Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

PSP Still Struggling For Notice

Posted by Zonk on from the more-games-might-help dept.

TheStreet.com is reporting that the 360 has captured the hype machine for this Christmas season. The PSP, meanwhile, is still struggling for mindshare compared to Nintendo's offerings. From the article: "Sony launched the PSP in the U.S. to great acclaim earlier this year and sold more than half a million units in the first two days. The device marked the first effort by Sony, the leader in the console game industry for the last 10 years with its PlayStation and PlayStation 2 systems, to enter the portable game market, which has been dominated by Nintendo ... Right now, the PSP's threat to Nintendo -- much less to Apple -- remains hypothetical. Sales of the PSP are disappointing thus far, particularly this holiday season. Through the end of October, Sony had sold just 1.6 million of the devices after the first days' sales flurry."

111 comments

  1. Even though sales suck I still don't regret my... by Wisgary · · Score: 0, Redundant

    ...decision to buy one. I have what amounts to the entire collection of games of my childhood on my PSP. Plus other homebrew applications. Yeah I know I could use a PDA to do this, but come on, the PSP screen is beautiful and the controls are pretty good, although that little nub that tries to pass off as an analog stick does suck ass.

  2. Maybe... by dlvu5 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I bet if they stopped pissing off their consumer base we'd be more apt to purchase their products. Just a suggestion Sony execs...

    1. Re:Maybe... by Iriel · · Score: 1

      A mighty fine point. I think there's two methods to achieve this end:

      1. Allow more customization of the platform. Seriously, there needs to be more to this device than movies, mostly crappy or just plain ported games (giving the sensation of deja vu), and a handful of mp3s that are fighting for space with your save files. The only problem is that the hardware Sony has already locked themselves into with this device limits some of the expansion capability of it unless they want to turn it into a gamer's PDA and completely change marketing tactics. Not only that, but Sony pigeon-holed themselves with their die-hard efforts to stop emulation on the PSP. If they ease up on this front, it will take a miracle for it to be perceived as them doing anything besides turning 179 degrees and all but directly endorsing roms for the PSP. Even still, I'm rather horrified to see how long the PSP has been out and Sony is only 'considering' an RSS reader for it. There's a pretty clear line between protection and unfounded, overboard paranoia: The PSP system software is a pure result of the latter.

      2. While I would be kind of stoked to have a sort of gamer's PDA (as long as it was done well) integrated into a gaming device, it wouldn't be worth a damn thing on the platform unless they actually have real Games to boast. They've already got sequels to some relatively mediocre 'original' titles as is, and almost everything else is a near-direct port from PS(1|2). Give us something worth playing on the commute to school or during our break at work. Hell, give us something worth playing for a good long while at end. The fact that I see exponentially more UMD titles on the shelves than games tells me that this was a failed attempt at being a portable universal media player with guest appearances from interactive titles. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the cell phone bubble in which everyone was trying to turn your mobile device into a camera, iPod, phone, and toaster all-in-one! If you're going to make a gaming platform with other features, remember that GAMES are the primary focus of it, and leave movies and mp3s as secondary concerns for development teams.

      Too bad it's too early to abandon the project and start anew.
      </gripe></bitch></whine></bemoaningtheirsadfate>

      --
      Perfecting Discordia
      www.stevenvansickle.com
    2. Re:Maybe... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      The thing is way too freaking large and heavy for a PDA. It's about as heavy as maybe three PDAs and as thick as two.

      Also, I'm guessing that Sony would rather not sell a PSP to a person that's likely only to run an emulator.

      I think the PSP is cool and all, it's pretty expensive. One PSP game costs about as much as two GBA games, 1.5 DS games. One PSP costs about as much as three SPs or two DSs. It's not hard to imagine why the PSP might not perform so well (economically) in comparison despite the unit being pretty nice looking.

    3. Re:Maybe... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      If you step out of the Slashdot echo chamber once in a while, you'd realize that nobody cares about the rootkit. Peole are still throwing money at Sony products, be it hardware or media.

    4. Re:Maybe... by Sinryc · · Score: 1

      This is very true. Most people don't give a fuck about the technology.

      --
      Yay, I have a sig.
    5. Re:Maybe... by cyberbob2010 · · Score: 1

      Or maybe I know several hundred people and yes, REAL people!!! from real life!!! who are mad as hell at Sony not just about that but about a lot of the thigns that they have limited on the PSP

      --
      We seldom regret saying too little but often regret saying too much.
    6. Re:Maybe... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "Several hundred people" is at best a drop in the bucket compared to a market composed of tens of millions of people in this country alone. Sony is built on the backs of far more than "several hundred people."

      If you want to make a personal choice to avoid tainting yourself by owning further Sony products, I understand, agree with and applaud your efforts. But don't dellude yourself into thinking that Sony actually notices, let alone cares. If you're going to do it, make sure you're doing it for yourself, because you're the only person it's going to matter to.

    7. Re:Maybe... by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      I have a first-gen Japanese PSP, and it is as heavy as you describe. I bought an American one last week, and was absolutely shocked by how much lighter it was than the original model. It was perhaps one-third to one-half as heavy as the Japanese PSP, and far more comfortable for extended play periods. Carrying it around still requires a case, but it seems to be a step in the right direction.

    8. Re:Maybe... by drsquare · · Score: 1

      I very much doubt that anyone in the world has talked to several hundred people that even own a PSP. I mean who regularly talks to that many people anyway? Let alone that many who own a specific piece of hardware, and who have even heard of the rootkit.

    9. Re:Maybe... by Otis2222222 · · Score: 0
      I don't know about the rest of you, but when a new device like this comes out, one of the first thing I think of is wanting to see, touch, and play with the device. Consisdering it is a portable game console and you would want a chance to check out the aesthetics before committing to a purchase.

      The problem with the PSP, at least for me, is that out of all the stores I have been to that sell it - Best Buy, Circuit City, EB Games, Target, Wal Mart, etc. etc. - there have been a grand total of ZERO "display models" for you to touch and otherwise interact with. To me, this is a deal breaker. If I can't get the PSP experience in the store, I am not going to buy one sight unseen.

      I wonder how much this is hurting the sales of the PSP. It's hard to hype up a machine sitting in a cardboard box in a locked cage that you can't play with in the store. The commercials on TV don't do anything for me either since they don't show much about the PSP other than "wow, it's a portable!"

      Does anyone else agree with this?

    10. Re:Maybe... by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      I know that's what sold me on the DS. One play of the Prime demo at an EB store and I wanted one.

    11. Re:Maybe... by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      i didnt appreciate that either. luckily where i live i got a chance to see them all around and people actually using them. i think thats what sony had in mind; having people show it off, moreso than see it covered in thumbprints instore, but it worked out poorly. people outside large cities never really got a chance to see/touch/play the damn thing. typically poor sony execution...

  3. What the-- by daeley · · Score: 2

    Through the end of October, Sony had sold just 1.6 million of the devices after the first days' sales flurry.

    Erm, what? How many have they sold? And when? According to the wikipedia article they have sold 10 million units worldwide through October 21st, 4.5 million in the US alone.

