Slashdot Log In
Sony Announces PSP Launch Date
Posted by
Zonk
on Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:00 PM
from the brace-for-impact dept.
from the brace-for-impact dept.
Today we have word that Sony has announced a U.S. launch date and price for their upcoming PSP handheld. The date? March 24th, and the unit will retail for $249.99 when it hits the street. From the article: "the PSP Value Pack contains ... [a] 32 MB Memory Stick, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case and cleaning cloth, movie/music/game video sampler UMD disc including multiple non-interactive game demos, and for the first one million PSP Value Packs shipped, a special UMD video release of the feature film Spider-Man(TM) 2 from Sony Pictures Entertainment."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
with this price (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:with this price (Score:4, Interesting)
Out of the three I think the PSP is the most likely to succeed. Sony's strategy is very similar to that of the first playstation, they don't want Nintendo's market, they want to open up handheld to a new more mainstream demographic. The Game Boy, while succesful, has always been seen as a childs toy. The PSP with its sexy design, playstation type games and ability to play movies will appeal to the same 15 - 25 male demographic that has made the playstation so successful.
The DS will also be succesful due to the current large Game Boy fanbase. However I predict that as Sony open the market up Nintendo's dominant share of that market will decline an they may well lose customers to the PSP if it gains enough momentum.
It would be easy to write the Gizmondo off but its GPS features (cheap for its price) mean it could well find a market amongst older people. It could open up a new 25 - 35 year old market, people who use its navigation functions but also want games, music and film. However I do think there is a risk of the Nintendo and Sony marketing machines making the Gizmondo seem invisible.
There are other factors which could affect the outcome of this handheld war. Most notably there are question marks over the PSP's battery life and loading times, these are things that shouldn't be underestimated.
Parent
Re:with this price (Score:5, Insightful)
No, the Game Boy has always been seen as the undisputed king of handheld gaming. If you wanted handheld gaming, you got a Game Boy; that the market for handheld gaming systems has traditionally been saturated by younger consumers is not the fault of the Game Boy.
There has yet to be a single entry that has even come close to challenging Nintendo's dominance in this arena; while the PSP may stand the best chance yet, let's not re-write history to make the Game Boy seem like something it really isn't.
The PSP with its sexy design, playstation type games and ability to play movies will appeal to the same 15 - 25 male demographic that has made the playstation so successful.
The biggest reason the 15-25 male demographic has been the "big" demographic in video games has more to do with the relatively short history of video gaming in general than anything. You're seeing so many 15-25 year-old males because they're the ones who were playing Nintendo and Sega Master System back when video games really were considered toys for little boys--and by and large the only people playing them were little boys. Now that video games are becoming more mainstream--now that they're no longer seen as the exclusive domain of small children and nerds--you're going to see a much broader market for this kind of thing. Heck, we're seeing it already.
I'm not saying that PSP isn't going to become a serious force--it may yet, I honestly don't know--all I'm saying is that you're making some erroneous assumptions. The world of video games looks radically different today than it did ten years ago, and a lot of the old assumptions really aren't valid anymore.
(On a tangent: I'm not convinced that the "playstation-style games" are going to go over as well on a handheld-sized screen. Part of the reason handheld games so often look cartoony is that it is very, very hard to do the realistic, highly-detailed game environments we've come to expect from consoles on a small screen. What looks stunning on a television often looks cluttered, nondescript and smudgy on a handheld screen...)
Parent
Re:with this price (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:with this price (Score:3, Interesting)
That Gizmondo [gizmondo.com] sounds like a very interesting device indeed, bascially the PocketPC equivalent of the Tapwave [tapwave.com]. That 400mhz Samsung ARM processor should be impressive since the 266mhz Samsung ARM processor in pocketpcs ran games about as fast as a 400mhz Intel chip. GPS, camera, mp3 and movie player all in one.
However at $400+ [gizmondo.com] it'll never sell, no way no how, not when the PSP can be had for $250 with it's excellent range of titles. But if it had a cellphone to
Buzzwords (Score:5, Funny)
Wow... I never thought a marketing drone would be able to come up with such a convoluted way of saying 'commercials'.
Re:Buzzwords (Score:4, Funny)
I'm sure the same drone will see to it that the "fickle spinning disc of death" from the Japanese models will be renamed "unannounced projectile gaming episodes".
