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PSP To Refocus on Teen Market
Wired's Game|Life blog, and writer Chris Kohler, have the news that the PSP will be aiming at teen users in the near future. This from PSP senior product manager John Koller, who connected the recent system price cut to this new initiative. "Going forward, Sony will unveil the 'Dude, Get Your Own' campaign. The idea this year, says Koller, is to 'break out of the home cycle.' A significant amount of PSP users in that 13-17 group play the device at home. 'The teens that are doing this value the ability to utilize the portability,' Koller notes paradoxically. By portability, he clarifies, he means 'I can play it upstairs while my parents are watching the TV downstairs.'"
Wasn't the PSP already aimed at at teen users?
Abaddon: An Xbox 360 Indie game
The fact that it's portable isn't exactly unique to the PSP, but I think one thing going forward with it will be the ability to link directly to the Playstation 3 using your PS3 and a wireless router (you no longer connect directly to the PS3, IIRC). So once they give you the ability to play the PS3 games on your PSP using the remote feature, you basically will have a portable PS3 at home. And it's probably likely they'll do this, given that the PS3 to PSP functionality is more like Terminal Services than actual emulation.
So now, you can play your PS3 on the same TV that your parents are watching TV or a movie. Or, in my case, if your fiance wants to watch Sex in the City reruns on TBS.
The downside is that the wireless connection kills your already low battery life because it takes so much bandwidth to transfer the pixels I assume, but because you're home you just need to plug the PSP into the wall.
>>'The teens that are doing this value the ability to utilize the portability,' Koller notes paradoxically.
How can this be a paradox? Portability is the driving force behind handhelds.
I can definitely relate to the urge to play a portable game system at home - in some ways it's just less hassle than booting up the PS2, taking over the TV, etc. I play the DS at home a lot, it's nice and self-contained, which is especially advantageous since I just moved and most of my stuff is all jumbled aboot.
---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
Obviously, selling to the 55 to 75 demographic wasn't working
DJCC
I think they didn't make the PSP accept full-size DVDs because that would, you know, make the machine considerably larger...
UMD video is pretty dumb, though - like why do I want to buy another copy of a movie in a lower-resolution format?
Game library could definitely use some work - but there are some cool titles out for the machine, like the Rockman X remake, Loco Roco, and Mercury...
---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
Dude!, Yer getting a d....PSP!!!!
Sorry, couldn't resist, someone would have done it eventually....
*ducks the negative mod points*
For many reasons, you are not going to be able to use your PSP as a wireless display/controller for the PS3.
I fear you are stuck with watching Sex in the City (or buying a cheap TV to play your PS3 games on).
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
(And a great big cookie to anybody who gets the reference in the subject line!)
The "paradox" is that people are playing the portable system at home. It's not really a paradox, it just means that the ability to take a portable system elsewhere is not the only good reason to use a portable. I think this is significant (if you accept the idea - and I do) because the PSP is a bit large for a portable system - but also very powerful for a portable. If you look at it as a machine you're gonna take places, it may seem unwieldy - but if you look at it as a machine you'll use at home, it's convenient and the feature set is not too shabby....
---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
What say teenager other than a good dick joke (link to blog that contains video and then links to video:http://kotaku.com/gaming/psp/clip-and-the-ps p-pedo-teen-ads-start-249812.php)
Seriously Sony can't find a market for this piece of hardware, Sony didn't drop the price retailers DEMANDED sony drop the price because they had given so much store space for it and they weren't even able to make a profit on it. Otherwise you wouldn't see that many PSPs anywhere.
Sony doesn't have the games the fans want, doesn't allow the functionality the fans want, and charges more than the DS. The question Sony needs to ask themselves is the following what part of that sentence means the PSP is a good idea? I stated when the PSP first came out it needed unique games. All I saw then was PS2 ports. Now a couple years later I own one (great MP3 player, homebrew system, and I got it at a steal) but now I ask the same question. Lumines can only go so far. The owners of the system can't even find the unique games because all the get are 100 ports and 1 unique game. There's good games out there, but Sony isn't giving the unique games a shot.
