PSP To Refocus on Teen Market 98
Wired's Game|Life blog, and writer Chris Kohler, have the news that the PSP will be aiming at teen users in the near future. This from PSP senior product manager John Koller, who connected the recent system price cut to this new initiative. "Going forward, Sony will unveil the 'Dude, Get Your Own' campaign. The idea this year, says Koller, is to 'break out of the home cycle.' A significant amount of PSP users in that 13-17 group play the device at home. 'The teens that are doing this value the ability to utilize the portability,' Koller notes paradoxically. By portability, he clarifies, he means 'I can play it upstairs while my parents are watching the TV downstairs.'"
Ummm... (Score:2)
Re:Ummm... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ummm... (Score:5, Funny)
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I did eventually figure it out, though.
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Naw... 20 somethings wanting to relive playing PS1 games they played 10 years ago.
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(I'm sure you've seen the squirrels and the dust bunnies commercials)
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They done the same mistake again with the PS3, when the managers seemed to think that every PS2 gamer was as rich as themselves, so they outpriced their main costumer base (kids and teens)
Not a bad idea (Score:1)
nope (Score:2)
For many reasons, you are not going to be able to use your PSP as a wireless display/controller for the PS3.
I fear you are stuck with watching Sex in the City (or buying a cheap TV to play your PS3 games on).
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Quoth Ming the Merciless (Score:2)
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That is an interesting idea, but i think there are a couple of problems with it. The biggest one would be the lack of a right analog stick on the PSP. I would think that (and the lack of the second set of shoulder buttons and SIXAXIS like accelerometers) would prevent being able to play any PS3 game on a PSP. That isn't even discussing the drastic difference in gr
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Yeah, except that teenagers don't own PS3s, because they cost, like, $10,000.
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As it is, you can't even use your PSP to start up Folding@Home.
Perhaps one day, there'll be some sort of PSP/PS3 connectivity along the same lines as what you saw between the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Whether or not it will be enough to distract gamers from the Wii/DS connectivity planned to be unveiled with the
"Play Useless Portable"?? (Score:1)
UMD video is pretty dumb, though - like why do I want to buy another copy of a movie in a lower-resolution format?
Game library could definitely use some work - but there are some cool titles out for the machine, like the Rockman X remake, Loco Roco, and Mercury...
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Better to use something else to play DVD video - whether it's something that can output its video to the PSP screen, or a converter that could store video on a memory stick or hard drive - whatever. The PSP has a fine screen f
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Pick up a jewel case, now stack 1 or 2 more on top of it. That's 3 times the size of a disc, and bigger than some discmans I've seen already. Hold the bottom like it was a game controller, (make it rounder around the edges obviou
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Or if you, personally, can, then I would indeed be impressed.
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UMD's can hold 1.8 GB
Nintendo DS carts hold 128 MB.
a 1.8 GB ROM would too expensive. a flash chip with some kind of write protect would be another option but would stil lmake games cost too much, Do you want to pay $70 for games again, like some of the more ROM heavy 16 bit titles?
paradox? (Score:1)
How can this be a paradox? Portability is the driving force behind handhelds.
"Paradox" regarding the "Games You Play" (Score:4, Interesting)
The "paradox" is that people are playing the portable system at home. It's not really a paradox, it just means that the ability to take a portable system elsewhere is not the only good reason to use a portable. I think this is significant (if you accept the idea - and I do) because the PSP is a bit large for a portable system - but also very powerful for a portable. If you look at it as a machine you're gonna take places, it may seem unwieldy - but if you look at it as a machine you'll use at home, it's convenient and the feature set is not too shabby....
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I had a Sega Game Gear [wikipedia.org]. It was smaller than your Lynx, but huge in comparison to the monochrome Game Boy. It also ate batteries for breakfast.
That said, I still have it with all games in a shoebox. I should try it with those LiIon AA cells that I have for my digital camera.
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I highly recommend 50%, Ironspy, and Games you Play. Anything from the Blueshift CD is amazing.
