| MikeB said: @ XboxSoldier12 would hate to see the PS3 doomed to the same fate as the PSP where it becomes more valued for secondary features (in the PSP's case: internet, homebrew, and emulation). In some ways the best thing that can happen for the PS3 at this point is for it to be desired as a Blu-Ray player if nothing else. Owning the thing will make you more likely to buy the games. Speaking for myself as a Nintendo DS gamer, I can say my interests in the PSP skyrocketed with the ability to connect remotely with the PS3. And the PSP IMO performs rather well within this previously Nintedo dominated market segment. I don't think the PSP would have perfomed as well as it did if the console would be less powerful and offered fewer distinguishing features as compared to the Nintendo DS. Name me one competitive effort which performed better than the PSP performed thus far? |
I'm afraid there are no condolence prizes for comming in second palce in the foray of the global market. Just because a console did as well as it did in spite of insurmountable odds doesn't make it any more of a success or an asset. Certainly its not a bad piece of hardware but its software sales are abismal and i fear you may just be simply looking at hardware sales alone in your summation of the PSP's value.
The DS also has remote connectivity with the Wii and outdid the PSP not with an overwhelming foot in the door (via GBA) but earned its own market next to the PSP through its own achievements by out doing any other handheld prior, even its own kin. People wanted to jump ship on a Nintendo handheld, people were ready for an alternative, but Nintendo not only gave them a reason to come back, but the PSP game them ample reason to remain hesitant. The PSP was ultimately a squandered venture by Sony that could have done much better, almost ignored by Corporate from the start as if they expected it to take off on its own and the third party developers to manage it for them. UMD movies like Blu-Ray on the PS3 seemed to be a feature they banked on the most, but unlike Blu-Ray, UMD failed. Internet however was the key to the PSPs continued limited success even when its games stop holding the appeal of its owners.
Your ideology of giving the PSP recognition as if some sort of unnofficial second place award really has no sound basis outside of a personal philosophy and is not something you can support with argument. Fact remains that what sales it has garnered in these recent years of its life are due largely to its secondary feature appeals, not its primary feature of playing games. This is a fact, even supported by your own excitement of using it for its connectivity with the PS3, not as a portable gaming device. And no amount of rationalizing its status is going to make it anymore of a worthwhile product than it already is just as no amount of rationalizing will make the Xbox or GC anymore worthwhile then they were last gen. They did as well as they did for whatever the reasons or obstacles that culminated in their sum achievements but in the end were still outdone by the PS2, and that's all that needs be acknowledged. This isn't grade school where we give runner up rewards for the slow kid who did his best but still came in last.
