TRios_Zen said:
I can only speak as a non-psp owner: as there is no single "must-have" game for me, the price puts me off much more than the library.
In fact, I'm not sure I have ever even seriously looked into what the library for the system is, as when I see the price, my first thought is: "price needs to come down".
I wonder though, do you think what you've noted has more of an affect on the people who already OWN a PSP (i.e. they doon't buy much software for it)?
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I'd say given the bolded, the underlined certainly effects those with or without a PSP. With no compelling software, people won't buy it regardless of price. You're a perfect example one of those people that find it has little compelling software.
d21lewis said:
The two Loco Roco sequels are $7. The first one (the one I really want!) is still $22! As soon as that price drops, I'm downloading it.
My current top 3 PSP games: Gurumin (Pocket sized Zelda!), Hot Shot's Tennis (aka PSP Crack), or Metal Gear Peacewalker (a perfect portable MGS game) .
I'm not sure that anything could have helped the PSP, though. I looked through the entire library--I mean the ENTIRE library--last week. What I found were tons of unheard of RPG's, Music Games, Arcade Collections, Fighting Games, Racing Games, Puzzle Games, and Sports Games that would lend themselves perfectly to the handheld experience. Yeah, it's got the watered down concole games but it's got the good "made for portable" games, too. Seriously, look at the library! That's how I wound up with an awesome hidden gem like Gurumin!! But even then, even though I'm happy with the system and I have some great games, it sucks that the PSP isn't the success that I think it should have been.
I blame Sony's marketing.
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Yeah, their PSN pricing makes no sense at times. Patapon 2 is only 7.99, but Patapon is 15.99! And it was only 19.99 when it came out! Most of their first party stuff is pretty reasonably priced, though. Games like Killzone: Liberation are generally under $20, usually around 15.99.
And I'm sure marketing ahs also had quite a bit to do with it. Just look at Peace Walker! Konami practically ghost shipped the game to retailers.
Ssenkahdavic said:
Some of the issues I see with the PSP in the West (selling to new customers) are:
- Lack of real PS3 integration. The PS3 has been doing very well in the West recently and the PSP could try to ride some of that success. Why can I not hook my PSP into my PS3 and have my PS3 upscale the graphics for my TV? Why can I not have the PS3 handle the controller, so I can now use my PS3 controller wirelessly? (yes I know you can with the Go, but this should work for all systems)
- Lack of games targeting the Western Audience. Remakes, JRPGs, and PS1 classics will not sell millions of systems in the West, at best they will sell thousands.
- The PSP does feel like the PC as of late. Many games on the system just do not feel like they were made FOR the system.
- Price is always an issue and with slumping sales it looks like the PSP needs a price cut.
- Advertising! Until very recently, I would not see any advertising anywhere for the PSP. In massive electronic stores, gaming only stores, the internet, TV and others, I would hardly ever see out in the open marketing for the unit.
- Needs more First Party Western Studio Sony Support. Not just remakes or reboots or sequels, but it needs new Sony Western IP support. It is almost as if they are afraid of putting their new IP ideas on the handheld.
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I believe the PSP is rather limited by its hardware for the first point. There's only so much the PSP can handle. Honestly, it's a marvel the system even has PSN support, given the PSN didn't exist when it came out.
I'm also amazed the got a fully functional PS1 emulator running on hardware like that. It's what has me convinced we'll see ps2 emulation on ps3/psp2 someday. Sony can really put their hardware through its paces. I mean, when the PSP came out, ps1 emulation on PC was still pretty crappy, and the PSP had far weaker hardware than any PC at the time.
As for the rest of your points, I agree 100%.
d21lewis said:
I don't know about other areas but every Wal-Mart I've seen (Savannah Ga, Augusta Ga, and all points in between), it's like this: Huge Wii Section. Huge DS Section. Huge PS3 Section. Huge 360 section. 5-10 PSP games buried in the PS3 section.
Every Gamestop/EBGames I've gone to has been like this: Huge PS3 wall. Huge Wii wall. Huge 360 wall. Huge DS wall. PSP games hidden on a little shelf that I can't even find without asking a sales clerk. It's usually hidden behind the PC games. All of the games look used, too. The Gamecube/PS2 sections are better organized. It's like the PSP is a dead system or something!