    (This isn't a comment on whether those are disappointing numbers or not, just that the quoted sentence was pretty unhelpful.)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:What the-- by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 5, Informative

      You're confusing shipped with sold. The article makes the distinction.

      IE: If retailers order 10 for their stock and don't sell them, you've shipped 10 units, but you're not shipping more until some of those 10 units sell.

      I'm not sure how many units Nintendo has actually shipped worldwide. I'm positive it's higher than 10 mil if they've sold 8 mil.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    2. Re:What the-- by tktk · · Score: 1

      According to the wikipedia article, Sony shipped 10 million units. It doesn't mean that people bought them all. I see lots of PSPs just sitting in the store display cases.

    3. Re:What the-- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to the wikipedia article [wikipedia.org] they have sold 10 million units

      "As of Friday October 21, 2005 the PSP had shipped 10 million units worldwide."

      shipped != sold

    4. Re:What the-- by iainl · · Score: 1

      I _think_ I've found the source of the error. Sony have indeed sold 1.6 million PSPs to date. This year. In Japan.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    5. Re:What the-- by daeley · · Score: 1

      You're confusing shipped with sold

      You're right, I did mis-read that in the Wiki article. The sentence I referred to above is still confusing as hell though. :)

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    6. Re:What the-- by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      No joke. They go from referring to units sold to units shipped.

      According to the article(not the wikipedia link), Sony has sold 1.6 mil in the US. They've sold about that in Japan too. So I'm guessing they're floating at somewhere between 4 and 5 million.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    7. Re:What the-- by supabeast! · · Score: 1

      On what planet is Wikipedia a reliable source for things like sales numbers? Those could have been pulled from any worthless Sony press release that was never vetted by anyone outside the company - hell they could have even been posted BY Sony. If you're going to quote sales numbers, at least use a website that has some credibility.

  4. Who are these people? by MMaestro · · Score: 4, Insightful
    "It's just been slow out of the gate."

    Slow out the gate? Wtf? Slow out the gate is having your console selling game released 6 months AFTER the system is released. Having a PS2 port come out a YEAR after the system is released is trying to breath life into the dead.

    Sony just plain mismanaged the PSP. The movies offer little that DVDs don't outmatch, let alone the bonuses. The games are few, far and are often times nothing more than ports. Online capabilities is a joke, and trying to stop the PSP hackers has more or less alienated the PSP as a portable hackable Xbox.

    1. Re:Who are these people? by oGMo · · Score: 1, Informative
      Slow out the gate? Wtf? Slow out the gate is having your console selling game released 6 months AFTER the system is released. Having a PS2 port come out a YEAR after the system is released is trying to breath life into the dead.

      What, exactly, does this sentence mean... in English? "Having your console selling game released 6 month after the system is released"? What PS2 port came out a year after the system was released? The system hasn't even been out for a year.

      Sony just plain mismanaged the PSP. The movies offer little that DVDs don't outmatch, let alone the bonuses.

      Except now you can pick them up for $5-10 from Frys and watch them on a device that's easy to carry on the bus or plane. (Same with TV shows.)

      The games are few, far and are often times nothing more than ports.

      This, of course, is bullshit. See the following:

      • Darkstalkers: Chronicles
      • Twisted Metal: Head On
      • Metal Gear Acid
      • Legend of Heroes ("The Garghav")
      • Kingdom of Paradise
      • Wipeout: Pure
      • Mercury
      • Lumines
      • Hot Shots Golf
      • Untold Legends
      • Ridge Racer
      • Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
      • Tokobot
      • Lord of the Rings Tactics
      • Need for Speed Underground Rivals
      • The Con
      • Gripshift
      • MediEval: Resurrection
      • Death Jr.
      • Coded Arms
      • Burnout Legends
      • Infected
      • SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo

      These are fully PSP originals (though some may be sequels or have a related franchise). For games that include ports or remakes:

      Tony Hawk Underground 2: Remix (extended version of THUG2) Ape Escape PoPoLoCrois

      Note that PoPoLoCrois has never been released here, and is thus a "new" game to most people who would be playing it in the US.

      Additionally, there are titles that are "cross-platform", that is, appearing close to or simultaneously with the game as released on other platforms, such as X-Men Legends II, and various sports games I don't know enough about to list properly.

      Yes, there could be more; there will be more. But compared to the PS2's first 6-12 months, we're doing pretty good already. And there have been far more B to A titles for the PSP than there were for the PS2. So don't give me this "there are no games" BS. There are plenty of games.

      Online capabilities is a joke, and trying to stop the PSP hackers has more or less alienated the PSP as a portable hackable Xbox.

      Huh? The online capabilities of the PSP rock. It's got a builtin web browser that works very well. It's trivially easy to configure. You can play almost everything over the internet or ad-hoc. Power usage is reasonable and latency is great. Most games support at least some form of online play (the RPGs being the biggest exception).

      As for trying to stop people from hacking the device, what do you expect? Sure, it'd be great if they released an SDK... I'd be all for that. But who else has done that? Nintendo? Hah. Microsoft? Hah.

      In any case, the 1.5 and 2nd generation of games are starting to come through, and I've still got most of the existing ones to finish. The next-gen handheld race has hardly begun.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    2. Re:Who are these people? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vampire Chronicles is also a rehash. Dreamcast received the original version with the arcade faithful sprites.

      And at least Burnoout Legends is not a PSP exclusive. Everything else looks so generic that I really can't remember if I've seen the exact same PSP version of some titles in those listed series on other platforms. The names of average games I'd never play all just tend to blur together in my mind.

    3. Re:Who are these people? by vexx0 · · Score: 0

      Somebody's trying to defend all that money they wasted.

    4. Re:Who are these people? by NeMon'ess · · Score: 1

      When I was a teenager I cared enough about videogames to play them everywhere. These days I like playing the PS2 and xbox, and when I do I want the best graphics and experience. Therefore I'm never going to care about re-worked versions of Darkstalkers, Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid, Wipeout, Ridge Racer, Grand Theft Auto 3, Need For Speed Underground, MediEval, Burnout 3, and SOCOM.

      You say they're not ports, but did the gameplay change? No? Then they're just the same old games but probably with some deficiencies thanks to the portable system.

    5. Re:Who are these people? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Then I guess you didn't buy Halo 2 after you bought Halo. You didn't buy Madden 2006 after you bought Madden 2005. You didn't buy Grand Theft Auto: Vice City after you bought GTA3. Afterall, by your definition of "same old game", all of those sequels didn't really have a gameplay change. They were the same old game, so they weren't worth playing. Judging by the number of people that bought the sequels, you're in the minority.

      All of the games you listed had new content in each and every one of them, and "thanks to the deficiencies of a portable system" some had better graphics in some areas than a PS2 itself and/or built in networking capabilities and new gameplay options. For instance, the MGS (for better or worse) on PSP isn't anything like any MGS on PS2. GTA actually has legit multiplayer options. SOCOM has different levels and content. Try them out.

      You're basing your argument on the brand name. It's like comparing Mario 64 to Super Mario Bros 3. Both share the same name, but they play very differently.

