While I will admit that the GBA SP is a vast improvement over the original design, the original GBA didn't have any problems functioning. I paid for an original GBA, and it was a good system. I traded it in for an SP, because I was tired of buying batteries for the "Flood Light," and I figured I would save money in the long run.
I believe that the true test of someone is not the mistakes that he or she makes, but the way he or she reacts to them once they are made.
Everyone is going to make mistakes, and this would be no big deal if Sony said, "We are sorry. We'll fix the ones that break because of this."
Instead they said that it was "perfect" and the "most beautiful thing ever." The PSP does not beat Yosemite National Park on either count. They made it clear that they should not be questioned, and that we would just have to deal with it. This is much like what they told developers with the battery life.
This is probably why you guys are getting the DS earlier than Europe. This is the first time the US has gotten a Nintendo console launch before Japan. The only reason I believe they didn't release it down under at the same time is that they didn't want to spread the units too thin, and they wanted to have a few more titles ready for you. Usually the US doesn't get a new console until a half-year after a Japanese launch, so I think they are trying very hard to please everyone this time.
The DS does have multiple languages in the firmware, but each game still has to be translated into about 5 languages before it can be launched in Europe. The DS won't do that for them.
The development hardware was released in early September. The first fully playable prototypes were introduced to the public at TGS in late september. A little more than 2 months later the PSP was launched.
I'd be willing to bet that the final launch version was not play-tested any farther than, "It works," "Good." They did not have a whole lot of time to go from fully-functional prototype to launch it seems.
I think it was over-confidence and pressure to launch alongside the DS.
I suspect it's because Nintendo doesn't spend enough to buy off the press, but Nintendo never gets their fair shake. How many articles about the impending doom of the never-profitable XBOX have you seen? How many times do you see Sony taken to task for features they never deliver? The PSP is a prime example. People keep talking about UMD movies and music when Sony's own studios haven't committed to supporting the format.
At E3 Sony brought a PSP unit that had to be fed by internal computers. It didn't even work yet, but GameSpot and others gave it "Best of Show." High praise for a plastic mock-up.
Let's see. Nintendo also made rumble paks, analog sticks, 4 controller ports, hard drive in a console (64DD), and the touchscreen in the DS. There are other things, but they haven't ended up being so popular, like the e-reader.
Hell Sony has been leaning on Nintendo's old SNES controller design for a decade now, only adding rumble and analog sticks after Nintendo introduces them.
Say what you want about Nintendo, but without their constant effort, console gaming would not be anything close to what it is today.
Maybe, just maybe, the poster was picking out three simple examples, and not attempting to be exhaustive. An illustrative sample if you will.
Nintendo is now starting to give out franchises to third parties in an attempt to woo them. Namco made StarFox Armada and Donkey Konga. Sega made F-Zero GX. Capcom made Zelda: Four Swords. Nintendo is even handling publishing duties for some SquareEnix games. Nintendo has decided to share the spotlight on their consoles. It took them about mid-way through the current console cycle to do this. If they are willing to do this from the Revolution's launch, they should be in a better third-party situation this time around.
On the PS2 and XBOX other publishers can be more visible than Sony or Microsoft without those companies' help. The same is not true for Nintendo, but they seem to have learned this, and their new plan of investing their franchies in worthy developers is going to pay dividends.
There was so much anger when Zelda was cel-shaded from a very vocal group. Yet before Zelda was shown to be cel-shaded, everybody was praising cel-shading for the next Gundam game.
# Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world, surpassing expectations and cementing its position as a leader in the digital entertainment landscape.
Wait... How many XBOXes have been sold? When Microsoft reported their millionth Live account (in July), there was only 15 million XBOZes sold. Even with that dated number less than 1 in 10 XBOXes are online.
# The overall Halo franchise, which includes predecessor "Halo: Combat Evolved" for the PC and Xbox, has sold a collective 12.8 million copies in just three years. Where can PS2 or GameCube boast a system only title selling like that?
First point, that is three titles. Second point, Halo is ported to another system (not "system only"). Third point, you are including the sales of the damned port.
Yea! The XBOX has one game that sells well. WOOHOO! Dragon Warrior 7 for the PS2 has sold 3.5 Million in Japan alone since its launch two months ago. I believe GTA: SA sold more than 5 million copies, too.
If they ever wanted non-Sony movies and music to be released, they had to allow other companies to use the format. Movie studios and record labels wouldn't have stood for a video game type licensing scheme.
