Sony VP Salutes DS, Promises PSP Can Still Compete 121
An anonymous reader writes "In an interview with Pocket Gamer, Zeno Colaço, vice president of publisher and developer relations at SCEE made some revealing comments about his thoughts on the DS and the future of the PSP. 'Some of the DS games have been fantastic. Where in hindsight we've been short is one or two killer apps that would have been able to drive PSP forward'. Despite being so frank on the merits of the competition, Colaço was still tight lipped on the subject of a PSP redesign, stating: 'The technology behind PSP is still top-end and so that doesn't need to be addressed'."
I've said this before (Score:5, Interesting)
That being said. Yes, the PSP has it's issues...screen is prone to fingerprints/scratches, control stick takes a slight bit to get used to, low battery life...but you know what? It's still a bad-ass little toy. I can convert any movie/TV show/whatever, put it on the memory stick, and watch it directly on the device with no modding necessary.
I can download one of hundreds of FREE comics that are made specifically with the PSP in mind. Using one of many FREE programs, I can convert E-books into a format that makes them easily readable on the screen. I can broswe the internet with it (granted it's slow due to the b wireless connection it has, but hey it's still got wireless access)
All in all, despite it's faults, I still absolutely ADORE my PSP. If not for the games, at least for everything else I can use it for.
Re:I've said this before (Score:4, Insightful)
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I'm aware that (apparently) the DS has better games, but it was less suited to my needs....in this day and age, when gaming is just ONE PART of what consoles do, you have to factor in other
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The PSP reminds me of the Sega GameGear. It had an optional TV tuner which sort of made it multipurpose. The short battery life made that feature practically useless since it had to be plugged in often. I don't like the pla
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Thought if it's not games you are after something like the GP2x would probably be more convenient since it let you do whatever you want with it from the begining.
It has games (Score:2)
I bought mine a bit over a year ago (and so missed the early game drought), and there's never been a time where I've felt like playing but not had something to play on it. (Partially a function of my limited free time and free spending ways, admittedly.)
I've never understood the "must have" game thing.
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That's probably because the PSP actually does a better job at being a portable media center than a portable gaming system.
I own both a PSP and DS; I use the DS to play games while the PSP is mostly used for watching movies, listening to music and browsing the web. While the DS has a large library of exclusives, a lot of the PSP games are simply portable versions of the game I already own for the PS2.
Zeno Colaço mentions this in the article,
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That says it all.
BTW 802.11b shouldn't slow down web browsing it is still faster than DSL. That reminds me Opera is available for my DS and need to go and buy it.
I wonder if Sony will start trying to make fun games and stop killing goats.
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I have a PSP and have quite a few fun games, most of which have kept me quite satisfied with my purchase. They are:
1. Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
2. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
3. Lumines
4. Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops
5. Wipeout Pure
6. GTA: Liberty City Stories
7. GTA: Vice City Stories
8. Field Commander
9. Mega Man Powered Up
I just don't get it. The PSP has many great games, yet this slashdot myth persists.
Re:I've said this before (Score:4, Interesting)
The myth persists because PSP owners keep saying it.
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OK, Metal Gear Solid and Tekken 5 are awesome. I play them both all the time. Gran Turismo will be incredible (if it ever comes out). Final Fantasy I and II are coming out this month and next.
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I own the DS because the games are amazing, and for what little time I may have to use it, it's wonderful. I'd love to have a
F'n Field Commander (Score:2)
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Re:I've said this before (Score:4, Insightful)
You must have some ridiculously fat pipes if it's the 802.11b WiFi that's slowing you down...
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But on the PSP I guess it's rather the rendering of pages which takes time, if anything.
The interface for surfing and commenting on slashdot must suck thought.
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Personally, I get 10Mbit at home right now on my cable Internet connection, and that's the middle priced plan ($45/mo Canadian) and using wireless would feel stupid (adding to my lag and decreasing my speed).
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Anyway the DS can play like 384 kbps video at say 12 fps with mono sound decently atleast, that's what I used. Screen resolution are only 256x192 of course so 384 kbps gives quite-very good quality on it.