Parent
If they haven't (Score:5, Interesting)
(like "launching" disks and the flakey square button)
I don't feel the need to preorder... I'll wait for the 2nd generation.
$249? Ouch! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:$249? Ouch! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:$249? Ouch! (Score:3, Interesting)
Meanwhile, the best stuff I see on the GameBoy is just Nintendo being formulaic - timewasters and remakes. I really can't find titles that make my happy for my GBA. While the DS has real potential with its sexy hardware and st
"Or you could use PS2 and PS1 games..." (Score:4, Informative)
This is not the Playstation 3. The PSP is a portable media player designed to play last-generation games in a compact form factor. Compare it to the Nintendo DS.
Assuming you knew this already, I suppose you meant that Sony will port older games to the new architecture? PS1 games may be ported to PSP, but licensing issues and a general lack of funding tend to limit the selection of titles.
Parent
Re:$249? Ouch! (Score:3, Funny)
Meanwhile, over at El Reg ... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/01/review_so
Re:Meanwhile, over at El Reg ... (Score:5, Insightful)
The LAUNCH of the original Playstation was a first-mover swipe to beat Nintendo with hardware originally developed FOR Nintendo as a SNES add-on. It had plain-as-grits graphics on a controller that was half-baked at the time (the non-lettered approach to button-naming confused almost anyone who had played any previous console). It was saved by severe screw-ups by both Nintendo and Sega. Sega beat Sony to the market with the Saturn, but the $399 price was WAY too high, and their rush to market meant that nobody had any time to develop games for it. Nintendo pissed off third-party developers by acting like a bully, and limited game size and (developer) profit margins with small and space-limited cartridges. The Atari Jaguar was still-born.
Sony won that generation of gaming with games, and with CD technology. The CD Audio wowed consumers while Nintendo had their characters speaking in noises like Charlie Brown's teacher. Their developer-friendly attitude left Nintendo scrambling for 3rd party games. Cheaper game manufacturing let them cut game prices faster amd lower than Nintendo. If Nintendo releases a CD-based console and treated its developers with respect, the PSX would have come in a distant 2nd.
That combined with his ignorance of Madden and SSX as A+ launch titles for the PS2 erode his credibility with me.
Parent
Pre-order on Amazon.co.uk (Score:5, Informative)
It's all about the form factor. (Score:5, Interesting)
It just doesn't seem very comfortable or thought out. In a time when systems are getting smaller, more portable and comfortable to hold, this looks like something designed in the 80s. It may have great games, but how is it going to sell if it doesn't look cool? Maybe I'm suffering from too much iPod exposure, but there is definitely something to good packaging, and my $0.02 says that the PSP just doesn't have it.
Re:It's all about the form factor. (Score:3, Informative)
Metal Gear Acid, eh? (Score:5, Interesting)
Metal Gear Acid: Best Played While Tripping.
Only 3 things missing (Score:3, Interesting)
2. WiFi instead of IrDA. Come on, what were they thinking? IrDA sucks, WiFi has so much more going for it. IMHO that was a poor choice.
3. Drop Memory Stick Duo and use Compact Flash. Lets face it... I'm a Clie owner myself. CF is the better of the two. It's price per MB is much cheaper. Not to mention you can buy them anywhere, and they are improving in capacity and speed.
I'm sure it will be a success regardless, but if it had those 3 things, it would be the ultimate killer device. A must have for anyone.
I'm curious how long it will take until someone gets Linux running on this thing. Sounds like a good device for it. Then we could (perhaps) use a WiFi or Bluetooth USB adapter!
Re:Only 3 things missing (Score:4, Informative)
Main Input/Output
-----------------
IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi)
USB 2.0 (mini-B)
Memory Stick Duo(TM)
IrDA
IR Remote
Looks like it has Wi-Fi.
Parent
Pricey still (Score:4, Informative)
How about a game (Score:5, Insightful)
A portable mini-entertainment center (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm wondering how much the UMD disc movies will cost. Will people really want to buy yet another version of their favorite movies for $19.99 (price amount is just a guess)?
Re:A portable mini-entertainment center (Score:3, Insightful)
Will people really want to hold passive entertainment for 2+ hours?
