When I went to Otakon last weekend, one of the things that amazed me, beside the transgender cosplying and how terribly I lost in SSBM (to a Jigglypuff and Yoshi no less!), was the sheer amount of DS and DS lites people were toting around. People would go into panels and while they were listening would talk on picto-chat with other people in the room. There were little circles of people on the floor, all with their DS's out, happily drawing pictures of birds, bees, and the occasional penis. I forgot to bring my DS on all three days and I regret it deeply. I was just unaware of how popular it was with anime aficionados, or in other words; nerds, and geeks.
The one time I did see a PSP was when I was waiting in line to get in the Convention Center and a pair of pseudo-"gangstas" (you know, the guys who walk with their pants riding at their knees, nice expensive air jordans, and a mountain of "bling" hanging from their neck) walked by, one of them with a PSP. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Here I was in a line full of nerds (myself included) who all had DSs, and the cool kids just walked by with their PSP. The thing is, nerds are probably the people that SONY would benefit the most from having as customers and nerds are probably the people who have the most incentive to buy a PSP. Something that they can download and watch anime on, and play emulated NES, SNES, and other classic consoles' games on while on the go. These people probably encompass most of the population who actually have the know-how, time, and patience to hack and make a PSP do such things. But did you see them owning a PSP? I certainly didn't. Nope, the PSP owners were the cool kids walking by, who probably only knew the basics of the system they possessed and it's features, and probably just got it because it was expensive and nice looking.
So based on my observations, the PSP is for cool kids. The DS is for nerds who like to communicate using phallic imagery and obscure japanese references. I currently don't know which demographic is larger, but I certainly know that the cool kids don't have conventions with 20,000+ attendees. And I also know that you can't communicate using phallic imagery on your PSP. Really, if a portable gaming system can't do a simple thing like that, then what's the point of owning one?;)
I think E3 needed a little humility. It was just getting way out of hand. From what I've heard, you spent most of your time looking at demo reels and waiting in line then playing games.
This has probably been said before, but this will also give small developers a chance to shine. Developers who might of not had the finances to create a big E3 booth now don't need to worry about it. The pressure to make big publicity is lessened. Publicity can be good, but at a trade show like E3, where big name developers take the spotlight, it can be very hard to get your name out without something big and flashy.
Slashdot Mirror
Just add testosterone to the water. Instant manliness.
The one time I did see a PSP was when I was waiting in line to get in the Convention Center and a pair of pseudo-"gangstas" (you know, the guys who walk with their pants riding at their knees, nice expensive air jordans, and a mountain of "bling" hanging from their neck) walked by, one of them with a PSP. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Here I was in a line full of nerds (myself included) who all had DSs, and the cool kids just walked by with their PSP. The thing is, nerds are probably the people that SONY would benefit the most from having as customers and nerds are probably the people who have the most incentive to buy a PSP. Something that they can download and watch anime on, and play emulated NES, SNES, and other classic consoles' games on while on the go. These people probably encompass most of the population who actually have the know-how, time, and patience to hack and make a PSP do such things. But did you see them owning a PSP? I certainly didn't. Nope, the PSP owners were the cool kids walking by, who probably only knew the basics of the system they possessed and it's features, and probably just got it because it was expensive and nice looking.
So based on my observations, the PSP is for cool kids. The DS is for nerds who like to communicate using phallic imagery and obscure japanese references. I currently don't know which demographic is larger, but I certainly know that the cool kids don't have conventions with 20,000+ attendees. And I also know that you can't communicate using phallic imagery on your PSP. Really, if a portable gaming system can't do a simple thing like that, then what's the point of owning one? ;)
I think E3 needed a little humility. It was just getting way out of hand. From what I've heard, you spent most of your time looking at demo reels and waiting in line then playing games. This has probably been said before, but this will also give small developers a chance to shine. Developers who might of not had the finances to create a big E3 booth now don't need to worry about it. The pressure to make big publicity is lessened. Publicity can be good, but at a trade show like E3, where big name developers take the spotlight, it can be very hard to get your name out without something big and flashy.