Now reread that last paragraph, change DS to Wii, Ps2 to 360, and Lumines to Resistance. Oh and then change it to the fact I don't own one. It's the same story, the PS3 can't find an audience because it's just a "me too" situation. They don't have any worthy exclusives for at least 6 monthes. Their current games are moderate (Motorstorm and resistance didn't impress much at the game studio I work) Ps3 home can only go so far(especially when unlike the 360, it's only for when your not playing games. On the 360 when you're playing the games you still get voice chat, friends and more while playing your chosen game)
Sony needs a new direction. And sadly it's too late this generation, the die has been cast, they crossed the Rubicon. They didn't provide the fans with what the fans wanted. They didn't provide the developers with what developers wanted. They provided sony with what sony wanted. Anyone telling you they are supporting their developers is a first party studio or getting paid (through assistance or money). A lot of studios were thinking it but Eidos gave it voice last month, and you'll see more and more developers giving secondary support to the ps3 versions of games.
You can play it anywhere in and around the house. Mowing the lawn? PSP! Cleaning the pool? PSP! Taking a shower? PSP! The finite possibilities downright scare me.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
Black Handheld needs games badly.
Black Handheld, your life force is running out.
Black Handheld is about to die.
The modern story of Sony could be summed up in: "Someone shot the food!"
Because targeting it at the 20 something crowd who actually could afford it did wonders for sales?
I can see this move if this was October and XMas was looming. But early April? "Mommy I want a PSP for Easter. Pwetty pwease? How about Memorial Day?"
I smell pre-whatever-the-hell-e3-is-this-year-hype... Or a quick attempt to keep their product relevant and on the shelves.
*Waits to see if Nintendo fires back by dropping the DS Lite to $149 or $129 (could kill both the PS2 and PSP in one shot lol)*
Insert Sig Here
The greatest racing game, Burnout, in all of it's glory on handheld (not a busted looking DS version.) That alone can't be topped. I was playing it on the late train home from NYC and all of the drunks couldn't help but look over my shoulder and stare, like moths. Methinks they need to market to drunk teenagers, like everything else.
Just as you could always tell a Genesis kid from a Super Nintendo kid, since the ps3/360 are too similar, the closest thing is DS vs PSP kids. I was a Genesis kid. Who were you?
When I first read this, I thought it said "Dude, get your own campaign", which actually would have been quite accurate, given that Nintendo has been marketing to the younger audience for years.
"Now I'm seriously serious!" - Serious Sam
I saw one of the new ads on Sony's PSP website. It read "Easily more affordable than having a girlfriend. Dude, get your own." It seems to imply a scenario of trading up a PSP for someone's girlfriend, to which the reply is "Dude, get your own (girlfriend)." I'm sure that's not what it is supposed to mean, but the combination of tag-lines on that particular ad could have been better thought out. Not to mention the overall demeaning tone of the piece, I'm not sure who it is supposed to appeal to; it seems to make fun of teenage boys who do not have girlfriends by reassuring them that hey, at least your video games are cheaper than the girlfriend would be, and at the same time it encourages teenage boys to think of girls as little more than paid service providers. So right there you've alienated boys without girlfriends, girls all together, and any other teens that might find the ad offensive. I guess at least it isn't as bad as "Take a running leap here" posters near subway tracks.
Is there really an impression that the PSP isn't doing well? I know it sold over twenty million units, and it has a decent game library. What's up with the gloom and doom?
All they have to do is un-Sony the PSP and it will rock. Step one: add a 20/30 GB hard drive, ipod style. The memory stick limitation is killing them.
Already has a great little screen and it's able to get online via wifi. Make the wifi able to share files amongst other devices...even just PSP users, and you got something.
As a portable gaming device, it's limited. As a universal portable media device it will sell like an ipod. Make it run Skype and flash video via the wifi and I'll even buy a few.
Sony could be a great company again, except Sony keeps holding it back.
