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Microsoft Comments on DS vs. PSP Battle
geekboy_x writes "At the Halo launch event a senior Microsoft VP took time out to comment on the coming battle between the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. In a nutshell, he thinks that Nintendo's domination of the handheld market will make this a rough go for Sony. He also, as is apparently required by Microsoft law, makes a candid yet derogatory comment about Linux." A more personal version of commentary made two days ago, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
While I am not an xbox fan, even I have to admit more competition was good for sony and nintendo. I can only hope M$ release some handhelds in the future to push prices around some more.
Moore pointed out the dominant position achieved by Nintendo in handheld gaming devices and said Sony's decision to enter the space would be "like developing your own little operating system and saying, 'Well, I'm going to challenge Windows.' "
Nintendo better work to maintain what they've built instead of resting on their laurels, lest they give away the top spot, all while arrogantly berating the competition...
Michalangelo Progr
Then it's full of shit, don't beleive it.
Well we all know microsoft is just going to release a notebook computer and say that it is a gaming system. I mean the Xbox was pretty much just a computer that had a controller interface right.
Althought I am for more competition to bring down prices. The customer will be the winner if that happens.
Then why are there anti PSP articles getting psoted on /., and when I post a link to the DS crashing 3 times out of 6 in an hour it gets rejected?
Their prices are $100 apart and their capabilities are a generation apart, it's like comparing a N64 to a PS2. There is certainly overlap between their feature sets and markets but they're not really being sold into precisely the same area. I think there's room for both of them to do fine. Certainly I'm more excited about the DS right now, because I can almost afford one (I'll probably buy a PS2 first, though) and because more of them will be sold sooner, meaning the little chat program may actually be useful.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
We have some DS's here at the office. We still just talk to each other.
Is he recognizing the legitimacy of the PSP in the market in relation to Linux's legitimacy compared to Window's? Or is he just being an ass? (I believe this to be more likely ;) )
doesn't mean what you think it does.
Are they just trying to cover up for the fact that it's a market they are too afraid to enter? They insinuate that this could weaken Sony's console dominance, but that just fundamentally doesn't make any sense. Sony can put something like PSP on indefinite life support, like they did with minidisc, if they need to.
I think most telling is the statement that nobody has or will make a meaningful connection between console and handheld devices. I know it's a gamble to say it, but I think that's going to go down like one of those "640k is enough for everybody" type of statements that are seriously shortsighted. The integration angle is still relatively experimental.
Right now, you've got the most marginalized console trying to perform handheld integration. The content, not technically, but philosophically, for this sort of thing flows more from the console market into the handheld then the other way around. Pokemon is a big exception to that, but it being only a single property with fairly uncompelling console counterparts to it's handheld juggernaut is a good example of why console->handheld integration is likely to be more popular.
When the biggest console, Sony, starts integrating content to a handheld, it's going to be a different story on how profound the effect of console/handheld integration is. The first must have game with meaningful handheld integration could do incredible things for the PSP sales.
Linux doesn't challenge Windows:
I also find it funny that the other 'little os' OS, Mac OS X, is ahead of the Windows curve.
Not that the PSP is better than the gDS or anything.
Heute die Welt, morgen das Sonnensystem!
but I think that's going to go down like one of those "640k is enough for everybody" type of statements that are seriously shortsighted.
Honestly, even if Bill Gates did say this, it was true for the time. It's not like the statement was "640k is enough for everybody for the rest of time." Right now if I said 1 terabyte of memory is enough for everybody would I be completely off base? Sure there are some exceptions with supercomputers and what not, but eventually my statement would not hold true. 640k was enough for everybody, it IS a shortsighted statement but it is implied in the statement intself. It references one point in time not a timespan.
biased against Nintendo, XBox fan QA guy think of the thing?
If we get flashable or writeable media that can access all of the hardware, I'm buying one. It has enough neat stuff in it it'd be damned fun to play with from a programming standpoint, and useful to boot.
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
I find it fascinating that MS would comment on the battle at all, and after reading the article I wonder if we'll see Halo for Nintendo DS.
Sony has vast amounts of IP to throw at its new handheld, its not just a game system, it can play movies and cartoons. Parents (myself included) love the idea of a 'keep em quiet in the car' device, and I see Sony being able to position themselves in that market strongly.
Don't want to say too much yet. I promise to write something once it fully launched. And based on what I have seen so far, I'm going to wait until more than just the launch titles are out there to be as fair as Mike Hawk can be.
It WILL be a rough go for Sony and the PSP. They have a fantastic piece of hardware, but they are having problems keeping it powered, and they're entering a market used to a specific vendor whose products are strong at what the PSP is currently weak at.
MS knows what entering a gaming market late is like. The Xbox is a superb piece of hardware, easily superior to the competition, but gaining acceptance has been an uphill battle the whole way. Some brilliant moves (like Xbox Live) have helped along the way, but they have had to fight the whole way.
I want a PSP a lot more than a DS because of the game lineup and the beautiful wide screen. But, I'm not a Sony fanboy that thinks it's just going to waltz in and destroy the competition. The days of a single dominant provider in a gaming market are numbered. The next console generation will be a LOT closer, and Nintendo isn't going to have total free reign of handhelds anymore.
Well, they sent them to us so we can test games for the system on them.
He also, as is apparently required by Microsoft law, makes a candid yet derogatory comment about Linux.
No, he doesn't. What he says is, it would be "like developing your own little operating system and saying, 'Well, I'm going to challenge Windows.'" He's refering to Microsoft's dominance in the OS market. He never even mentions Linux. Hell, Linux doesn't even fit the analogy, unless Sony is giving away PSP's (and their specs) for free.
Contrary to what the /. community might believe, there are more than two operating systems out there. Talk about self-absorbed...
This comment doesn't really seem that relevant: "In a nutshell, he thinks that Nintendo's domination of the handheld market will make this a rough go for Sony."
Atari once held the entire market. Then it was Intellivision vs. Atari vs. Colecovision and Intellivision seemed to have it. Remember when Nintendo was the system to have (even when Sega was out...we don't hear that name much anymore). What's this? Sony Playstation is the thing to have now! Of course, we're seeing this split between PS2, GameCube, and XBox now. Just because Nintendo holds the handheld market now doesn't mean PSP won't knock the socks off everyone and people will go nuts buying them up left and right.
Then again, I could be wrong. Let's look at the iPod and all the competing mp3 players.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
What planet are you from? Do your homework before posting next time. Nintendo is in no way "resting on their laurels". Which is proved by the fact that they made the DS better than the PSP in many ways. Go read up on this subject and come back later. You're just trolling and I guess I bit but oh well. I'll make the fanboys happy.