Who's getting a PSP?

[Ashwyn]

I'm going to wait until the price drops. Maybe not even then. The battery life thing severely disappointed me and soured me on it.

 

[stevelabny]

funny, someone sent me a link a few days ago, that said the price was $250 by itself or $400 for the "value pack". I can't remember what site it was, but apparently it was either completely misinformed or run by Nintendo.

That said and done, I still think anyone who buys a PSP in year 1 is hitting the shireweed.

 

[WizarDru]

I will get one, eventually....but not when it first comes out. MY DS is a cherished friend, at this point, and serves me well.

Several problems currently hamper the PSP:

1. Battery Life: Unlike the GBA, SP and DS, the battery life of the PSP is terrible when using the wireless, and merely bad when not using it. I ride the train daily for almost two hours, and I use the DS most of that time. I regularly get 12-15 hours of play time on the unit before it needs recharging. The PSP, according to recent tests, only gets about 3-4 hours....half-that if you use the wireless. I have an Atari Lynx in my closet....anyone remember what happened there?
2. Design Confusion: Sony appears to thing they have an iPod killer in their hands. They don't. A host of problems plague this concept. 32MB of stick memory? Even my Rio Cali flash player has 256 to start with...and it only cost me $50 to add another 512MB to it. I can play music and access it with one hand...in my pocket. This is true of an iPod, as well, but not the PSP, which requires two-handed operation to access the music. Playlists? Very primitive support, from what I've seen. Form factor? Much bigger than most PDAs and conventional players. Other portable media units offer 20 Gb of internal storage, and much better support for other audio and video formats.
3. Various reports of hardware issues: units with problematic Square buttons, units that eject discs randomly, and so on. This is just first generational hardware problems, but Sony seems to be convinced they don't have to address them.
4. Sony's Attitudes: A major problem with the device isn't with the device at all, but Sony's support for it. Anyone here remember when Sony was synonomous with portable music? But Sony refused to endorse or support the MP3 or WMA formats when everyone else was, hoping they could muscle everyone into the ATRAC format. Why? Because Sony's Music and Movie divisions demanded it. The public moved on and Apple and others knocked Sony off of the charts. Anyone seen the Networked Walkman? Not exactly flying off of the shelves, are they? Kaz's comments in the last few weeks have certainly not won him many friends (such as blaming developers for the PSP's battery life problems).

I want the PSP to succeed, and I think it eventually will. But I don't think it's a fait accompli that it will dominate the market. Sony needs to stop trying to make the PSP a media convergence device that plays games, and instead make it a game-playing device that also handles media formats. I think both devices have had weak launch titles, frankly, and don't expect really good software to appear until the summer. I mean, most of the PSP's launch titles are sports games, and I guarantee most of them have been rushed to market, not unlike some of the DS's games. Both should have some excellent exclusives that will reward the owner of any particular system. Gamers only benefit with more systems available for enjoyment.

 

[Arnwyn]

I think both devices have had weak launch titles, frankly,

That's being... polite.

 

[WizarDru]

That's being... polite.

Well, I have the advantage of having only played a little bit of Mario 64, so the bulk of that game is fresh for me. It's not a weak title, but without the mini-games, it's a mostly just a rehash with a fresh can of paint. The mini-games, however, really show off some interesting uses of the touch-screen, and hint at what could be done with it as the developers get a chance to stretch their legs. Most of the other titles run the gamut from rushed to mildly-amusing, for the DS. Metroid Hunters will be pretty kickin' when the full game is released. Several of the DS launch titles are reworkings of older games, such as Mr. Driller.

On the PSP side, Ridge Racer is certainly a sharp game. It ought to be, since it, like all but two of the US launch titles are rehashes of existing games, even moreso than the DS. Metal Gear Acid will be the big launch title...assuming the less-rushed US release has the two-player wireless mode enacted, something that the Japanese version lacks, as it was rushed to get it out in time. But Sony's not dumb...they picked some of the most well-known titles to convert to the PSP for launch. Games like Spiderman 2, NBA Street, Need for Speed, Twisted Metal and Dark Stalkers all show a good variety and showcase the PSP's graphical superiority.

