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The PSP - Sony's Missed Opportunity

Posted by Zonk on from the too-bad-so-sad dept.

C|Net passes on the words of Forrester analyst James McQuivey, who lambasts Sony for failing to live up to the opportunity the PSP presented. Though the handheld has certainly been doing better of late, it's hard not to point out that the PlayStation Portable's sales numbers flag in the face of the DS's incredible popularity. McQuivey also makes a point of stating how well the system could have done at taking a slice of Apple's death-grip on the downloadable media market. "'The thing is, Sony could have been all this,' McQuivey said. 'The Sony PSP is one of the best portable entertainment media devices that anyone has come up with in years. It has a relatively big screen, plays video beautifully, has good storage and audio. It could have been the first big mobile carrier for TV shows and movies.' Instead, the mobile-video play of one of the world's largest electronics companies is straggling behind Apple, has shaken the confidence of supporters--especially in Hollywood--and added to the woes of CEO Howard Stringer."

2 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. How the PSP is annoying let me count the ways by tomstdenis · · Score: 0, Troll

    1. Shorter battery life.

    2. Load times

    3. Dead pixel fiasco

    4. Really limited games (no legacy library to pull from)

    5. Big shiny screen, totally exposed for the scratching when put in a bag

    6. Costs more than a DS

    7. No homebrew, or not as well supported as GBA/DS homebrew

    8. Lack of insight to use Pro memory stick slot for games [e.g. no need to spin up UMD], etc...

    Sure the graphics are better than the DS, but so what? I don't spend enough time going "WOW MARIOS ASS IS SHINY" to care. I usually only play handhelds when I'm stuck somewhere [re: airports] and have absolutely nothing else to do, and eyeing the jailbait has gotten boring.

    Tom

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  2. SD is proprietary too by tepples · · Score: 0, Troll

    It uses Memory Stick, which is a Sony proprietary format. You can buy third party versions, but it is obvious that they pay a licensing fee to Sony. Compare prices for 2 GB memory stick to 2 GB SD both from Lexar, for example. The competing product (Nintendo DS with SuperCard accessory) uses Secure Digital, which is an SD Association proprietary format. You can buy third party versions, but it is obvious that they pay a licensing fee to SD Association. Compare prices for 2 GB SD to 2 GB CF from the same manufacturer, for example.