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WHAT comics? (Score:2)
The cynic in me says any comic that works off vertical scrolling would fit the bill just fine, but if there's a handheld-specific comic and a reason it 'must' be on the PSP/DS, I'd love to hear it.
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http://www.nyc2123.com/ [nyc2123.com]
That one is my personal fave....a little short, but a very good series
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http://www.nyc2123.com/ [nyc2123.com]
That's my favourite. Just google "free psp comics", there are actually a whole BUNCH of them available online
But that doesn't help Sony (Score:2)
And yet only the games help Sony, since they lose money selling you the hardware in hopes of you buying games for them to receive licensing fees on. You and every person like you who only uses their PSP for non-game related stuff is a Sony exec's nightmare. You're the reason their games division is hemorrhaging billions of dollars as we speak. (Well, you and Ken Kutaragi... B
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Not a shill, just a fan.
Http://www.noobstore.com
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Yes, it's the Wii Vs. PS3 argument all over again. (Score:1)
Sony have an all-singing, all-dancing ninja device that plays more traditional games, but much prettier than before. Are they really "failing"? Or is the market for this just rather smaller than people who will buy a DS f
Re:Yes, it's the Wii Vs. PS3 argument all over aga (Score:3, Interesting)
Sony have an all-singing, all-dancing ninja device that plays more traditional games, but much prettier than before. Are they really "failing"? Or is the market for this just rather smaller than people who will buy a DS for Brain Training?
Option 3: Perhaps people aren't too interested in playing the same games over and over, and want something different.
My gaming background is as a pretty hardcore PC FPS player, but that genre seems to have stagnated of late... Doom 3, Quake 4, Half Life 2 were all pre
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It's unbelievable that there is a perception that the DS is for people who "dont normally play video games". I play video games all the time and h
Sony have shrunk their own market. (Score:2)
While the quest to be the "center of the lounge room" is all well and good it does nothing for a huge number (maybe even a majority) of traditional gamers who are kids and young adults who have their consoles hooked up to a second TV (probably in their bedroom) so they can play whenever they like, regardless of what the rest of
Sony VP is actually in touch with the market.... (Score:1)
Re:Sony VP is actually in touch with the market... (Score:2)
The PSP has plenty of killer games [neogaf.com]. And with more to come such as upcoming Final Fantasy & God of War titles.
I'll Just... (Score:5, Funny)
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Power as a Problem (Score:3, Interesting)
Meanwhile Nintedo's handheld power has always been behind their console power. While it didn't eliminate straight-ports, it quickly exposed ports for being gimped versions of full games... meaning a lot of portable development went towards unique games unlike their more homebodied cousins.
I'm not going to hand Nintendo that on a platter, though. It's probably just a side effect of trying to get rediculous battery life out of portable systems. Sony on the other hand just wanted to trump the competitors on brute force alone and win the checkbox wars. It's a neat gadget, though, and it's finally hitting its stride thanks to developers finally developing the right kinds of games for it.
So, as always, it's always comes down to the games themselves. With great power comes great responsibility.
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This is what makes Nintendo the winner in the handheld arena. They make game machines. They can be used for other things, but the gaming is the single driving factor behind the design, and that's what makes Nintendo's handhelds the best. They also
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While it didn't eliminate straight-ports, it quickly exposed ports for being gimped versions of full games... meaning a lot of portable development went towards unique games unlike their more homebodied cousins.
One of the things that really impressed me about the DS was the uniqueness of the games available for it. Some of them are kinda silly (I'm lookin' at you, Nintendogs!), but most of them are super innovative and kind of amazing. Just like what's been happening with the Wii, the unique set of inputs has created really unique games. I think it's telling that I couldn't really play these effectively in an emulator, nor could they be trivially ported to another system without losing a lot of functionality.
By
PSP suffered like the PS3... (Score:3, Interesting)
Now that it's much cheaper, it's a wiser purchase to make. And yes, *now* it is its game library that's hurting it as well as its smaller player network. The DS has more good games and still costs less. Also, because of its success, it has better online play since there are more folks out there playing whatever you want to play via wi-fi.