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At this point, that's a result of the PSP's mediocre software and hardware sales in the US. It's more a symptom than a problem. Here in New Orleans, though, the PSP still has a decent presence at Best Buy. K-mart and Wal-mart, though... =(
hatmoza said:
*tagged for later read.
I'll quickly say that I always feel games on the PSP try to feed off of the success of main console releases. Take Assassin' Creed: Blodlines for instance.
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That basically ties into my point. The only thing worse than what are essentially console ports are when the games are made with little intention to make them good, instead focusing solely on riding off the hype of the next big home console title. It's like games based on movies. They're rushed to make it out when the movie comes out, and they're by and large crap.
decoyoctopod said:
I don't understand how you can say God of War: CoO, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, and Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier are bad games. You complain that "B" teams produce these games yet praise Daxter for it was made by ex-employees of Naughty Dog. However, both The Lost Frontier and Size Matters were made by High Impact Studios, which is comprised of ex-employees of both Insomniac and Naughty Dog. You're also complaining how the PSP versions are more dumb-downed than their PS2 counterparts. Well, duh, the PSP isn't nearly as powerful as the PS2.
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I didn't say they're bad games. I would personally rate God of War around an 8.3. However, it's just not near as good as its ps2 brethren, and it provides little reason to buy a PSP when you can just play the games on PS2. This is why I believe handheld titles should differentiate themselves from their console counterparts, like Killzone: Liberation. Nintendo gets this, given the way they handle Zelda and their host of new IPs on the DS.
Also, I was unaware that high Impact Games was formed by ex-naughty Dog and Insomniac employees, but whoever they consist of, they don't seem to have the same magic as Sony's other teams. I mean, as much as I malign Chains of Olympus, it's still a good game overall, and between that and Daxter, it shows Read at Dawn has some decent talent, even if they chose to make a gimped version of God of War instead of something a bit more original. On the other hand, neither Size matters nor the Lost Frontier can stand up to Daxter or God of War. SCEJ gets their best studios working on PSP, much like Nintendo gets their EAD groups working on the DS. SCEA/SCEE instead get small third parties like High Impact games to work on the system, instead of getting Naughty Dog, for example, to work on a PSP title alongside their ps3 work.
Granted, we've seen much better ps3 support from Sony's western arms in comparison to SCEJ as a result, and that's something I can certainly appreciate. However, Guerrilla Games shows that with a little expansion, you could easily pump out a PSP project or two alongside your home console offerings.
Smashchu2 said:
OP has the right idea. In the game business, the hardware is the gameway to the software. Nintendo designed both the DS and Wii that way. Sony and Microsoft, however, make systems that do "everything," and play games, but they don't focus on the experience of the game.
1.Nintendo created a lot of software that complimented the DS.
2. I haven't seen Sony do that with the PSP.
Which is Sony's big problem right now: they are not a game company. Nintendo has all of their departments integrated (as a software/hardware company) and is only a game company. Sony is a conglomerate.
3. Their developers are not really "Sony," but are 3rd parties they own. They are not as tightly nit as Nintendo.
4. That, and they lack the talent Nintendo has. In the end, it all comes down to software.
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1. Agreed 100%, and its titles like Pokemon, Zelda, Brain Age, and Nintendogs are what have made the DS what is today. It was also an excellent idea to partner with Level 5 for Prof. Layton.
2. Disagree, at least in the case of SCEJ, though Sony Japan's offerings feel more like quirky and cool indy titles than AAA releases.
3. Thankfully that has been changing over the years. The first step was to unify Sony's various studios under a single banner through the creation of the Worldwide Studios entity back in 2005. This has resulted in a much better general vision behind the software Sony produces, and a general increase in the quality of their products, thanks to the collaborations now often seen between SCE's studios. The second step was getting these developers directly involved with hardware design, something that has happened more recently. SCE has been slowly becoming more and more like Nintendo every day, and it should lead to great things.
4. I disagree. I would argue the creative minds at Media Molecule are up there with Nintendo's best, and Nintendo doesn't have anybody quite like Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, or Guerrilla Games in their arsenal. Both companies have their strengths and weaknesses, and both offer a wealth of quality content for any gamer. I do agree that Sony's software is by and large less marketable than what Nintendo produces, given the audience they often cater to.