I've resisted getting a PSP for these reasons:
a) It doesn't do anything my DS.Lite doesn't do (I have a playyan,thus covering both the mp3 and video angle)
b) It doesn't do anything my PDA doesn't do (the PDA does everything but play mp4 video well
c) It doesn't replace my cell phone (Which is a cell PHONE, no video, no mp3 ringers, etc)
I don't need another toy on my person. Quite honestly here's what would make me buy a PSP, or a PSP2, or something, note previous failings from Nokia:
i) It has to replace all the crap in my pockets, be that:
1) It has to play mp3's(and current audio codecs), from a SD card (They are up to 8GB now, screw the UMD.)
2) It has to play mp4/h.264 video straight up with no conversion step, and more importantly, it has to have the ability to STREAM multicast/RTP/RTSP from anywhere, not just the ps3, This would let me use it as a "tv-extender with any device on my network". In fact, Verizon/Telus/xDSL could market their TVoverIP solutions with this kind of option. Basically I want everything VLC does.
3) It has to work with 802.11a/b/g/n, Note 'with', doesn't need to support all of it if it gets at least one of the higher bandwidth channels. Support Bluetooth as well.
4) It has to support 'homebrew', even if it's restricted to Java or Flash, in fact, give me flash 9 support with all buttons available, not this mouse-emu crud.
5) And finally, support via a removable/replaceable component a cell network, basically a small upgrade that turns it into a cell phone, so you can use your bluetooth headset and use the device as a cell phone.
6) Touch screen, I don't care if no game winds up using it, but a portable device needs to have one if it's going to go on the internet. The internet is mouse oriented.
7) Add a video camera as an option (via USB), likewise GPS. These devices should be mountable to the psp so they don't break off the usb plug.
8) Long battery life, it should last a minimum of 8 hours playing video, 30 hours playing audio. and games somewhere in between.
See the problem with current cell phones:
a) too much feature creep
b) horrible beyond horrible games, unusable internet
Problems with current PDA's
a) too much feature creep
b) horrible for playing games, subpar internet.
Problems with current PSP
a) Useless UMD drive
b) Useless web browser (likewise useless on ps3)
c) Clunky video support
d) which leaves just mp3 and pictures being the only usable parts outside games
Problems with the NDS:
a)small screen is not very useful for the web
b)isn't a cell phone.
c)no homebrew(well at least not without grey market copiers)
If I could get a device that does -everything- I would buy it, even at 800$ However one important thing prevents this:
-Theft-
I don't want to carry around a 800$ device because it paints a giant target on me for theft. In fact If I were robbed right now I'd lose a 700$ PDA, a 150$ DS Lite, 50$ play yan, 50$ SD card, a 100$ cell phone and probably 50$ in cash. I tend to leave the PDA at home because it's a very obvious target, where as the numerous people playing on their NDS's I've seen on transit are a not as very obvious target.
It's way cheaper to replace the NDS complete with play yan than it is to replace a PDA or a PSP. Hell the reason I use the playyan is specificly for this reason, if I ever lose it or it's stolen/broken I can just buy another one. Pity the playyan doesn't support 2GB+ cards. If I lost the PDA/PSP I wouldn't want to get another one. This is the same reason why I never upgraded my cell phone past the 'color screen cell phone' stage. It's much easier to replace a cell phone that is featureless than an all-in-one device that costs too much.
Oh the PSP should have a 'flip' cover so it can be stuffed in a pocket without scratching the hell out of the screen.
If I could get all that stuff above in a NDS form factor for 250$ I could justify carrying it
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Yes. Next question?
No.
The PSP is not marketed towards adults. Really. I own both a DS and a PSP. The DS gets the "adult" games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The PSP gets the "I wish I were an adult and need to pretend to be one by plaing violent games" games like GTA.
Both are nice consoles, but unfortunately, the recent games on the PSP have underwhelmed me. I do play and love fun games like New Super Mario or Mario Kart, but on the PSP, there's just too much stuff targeted at teens and pre-teens who need to prove how grown-up they are by playing games they think grown-ups play. By now, I mostly use the PSP to watch TV shows and movies while riding the train.
The new price is certainly enticing to people that were on the fence, however, I can't shake the feeling that this move is to preemptively combat one of the biggest releases for the DS in a while. Two versions of Pokemon are going to be released on April 22nd. I feel like this is the game that will sell the DS for that people that are still picking up the older GBA SP models.