My take (Score:5, Insightful)
- Minimum of $250 for system with memory stick, headphones
with remote control, battery, ac adaptor, soft case, cleaning cloth,
and a demo disc.
- First 1,000,000 buyers also get a Spider-Man 2 movie that plays on the PSP.
- Launch titles that are mostly franchises and remakes, including a whole pile of EA Sports games.
- Low-end games cost $40, with others presumably costing more. (Wal-mart's online store shows $49.92 for many games.)
That prices me right out of the market at $250, even with all that bonus crud thrown into the box. But that's not the worst of it, since the big stores, the ones most likely to have anything to sell, will be selling bundles that include two or more games and other needless crud. As of right now, EB Games has one way to buy the PSP and it's a bundle that costs $400. GameStop's got bundles that range from $380 to $480.Look, all I want is basic system with a charger, a (small) memory stick, and one game. I don't need headphones or a remote control or a soft case or a cleaning cloth or a demo disc. I don't have any desire to tote around Spider-Man 2 to show off to friends. I don't doubt that the folks who can afford the PSP will think it's the bee's knees, and I'll even envy them their new toy, but I've got better uses for my gaming cash. With the robust used GBA game market, I'm going to get a much better fun-for-dollar return sticking with my 'burning GBA.
Sorry, Sony, you lost me on this one.
GameGear (Score:4, Interesting)
PSP looks like it'll have better developer support than the GameGear ever had, and a huge leap in graphics over Big N's current offerings. I might just have to get a new portable game platform.
Official Launch Lineup (Score:4, Informative)
ATV Offroad Fury®: Blazin' Trails, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Darkstalkers Chronicle(TM): The Chaos Tower, Capcom
Dynasty Warriors®, KOEI
FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts
Gretzky(TM) NHL®, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Lumines(TM), Ubisoft
Metal Gear Acid(TM), Konami
MLB(TM), Sony Computer Entertainment America
MVP Baseball, Electronic Arts
NBA, Sony Computer Entertainment America
NBA Street Showdown, Electronic Arts
Need for Speed(TM) Rivals, Electronic Arts
NFL Street 2 Unleashed, Electronic Arts
Rengoku(TM): Tower of Purgatory, Konami
Ridge Racer(TM), Namco
Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive
Spider-Man 2(TM), Activision
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, Electronic Arts
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision
Twisted Metal: Head On(TM), Sony Computer Entertainment America
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment
Wipeout® Pure, Sony Computer Entertainment America
World Tour Soccer, Sony Computer Entertainment America
DS vs PSP (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:$250 for a handheld? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:$250 for a handheld? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'll never understand why they didn't adopt 8cm DVD media. IIRC, UMD only holds 1.8 GB, while DVD-1 (single layer) can hold 1.46 GB and DVD-2 (dual layer) can hold 2.66 GB. And Sony already uses this media for some of their camcorders (and the only 8cm media I can find in the store is made by... Sony!).
Re:$250 for a handheld? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:$250 for a handheld? (Score:3, Interesting)
But with that Playstation brand name, people are going to be thinking of it as a video game system above all else, which, like it or not, positions it squarely against both the GBA and DS in the marketplace.
Personally, I'd compare it to any of the various video players out right now. For a screen like that, it's a steal.
People are more likely to get a DVD play
If we don't compare it to Nintendo (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, probably not the DVD players, since UMD doesn't have exactly a certain future.
But if you're right, and we shouldn't be comparing the PSP to the Game Boy, then the thing we should be comparing it to is the Tapwave Zodiac. [compusa.com]
The Zodiac's original model costs about the same as the PSP (the newest model is $100 more), but the memory upgrades cost much less than the PSP's and both come with the same amount of memory, 32MB. The
Re:What's the best strategy.... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What's the best strategy.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What's the best strategy.... (Score:4, Insightful)
I hope that Ebay does what it was created to do- match an able buyer and seller. Who are you to cast aspersions towards this entrepreneur? If someone is willing to pay him a higer price for the unit on ebay because they did not take the steps neccesary to get a unit before it was released, then why is it negative for this person to offer such a product? Why is making money a bad thing?
