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Forums - Sony Discussion - Sony has a real chance of dethroning Nintendo 3DS

Mr Khan on 09 January 2011
fps_d0minat0r said:

if you think about it, psp wasnt known for fps's which is a massive genre. ds cant do it with 1 thumb stick so i think that will be a major point.

in japan, which ever gets monster hunter first will dominate but again, i think it will be better on psp with a second thumb stick, PSN and better graphics.

lastly, piracy, it screws up 3rd party support, if one gets hit by it and the other doesnt then one will obvisouly have an advantage.

but then again nintendo can sell anything to little kids so on a sales point, i expect 3ds to do better but on games i think psp2 will be much better.

Kid Icarus has shown that a solution that would work for FPSes is already in place, and the DS (with zero analogue) had a few decent FPS titles. Thumbsticks always pale compared to something more tactile when it comes to shooting, and the stylus had the edge there



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

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IamAwsome on 09 January 2011

The PSP2 could win, (or at least gain marketshare) if these things happen

1. Actually support the damn thing

Ok Sony's first party PSP support has been crap all gen long. Most games are PS2/PS3 spin-offs, and there isn't much of a "killer app". The true killer app came in '09 (Gran Turismo), but by that time, nobody really cared about it anymore.

Sony needs to put some of their 1st party muscle behind the PSP2. None of their "A" teams ever really worked on the PSP. Polyphony Digital made GTPSP, but that was the only quality 1st party PSP  game in existence.

2. Give it a distinct feature

One of the major problems with the PSP was its lack of a distinct feature. It did have a media player, but the iPhone excecuted the media thing even better. The PSP was essentially a portable PS2 with the PS3's interface, and media features. Sony will need to give it a defining feature (what feature? I  don't know), to compete with the 3DS.

3. Price

The 3DS's price seems steep for a handheld, but it is worth it, if Sony can make it cheap, AND give it mass market appeal, the PSP2 will blow the 3DS away.

Simply put, the PSP needs to be competitively priced. I would say US$175-229, with nothing, and US$200-250 with a game.

4. Horsepower

The PSP was essentially a PS2. The DS was an N64. The 3DS looks like it has power between the Wii, and 360. I expect the PSP2 to have power approaching the Wii. If Sony decides to get conservative, the PSP2 could have power near the Gamecube, or Xbox (after all, both were a lot more powerful than the PS2). Knowing Sony, the PSP2 will make a huge leap in terms of power. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!! Sony putting PS3 power into the PSP2 would jack the price up, and drain the already slow battery. Power in between the Wii and 360, should be ideal.

As long as they do those things and other stuff people mentioned, (UMDs, Dual Analog Sticks etc) Sony can gain marketshare on Nintendo.

 



thismeintiel on 09 January 2011
Mr Khan said:
fps_d0minat0r said:

if you think about it, psp wasnt known for fps's which is a massive genre. ds cant do it with 1 thumb stick so i think that will be a major point.

in japan, which ever gets monster hunter first will dominate but again, i think it will be better on psp with a second thumb stick, PSN and better graphics.

lastly, piracy, it screws up 3rd party support, if one gets hit by it and the other doesnt then one will obvisouly have an advantage.

but then again nintendo can sell anything to little kids so on a sales point, i expect 3ds to do better but on games i think psp2 will be much better.

Kid Icarus has shown that a solution that would work for FPSes is already in place, and the DS (with zero analogue) had a few decent FPS titles. Thumbsticks always pale compared to something more tactile when it comes to shooting, and the stylus had the edge there

While the stylus can work for FPS's and camera control in 3rd person games, after watching the vid for Kid Icarus, I would much rather have a 2nd analog stick.  It allows the system to be held better in your hand, while giving better access to ALL the buttons.  I have a feeling that a lot of the COD gamers on the 360 and PS3 would prefer that, as well.  Of course, it just depends on Sony getting some great games that make use of it.  For adults this could be a COD, Killzone, or Uncharted.  For children this could be an Ape Escape, Rachet & Clank, or Jak & Daxter.  As always, new IP's are always welcome. 



