The PSP's Comeback Trail

Next Generation has up a feature on the rising fortunes of Sony's PSP. Overlooked for quite some time now as the DS dominates the headlines, the article argues that the handheld console still has a lot to offer ... and people are starting to notice. "Sony has always commanded strong third-party support for its systems since the success of the original PlayStation, and [senior PSP marketing manager John Koller] believes that PSP developers are similarly finding ways to get creative and present fun titles. 'Upcoming launches such as God of War: Chains of Olympus from a first-party perspective, and Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron from LucasArts, are certainly good examples of fantastic franchises made unique on the PSP,' he says. 'It's clear that consumers do not want the same game on their PSP that they play on console.'"

Comments

Not very clear

[hansamurai]

'Upcoming launches such as God of War: Chains of Olympus from a first-party perspective, and Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron from LucasArts, are certainly good examples of fantastic franchises made unique on the PSP,' he says. 'It's clear that consumers do not want the same game on their PSP that they play on console.' Actually, it's not clear at all when you list God of War and Star Wars Battlefronts as examples, basically more ports (original story or not) of console games.

sony's problem

[loafula]

with the ps3 and psp is that the technology they choose is ahead of its time. this translates into slow starts with their systems, as the hardware in the systems is beyond the price range of what people want to pay.
the upside of this is that it ensures longevity of a system if and when popularity takes hold.
the psp is a great little gadget that, much like the ps3, got off to a slow start. /P

Re:sony's problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the problem is that the PSP's hardware is NOT ahead of its time. It's an ancient MIPS processor, which is related to the PS2, not to the PS3 which is a Cell. Tie that to a proprietary nonstandard optical format, and the conclusion is, the PSP is a dead-end design.

Re:sony's problem

[bigstrat2003]

I hate to point this out, but that doesn't follow, as much as people like to claim it does around here. I posted AC for years before I made an account, simply because I posted infrequently enough that I didn't feel like putting forth the effort to register. Not all ACs are people hiding because of an unpopular opinion/bad argument.

It's not about PSP vs. DS

[Kohath]

The press continues to miss the story on the PSP. The story is that Sony sold a lot of PSPs. Sony now shares the handheld market with Nintendo, instead of Nintendo more-or-less owning the entire market. That's a success. The PSP is a success with over 25 million sold so far.

Going forward, the PSP still has the technical capabilities and the software development to be a competitive product for 2-3 more years at least.

Re:What, more of the same?

[ucblockhead]

Selling 26 million devices is "tanking"?

Re:What, more of the same?

[sexconker]

As I recall, an albatross was a ship's good luck, till some fool shot it.

From Illfated to Goodfated

[masticina]

Yeah the PSP though having the best graphics around was illfated so far. Though with the playstation 3 connection it finally get its due. I mean on what other system can you take Grand Theft Auto with you! It is a very grown up Portable in that term. Many games are quite grown up and well the DS doesn't always has the games that I like.

I bought the PSP when the PS3 got into my grasp. Both just seem perfect together as sadly both aren't as fast going forward. There are quality in both that need time to work out! But when good stuff comes out on it it is heavenly good!