      Say that you don't like the system, games or whatever, but at least have some real problems.

    6. Re:Who are these people? by NeMon'ess · · Score: 1

      You picked some bad examples, because Halo 2 looked much better than the original. Madden 06 wasn't enough of an improvement to shell out money for. Vice City was good and fun along with GTA3, but San Andreas didn't hold my interest. As for comparing Mario 64 to SMB3, I think it's more telling to compare Burnout 3 on the xbox to Burnout on the PSP. Which one looks and controls better? xbox.

    7. Re:Who are these people? by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      it kills me how people try to compare a handheld to a console. its not meant to be a purely portable console. never has been. people didnt cry because super mario land on the gameboy didnt look as great as super mario world on the supernintendo. people never compared their gameboys to their nintendo consoles... why are we starting to now? i guess we have to blame sony for making the difference so close to whats considered current generation that we naturally expect that we should be able to.

      just because the psp can deliver graphics close to the level of the ps2 [failing in some areas and exceeding ps2 standards in others] does not mean that the psp should compete with the console market. its a handheld, people! you cant compare burnout on the psp to burnout on the xbox... its not even the same game. if you wanted to compare, try to compare burnout legends on the psp to burnout legends on the ds, or maybe ridge racer on psp and ds, or maybe spiderman on psp and ds, since they are both handheld versions [BTW, the psp wins all of the above comparisions overall; not just graphically].

      granted, i agree that sony might need to rethink some of their series when transfering them to psp. i think they had the right idea when they transferred metal gear solid to the psp. i personally didnt quite enjoy the actual gameplay mechanic. it was too slow for what is considered an action series. but i felt i was a step in the right direction; playing on the systems strengths and avoiding many of its weaknesses. something needs to be done to make psp games stand out from the rest of the playstation library. online capability and portability cant be the only factors. wake up sony!

      i think it was a great tactic by microsoft to launch the x360 during the same frame as the psp. sony is getting outrageously splintered and is unable to support three systems simultaneously, with two launching within a year apart window give or take. they cant continue to push their cashcow ps2, r&d their ps3, and successfully try to gain a significant marketshare of the portable market all at the same time. i think sony [the playstation division anyways] is doing a pretty good job considering, however gamers are getting hungrier and hungrier. if we dont feed well and soon; we're going to have to take a bite out of the steaks thatre already ready and on the table [the x360 and the ds]

    8. Re:Who are these people? by liloldme · · Score: 1
      When I was a teenager I cared enough about videogames to play them everywhere. These days I like playing the PS2 and xbox, and when I do I want the best graphics and experience. Therefore I'm never going to care about re-worked versions of Darkstalkers, Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid, Wipeout, Ridge Racer, Grand Theft Auto 3, Need For Speed Underground, MediEval, Burnout 3, and SOCOM.

      Well let me say that I'm just the opposite..

      When I was teenager I didn't mind the fact that I had to be tied down to a single physical location to be able to enjoy my console or computer games. I had free time in abundance.

      These days I don't have that luxury -- whether it's my computer, internet connection, mobile phone or game console, it has to be portable. My free time is broken into tiny slices of time, one moment here another there, and being able to enjoy game entertainment in one physical location alone (at my home) is not even a remote possibility most times.

      I couldn't care less about the graphics, as long as the gameplay is good and keeps me entertained when in transit, in the air plane, waiting for an event to start, whatever it is.

      Game console bound to a TV to me is about as attractive as having a phone tied to a wall instead of a mobile.

  5. It gets worse for the PSP by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 3, Informative

    in Japan. Where Animal Crossing[Forest] is pulling another Nintendogs and widening the gap even further. Nov 21 - 27.

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    1. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by oGMo · · Score: 1
      in Japan. Where Animal Crossing[Forest] is pulling another Nintendogs and widening the gap even further. Nov 21 - 27.

      Huh? They sold 1.6 million this year, vs 2.2 million DS's. That's a gap of less than 500k, and these are devices that cost considerably more. The chart shows they've sold more than the PS2! So you look at a 7-day period and claim the sales are better? I'm sure we can find an arbitrary 7-day period where the PSP sold more, too.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    2. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 2, Informative

      Because it bucks Sony fan predictions that the huge lead the DS went into(over 1 million units in japan alone) this year with(because of shortages, right, the figures now say differently) would somehow be reversed. Instead the short-term trend we saw up until March(5k more PSPs per DSes sold per 2-week period) reversed drastically with Nintendogs, calmed down again(but the PSP never regained a sales lead) and is getting worse again with Animal Crossing. The game sales trend has continued(no PSP game has yet to hit the top 10 or crack 300k units), and now we're at the DS having 66% of the next-gen handheld market and sales are picking up.

      In the US, the situation is similar. Not sure about Europe. But Europe has never really mattered, and even if Sony sold every last unit they claim to have shipped there it still wouldn't push them above that 33% share globally(and note that 33% figure doesn't even take into account the GBA and GBA SP, which have sold as many units as the freakin PS2)... so who cares?

      When it costs an order of magnitude more to develop on a platform, and you barely sell enough to break even, you don't pump a bunch of money into new projects. Not when it's an incredibly distant 3rd place platform. You're already seeing this as title flow slows down. It doesn't make business sense to throw your weight behind a platform like that. So people aren't.

      The PSP is the gamegear 2.0, Sony has horridly failed to dethrone Nintendo in the handheld space, and unless something drastic happens, soon, it's all-but-dead. Things are bleak, hope you didn't buy one.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    3. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "That's a gap of less than 500k,"

      500k is around 30% of the 1.6 million PSPs out there. 30% is a sizeable gap.

      "and these are devices that cost considerably more."

      And that helps how? Fewer units is fewer units. Game companies don't care about how much the hardware costs so much as how large the installed base is.

      "The chart shows they've sold more than the PS2!"

      This is Japan we're talking about: everybody there already owns 8 PS2s, one of each color (heck, even I have two). And the PS2 is on the wane ("ZOMG! Game Boy outsells NES!").

    4. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by oGMo · · Score: 1
      The PSP is the gamegear 2.0, Sony has horridly failed to dethrone Nintendo in the handheld space, and unless something drastic happens, soon, it's all-but-dead. Things are bleak, hope you didn't buy one.

      Eh. We'll see. It hasn't even been a year yet, no less five. Far too soon to look back and tell. Remember, the PS1 had a really, really slow start as well. They were also up against Nintendo, and Sega. Two huge names in the industry, and no one expects the Playstation to go anywhere. Nor did it, for awhile; then it got its killer app, that the competition couldn't run: FF7. The rest is history.

      Now they're breaking into another new area: handhelds. They're up against Nintendo, again. It's a slow start. Maybe they'll succeed, maybe not, but it's already worth owning based on the games that are already out. When the PS3 hits, and possibly has various PSP tie-ins, things could change yet again. We'll see. The race isn't over; it's barely begun.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    5. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by shoptroll · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, I'm thinking at this point, they've played the GTA exclusive card and that hasn't gone over well. The Final Fantasy card is coming up next with Crisis Core, but that's still in the very early phases of development, and it's not even anything NEW, it's part of the FF7 compilation. I'm pretty sure once Advent Children is officially released here (hey Sony and Square, where the heck is it?) and Dirge of Cerberus is out, if people aren't sick of Cloud & Co., maybe it'll sell.