Unless other appliances use the format I don't think any major label will bother with UMD. Sony might be hoping that someone else thinks the UMD is a good idea, and make their own UMD players.
Katamari Damacy is the PS2's saving grace. I can safely say as a Nintendo fan that this should be the game you guiltily fork over $110 for a used PS2.
It took 3 years for a game to come along to convince me that a PS2 was necessary for my gaming life.
Of course I think the argument for a GameCube was made two years ago with Metroid Prime, so I don't know why all you PS2 fans don't have a GameCube yet.
Good point. Sony seems to be talking only about future production and future demand.
On the other hand. Sony is currently shipping 100,000 PSPs per week, and if they really do plan to launch in the US and Europe anytime soon, they will need a hell of a lot more than that. Even a million a month is only 333,000 for each region.
If they really care about making a dent in DS market share, they will need more than 80K/week output in the US.
I'd also like to know how 290K sales in 3 weeks is "way up." Since launch sales in Japan for the PSP have been around 80-100K per week. This would make sales steady.
If Nader would have been a better president than Gore or Kerry, I might have voted for him. Nader is a zealot, and we never need zealots in the oval office.
Yes social security was in trouble before, but before the massive tax-cuts, 9/11, more massive tax-cuts, the war, and even more massive tax cuts we had a budget surplus that would have been used to help fix it. Bush's plan for Medicare Drug benefit was to hand a large wad of tax money to pharmacutical companies. I suspect that this whole private account/stock market crap won't amount to anything other to inflated stock prices his corporate buddies can cash out on.
I've been wrong before, and I hope I'm wrong now. Whatever problems existed before Bush got in are going to be hurt by a rapidly increasing debt.
Slashdot Mirror
While I will admit that the GBA SP is a vast improvement over the original design, the original GBA didn't have any problems functioning. I paid for an original GBA, and it was a good system. I traded it in for an SP, because I was tired of buying batteries for the "Flood Light," and I figured I would save money in the long run.
I believe that the true test of someone is not the mistakes that he or she makes, but the way he or she reacts to them once they are made.
Everyone is going to make mistakes, and this would be no big deal if Sony said, "We are sorry. We'll fix the ones that break because of this."
Instead they said that it was "perfect" and the "most beautiful thing ever." The PSP does not beat Yosemite National Park on either count. They made it clear that they should not be questioned, and that we would just have to deal with it. This is much like what they told developers with the battery life.
This is probably why you guys are getting the DS earlier than Europe. This is the first time the US has gotten a Nintendo console launch before Japan. The only reason I believe they didn't release it down under at the same time is that they didn't want to spread the units too thin, and they wanted to have a few more titles ready for you. Usually the US doesn't get a new console until a half-year after a Japanese launch, so I think they are trying very hard to please everyone this time.
The DS does have multiple languages in the firmware, but each game still has to be translated into about 5 languages before it can be launched in Europe. The DS won't do that for them.
The development hardware was released in early September. The first fully playable prototypes were introduced to the public at TGS in late september. A little more than 2 months later the PSP was launched.
I'd be willing to bet that the final launch version was not play-tested any farther than, "It works," "Good." They did not have a whole lot of time to go from fully-functional prototype to launch it seems.
I think it was over-confidence and pressure to launch alongside the DS.
I suspect it's because Nintendo doesn't spend enough to buy off the press, but Nintendo never gets their fair shake. How many articles about the impending doom of the never-profitable XBOX have you seen? How many times do you see Sony taken to task for features they never deliver? The PSP is a prime example. People keep talking about UMD movies and music when Sony's own studios haven't committed to supporting the format.
At E3 Sony brought a PSP unit that had to be fed by internal computers. It didn't even work yet, but GameSpot and others gave it "Best of Show." High praise for a plastic mock-up.
"They don't have sarcasm on Betelgeuse, and Ford Prefect often failed to notice it unless he was concentrating."
Quit your griping! I can beat ET in five minutes. You know, it was the Daikatana of its day.
To be fair, it is Nintendo that has allowed companies to step back to the SNES days with the GBA.
I stand corrected.
Let's see. Nintendo also made rumble paks, analog sticks, 4 controller ports, hard drive in a console (64DD), and the touchscreen in the DS. There are other things, but they haven't ended up being so popular, like the e-reader.
Hell Sony has been leaning on Nintendo's old SNES controller design for a decade now, only adding rumble and analog sticks after Nintendo introduces them.
Say what you want about Nintendo, but without their constant effort, console gaming would not be anything close to what it is today.
