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What's Up With The PSP?
1up.com has an article up examining the current state of PSP sales and interest. Frustrations are mounting regarding the lackluster monetary outlook and poor game selection. From the article: "The PSP has traveled the spectrum of being hailed as the greatest piece of hardware since the introduction of the original PlayStation to being treated like a Goodwill store where developers drop off bare-bones ports and shoddy, old games. Since the release of the PSP on March 24, 2005, to the time of this writing, there have been approximately 30 games released, 17 of which were released during the launch window. Around 10 or so of the games available could be considered ports of PlayStation 2 games, which is about one-third of the entire PSP library. And if you work out the math with the number of games released since the launch period, it comes out to less than one PSP game release per week--.76 games to be exact."
..People like modding it/installing 3rd party software on it more :)
Seriously. I want one just for all the cool hacks that keep coming out for it. I could care less about games :P
"Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
Still waiting to see the article of someone playing a game on PSP.
I think its' strength may yet lie in support for UMD movies.
There may not be many games released, but there seems to be no shortage of movies.
Interest in the UMD is virtually nil, and rightfully so IMHO; why would you want a lower-quality movie format you can only watch on your PSP when you could buy a DVD instead (for the same price I believe?)?
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
I've been stuck playing SNES, NES and Neo Geo emulators on my PSP for months now. Aside from GTA:LCS and Burnout Revenge there's nothing in the pipeline for the PSP that looks especially interesting. Sony are great at telling us how amazingly world changing their hardware is going to be but the actual games after launch are often a let down.
Luckily I've had Pac-Pix, Elextroplankton, Meteos, Another Code and Kirby's Cursed Canvas to keep me occupied during the drought. And with Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, Nintendogs, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Animal Crossing DS, Mario & Luigi 2, Metroid Prime Hunters, Sonic Rush, Trauma Center and Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble there should be plenty on the DS to keep me occupied!
The United States doesn't have anything like Japan's Media Create, which has a free source of hardware and software sales figures for game consoles. Seems the closest we have is NPD numbers, which you must pay to use, and which have strict controls over how they may be used without being charged.
But from what I've heard from people with access to the numbers (which is not me), at the moment, that PSP sales are a bit better than DS sales. This may change, however, when the increasingly impressive DS library currently out in Japan begins to be seen on U.S. shores.
Only time will tell if that actually happens.
They hyped the system, but didn't have the great games for it. They still don't. Things should improve later this year (Burnout, GTA, and more). THAT is when the PSP will become bigger. But they've been low on games. Compare that list (one game that I played for more than a week) to my DS. I've played Feel the Magic, Kirby, Yoshi's Touch and Go, and Mr. Driller tons. And with Advanced Wars, Nintendogs, and many other things comming out in the next few months (including a new Castlevania) I am VERY excited.
Nintendo didn't have the hype, but they've had the games.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I own a PSP, and a friend of mine who's "on the fence" between PSP and DS sent me this article the other day. I really don't mind the current lineup with the PSP. I've owned a GBA, and played a friend's DS, and to be honest I tire of games on those platforms far too quickly.
By contract, I find I'm still playing my PSP games, and I'm not finding the novelty coming off. Wipeout Pure has had what, five updates by the developer downloadable with the PSP's wireless connectivity, one of many positive details the article doesn't focus on at all. I'm still playing Lumines like it's laced with crack, Midnight Club 3 is a blast (even with the load times) and has a ton of content in it.
Now the 2.00 firmware's out there (Japanese version at least) and I've been messing around with developing websites for it, right now only one public one with some backgrounds (winterblink.com/psp). Games, UMD movies, encoded movies, music, pictures... I'm definitely not getting bored of the device. I just find the 1up article focuses far too much on the negative, something you could easily do for the DS as well.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
I play my DS almost daily, what games have you been playing.
I've been playing Meteos non-stop, when I get bored of that, I'll get Kirby: Canvas Curse. After that, there's the new Advance Wars game (coming out in 2 weeks).
The DS's future is very bright IMO
Meteos: digital crack. I got it yesterday and already it's affecting my thought patterns.
Online MarioKart, online Animal Crossings, a new super mario bros sidescroller with 3D stuff mixed in (watch the movies, it looks very stylish) Katamari Damachy DS (yes, touchscreen katamari) AoE DS, metroid hunters ds (unfortunantly not online) the new zelda ds (not another four swords game) and the crap load of other games. You can't honestly tell me that list doesn't excite you in the least bit? Also, those are only some of the 1st party games (with two 3rd) that are coming out this fall. The future is looking good for the DS.
Coming from somebody who bought a DS a couple weeks ago.... after selling their PSP, the DS already has more original games and has a much stronger release schedule. The PSP is a sexy gadget, and initially I couldn't resist it. But if at Christmas time this year you compare the number of quality, original, non-ported games, the DS is going to win, hands down.
The same was true for the first 5ish months of DS' life too, with only the odd crap being released. Only a few months ago did this start to change, with some actually alight games finally coming out for it, but it didn't last long.
This time for PSP also falls in a good game dry spell. Honestly, they've been few and far between for all systems systems, just look at the consoles.
Finally, PSP just had such a huge launch line up that there wasn't enough to stretch over the next months. Poor planing, and dissapointing, but looking at September and Octobers releases, it's looking a lot better.
Yeah, I'm well aware fo the Classic NES series that you mentioned but I'm talking ALL of the NES games on a nice easy to transfer (back and forth between the revolution) handheld. Not just Metroid, Mario and so on... I want my Duck Tales, Ice Hockey, Punch Out, etc, etc all easily downloadable, transferable and legal.
Don't get me wrong, yeah I CAN do that now with my PSP (except for the legal part which I think is a fairly important part) but I'm saying that I think much of the not as tech savy world would really jump at a product like that... And yes (to the post below) bring on the gameboy next.