      Besides, Square-Enix is already working on their third DS title, there is yet to be a PSP one released. Take that for what you will.

      --
      Insert Sig Here
    6. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      I dunno. I thought GTA would make a difference, it hasn't seemed to. FF may pull a repeat and make a difference, but there's 2 FFs hitting the DS as well, so who knows...

      Also, when the PS was released, the N64 hadn't hit yet, and SEGA had gone through the whole series of half-supported addons, then complimented that with a seeming allergy to money with the Saturn.

      We'll see, it's not over yet, but things really aren't looking good for Sony.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    7. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by Thwomp · · Score: 2, Informative
      So you look at a 7-day period and claim the sales are better? I'm sure we can find an arbitrary 7-day period where the PSP sold more, too.

      It's certainly possible but not likely. More info on Japanese sales.

    8. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      wow. thats kinda harsh. nintendo consoles have lived a wonderful life and released a bunch of great software classics despite coming in last place in the last two generations.

      because nintendo is in first place on the handheld front does not equate to "teh pwning of the psp!1!!1!ONE!ONE!!!1!". the psp has already outsold the gamegear [relative to the timeframe]. as for title slowdown... what are you talking about? i assume you dont own a psp and therefore are not aware of the titles coming down the pipe.

      hardcore gamers kill me sometimes. id swear i was watching highlander reruns: "there can only be one!!!". give me a break... its not that serious. if you can afford it; buy both handhelds. im sure you will find something exclusive in the psp library youll enjoy eventually.

    9. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Add another 130,000 copies. However, note Monster Hunter Portable, launching with over 100,000 copies. Maybe that is the kind of games people really want?

      Monster Hunter Portable... Monster Portable... Portable Monster... Pocket Monster... Pokemon

      I own a DS, and will probably be buying a PSP once the price drops and some interesting RPG are launched. Unless the redesigned DS is launched before.

    10. Re:It gets worse for the PSP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      THIS YEAR. Lets not forget that Nintendo sold almost a million LAST year before the PSP went on sale so that number is closer to 1.5 millon gap plus the fact that the DS has been out selling the PSP 2:1 and some times 3:1 EVERY WEEK FOR THIS ENTIRE YEAR. Last but not least there has been no less than 2 DS games in the top 10 games sold every week in japan for the entire year and usually there is closer to 3 games and Nintendo averages 5 top 10 games every week in japan.

      The psp has only had 2 games hit the top 10 in japan this entire year and it only lasted a week for each game.

      and yes. I have been keeping track of this. I look at the sales every week. I might be off by some or missed something but for the most part I'm right.

      oh and by the way when we are talking about 1.5 million and 2 million 500k is a HUGE gap that's close to 30% and lets not forget how Sony fans thought they were going to DESTROY the DS in Japan this year and had all these excuses of how Nintendo got a head start and that's why they had such a lead yet when you look at the sales from a fair starting point (the start of the year when both consoles were on sale) the DS STILL whooped the hell out of the PSP. The PSP had the lead for a month or two at the start of the year and then Nintendogs and brain training came out (these two games are STILL in the top 10 every week.. it's fucking amazing).

  6. I KNOW HOW TO SELL MORE UNITS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOWER THE DAMN PRICE!

    I refuse to pay more for a handheld unit than I would for a home console. If they reduce the price by at least $100, then I'll consider getting one. In the meantime, I'll be perfectly content playing my DS.

    1. Re:I KNOW HOW TO SELL MORE UNITS by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's the big problem. People don't accept that handhelds are more expensive than home consoles. Look at laptops for a direct comparison or ponder about the costs of an LCD, speakers and a battery. Sure, the hardware itself is weaker but it comes with lots of additional parts.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:I KNOW HOW TO SELL MORE UNITS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yet you can buy a DS with 2 screens, a mic, a touch screen, 2 cpus, and tons of fun games, GBA backwards compatibility and WIFI+free online gaming for only $100-$130. Go figure.

      (and yes, target does have some ads out saying $100 for the DS. It might be a misprint but they will honor the price and circuit city will match the price if you can find the ad or print it out from online)

  7. Still trying to decide... by Havenwar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmm.. I don't know... should I buy one... hmmm... Do they come with a free rootkit, or is that extra this time around?

    1. Re:Still trying to decide... by tktk · · Score: 2, Funny

      Knowing Sony, the rootkit would cost you extra, be overpriced, and install second rootkit.

  8. 2 things I see. by hal2814 · · Score: 1

    1. It's cheaper to get a used PS2, portable DVD player, and AC inverter than it is to get a PSP. Sure the setup I mention is only portable in the military sense, but that's good enough for a lot of people. AND you get a more powerful machine with more games on it. AND you can play DVDs instead of those UMDs.

    2. Poor handling of QC regarding the monitors have a lot of people afraid of QC issues with the unit. If Sony's selling the unit just to sell the games, they should spend whatever it takes to make sure the first adopters are taken care of. Their reluctance to solve the screen issues quickly put off a lot of people. I can tell you that I'll never buy a used unit without a return policy and used hardware can really help with late adopters.

  9. Keep it or ditch it? by ajservo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I thought about selling mine a few months back, but then decided against it when a working SNES emulator came out. SNES and NES games ALONE make the thing worth the $250. No amount of money could convince me that those $20 game in a joystick things are worthwhile when I can play Super Metroid, Bionic Commando, or Burgertime in my hands.

    The PSP's been the best handheld ever in my opinion.

    As soon as someone cracks the new firmware, 2.6?, I'll go games shopping again, since the two games I've waited for are out now. (Boku no watashi no katamari damashii and GTA, for those keeping score...)

    1. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're using a Sony product to play decade-old Nintendo games. Have you no shame? The best bit about a product is that it plays their direct competitor's software for free!

    2. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. It is so stupid that it isn't even funny. The original poster could just buy a GBA, and 10 bargain GBA games for the price of the PSP.

      Ot, if he want to play the illegual way, he could download 2500+ GBA games and use a flash cart.

    3. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by Hitto · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, you bought yourself a very expensive NES and SNES emulator?

    4. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by xtieburn · · Score: 1

      Errr you realise that there are SNES and NES emulators for the Nintendo handhelds as well right?

    5. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by grumbel · · Score: 1

      ### Errr you realise that there are SNES and NES emulators for the Nintendo handhelds as well right?

      Not sure how well the PSP SNES Emulator works, but SNESDS, a SNES emulator for NintendoDS, is not really that usable, its a good proof of concept, but not really much more, havn't tested the SNES emu for GBA, might be more solid, but GBA lacks a few buttons.

      Beside from that Nintendo handhelds have no way to load ROMs, you need extra hardware to accomplish that and that hardware is quite expensive (~100EUR), which brings you in terms of cost to a similar level as the PSP, which can load homebrew ROMs without extra hardware, given that you have the right firmware installed.

