed about Sony's PSP and Nintendo's Dual Screen where the writer comes to the conclusion that "the market just doesn't appear to be ready for a pair of new handhelds to step onto the scene."
It's like the iPod. The iPod is doomed.
People are just not ready to spend hundreds of dollars for a portable music player when they can just as well listen to the music at home.
Or they use their MD-Player or Discman the bought just a few years ago.
Nobody will buy another music player.
I don't need a signature.
I agree about the old news bit. I also think the author is being quite harsh on Nintendo. Every one has been scoffing at their GBA->GameCube linking as just a profit scheme. It is a profit scheme, but there are some huge advantages to it for the gamer as well... just take a look at FF:Chrystal Chronicals.
The point of this is that Nintendo had the guts to do something different, and allowed people (like Square) to be creative. The DS with it's dual screen and stylus will be the same. It's a change of paradigm... it allows new controls, and new interfaces.
If you want something cool, take a look at the Metroid game for the DS. It's a true FPS for a hand held. And since the DS does wireless, you just have to walk up to someone else with a DS, and you can play head to head (up to 4 player IIRC). No wires, no funky cables, just play.
Who knows what new ideas will come out of it?
Zapman
I wouldn't be so sure that the market isn't ready for new portable gaming devices. The "desktop" console market has been operating on a much faster cycle than the handheld market. Handhelds are traditionally cheaper and have more of a tradition of backwards compatibility, so there's no reason why consumers can't be persuaded to buy a new one every couple of years. The gameboy was supreme for years, Nintendo almost certainly hoped that the GBA could manage a similar feat. After all, they hadn't had an even vaguely serious challenge to their monopoly in this market since the Game Gear, over a decade ago, and even that was seen off quite easily.
However, all that has changed. The N-Gage was a flop in terms of sales, games and design, but it did drive up technical expectations of consoles. Once Sony started sniffing around the market, Nintendo didn't really have much choice but to offer a new device. So far, we've mostly been hearing the Nintendo fanboys ranting about how the DS will see off the PSP and Nintendo will remain supreme. In the very short term future, this might be true.
However...
Sony (and even Nokia) have deeper pockets than Nintendo. If they want to make a serious assault on the market, they can afford to do so over a period of several years. They can afford to research, develop and release a new product every couple of years. Indeed, Nokia have already announced their intention to continue to refine and enhance the N-Gage. If Nintendo don't want to be seen to be left behind in the eyes of the average consumer, they have to try and keep up. Their old strategy of putting out a winner and then milking it for years and years just won't work. This, I'm sure, is how Sony are hoping to take over the market from Nintendo. On the basis of what happened in the "desktop" console market, I think they'll eventually succeed.
Despite the hue and cry from certain parties, the U. S. economy is in pretty fair shape and still getting better. It's not dotcom-bubble level, but it's not bad. It was worse when the SP was released.
That said, I think his criticisms of both systems are pretty well on the mark, but I'm still confident that the DS will perform sufficiently to stick around. It has a large and growing library of games stretching back to the original GameBoy, in addition to the titles planned for exclusively for it. Remakes can be a bit of a drag, but remakes of good games are still good games, and many of today's gamers did not grow up with an NES. If Square decides to release their FFIII remake stateside finally, it will be a brand-new game, practically speaking, for the U. S. market.
What looks, to me, like a more interesting parallel is between the original GameBoy and the Lynx, TurboGrafx, Game Gear, and other portable consoles of the early to mid nineties. The GameBoy has consistently beaten its competitors by being good enough for a lower price. Despite all the other feaures of the PSP, I suspect that's what will happen here, too.
Canthros
> I think there's still room in the market for a third pillar of a game system.
There already is a "third pillar of gaming" blossoming: mobile gaming. Especially in Asia. It's not as big here, as our phones are years behind, but it is getting huge in Japan and growing in Europe and all the major game developers are jumping on board (like Square-Enix, and EA).
This article doesn't pay attention to the biggest reason companies are going after the portable market with two new systems - they're trying to finally break into that 18-35 year old market that portables have never nailed before. Sure, the GBA SP is sleek and cool, but the games, for the most part, are dinky, 2d, kid-focused titles, and sales for older gamers certainly aren't in the same realm as consoles.
This guy's analysis assumes that the target consumer already owns a GBA or an SP. His assumption is WRONG. There are a lot of older gamers who don't see a need for a portable system, particularly the CASUAL adult gamer; the one who buys Madden and GTA and rents a few other games. Both companies are going for the wow factor to nail the older audience into thinking they need a portable system. The PSP has the edge in the "cool" factor, thanks to Gran Turismo, MGS:Acid, etc, but the DS has the battery life and price point that PSP desperately needs to convert its "cool" factor into pure sales. And Metroid Prime: Hunters might be just enough to get older gamers to pay attention and give a crap during launch. Furthermore, Nintendo has already announced an expected shortage this X-mas season. That is terribly intentional - the buzz of the "hard to get, super-awesome toy of the season" will put the DS in the lead with both sales AND reputation well before anyone even holds a PSP in the states.
That article was horrible. Almost all of the complaints (at least DS-oriented) were based on very small factual evidence! I can only conclude that the arguments against the PSP are similar.
I really enjoyed how the writer concluded that the DS was just a retro-device, pumping out remake after remake. Only two games have been scheduled for re-release on the DS, and both of the games were HUGE sellers in the past. Among the sizable list of expected releases, it's hard to believe that this system is simply a portable N64.
As far as portable gaming is concerned, the DS might not necessarily be "innovative," since the capabilities have existed on non-portable devices for quite some time. But conglomerating all of these utilities into one gaming device does make it a very marketable platform.
As far as release date is concerned, I believe it is appropriate. The competition (in either perspective) is releasing a new system around the same time. American buying power has been stronger in the past, but it is hardly weak. And a release around the holiday season is sure to help sales.
The backing from the developers alone has me sold on the DS. I have yet to hear the same claims from PSP developers.