As a side note, I was a little disappointed by Universal Hall Pass but I did think it was worth checking out. Melissa is a great singer.
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The world needs more Splashdown [wikipedia.org] fans! For those aren't familiar with Splashdown; you owe it to yourself to give them a listen. Most of their songs are available online [sadena.com].
Thank you! You get a cookie! Not just any cookie but a GREAT BIG COOKIE! It's gluten-free, and very yummy.
:|
For first-timers heading to the Splashdown archives, just tell 'em Wirt the Peg-Legged boy sent ya.
You know, I got my sister interested in Splashdown and the first show of theirs she saw was their last.
I highly recommend 50%, Ironspy, and Games you Play. Anything from the Blueshift CD is amazing.
Personally I like Paradox better than Games you Play - I mean, they're basically the same song, of course, and I like the embellishments in the Blueshift version ("Games you Play", for those unfam
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When most people think "portable" they think about being able to use it outside of their home (on the train, at school, in line, etc.). Not just in other rooms of the house.
Portable at home (Score:2)
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I have a PSP and a PS2, and indeed I use the PSP more at home than anywhere else? Why, because dear wife can watch TV while I play PSP while we're sitting/lying on the same couch. As for the lack of good PSP games, well, there is certainly not as much choice as for the PS2. I did however love the fact that Sid Meiers Pirates came out. Brings back old memories and is still as addictive as back in the day.
Other good games I have are: Liberty City Stories, LocoRoco, Popolocrois. The last one is kind of
Obviously (Score:4, Funny)
DJCC
Re:Obviously (Score:5, Funny)
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Signed:
Cornflake917, 24-yr old male
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waht's the prbolem yuo can't spel? LLO, u r is dumb!
Bumptehjambox, 24 1/2 year old male
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Pure Genius.
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Who the hell is modding this thread flamebait?
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Thus showing us that sense of humor is not a selecting criteria in giving mod points...
Dude! (Score:3, Funny)
Sorry, couldn't resist, someone would have done it eventually....
*ducks the negative mod points*
From their new ads it's underway. (Score:4, Interesting)
Seriously Sony can't find a market for this piece of hardware, Sony didn't drop the price retailers DEMANDED sony drop the price because they had given so much store space for it and they weren't even able to make a profit on it. Otherwise you wouldn't see that many PSPs anywhere.
Sony doesn't have the games the fans want, doesn't allow the functionality the fans want, and charges more than the DS. The question Sony needs to ask themselves is the following what part of that sentence means the PSP is a good idea? I stated when the PSP first came out it needed unique games. All I saw then was PS2 ports. Now a couple years later I own one (great MP3 player, homebrew system, and I got it at a steal) but now I ask the same question. Lumines can only go so far. The owners of the system can't even find the unique games because all the get are 100 ports and 1 unique game. There's good games out there, but Sony isn't giving the unique games a shot.
Now reread that last paragraph, change DS to Wii, Ps2 to 360, and Lumines to Resistance. Oh and then change it to the fact I don't own one. It's the same story, the PS3 can't find an audience because it's just a "me too" situation. They don't have any worthy exclusives for at least 6 monthes. Their current games are moderate (Motorstorm and resistance didn't impress much at the game studio I work) Ps3 home can only go so far(especially when unlike the 360, it's only for when your not playing games. On the 360 when you're playing the games you still get voice chat, friends and more while playing your chosen game)
Sony needs a new direction. And sadly it's too late this generation, the die has been cast, they crossed the Rubicon. They didn't provide the fans with what the fans wanted. They didn't provide the developers with what developers wanted. They provided sony with what sony wanted. Anyone telling you they are supporting their developers is a first party studio or getting paid (through assistance or money). A lot of studios were thinking it but Eidos gave it voice last month, and you'll see more and more developers giving secondary support to the ps3 versions of games.
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"Upstairs" doesn't even begin to cover it (Score:5, Funny)
You're doing it wrong (Score:5, Funny)
Black Handheld, your life force is running out.
Black Handheld is about to die.