    6. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by ajservo · · Score: 1

      So, I could buy a smaller screened platform and limit myself to 10 games? Well, that sounds absolutely fun.

      Or, if I want to stay illegal, like you suggest, I can go flash rom, and run play 2500 GBA ports? Gosh, I've got that feature already on the PSP.

    7. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by ajservo · · Score: 1

      If you tweak your settings on the PSP, only games that don't go ultra heavy on the Mode7 are VERY playable.

      The SNES emulator on the PSP runs quite well.

    8. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a thief. And not only are you a thief, you're an idiot consumer as well.

    9. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by macshome · · Score: 1

      I've been meaning to get the SNES and NES emus loaded up on my DS, but I'm having too much fun with new stuff right now. I'm assuming there will be a lull in the DS games again at some point and I'll hit the portable emu then.

    10. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by shoptroll · · Score: 1

      Really sad when the draw of your uber-1337 powerful system is the ability to emulate games that your competitor (and other companies) made between 1983 and 1994. Emulating seems to be the only major draw for the system that I've been consistently hearing.

      If anything it's giving more credibility to Nintendo's Virtual Console idea for the Revolution.

      --
      Insert Sig Here
    11. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by xtieburn · · Score: 2, Informative

      These days you can get SD based carts for the DS for about 50 quid including the adapter to play DS ROMs. Which means its still about 50 quid cheaper in total than the PSP. Also all your media for it will be cheap multifunctional SD.

      I dont know how recently you tried the SNES emulator but it can play a fair few games at full speed, and each update a great deal more are added. A fair distance from being completed and I dont think on par with the PSP but SNES9x (the PSP one ive tried. There may be others.) is hardly perfect either. (Speed issues abounded but I havent tried it for a bit.)

      Course most of this doesnt mean much to me anyhow I have my DS because of DS and GBA games, Ill let my X-Box handle the console emulation. Id still say spending nearly 200 on a PSP for its SNES and NES playback is verging on the very silly though. If you want emulators and homebrew youd buy a GP2X.

    12. Re:Keep it or ditch it? by Is0m0rph · · Score: 1

      Supercard is about $35-$50 depending who you buy it from. Then you can use SD or CF cards and play DS and SP ROMs.

  10. PSP needs more good ORIGINAL games by spir0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    99% of the games are just rehashes of older games or properties. There's nothing new and exciting..

    Gripshift is the most original game I've seen in a while on any console. Currently it's the only PSP game I'm playing. I own several others, but they just didn't last long because I've played them all before..

    Even better, Gripshift was made right here in little old New Zealand. :)

    --
    The reason girls and Windows users don't understand UNIX is because all the documentation is in Man files.
    1. Re:PSP needs more good ORIGINAL games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm glad somebody else has picked up on GripShift, even if it is another kiwi :)

      Europeans and Australasians seem to be picking up on the game a little better though - consistently higher review scores and good initial sales by all accounts. The game managed to win a few awards at the AGDC last week too - Best Level Design, Best Game Design and Best Handheld.

  11. Well by Strell · · Score: 4, Funny

    Any system where you can play a lot of Nintendo games HAS to be a good system.

    ...

    Wait...

    --
    I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
  12. Give me a reason by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

    When the PSP released I looked at the launch titles and only found one of any interest. The name escapes me at the moment, but the reviews of it placed it as a stripped down version of Baldur's Gate on the PS2, which was already a pretty lean action-adventure title. The way I saw it, I could spend about $350 for one game. No thanks, I can forgo a half-assed version of a game type I like at that price. Since then, I've not really even looked at what is releasing for the system, nor have I heard from anyone I trust about a "must have" game on the system. I don't travel enough to need a portable DVD player, and if I did, I would buy a laptop. I already have an MP3 player for those times when I want one. I have a computer for browsing the internet. So, why would I possibly want to buy a PSP?

    --
    Necessity is the mother of invention.
    Laziness is the father.
    1. Re:Give me a reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You referred to yourself (either with "I" or "me") sixteen times in that little rant. Perhaps anecdotal evidence isn't your strong suit.

  13. I wonder why.. by Durinthal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As of this posting, the only positive comments about the PSP I've seen in this article are solely based on emulating older Nintendo consoles. I guess it's not a Sony product that people really want, is it?

    1. Re:I wonder why.. by G-funk · · Score: 1

      No it's not... And the best part is all the people willing to pay sony AU$400 in order to play nintendo games without paying for them. Coz you know, you'd be hard pressed to get every game snes game you've ever wanted or dreamt of as a child for $400...

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    2. Re:I wonder why.. by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      the psp is an incredible piece of machinery. as of now, i havent regretted buying mine. im still waiting on something exclusive to the ds before buying one of those too, but the psp serves me fine.

      wipeout pure is still releasing more downloadable content, lumines is still just as addictive. Metal Gear Acid and ridge racer are still begging me to finish them. i get to play catchup on tv shows i missed by downloading and encoding them beforehand. i dont see what the big fuss is over. maybe its just that i dont buy as many games as the average gamer here, but i dont buy a bunch of games at once; i try to finish what i have first. for a portable, if i can find one game im genuinely interested in every three - six months or so... im happy. usually RPGs or slower games keep me occupied longer.

      im looking forward to every extend extra, and wishing and praying for a port or sequel to ikaruga. [i can have my dreams, huh?]

    3. Re:I wonder why.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it's not... And the best part is all the people willing to pay sony AU$400 in order to play nintendo games without paying for them. Coz you know, you'd be hard pressed to get every game snes game you've ever wanted or dreamt of as a child for $400...

      Good luck getting that TV and SNES and box of games on the plane with you, Bruce.

  14. it needs games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I have both a PSP and a DS. My PSP is gathering dust. Maybe if there were somge worth while games people would care about the PSP?

    1. Re:it needs games by BusDriver · · Score: 1

      Lumines. It's the only game I've bought so far and both myself and my girlfriend are terribly addicted.

      I must be the only person on Slashdot who bought a PSP and is happy with it as is. I don't care for modding it, hell I don't even care for watching movies on it. I got it only to play games and that's something it does very well.

      Given the price difference between the PSP and the DS, I can see why the DS is doing a much better job. Plus I do think that the DS has more games that are good. The PSP certainly has some cracker games though, GTA being another.

    2. Re:it needs games by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      If you like Lumines get Meteos for the DS it's a much faster and much more fun game.

      I like Lumines and I play it on my roommates PSP but to be honest it's no where near as fun as Meteos.

      Even my anti-Nintendo sony fanboy roommate agrees.

  15. Where are the games? by MBCook · · Score: 3, Interesting
    As with most systems, the problem is the games. What great PSP games are there? Lumines was great, but it launched with the system back in Spring. I liked Hot Shots Golf (not a new title), but it came out in July. There hasn't been much since then. I played Burnout: Revenge when it came out (October?), but it wasn't fresh (just Burnout 3 repackaged). GTA:LCS came out to little fanfare (which suprised me). I've played it, and while it was interesting, the controlls were terrible (they are bad enough on the consoles, but without the second stick things are VERY tough). I still don't see how all the reviews gave it high marks (9 or 10 out of 10) despite some obvious flaws as such (it is a technical marvel, but it had flaws).