Maybe, just maybe, the poster was picking out three simple examples, and not attempting to be exhaustive. An illustrative sample if you will.
Nintendo is now starting to give out franchises to third parties in an attempt to woo them. Namco made StarFox Armada and Donkey Konga. Sega made F-Zero GX. Capcom made Zelda: Four Swords. Nintendo is even handling publishing duties for some SquareEnix games. Nintendo has decided to share the spotlight on their consoles. It took them about mid-way through the current console cycle to do this. If they are willing to do this from the Revolution's launch, they should be in a better third-party situation this time around.
On the PS2 and XBOX other publishers can be more visible than Sony or Microsoft without those companies' help. The same is not true for Nintendo, but they seem to have learned this, and their new plan of investing their franchies in worthy developers is going to pay dividends.
There was so much anger when Zelda was cel-shaded from a very vocal group. Yet before Zelda was shown to be cel-shaded, everybody was praising cel-shading for the next Gundam game.
Hell hath no fury like a Fanboy scorned.
Remember what Sony said about the PS2. They claimed that it could render Toy Story in real time.
I'll only believe Sony's claims when the product is on the shelf. They seem to hire pathological liars to do thier PR.
I think you should include total profits of a system in any measure of success. If you do, the XBOX is dead last.
# Xbox Live online gaming service has set a new standard for online gaming with more than 1.4 million members around the world, surpassing expectations and cementing its position as a leader in the digital entertainment landscape.
Wait... How many XBOXes have been sold? When Microsoft reported their millionth Live account (in July), there was only 15 million XBOZes sold. Even with that dated number less than 1 in 10 XBOXes are online.
# The overall Halo franchise, which includes predecessor "Halo: Combat Evolved" for the PC and Xbox, has sold a collective 12.8 million copies in just three years. Where can PS2 or GameCube boast a system only title selling like that?
First point, that is three titles. Second point, Halo is ported to another system (not "system only"). Third point, you are including the sales of the damned port.
Yea! The XBOX has one game that sells well. WOOHOO! Dragon Warrior 7 for the PS2 has sold 3.5 Million in Japan alone since its launch two months ago. I believe GTA: SA sold more than 5 million copies, too.
If they ever wanted non-Sony movies and music to be released, they had to allow other companies to use the format. Movie studios and record labels wouldn't have stood for a video game type licensing scheme.
Unless other appliances use the format I don't think any major label will bother with UMD. Sony might be hoping that someone else thinks the UMD is a good idea, and make their own UMD players.
Good luck with that, Sony.
Katamari Damacy is the PS2's saving grace. I can safely say as a Nintendo fan that this should be the game you guiltily fork over $110 for a used PS2.
It took 3 years for a game to come along to convince me that a PS2 was necessary for my gaming life.
Of course I think the argument for a GameCube was made two years ago with Metroid Prime, so I don't know why all you PS2 fans don't have a GameCube yet.
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga was great.
Good point. Sony seems to be talking only about future production and future demand.
On the other hand. Sony is currently shipping 100,000 PSPs per week, and if they really do plan to launch in the US and Europe anytime soon, they will need a hell of a lot more than that. Even a million a month is only 333,000 for each region.
If they really care about making a dent in DS market share, they will need more than 80K/week output in the US.
I'd also like to know how 290K sales in 3 weeks is "way up." Since launch sales in Japan for the PSP have been around 80-100K per week. This would make sales steady.
If someone called the "Dukes of Hazzard" game a "Honkey influenced action title," I would laugh my ass off.
It's time to lighten up. It is not an insult unless the person is trying to hurt your feelings.
That breaks your PSP, then charges you to fix your PSP after you use it. An ingenious way to reduce the money they are losing on each PSP sale!
Gameing journalism isn't about being accurate, or talking about what's good and what isn't. It's about making money.
You could take the word "gaming" out of that sentence, and it would still be true.
If Nader would have been a better president than Gore or Kerry, I might have voted for him. Nader is a zealot, and we never need zealots in the oval office.
Yes social security was in trouble before, but before the massive tax-cuts, 9/11, more massive tax-cuts, the war, and even more massive tax cuts we had a budget surplus that would have been used to help fix it. Bush's plan for Medicare Drug benefit was to hand a large wad of tax money to pharmacutical companies. I suspect that this whole private account/stock market crap won't amount to anything other to inflated stock prices his corporate buddies can cash out on.
I've been wrong before, and I hope I'm wrong now. Whatever problems existed before Bush got in are going to be hurt by a rapidly increasing debt.