New Media Experience Coming to PSP

The Guardian Gamesblog discusses the announcement that a Metal Gear Solid digital comic is in the works for the PSP. There's also going to be a title called 'The Silent Hill Experience', which will be a sort of guide to the series. From the post: "Designed to offer a comprehensive guide to all things Silent Hill, The Silent Hill Experience combines a number of media formats to give a compelling overview of the horror series. Using an intuitive 3D interface, users can view all-new Silent Hill digital interactive comics, listen to music from the four games in the series, and watch exclusive video content. The Silent Hill Experience also features an interview with Christophe Gans, the Director of the highly anticipated Silent Hill movie, starring Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean." Nice that they're finally doing something defining with the console.

Comments

When are they planning on a game experince?

[Godeke]

The PS2 did very well for me, but the PSP has left me cold (and thus unpurchased). Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings. Considering my time constraints, I don't usually bother with anything below 90 unless it is in a genre I like. That brings me to the genre problem: I loved my GBA because of the strong RPG and Strategy game showing... so far the showing has been especially weak in that regard on the PSP.)

I finally picked up a DS mostly because my GBA games work on it. Neither system has a strong game showing although I give the DS a very slight nod for my taste in portable games, such as Advanced Wars DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. My wife loves Nintendogs (the killer app for the DS if you ask me) and Animal Crossings. Meanwhile, the PSP is lacking in "cute" for her and strategy or RPG games for me. (Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade looked promising but was universally panned).

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[masamax]

The PSP does still have some killer apps. SOCOM is an amazing game given the limitations in the control scheme, but games like Wipeout Pure, and for the first time console quality sports games o the system make it very good as well.

Honestly, the best way I can think of it is to say that the PSP and DS are very similar to the Genesis/SNES era. Both systems were good, but both did certain types of games better than the others. No one can tell me playing sports games on the DS is as fun as the PSP, or tell me that Wipeout isn't an awesome game.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[oGMo]

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[cybereal]

Granted, the PSP can play games, but who really wants to pay $250 for the one or two good games it has to offer?

On the other hand, for almost $100 less money you can have this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6970 469&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat139000500 18&id=1099386329954

That gives you access to your EXISTING dvd collection, rather than paying more money for lower quality versions of movies you may very well already have, that will not play on ANY other device besides the PSP. Furthermore, get yourself a DVD burner and burn 4.7GB (or 8.5gb if you shell the cash for DL) worth of MP3's to listen to on the go.

Granted, the PSP is smaller and looks "sexier" but it also only has a, what, 4.5" screen? The dvd player I cite (and there are others, especially in the car-only segment, you can get a dual screen setup for $250) has a 7" tft.

Battery time is also directly comparable, not due to portable dvd players having good battery life, but instead due to the PSP having terrible battery life.

Clearly there are pros and cons to both, but, this post claiming "Nice that they're finally doing something defining with the console" makes me realize just how sad the PSP's showing really is.

Nothing in the post today can't be done on a DVD. I guess if you really want to shell out $249.99 msrp for vendor media lockin on movies, a smaller screen, and access to *WOW* digital comics *laugh*, then by all means, buy a PSP.

p.s. I didn't even bother comparing digital media players due to price, but, the price vs. feature set, with emphasis on size comparison with the PSP, also makes these devices a much better deal if you're looking at the PSP with movie watching in mind.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[masamax]

Oh yeah, that will work REALLY well, me lugging a portable DVD player on a transit bus.

If the PSP was so crappy, why have they sold millions of units? Besides, some of us like having everything they need in one device. I'd rather carry around ONE psp than a DS, an mp3 player, and a portable DVD player. Sure, each of them might do each better than th PSP, but I can't afford the space or the cost of all three when I want all three.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[glitch0]

Yeah, who wants to pay $100 more for a smaller device, with only 1 or 2 good games to offer? Let's totally ignore the fact that the PSP can run emulators and play 1000s of classic games, and even homebrew games. Let's also ignore the fact that with a $50 upgrade for a decent sized memory stick duo, you can load your own movies on and not worry about having to carry around big dvds.

But who on earth would spend $300 on a gadget that plays music, videos, a pretty big array of games, and allows you to browse the internet wirelessly? What kind of weirdo would want to be able to check his email on the go?

Your post reminds me of something: No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[guice]

As for making them writeable, why? That's why they have a thing called a memory stick slot.

Cost effective high volume storage. $100 a flash stick isn't exactly cost effective, nor is it high volume (1 or 2g is nothing when you think in movie terms).

I'd love to watch my movies on a PSP, on the go, but having to rebuy any one of my 300 DVDs isn't exactly something I'm willing to do.

HI-MD

[JohnnyLocust]

Sony were fools to opt for UMD instead of the HI-MD format. http://www.minidisc.org/hi-md_faq.html

Even though they are .8 GB smaller than the UMD, their rewriteability would have made the PSP a truly revolutionary media device. HI-MD audio players have incredibly long battery life for a non-solid state player. Using the h.264 video format, they could still have released very high quality movies. If they thought the UMD was going to prevent piracy, well, we all know how well that turned out.