What a horrible thing the ESRB just did to the game industry.
I still haven't seen a PSP. Until I see one, I'm not likely to want it, am I?
.com 90s, but not any more.
Come on, Sony, get that clue you so desperately need. Start having PSPs on display in stores. I know this will sound strange, but people tend not to buy $300 gadgets sight unseen. Maybe they did in the
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I'm a gamer. No, not the play 149 hours a day gamer and use l33t speak gamer. The kind of gamer that loves the art. The play every game which "redefines" gaming or even simply "defines" a genre type of gamer. Here's how it breaks down for a real guy with a real job who loves games.
DS
1) Great first month, just for the novelty
2) Now great for those unique games. Kirby:Canvas Curse has brought back "what is a fun game?" where we had lost sight of that.
3) Dual screens are mostly useless. Great in those rare situations, but 99% of the time it is simply fluff on screen 2.
4) Game lineup is adequete for a console of it's age. The few quality titles (4 maybe?) are rare, the others are simple time wasters
5) Future looks very promising (Advance Wars, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing)
6) Wireless is a waste for someone without gamer friends. No internet connection seems unwise at this stage
7) The games that are good (Kirby, Pac-Pix, Wario Ware) are *very good*.
8) Touch screen is almost always put to good use in user interface, and usually in the really good games too.
9) Battery life is a non-issue. My girlfriend managed to kill it playing animal crossing for 4 hours or so after not charging for a couple of days. It was the first time that's been done to it.
10) Price is great. $150 is not that bad for the hardware you get, and the games rarely go above $35.
11) My girlfriend loves the DS, and she's had sole possession of it for the last two months. I've got too much PSP emulation to deal with the DS...for now.
PSP
1) Very cool, extremely limited games. I own 4 games, 3 of which I play (MGS, Lumines, Wipeout). They are perfect for the device, and "define" their genres, but are not revolutionizing the world.
2) Other than the 3, there are almost *no* new games coming which interest me. GTA and I'm looking into burnout maybe.
3) Pricetag is high. Both for the system, *and* the games. We are talking PS2/Xbox/Cube prices for a portable game
4) Bigger memory stick is necessary. You can't really even fit the extra wipeout bonuses on the 32MB stick and still put anything else on it.
5) Memory stick almost doubles price (I went for a 1GB)
6) Memory stick QUADRUPLES value. This *one* device is now my favorite MP3 player, holds a couple of Vids from my mythbox, and a ton of ScummVM games. I haven't even scratched the surface of the other emulation games.
7) Emulation is mostly painless. Once you get a mem card, you're good to go (on 1.5 firmware). There's no flash-cards or crazy hacks. I run one program to load the game to the card, done.
8) I only own Spiderman on UMD (included free at launch), and don't think I would ever buy a UMD. Why would I? My mythbox has a lot of great television (galactica/mencia/24) that I can easily transcode and watch on the go if need be.
9) Battery life is not great, but is not bad either. I've played ScummVM games for well over an hour, and only lost 1/3 bars. I then played some Mp3 podcasts for an hour and still had 2 bars. I don't need the thing to last 8 hours without charge. Some may, I do not.
The bottom line is the DS has a lot of potential to make some truly revolutionary games. This, for me, is extremely attractive and makes the DS a true portable gaming system. The price for the system and the games is perfect. The games themselves feel like they were meant to be played "on the go". You can stop/start as you like.
The PSP on the other hand, is a wonderful media device that happens to play some good games. It's like what the ngage promised to be, but never was. It is almost like being able to play PS2 quality games is a bonus. It's the other qualities that make the PSP shine.
It's the first time I actually believe what the market-droids said when the devices launched. They are *not* competing with each other. If you love unique games, and want to replace your GBA, go with a DS. If you want a portable media hub, that plays some nifty games, go with a PSP.
As a sibling poster said though, you don't have to have just one. I don't have a lot of disposable income, but I knew the launch dates a year or so in advance, and simply plopped $10 every week or so in jar. Spare change took care of the rest.
-- I have fans? Wow.
I have been playing this game called "Loading Screen" on my PSP. It's really fun, especially when you just want to pick-up-and-play a game real quick.
a new super mario bros sidescroller with 3D stuff mixed in (watch the movies, it looks very stylish)
It is. I got to play a three level demo of it at a Nintendo show last week. not only does it look superb it plays great too, reminded me a lot of Super Mario World. I will definatly be buying it when it comes out.
I also got to play Mario Kart DS, the new Mario football game (I forget its name) and Twighlight Princess. And yes, they all rock.
"I realise this is not a very popular opinion but it's the truth, and there for needs to be said" -Bill Hicks
I find myself in the same situation. There just aren't any really good games in the PSP's library yet. Part of the problem, I believe, is that the titles available just aren't tailored to a "portable experience". A portable system really should be something you could whip out and play a for a few minutes while waiting in line at the bank, or for a bus to arrive.
But somehow, we wind up with titles like Wipeout Pure, which require us to sit through a ten second UMD load, and mash buttons through logo screens, confirm loading of user data, select game mode, and wait another ten seconds for a track to load. After that, you have a three minute stretch of white-knuckle racing that you can't pull your eyes from without ruining. The game itself is *great* sure. I agree with that. The only problem is, it's not portable.
My experience with other titles has been similar. It's gotten to the point where I've downloaded a copy of the Wipeout Pure UMD dump and put it on my memory stick just because it loads so much faster that way. The hacked/pirated version of Wipeout I have requires that a UMD be in the drive. Guess which UMD I use? The Wipeout Pure UMD. Ha Ha Ha.
Running emulators on the PSP makes it portable, for me. SNES games are just so pleasantly no-nonsense.