It'll be very interesting to see the NPD sales for this month.
That being said, i'll wait for the next price drop to get one, can't wait to play older PS releases on it.
Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
Yes. Next question?
Hmm. How about this, why don't you find me the personal website of an adult, even a college student, that proclaims fanatical devotion to Pokemon and Nintendogs. Especially in light of the sales figures you cited, I just din't believe it.
The PSP is not marketed towards adults. Really. I own both a DS and a PSP. The DS gets the "adult" games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The PSP gets the "I wish I were an adult and need to pretend to be one by plaing violent games" games like GTA.
I was thinking more along the lines of Metal Gear Portable Ops or Ace Combat X - these games, while they are easily played by children, have a more serious tone and artistic style that isn't insulting.
Both are nice consoles, but unfortunately, the recent games on the PSP have underwhelmed me. I do play and love fun games like New Super Mario or Mario Kart, but on the PSP, there's just too much stuff targeted at teens and pre-teens who need to prove how grown-up they are by playing games they think grown-ups play. By now, I mostly use the PSP to watch TV shows and movies while riding the train.
Ahh, and there's the rub. Your personal views are of course yours and I won't dispute them - but seriously, does that translate into the console being a failure? I won't even bother to name the dozens of excellent and popular PC based games that didn't even make that list. They weren't failures, and are enjoyed by many today. If the PSP can outperform that market, how is it a failure?
All I simply saying is don't apply your personal views, which given the data you cited and based on my personal experience appear to be outside the mainstream, to a business that is otherwise doing well. Maybe it is not well enough for you, but it is enough for the hundreds of thousands of PSP owners who are quite happy with their systems.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
What if Sony tried to gear the PSP to the gamer market instead?
When I got New Super Mario Bros I played it pretty much constantly until I finished it. Several of my friends did the same. We have semi-regular DS multiplayer bouts, where NSMB and Mario Kart 64 are our staples. Several of us have played and beat Super Mario 64, and several of us own Tetris (I do not, due to a huge game queue at this point, but I did get Mario and Luigi Partners in Time.) I believe several of us own Nintendogs too, though I haven't gotten into that one. (I've been kind of avoiding it since it sounds addictive.)
Nintendo makes fun games. Sony, fundamentally, does not. The vast majority of good Sony-platform games are third-party games, and for whatever reason, the competent third-party developers have largely avoided the PSP (with several notable exceptions.)
I have both a DS and a PSP, and the fact is that the DS has significantly more good games than the PSP does. Yes, a lot of those are more cartoony and have more primary colors and less noir. They're still damn fun games though, and many people don't mind cartoony games with lots of primary colors.
Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
Huh? Why would I do that? Are you claiming that there are no adults who have a fanatical devotion to Pokémon or Nintendogs? If so, you are probably somewhat insane. Pokémon, by the way, is an RPG with a rather complex fighting mechanism, and it is played by many adult gamers. Nintendogs is played by adults as well, especially females. Yes, I know several women who did play that game for months and months when it came out.
I'm not sure what you're arguing for, anyway. I claimed that adults play games like Mario Kart, not that adults are fanatically devoted to Pokémon.
I did not argue that it was a failure (although that would be quite an easy argument to make). I argued that it was not targeted at adults, and that the DS was a better console for adults.
Again, I'm not sure what you mean by that comment. Are you saying that adults playing DS games are less mainstream than adults playing PSP games? If so, then again, I would be inclined to question your sanity :-)
It's entirely possible that, from your personal experience, adults are more likely to own PSPs than DSs. However, worldwide sales numbers of consoles as well as of games, and of the particular genres of games that are doing well, should tell you that you are, in fact, the one outside the mainstream here.
On the other tendril, I think it would be nice if Sony released an external UMD player that would allow folks to play said games on their PS2/3.
- White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
Huh? Why would I do that? Are you claiming that there are no adults who have a fanatical devotion to Pokémon or Nintendogs? If so, you are probably somewhat insane. Pokémon, by the way, is an RPG with a rather complex fighting mechanism, and it is played by many adult gamers. Nintendogs is played by adults as well, especially females. Yes, I know several women who did play that game for months and months when it came out.
