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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.
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
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.'"
I see it as a way to meet people, although it's going to be hard to meet anyone who isn't a child. Actually, that's a pretty scary potential problem with the chat system. Regardless I think it can be fun, and since it plays GBA games that's enough argument for me to own one. I'm still more interested in the PSP, but with my current financial status I'm more likely to buy a DS.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
push prices? The GBA SP is now down to $79.99. The gamecube holiday pack, which includes a game (mario kart, IIRC) is going for $99.99. Prices are outstanding at the moment.
if you like nintendo, that is...
They say it was a pre-release version, but concidering IGN got theirs two weeks after, and the release is two weeks after that, that means Nintendo was manufacturing release versions at that time. If they fixed the bugs then that means they gave what they knew to be buggy units to geartest even though fixed ones exist. Not likely.
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.
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.
I agree it was correct for the time, but it was still short sighted. As a result of accepting that limitation early we ended up dealing with it in some seriously sloppy ways for years.
It was a massive pain for quite a while trying to use above 640k on a PC, juggling various TSRs in and out of various memory managers. The prospect of an enduser trying to get their PC to run the newest game, modifying config.sys and autoexec.bat was totally insane. Eventually memmaker was integrated into MsDos pretty late in the game. It really damaged Microsoft's reputation at the time to deal with all of that crap because of thier shortsightedness. Even on into Windows 95 it was possible (but admitedly rare) to bump into 640k issues.
While I can't prove it of course, I personally feel that it was a real speed bump for PC gaming that sent quite a few people packing in frustration to consoles because they were spending more time rearranging their himem and creating multiple boot profiles for every game then they were actually playing. When I first used linux, the fact that 'free' simply showed all my memory in as one giant usable chunk, all 4 glorious megs of it, was seriously awesome.
Apparently, Bill Gates claims he never said it though..
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.