The modern story of Sony could be summed up in: "Someone shot the food!"
What's wrong? (Score:1)
Re:What's wrong? (Score:5, Interesting)
Firstly, the PSP is fighting against decades of nostalgia. Despite the rise and fall in their console market share, Nintendo has been the undisputed champion of hand helds. They've defeated Atari, Sega (who even made a handheld Sega Genesis of all things), and anyone else who happened to try to muscle in. Simply put, if you played a dedicated portable game system in the past 20 years it probably was either Nintendo or one of those crappy $5 battery eaters.
Secondly, Lumines was great. That doesn't sound like it was bad for the PSP, but it was all the PSP really had going for it at first (at least in terms of games). People who bought it for games had to wait a long time for the now oft cited excellent titles to appear on the system. That slump both gave Nintendo the chance to prove the DS had what it took, and took away what had otherwise been excellent momentum from the PSP.
Thirdly, load times. The PSP is, to my knowledge, the first handheld that sports the oft maligned loading bar. I remember this being the most common complaint about the portable a year or two back. It takes the DS all of 2 seconds to boot up, and as few as 5 to get from there to playing the game. The worst I've ever seen was 15 seconds from "flip to frag". However, the PSP reportedly could take in excess of a full minute to load a game.
Fourthly, news. We don't hear much about the PSP in the news outside of how homebrewers have again bypassed the latest firmware update, or how the DS is outselling it 2 to 1. We don't hear about how a game sold incredibly well, only about how everyone loves New Super Mario Bros. or Nintendogs. We learned about the death of UMD, while at the same time learning about how Nintendo was broadening and expanding the market. While the games problem is at this point rectified, there isn't much good news to be heard.
Fifthly, the PS3. While it may not be fair, a number of people have turned against Sony for what they see as an outrageous insult to their intelligence and pride. Should the PS3 be viewed as such? Not really, but for some it is. That also translates into anger against anything Sony, which includes the PSP. Guilty by association I fear.
Lastly, Sony PR. All of the above are conquerable and defeatible obstacles, except Sony's PR is terrible. We might have figured it out back with the borderline racist squirrels, or the ill-conceived graffiti campaign. They might have noticed when their PS3 ads and marketing were similarly ill-received. However, the bottom line is that if Sony had made the Wii or the DS, even with the same line-up of games and Shigeru Miyamoto behind them, Sony's PR would block the pathway to success like a giant, immovable boulder. They more than anything else are in a position to solve the issues the PSP faces because they are mostly issues of image, but they have also proven themselves to be absolutely incopetant at their job. They're even bad at finding other people to do their job for them (again, see the graffiti and that "grass roots" website campaign). In short, Sony's ball and chain is their PR, and until they stop dragging that dead weight behind them they'll never be able to catch Nintendo.
I'd rather like that all to change. It'd be nice if the systems could be weighed purely on their merits and achievements rather than by the stupid things their PR departments do.
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As far as the game sales numbers go, the PSP is having a terrible time. The best selling PSP game in North America is GTA:LCS at just shy of 1.5 million units, which is behind several DS titles. Additionally a lot of anecd
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So I never heard of VGCharts before. It's an interesting site. It does list SHIPPING quantities, not actual sales figures - which is an important difference. But anyway... I was curious which DS titles sold more than GTA:LCS. I live in NYC and see plenty of portable gaming systems on the subway. I'd say the PSP
DS is for adults, PSP for "pretent to be adults" (Score:3, Informative)
Yes. Next question?
No. [youtube.com]
The PSP is not marketed towards adults. Really. I own both a DS and a PSP. The DS gets the "adult" games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The PSP gets the "I wi
Re:DS is for adults, PSP for "pretent to be adults (Score:1)
Hmm. How about this, why don't you find me the personal website of an adult, even a college student, that proclaims fanatical devotion to Pokemon and Nintendogs. Especially in light of the sales figures you cited, I just din't believe it.