    So I'm left with my PSP and almost no games. I've played others (Mercury, Twisted Metal, and a few others) but there is no killer game for the PSP in my eyes (Lumines is great, but I don't think it was THAT great); and there doesn't seem to be in anyone else's (I figured it would be GTA:LCS, but I guess I was wrong).

    Compare that to the DS. It was slow at first but we got Yoshi's Touch & Go, Wario Ware, Castlevania, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Mr Driller (not new, but the second screen really helped), Phoenix Wright, Kirby: Cursed Canvas, Trauma Center, Mario & Luigi, and I know there are some I'm leaving out. Nintendogs was a massive breakout hit.

    The DS has more great games right now, the PSP doesn't. Some of the titles they promoted haven't done well (Death Jr. turned out to be a bit of a dud). The mainstays aren't there (no MGS, Acid doesn't count; GTA didn't have a big impact; a Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter game isn't out yet; we're waiting on Gran Turismo Mobile; etc). A quick look at the release date calendar over at IGN shows nothing I am interested in with a real date, or even a quarter. The next stuff is just "TBA '06". The only thing I can think of that is out now that I want to see is Tokobot which looks interesting but the reviews range from a 50% to a 90% and are all over the map (means it will be a rental at best).

    I've had fun with my PSP, but it will be a while before the next game I'm interested in comes out. (Can't even think of what it is). But the DS has those games that just came out I mentioned (Mario & Luigi, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart) plus more comming (Metroid Prime Hunters) in the not to distant future. There is even a title in the Black & White series scheduled to come out in February. And let's not forget the new

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    1. Re:Where are the games? by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      you also got Final Fantasy III (for the first time ever in the US) and CC comming out for the DS, both of which are being completely redesigned to make use of the touch screen. Nintendos not pulling back any punches with its system and its hurting the PSP exactly where it hurts most.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    2. Re:Where are the games? by nb+caffeine · · Score: 1

      I agree with you and the GP. I LOVE MY DS. I only bought it for Mario Kart, but while waiting on that I got some good DS games, some classic games that got released for the GBA (final fantasy 1&2, SMB3, Zelda:ALTTP).

      Being one with disposable income enough to buy a game now and again, my DS is getting more play than my xbox, PC, PS2 combined. It is by far my favorite system since the NES. And thats saying alot from a guy who has gotten pretty much every system in the last 15 years (save original PS and sega saturn).


      I get called a fanboy some places, but Id be lying if i didnt say that the DS is awesome

      --

      "Something's wrong with you...and I hope we never do meet again." - Deftones When Girls Telephone Boys
    3. Re:Where are the games? by nukem996 · · Score: 1

      You hit the nail on the head. My gf and I were looking at both the PSP and the DS last Spring since we were going on some long summer trips. The PSP had and still has no games while the DS and an encredible amount of great games. With PSP spying on there customers and making crappy electronics(my school bought Sony VIOS, long story but its like a laptop made of glass) no wonder no one wants it. The only thing the PSP has is better graphics, which dont matter in crappy games and horrible controls(thats what my 7800 GT is for), and it can be used as a portable media player. The DS has amazing games and my gf and I are thinking of buying a second one so we can play multiplayer. There are only two features that are missing from the DS that would make it the ultimate, portable media player(its a game console should be able to display a few movies and pics), and a simple web browser(just for fast slashdot viewing with its builtin 802.11b).

  16. Re:Even though sales suck I still don't regret my. by goodenoughnickname · · Score: 2, Interesting

    >>the PSP screen is beautiful...

    For still images, yes, it's gorgeous, but its response time is horrible. I was excited for GTA, but the constant ghosting makes me sick (not to mention the aforementioned ass-sucking analog nub).

  17. Overheard... by porcupine8 · · Score: 3, Funny
    While Christmas shopping this weekend, I heard a staff member ask a customer on the phone: "You're looking for Mario Kart for PSP?"

    Doh! Looks like someone will be asking for a DS for Christmas... Even when Sony manages to get one sold, they still haven't truly taken the "mindshare"...

    --
    Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
  18. I Saw One on Display by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I saw one of these on display at my local gaming store, and decided to try it out. I started up a game and... ........ just stood there waiting for it to load.

    Finally I got to the menu and tried to start a new game and ...... ...I had to just stand there waiting again.

    I actually felt kind of stupid just standing there waiting for this thing to load. I started looking around and saw the new Xbox 360 displayed impressively on a high resolution monitor. I noticed all the new DS games I'd like to play. I noticed that Fire Emblem had come out for GameCube, and then I looked back at the PSP and saw that it was still loading. OK, "forget this", I thought, and wandered over to look at the rest of the merchandise.

    1. Re:I Saw One on Display by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually felt kind of stupid just standing there waiting for this thing to load. I started looking around and saw the new Xbox 360 displayed impressively on a high resolution monitor. I noticed all the new DS games I'd like to play. I noticed that Fire Emblem had come out for GameCube, and then I looked back at the PSP and saw that it was still loading. OK, "forget this", I thought, and wandered over to look at the rest of the merchandise.

      After which you realized the the Xbox 360 had a sign saying "out of order" ...

    2. Re:I Saw One on Display by NeMon'ess · · Score: 1

      If you're trying to make fun of the power supply problems, the 360 displays I saw at Gamestop and CompUSA both had quiet but powerful fans blowing air out the top of the cabinets. Those machines are probably getting better airflow than 90% of the 360s that are being played at home.

    3. Re:I Saw One on Display by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      thats odd. where do you live? the US?

      unless the owner set his personal PSP out so that everyone can play around with it, its well known that sony doesnt have or permit PSP display units. nice try though...

    4. Re:I Saw One on Display by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yes they do. They just started setting them up two weeks ago. The one at the EB here has a UMD of FF7AC in it.

    5. Re:I Saw One on Display by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      We have a fan dedicated to our power supply AND 360 with it elevated on something that lets it breath on the bottom also and the thing still fucking hangs in half of our games with in 15 mins of playing them. PGR and Gun which was rented from gamefly.. horrible service gamefly is btw are the only games that work. PDZ, Tony hawk and Kameo are all broke as fuck even after having the disks cleaned/fixed which we paid for. We haven't contacted msoft about this yet though. I'm sure we aren't the only ones. They say only 3% or so of the 360's are broken? I don't fucking buy that at all. 3% has reported a broken system perhaps but I bet that number is closer to 25% because this thing really is a heap of shit. You can't even bump the thing the littlest bit with out scratching your disk so bad you can't play the game anymore and guess what? Microsoft won't replace the game. It's seriously fucked up.

      I do love the controller though. We got condemed the other day and that game looks really really bad ass GFX wise altho I'm not really into the whole CSI type suspense/forensics(sp?) shit.

