Is There Anything Wrong With The PSP?

An anonymous reader writes "In the latest 'Analyze This' series of exclusive Gamasutra features, analysts from Screen Digest, ABI Research and DFC Intelligence look at what Sony and developers can do to improve the PSP platform, to generate more excitement for it among developers, gamers and the industry overall — or if they even need to. 'My feelings on the PSP are mixed: It has shown there is demand for a more high-end portable system. The portable market has room for two competing portable systems. We forecast that over the next five years dedicated portable systems will sell just as many units as the new console systems. However, the PSP could really use a new model. This has been the secret to Nintendo's success.'"

Re:Simple solution for success.

[Samedi1971]

It does have that ability as of firmware version 3.30.

Re:Yes, there is

[aikouka]

It costs too much.

It only costs 30% more than the Nintendo DS Lite right now for more functionality out of the box.

Its load times are obnoxious for a portable.

Certain games are bad, yes, but not all. I own 14 PSP games and none of them have load times that have made me annoyed or anything like that.

It's too big to stick in your pocket.

Funny, I just put mine in my pocket with no problem and I have the Mad Catz clamshell on it which increases the size quite a bit.

The control scheme is awkward.

The joystick is weird, but personally I got used to it fairly easily. Other than that, everything is fine control-wise for me. The issue may actually be that the games you've played are ports of PS(X/2) games and therefore you're used to the PS2 controller layout.

The games suck.

Purely personal preference. I mean, like I stated above, I have 14 games and I like them all. I only own about 6 DS games in comparison.

The battery life sucks.

You know, my friend complained about his PSP's battery life, but mine's been fairly good for as long as I've owned it. It's been about as good as my NDS when both are at a full charge. I can tell you that if you leave the wireless networking on, it won't last as long. It also eats up power while sitting there dormant.

Nobody wants to buy movies again on UMD.

Agreed with that. UMD is useless, because it costs as much as a DVD and unlike a DVD, you have limited use! If the PSP had a video output feature, it may have been better, but there isn't one.

Re:Yes, there is

[mr_mischief]

Homebrew sites were excited as flies at a freshly-fertilized organic tomato farm before Sony repeatedly updated the firmware to get rid of them. Sony seems worried enough about protecting a market for UMD games that they're willing to lose system sales to homebrew game fans.

People who want a $200-$300 handheld homebrew-friendly system may just go the GP2X [gp2c.com] route instead. I think last time I checked you could still get a PSP to boot Linux from MS Pro Duo and play games on that. If you want a GP2X, though you'll probably just buy a GP2X. The only advantage I can see to PSP over GP2X is that it also plays UMD games, but look at the list of games for the GP2X [gp2x.org].

Also, try getting OpenSSH, a Gameboy emulator, etc on your PSP without the latest Sony firmware updates screwing all of that over.

Re:The PSP is alright

[renleve]

Take its size, no it is NOT huge. The biggest is the Nintendo DS. That one is larger then the PSP in all dimensions. The DS Lite is exactly the same size as the PSP if you cut of the rounded sides of the PSP. But it is huge compared to the Gameboy advance mini.

This part is dead wrong. The PSP is 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9, the DS is 5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13 and the DS Lite is 5.24 in x 2.9 in x 0.85 in--all measurements pulled from the units' respective Wikipedia pages. Even before you count the size (and inconvenience) of having a separate sleeve/screen protector for the PSP, which is built into the DS with the fold-down second screen, the PSP is nearly an inch longer than the DS and a full inch and a half longer than the DS Lite. Strictly speaking in terms of a device that is intended to be to pulled out and pocketed on the fly, I can't imagine how the Sony engineers could have botched their machine worse.

Re:um games?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a myth based on a long memory of old news and an unwillingness to look at the current situation.

http://www.metacritic.com/games/psp/scores/ [metacritic.com]PSP
http://www.metacritic.com/games/ds/scores/ [metacritic.com]DS

You can either use the sores, or just look at the games available. Either way, there are both a lot of games and a lot of games people really enjoy on the PSP. Both the total number of games and the total number of high-scoring games is similar to the DS, and if you want to be picky (I don't personally think it's necessary in this case) the PSP is actually a little bit out in front in both areas.

People may not like other aspects of the PSP, but games are definitely not an issue if you just take a look at what's available.

P.S. A lot of the "ports" available are actually new editions of popular game franchises. But if you look at the the DS list, it include a rather large number ports and franchise games as well.

Re:Yes, there is

[Doctor_Jest]

I have found a way to mitigate the problem of the nub, but it costs $3.99 from Play Asia (there's a better pack of "nubs" than what Gamestop sells.)

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bh-49-en-70-1g ii.html [play-asia.com]

I currently use the raised "ribbed" nub... (insert phallic joke here..) and it improved my control on Super GnG 100-fold. The 2nd set of platform lava jumps was kicking my arse until I got the new nub... now I'm moving on and running like I stole something... ;)

It's something to consider. (I actually like the PSP... I didn't initially...) But I use it to play games... and watch ripped movies... not bothering with the "yet another movie format" of UMD. It's got some great titles... and it's got such a pretty screen for a handheld. :)

Re:how about...

[LordVader717]

I'm also looking at Apple somewhat with that statement

How do you sell standard Computer Hardware in a shiny box at twice the normal price and still make a loss? Does Apple even sell that much software? I know they've got iLife, Final Cut, and keep selling updates at full price, but they're definitely still a hardware-focused company.