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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."

4 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. 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

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    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  2. 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).

  3. 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.

  4. 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.