  19. Stating the Obvious by 3dfxgamer · · Score: 1, Informative

    Apple vs. Microsoft
    Game Gear vs. Gameboy
    PSP vs. Nintendo DS
    The common denominator is the price difference. The fact that a product is far superior doesn't mean that it will sell better. People will usually go with a lower cost alternative. And often if they can afford the more expensive product they end up buying the cheaper one also.

    --
    Note to self never mention Microsoft when posting on Slashdot!
    1. Re:Stating the Obvious by Hitto · · Score: 1

      It worked so well for the Xbox and PS2, amirite?

    2. Re:Stating the Obvious by AuMatar · · Score: 1

      If you consider the PSP superior. I don't. I find the touchpad adds a lot of value to gaming, I find the hardware to be more durable on the DS (no way to fold up a PSP to protect the screen). The only way PSP might be "better" is UMD movies. And I don't want to play UMD movies. And the games for DS are MUCH better. So PSP looks like it had 2 strikes- lower quality and higher price.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    3. Re:Stating the Obvious by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      What about:

      PS2 and Xbox vs Gamecube?

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    4. Re:Stating the Obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      how about..

      Windows vs Linux
      MS Office vs OpenOffice
      SQL Server vs PostgreSQL

    5. Re:Stating the Obvious by PeelBoy · · Score: 1

      Can ANYBODY name a single console that won the console wars for 1 generation based on the fact that it had better technical specs? I can't think of a single one. I have no idea why people think that will be the case this generation. I don't understand why Nintendo having lower specs means it will be in last place when that has never been the case before. People said Nintendo would lose because of the lack of online gameplay also which was a complete load of shit I mean seriously if you think about it the PS2 is the slowest and weakest of all 3 systems yet it's by far #1 and Microsoft Live is the best online of all 3 yet that system isn't even close to #1 it's more like a close tie for #2 with Nintendo if not just ever so slightly ahead (world wide).

      Think of all the systems that were suppose to be the fastest and best but were never on the top (and most didn't do well at all)

      Dreamcast, 3D0, Neo Geo, Saturn, Jaguar, N64, XBox.. That probably isn't even half of them. Shoot wasn't the old Atari in the early 80's faster than the NES and Sega master system? And lets not forget hand helds :-P

      I mean shit the PS1 didn't have better graphics than the N64. It only won because it had a CD ROM and took major games like FF from Nintendo.

      It's all about the games. It's always been about the games. It will always be about the games. The specs don't mean shit if you only have shit for games.

  20. Where is Java? by grumbel · · Score: 1

    One thing I am wondering, why doesn't the PSP have a way to run Java programms? A Java environment could give the PSP the protection that Sony wants and at the same time allow easy homebrew development. It would also be a easy way to kill most firmware hacking, since a Java environment would be much easier to work with. Is there any special reason why Sony hasn't gone that route? For me that would kind of be a killer-feature and make me buy a PSP.

    1. Re:Where is Java? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sony doesn't make money on the PSP. It makes money on games for the PSP, although adding the ability to play inferior cellphone games on the PSP might push up popularity a bit, I dout it would have much impact. And if for some reason it did, then Nintendo would just say, hey... good idea, we'll just add this to the DS and there goes PSP's advantage.

  21. As a PSP owner, let me just say... by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... hold off your purchase until the SNES emulator(s) gets a little more streamlined. First gen games run fine with no frame skipping, but it chokes a bit on Super Metroid.

    Of course, if you're more interested in NES, go for it. I haven't tried Genny/MD yet, but I imagine it runs better than the SNES code (i. e. full speed).

    I got my PSP because of what I could put on it (ROMs and the occasional MP3, but I got something smaller that plays MP3s with no DRM crap), not for what Sony could put on. I have yet to see any compelling UMDs to buy, be it game or movie (but my opinion of the movies may be skewed by my refusal to buy movies from MPAA members).

    Modern games? Well, I know I'm getting Animal Crossing for Christmas...

    Note to trolls: I've only played the ROMs of cartridges I own (and still own) and dumped myself with my SWC. Take your holier-than-thou attitude and shove it.

    1. Re:As a PSP owner, let me just say... by Spaceman+Spiff+II · · Score: 1

      Or, if you're really only after emulation then you could go with the cheaper, open source GP2X that was just released a month or so ago. It seems to be coming along nicely with a thriving homebrew community.

      --
      I understand that life's not fair, just why is it never unfair in my favor?
    2. Re:As a PSP owner, let me just say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can do the same thing on the DS with a flash-cart and a passthrough adapter(or compatable wi-fi card). SNESDS does fine except for incomplete Mode 7 support(IE: Metroid plays perfectly except some of the transparent layering effects, think emulators from 99-2000). The NES/SMS support is awesome as well. The real kicker tho, is ScummVM with touch-screen support. That's just sweet.

      Can't wait to see what the old GBA homebrew community does once someone gets a TCP/IP stack working on the thing.

    3. Re:As a PSP owner, let me just say... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      2x200 mhz CPUs? I can see that being more than sufficient for the emulation, particularly if the UI is streamlined, but movies? I admit, I am no expert, but that would seem to be really kind of low for any sort of quality Divx decoding.

      Anyone have any first-hand experience with these things?

    4. Re:As a PSP owner, let me just say... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Yes, but does it run the SNES emulator at full speed, or does it have the same problems as the PSP?

  22. Bingo. by porkchop_d_clown · · Score: 1

    There have been several great games for the PSP, but nothing for the past several months. When I first got it, I promptly started writing software for it, but it's been sitting on a shelf since summer - there's been nothing new worth playing and the !#@$!@# DRM and half measures like streaming-only RSS feeds really just leave me frustrated.

    --
    Clear, Dark Skies
  23. Sometimes, companies just die by Nice2Cats · · Score: 1

    Does Sony still have good people at any level, in any capacity? You would think they are following the rats off the ship as fast as they can. Given the quality of their products, the bad management and the terrible PR, I find myself wondering if Sony is not in some sort of a death-spiral. As big as they are, this can happen. And after the rootkit fiasco, I also find myself wondering if this would really be a bad thing.

    1. Re:Sometimes, companies just die by ClamIAm · · Score: 1
      Does Sony still have good people at any level, in any capacity?

      Well, there are probably a lot of grunts who are honest, but it seems nearly all who make decisions worth any value are completely brain-dead.

  24. Hype machine? by bergeron76 · · Score: 1

    TheStreet.com is reporting that the 360 has captured the hype machine for this Christmas season.

    Too bad the hype card is only played when the product fails to meet expectations and fails to gain word-of-mouth marketing (which great products always have).

    Oh wait, I think I misread the article. Maybe the Hype Machine is the name (or codename) of the next generation of XBox.

    I just got confused prematurely (my girlfriend hates it too).

    --
    Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
  25. Backwards compatibility by BenjyD · · Score: 2

    I think a major factor for the DS's success is the GBA. Most gamers who want a handheld will already have a GBA, so the fact that the DS is cheap and allows them to play their GBA games on a better screen makes it much more attractive, even without the excellent games. I know that was part of my decision. Also, the huge success of the GBA means there is a large ready-made pool of developers who will transition to the DS.