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Re:PSP suffered like the PS3... (Score:4, Informative)
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http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=17 794 [pcvsconsole.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_wars#Handheld _war [wikipedia.org]
Public transport (Score:1)
I'd get one, but they keep breaking it (Score:5, Insightful)
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Homebrew (Score:2)
He's talking about homebrew. Sony screws that up with each Firmware upgrade.
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The PSP homebrew scene is probably 95% piracy and 5% genuine homebrewers. A quick glance at any torrent site can attest to the number of people constant seeding / leeching PSP games. It's no wonder that Sony choose to plug holes with firmware updates.
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So get a DS. They don't upgrade the firmware, and there's tons of homebrew out there for the DS. The DS is also more suited to some of the homebrew, as it has the stylus, which makes productivity software and the like easier to use.
Of course, there's also plenty of DS homebrew out there for movies, music and tut tut pirated games.
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Just like Apple doesn't care about people who only listen to Ogg Vobris music.
Both of these companies have decided they don't need the tiny segment of the market that cares about these things, no matter how loud they are in online forums.
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A sign of the Apocalypse? (Score:4, Funny)
People better start looking for survival gear, I feel a second coming drawing near.
over specialize and you breed in weakness (Score:2)
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Start celebrating! It's called a PC.
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Start celebrating! It's called a PC.
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And to complete the quote:
"It's slow death."
It could probably do a lot more if... (Score:1)
Nitpick Time! [WAS: Re:It could probably do a ...] (Score:2)
Re:Nitpick Time! [WAS: Re:It could probably do a . (Score:1)
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Mostly just grammar-trolling. You're right that Sony's DRM shit is hurting them more than it's helping, though.
Ultimately the DS wins because it's just a game platform.
F Sony (Score:2, Interesting)
I do own a PS2 I bought off a friend for a ridiculously low price (needed my Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest fix).. but I've heard a ton of horror stories about the PS2's breaking down in a similar manner after only a years worth
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I take you don't own any console, cellphone, media player...
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The GP2X firmware uses a significant amount of GNU GPL code, including MPlayer for its media functions and the Linux kernel for its OS. The GPL requires for the release of the source code to users of the binary application (i.e. GP2X users); however, the source code was not released when the GP2X was released to consumers.
It's a fun little gadget with its own merits, yes. But on in personal belief system, on which everyone is entitled to their own, b
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Yeah, those bastard rootkits were ALWAYS installing Sony on my drives
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The only widespread thing I've seen about the PS3 is that it'll crash if it runs too hot, but if you're not a dumbass and you actually give it some airflow, you won't have that is
Of course the PSP can compete! (Score:2)
The whole thing is silly. Remember when Sony introduced a games machine more powerful than any other machine ever released in its form factor, which also cost more than any other machine ever released in that form factor, partially due to their decision to try to use it as a platform to promote their own media format and sell movies, and Nintendo released a much weaker games machine with an unusual interface that people thought was a gimmick, but it sold more than twice as
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By contrast, the PSP and PS3 do not appear to be particularly successful.
The video game industry is more susceptible than many to feedback loops and network effects. Lower installed base means fewer games means lower installed base...
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Of course... (Score:2)
Two different handhelds for two different markets (Score:2)
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PSP vs. DS (Score:3, Insightful)
Nintendo clearly understands that if you create a fun form that when develop games that use that form you're going to end up with a fun exclusive that you can't get anywhere else.
They did it with the DS, they did it with the Wii, and you could argue they did it with the analog stick on the N64.
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Some other people did.
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But... (Score:1)
'The technology behind PSP is still top-end and so that doesn't need to be addressed'.
...but the interface and OS is god-awful: One lousey control stick and D-pad that are so poorly disigned that it makes gameplay frustrating and causes cramping after relatively short periods of use and the OS' menu layout is obnoxious and requires tedious clicking up and down long menus... not to mention every new firmware update (usually required by most new games) kills all homebrew apps.