In all truth, the parent posters plan probably won't work- but not because some enitity (such as EBay) decieds that his plan is too immoral to succeed. It won't work because this sort of speculative buying is best for shortages, which with Video Game products usually only happens around Christmas. There will probably be enough units for early adopters when it releases, and the parent will most likely have to sell the units at a price lower than they were aquired. But this failure will be a result of the parents lack of understanding regarding the Video Game economy, and not because what he/she planned to do was immoral.
If you think selling game systems on Ebay is immoral, how do you survive in a world where a lot of Wall Street money is procured through much more evil means? (such as insider trading) Do you not buy anything for big companies, for fear that that product is provided in an immoral fashion (such as slave labor)?
Parent
Re:What's the best strategy.... (Score:3, Interesting)
If there really AREN'T enough to go around, you'll have a hard time finding one no matter what people do on Ebay. If this happens, get mad at Son
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:3, Interesting)
First, I find this interesting, do you have a link to back it up? I tried to Google 'PSP "object oriented"' but I got a lot of false positives for PSP, mostly from something called a "Personal Software Process".
Second, that would make sense and you probably should have made that more clear in your original post; I'm keeping up with the PSP news but I haven't been obsessiv
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:4, Interesting)
The GBA can have stuff compiled in C++, but if you start actually USING the functionality, you bog it down with virtual method tables and RTTI and it's slow as crap.
So, by virtue of being significantly faster and having more storage than most other handhelds of the past, it can take advantage of C++, where the others could not.
I'm certain that's all that it meant.
Parent
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:3, Interesting)
That's only true in an environment where the tools are "democratic," that is, are available to everyone.
Flash is relatively inexpensive. Anyone can make a Flash cartoon, and thus, lots of people do. 90% - nay, 95%, or more - of those are crap, but with so many out there it's inevitable that things like Homest
Re:This should be exciting. (Score:4, Informative)
um, can you name me a single gaming device (or any electronics device, for that matter) where the price started low and went up without improving the specs?
you always start "too high" and then lower the price as the demand picks up.
Parent
Re:As a best buy Employee... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Thanks Sony, Now I'm Officially Not Interested (Score:4, Interesting)
The flying disc thing is something you can _make_ it do if you try really hard. It's not something which happens in normal use.
The square button is something which some people complain about, but most don't even notice.
Personally, given the US launch price of $250, I'm even more glad I imported mine from Japan for $350 and got it early.
Parent
Re:Thanks Sony, Now I'm Officially Not Interested (Score:4, Informative)
I wonder what led to the discovery of the problem then, if it wasn't during the course of normal use. http://www.gamersmark.com/news/2005/01/1/5166/ [gamersmark.com] Thousands of PSP returns out of only a few hundred k psp's sold? Sounds pretty serious. And it also sounds like there are no plans to fix the problem. It's too bad that sony didn't have prices as low as the japanese launch prices here, with thier basic pack working out to $185USD, $250 minimum at US launch looks pretty high.
Parent
Re:Revival of handhelds!! (Score:3)
Numbers seem close... (Score:3, Informative)
System - Sales this week - Total this year
Nintendo DS - 221,625 - 889,400
PlayStation 2 - 112,970 - 2,503,532
PSP - 85,059 - 245,078
Game Boy Advance SP - 80,271 - 2,340,693
GameCube - 29,991 - 588,528
Game Boy Advance - 1,270 - 194,14
Re:handheld gaming (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, as a 50+ year old gamer, I see it exactly the other way around. The DS offers some real innovation, with features such as dual screens and touch/stylus control that aren't available elsewhere. The games aren't all just rehashes of console games. And it looks like it will have a good mix of 3D and 2D games, especially since it plays GBA games (in fact, you can have a GBA and DS game plugged in at the same time), while the Metroid demo demonstrates that its 3D capabilities are good.
A portable PS2 missing one of the analog sticks just doesn't excite me. I don't do that much gaming on the go, and if I want to play PS2 style games, I'll play it on my big screen TV and PS2 at home. Nor am I all that interested in watching movies on that little tiny screen. If I want to watch a DVD while traveling, I'd rather watch it on my laptop, which at least has a decently sized screen. But I think that the PSP will sell well with the kiddies. Features like movie play that aren't that appealing to adults will be more successful with kids who don't have their own TVs, laptops, and DVD players. I can imagine a parent setting a kid up with a movie on a memory stick to keep him quiet on a long auto trip.
Parent