:-)
Oh yeah, when you know you can't win an argument, just attack the premise as insane. Ok.
I did not argue that it was a failure (although that would be quite an easy argument to make). I argued that it was not targeted at adults, and that the DS was a better console for adults.
Why don't you read your original post - you didn't make any such claim. I was attempting to suggest the premise that the PSP and the DS cater to different markets (in light of the article that is the subject of this entire discussion). You claimed, using a source I found interesting and novel, that the DS sells many more games than the PSP. While this is true, most of the games seemed oriented towards children. As further support, I noted how few PC related games were on that list - most were very old and genre defining, like Doom II. Your entire original post was defeatist, suggesting the PSP is failing to compete with the DS. But I just don't think there is much of a comparison to make. Are PC game makers failing to compete against the DS as well? They have even FEWER games than the PSP.
Again, I'm not sure what you mean by that comment. Are you saying that adults playing DS games are less mainstream than adults playing PSP games? If so, then again, I would be inclined to question your sanity
No, I am saying that far fewer adults are playing the DS than the PSP. I've seen it myself across all races and classes.
It's entirely possible that, from your personal experience, adults are more likely to own PSPs than DSs. However, worldwide sales numbers of consoles as well as of games, and of the particular genres of games that are doing well, should tell you that you are, in fact, the one outside the mainstream here.
You still seem to be missing the market segment concept I'm suggesting is very possible. The mainstream DS user is a child. The mainstream PSP user is an adult. The worldwide sales statistics you cited I believe support that. I simply refuse to believe the majority of people playing Nintendogs and Pokemon are adults. You can certainly continue along that premise, but let's face it. This is a slashdot meme.
DS good. PSP bad.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
I don't know if you ever took logic, but one of the fundamentals states that should a conclusion follow from its premises, you can only refute the conclusion by refuting the premises.
They may not have included internet-based evidence in this endeavor simply because it's easy to find. Whether from the horse's mouth or otherwise. Although, I'll admit that using the term "Adults" in your search can retrieve some less desirable results.
Examples:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3155881
http://www.gamespot.com/users/PsychoDuckRules/sho
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Grandpa-Wants-to-P
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
As you stated, in your experiance, riding the subway in NYC that very well may be true. Go to Tokyo (or any major city in Japan), and it will paint a very different picture. The DS is very much a mainstream product, and the PSP is more niche.
I simply refuse to believe the majority of people playing Nintendogs and Pokemon are adults.
In NYC that may be true, but travel more and you will notice the error in that. NYC is a great city, but isn't representitive of our own culture let alone that of other countries.
That's quite an ironic way to answer to my post. Nothing I can say to that, other than that you're kind of making my point.
This is indeed kind of baffling. I did not argue that the PSP was not targeted at adults, and I did not argue that the DS was a better console for adults? Let me quote from my post: "(...) The PSP is not marketed towards adults (...) The DS gets the "adult" games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (...)"
Seriously, what is it with you?
Oh, now I understand why your arguments seem so meaningless: You must be confusing me with somebody else.
Haha, you know, the funny part is how you tell me to read my own post. A post which I've actually never written, because I have no idea what you're talking about.
There are twice as many DSs out there than PSPs. Even if no PSP was ever sold to a non-adult, and only half of all DSs are played by adults, you're wrong. And again, your whole premise that the PSP is targeted at adults, while the DS is targeted at children, is rather absurd. Here's another piece of evidence: Children Prefer PS3 Most, Wii Least. Children actually prefer the more "mature" consoles, not the ones ostensibly targeted at children. Yet another piece of evidence: Is this an ad targeted at adults? I've already linked to the DS ad, which is clearly targeted at adults. Now I've linked at a PSP ad which is clearly targeted at teens. Please, for the love of god, provide some evidence for your claims if you want to continue this discussion.
Your whole claim is based on the idea that adults don't play games like Mario Kart or Nintendogs. That idea is quite simply absurd. If you are not able to provide any kind of real evidence for your claim, I will accept that as an admission of defeat :-)