It's no accident, of course, that the DS will be getting another dozen titles on the shelves in the first couple of weeks in March...just in time to compete for shelf-space with the PSP. My biggest disappointment will be that if I get the PSP (as I most likely will), that I'll need to recharge it nightly to use it and plug it in on the weekends. I know my wife, for example, can easily burn three to five hours in one evening playing a game like FF:TA or Zelda....the knowledge that currently, the PSP may not be able to do that, is disappointing.

 

[John Crichton]

My biggest disappointment will be that if I get the PSP (as I most likely will), that I'll need to recharge it nightly to use it and plug it in on the weekends. I know my wife, for example, can easily burn three to five hours in one evening playing a game like FF:TA or Zelda....the knowledge that currently, the PSP may not be able to do that, is disappointing.

Yeah, the battery life issue bugs me but you have to give something up for the type of machine you are getting. The screen is huge and basically makes the system worth buying. Bottom line. And yeah, the internal workings make a bit of a difference but anyone who has been using LCD screens for any amount of time knows that battery life has been and always will be an issue. As long as the unit gives plenty of notice that the battery will be dead soon, that's what I want.

And if I'm just playing the games at home - that's no issue. I just plug it into the wall.

Design Confusion: Sony appears to thing they have an iPod killer in their hands. They don't. A host of problems plague this concept. 32MB of stick memory? Even my Rio Cali flash player has 256 to start with...and it only cost me $50 to add another 512MB to it. I can play music and access it with one hand...in my pocket. This is true of an iPod, as well, but not the PSP, which requires two-handed operation to access the music. Playlists? Very primitive support, from what I've seen. Form factor? Much bigger than most PDAs and conventional players. Other portable media units offer 20 Gb of internal storage, and much better support for other audio and video formats.

iPod killer? I don't think that's what they are going for. Something like the iPod, something sleek, something cool to have, yes. And as for the comparisons to playing the different kinds of media and such, that's secondary to the games and is very obvious in the design. The price-point is workable. The unit does play other types of media and even if (right now) it's not the easiest thing to do, it's ok. People aren't buying this to replace their MP3 player (I'm not, for sure - I love my iRiver), they are buying it to play games. The media options are gravy. The machine can support them simply because it uses discs and is a mini-PS. But the primary selling point is the game-playing (graphics) and the cool-factor.

I don't even think the majority of folks will stop playing their DS/Gameboy for the PSP. It's a different animal. They can both compete in the same market as long as the support (good games) is there.

 

[WizarDru]

iPod killer? I don't think that's what they are going for. Something like the iPod, something sleek, something cool to have, yes.
...
But the primary selling point is the game-playing (graphics) and the cool-factor.

I think that's what they should be saying, but someone ought to tell Kaz to shut his pie-hole, if that's the case:

One of the things we’ve always strived to do was position this as a new portable entertainment device that obviously plays games, but has so much more to offer.”

It has gaming at its core, but it's not a gaming device. It's an entertainment device.

Mind you, I agree 100%. They can and I think WILL compete and thrive. They appeal to different markets and different tasks, and there's easily room for both. But I think Sony needs to figure out what they're doing with the device.

 

[John Crichton]

I think that's what they should be saying, but someone ought to tell Kaz to shut his pie-hole, if that's the case:

Yeah, that's the company line and he's the spokesman. I tend to ignore this kind of stuff and just look at what the machine is and does. You make a valid point, tho.

Mind you, I agree 100%. They can and I think WILL compete and thrive. They appeal to different markets and different tasks, and there's easily room for both. But I think Sony needs to figure out what they're doing with the device.

I don't think they are as scattered as some think. But then again, I don't read too much about the press releases and such. I just look at game titles and machine specs.

Ya know, a bunch of really smart people need to get together and build a tiny power supply with infinite energy. That would be cool.

 

[WizarDru]

Ya know, a bunch of really smart people need to get together and build a tiny power supply with infinite energy. That would be cool.

But aren't we both really busy right now?

 

[John Crichton]

But aren't we both really busy right now?

LOL!!

Yes, yes we are.