The PSP is not marketed towards adults. Really. I own both a DS and a PSP. The DS gets the "adult" games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The PSP gets the "I wish I were an adult and need to pretend to be one by plaing violent games" games like GTA.
I was think
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Huh? Why would I do that? Are you claiming that there are no adults who have a fanatical devotion to Pokémon or Nintendogs? If so, you are probably somewhat insane. Pokémon, by the way, is an RPG with a rather complex fighting mechanism, and it is played by many adult gamers. Nintendogs is played by adults as well, especially females. Yes, I
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Oh yeah, when you know you can't win an argument, just attack the premise as
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I don't know if you ever took logic, but one of the fundamentals states that should a conclusion follow from its premises, you can only refute the conclusion by refuting the premises.
They may not have included internet-based evidence in this endeavor simply because it's easy to find. Whether from the horse's mouth or otherwise. Although, I'll admit that using the term "Adults" in your search can retrieve some less desira
DS is for adults, PSP for "pretent to be adults". (Score:2)
As you stated, in your experiance, riding the subway in NYC that very well may be true. Go to Tokyo (or any major city in Japan), and it will paint a very different picture. The DS is very much a mainstream product, and the PSP is more niche.
I simply refuse to believe the majority of people playing Nintendogs and Pokemon are adults.
In NYC that may be true, but travel more and you
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That's quite an ironic way to answer to my post. Nothing I can say to that, other than that you're kind of making my point.
This is indeed kind of baffling. I did not argue that the PSP was not targeted at adults, and I did not argue that the DS was
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Those are two of the reasons I've considered getting a PSP now and again; others include Killzone: Liberation, the Metal Gear Ac!d titles, and Pursuit Force. The price drop just validates the theory that, at least with game systems, all good things come at reasonable prices to they who wait.
On the other ten
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I'm not sure what age group you are, but I'm 25 and I like a lot of the games on that list, while my PSP has only been used for Valkyrie Profile. All of my friends have DSs but I'm the only one I know with a PSP. The DS isn't made just for children by any measure.
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I own a DS and I have a couple dozen games for it. I play it about two hours a day on the way to and from work on the train each day. Unlike posters who have mentioned similar activity, I can not report having seen anyone playing a DS or a PSP on the train. Maybe Philadelphia is a bit different, but I never see it.
A game like Barbie Horse Adventures, I'll agree. Probably just for kids. Kirby Squeak Squad, probably
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Nahh, I'm 29. I spent my entire childhood playing those nintendo games. Final Fantasy II and III were probably my favorite games for the SNES. Never got a PS1 or PS2, although I have a Gamecube, I got
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There wasn't a single one on the shelves (and PSP had the largest allotment of space) that interested me and I hadn't already played on the PS2. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather a PS2 version for the big screen, but there wasn't even a game left I was interested in.
DS, on the other hand, had a new castlevania, mario, final fantasy, and remakes of several others (final
Do they even know how to market anymore? (Score:4, Insightful)
I can see this move if this was October and XMas was looming. But early April? "Mommy I want a PSP for Easter. Pwetty pwease? How about Memorial Day?"
I smell pre-whatever-the-hell-e3-is-this-year-hype... Or a quick attempt to keep their product relevant and on the shelves.
*Waits to see if Nintendo fires back by dropping the DS Lite to $149 or $129 (could kill both the PS2 and PSP in one shot lol)*
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Classic rivalry! (Score:1)
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I misread... (Score:1)
The new ads are brilliant. (Score:3, Insightful)
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-Ben Franklin (paraphrased)
Why the PSP sucks, part 38 (Score:1)
Already has a great little screen and it's able to get online via wifi. Make the wifi able to share files amongst other devices...even just PSP users, and you got something.
As a portable gaming device, it's limited. As a universal portable media device it will sell like an ipod. Make it run Skype and flash video via the wifi and I'll even buy a few.
Sony could
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Too little too late? (Score:2)
It'll be very interesting to see the NPD sales for this month.
That being said, i'll wait for the next price drop to get one, can'
Untapped market (Score:2)
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