    1. Re:Backwards compatibility by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The PSP has a great backwards compatibility catalog. After all, it can play NES, SNES and GB games. ...

      Wait...

  26. Established market, backward compatible, IDEAS by ianscot · · Score: 1
    The three basic factors from what I can tell are:

    Nintendo has just owned, owned the portable market with the GB line, so it's got the established base of developers for that.

    Nintendo pays attention to its customer base about things like backward compatibility. The GBA could also play GBColor games. The Revolution supposedly will play Gamecube titles. (Gamecube couldn't pull this off, because N64 games were cartridges and anyway N64 was already suffering from too few titles.) In general Nintendo just does pay attention to things like this, which helps users and "leverage" (ugh) that established base of older games.

    Nintendo is also the only company that's trying something a little different with its systems right now. The stylus doesn't exactly change anyone's life, but this Christmas my kids are getting "Trauma Center" and stitching up patients with the thing, which is new. (Honest to God, I know system specs will crawl up over time, but what makes game play any different with the Xbox 360? Anything at all?? The number of polygons in Alonzo Mourning's beard doesn't fix the rebounding problems in NBALive.)

    Sony, though, is just entering this market. It'd be wise to think of the PSP as their way of breaking the ice and gaining market share, but it's an immature product for them.

    Kind of an interesting chess match, with Sony playing conservative with the PSP features in order to get ports from the console onto the system, and Nintendo hoping their developer base will travel to the DS...

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  27. You bought *one* game, but you're happy? by LKM · · Score: 1
    It's the only game I've bought so far and both myself and my girlfriend are terribly addicted.
    I must be the only person on Slashdot who bought a PSP and is happy with it as is.

    Maybe I misread, so let me get this straight: You shelled out the full price of the PSP, bought only 1 (in words: one) game for it and are happy with your purchase?

    Either you bought your PSP only a few days ago, or you're so stinking rich that you don't mind paying hundreds of dollars for being able to play one single game.

    1. Re:You bought *one* game, but you're happy? by BusDriver · · Score: 1
      I've had it about 2 months.

      It came with Ridge Racer as part of the bundle, so I actually own 2 (in words: two) games and I am happy with my purchase!

      I would not say I am stinking rich by any measure, but the PSP wasn't a terrible tax on the wallet because I shopped around for ages and eventually got one duty free.

      I don't play it that much, I would say probably 2 or 3 hours a week tops. Mostly I use it while waiting for stuff (in the care while waiting for GF to come out of work, while sitting in the laundrymat waiting for clothes to dry) so two games keeps me entertained. While at home I have my PS2 so I play that and keep the PSP for when I'm out of the house.

      If you played Lumines I'm sure you'd see why it's so easy to just keep returning to it. It's like Tetris, but better!

      Why do you need more than 1 (very good) game to be happy with a system? I'll get bored with it sooner or later and will then go out and buy another game.

      Tim

    2. Re:You bought *one* game, but you're happy? by LKM · · Score: 1

      I've had my DS for about 5 months. I own about 20 games. Part of the difference may be that I use it a lot more than you do. I commute to work by train, so there's an hour of gaming I have every weekday, no matter what. I simply can't play the same game for months. Or even weeks. Because sooner or later, you finish it, or it gets boring. Or you simply need something new. Sure, Meteos is awesome, but if I had to play Meteos an hour every day, I'd have a nervous breakdown.

      Or maybe you aren't playing more because there aren't more interesting games on the PSP? I constantly feel that I don't have enough time to play all the good games that came out for the DS recently.

      Or maybe my attention span is way too short.

      But I'd be terribly angry (well, annoyed, anyway) if I had bought a PSP for hundreds of bucks and then only found two games which I actually wanted to play on it.

      Oh well. Back to Mario & Luigi. Or should I play a quick race of Mario Kart before going to bed? Hm...

    3. Re:You bought *one* game, but you're happy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea I think that's the difference.
      If I had 20 games I'd never find time to play them all!

      I would agree though, the DS appears to be the better console when it comes to games. I am a bit of a Sony Whore though, I have a P910i, a Sony Camera, PS2 and now the PSP. The memory cards I've got work amongst all of them so that's a bonus.

      There's about 4-5 other games for the PSP that I want, I just haven't got around to buying them yet :)

      Tim

  28. I'm a new PSP owner by stpitner · · Score: 1

    I didn't buy mine new, but instead picked it up from someone that didn't want their PSP anymore. True, the $250 price tag is still a little steep ($200 or less would be a lot easier to manage), but so far I'm very impressed. The game came with Ridge Racer and I purchased Lumines right away. Yes I know that Lumines is now an "old" title, but to a fresh user, it's great. I'm even enjoying Ridge Racer (I didn't play many Ridge Racer games for PS1 or PS2, so this has my interest). Sure there might be a lot of ports, but I don't see anything wrong with taking my favorite games on the road with me. A bunch of new RPG's are coming out or just came out, and so far I absolutely love the display and appearance of it.

    I guess perhaps I've always been a rebel because I never owned a Nintendo until I bought one well-used after the PS1 was already out (and it was the newer version of the Nintendo where you put the games in upright). I followed the line of Sega Master System -> Genesis -> Sega CD (and 32x about the same time). I also had a Game Gear instead of a Game Boy. The color screen was always better to me. Now when it comes to DS vs. PSP, I think I'm going to have to vote PSP. I enjoy the larger screen, and I've enjoyed what Sony has produced so far in the gaming market. The whole Sony rootkit thing doesn't affect me at all, so it's a non-factor in what system I'd pick up and play.

    I don't think UMD movies will ever take off all that much. Unless Sony or someone else makes a DVD/UMD combo player where I can take my UMD movies and pop it in to watch on a TV, I don't really plan on spending the money on UMD movies. I'd rather play the games on my PSP.

  29. Memory Stick by LKM · · Score: 1
    I am a bit of a Sony Whore though, I have a P910i, a Sony Camera, PS2 and now the PSP. The memory cards I've got work amongst all of them so that's a bonus.

    I'm moving away from Sony's hardware precisely because of the memory cards. I bought a P800 three years ago. It has a Memory Stick DUO, so I couldn't use the Memory Sticks I already had in it. Would I buy the new P990 now, I couldn't use the DUO sticks in it, because it has Pro DUO sticks. And I can't use those sticks in any of the other devices I own. On the other hand, the CF card I bought about five years ago still works in my most recent camera. Sony can't even lock you into their memory sticks properly, since they change the format more often than all the others combined :-)

    So when in doubt, I always chose the non-Sony solution.

    Well, yeah. Enough of my rant.

  30. Re:Even though sales suck I still don't regret my. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hahahaha you spent $250 for a Sony PSP so you can play 15 year old Nintendo games.

    psp movies cost the same as dvd's *cough*rip off*cough*

    and a 1gb duo memory cart that will probably be used for music costs as much as a 1gb flash mp3 player that does the job better and longer and doesn't get scratched to hell or bothersom while jogging with it in your pocket.

    I regret 100% my decision to buy a PSP.