 

Alby_da_Wolf on 09 January 2011

Couldn't it happen that DS will slaughter all of them, PSP, PSP2 and 3DS too?

After all something similar already happened in another market, Windows XP slaughtered Vista...



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Mr Khan on 09 January 2011
Alby_da_Wolf said:

Couldn't it happen that DS will slaughter all of them, PSP, PSP2 and 3DS too?

After all something similar already happened in another market, Windows XP slaughtered Vista...

And PS2 beat the hell out of all of the new consoles for varying lengths of time. Not unprecedented, especially given that the DS is on its way to being bigger still



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

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mhsillen on 09 January 2011

The 3DS will probably have a sidescrolling mario.

A game that finished the the competition between PSP and DS 



slowmo on 09 January 2011
thismeintiel said:

I find it sad that a thread mostly asking what Sony can do to outperform the 3DS has been overtaken by anti-Sony people and turned into a "TEH PSP2 IS DOMZED!!1" thread.  It's pretty much a given that the 3DS is going to do great off the success of the DS and its exclusives.  But is it so hard to look past your bias and believe that Sony could see a similar success with the PSP2?  It too has a good install base with the PSP to springboard off of.  In fact, when all is said and done, the PSP may come pretty close to pulling off GBA numbers (81 mil), the first time any company has even come close to pulling off Nintendo numbers in the handheld market.

Of course, previous install bases really mean nothing if the competition can release a "better" product and/or have a better launch.  Nintendo learned this when going from NES/SNES to N64/Gamecube.  Sony learned it when going from the PS2 to the PS3.  So really, we'll just have to wait for the launch info for the PSP2, including the price, specs, and launch software.  But, there's nothing wrong with speculating.

I predict Sony can dethrone Nintendo if they do certain things.  Price would have to be the major one.  If they can launch the device for the same price of the 3DS, or at the most a $25 difference, that will help them greatly.  I think both will be in the $249-$299 range.  The launch date will help, as well.  If they launch closer to Nov./Dec., they can benefit from the holiday sales rush, as well as being the new hot item on the scene.  Then there's support.  While I'm sure both will get great support at launch, we'll just have to wait and see how well that support continues.  PSP2 will benefit greatly from having a second analog nub when it comes to FP and TP shooters, as well as camera control in action/adventure games.  Having BC with the PSP and maybe some form of PS2 emulation would greatly help with its library and appeal.  And if they have Android running on this thing, that will help even greater, since they would have access to Android apps/games.


It's nothing to do with hate at all for some in here.  The PSP is an amazing handheld but sadly the software targetted a very narrow demographic and the games especially in the beginning didn't suit the short play experience people generally use handhelds for. 

Unless Sony radically alter their target demographic for the PSP2 it will not outsell the 3DS, it literally has no chance imo.  I would highlight by the way that I think the PSP has been a very successful venture into the handheld market for Sony and I'm sure it has actually probably made a fair profit and would maybe have done even better (profit wise) without the rampant piracy issues.



OneTwoThree on 09 January 2011
thismeintiel said:

Well, the prototype for the PSP2 has the touchscreen on the back, so Sony could still persue a glassless 3-D screen if they wished.  I don't think they will, though, as it would add even more cost to what is most likely going to be a powerful handheld (read costly).  If the PSP2 is powerful enough, they could try going for passive 3-D with glasses.  I am curious how that back touchscreen will work, though.

As far as the UMD goes, I don't think the prototype even had one.  Could be wrong, of course.  If Sony is going UMD-less, they definitely need to put in place some method for putting PSP games on the PSP2.  Well, other than just buying and downloading them again.  Otherwise, they are going to lose some customers for not having a well thought out BC model.  One of the contributing factors to the failure of the PSP Go.

Ah right, I forgot about that backside touch pad. Don't know how well this would work, but at least it's a new idea. 

Regarding the UMD, I recently read an interview with Mr. Hirai where he dismissed a "download only" business model. So I think they're going to have some kind of physical media in the PSP2 - but they should really drop the optical drive, it's no longer up to date. And it would help them big time in achieving a better battery life. 



Sensei on 09 January 2011

I sure wish Sony could do this, but I reckon it will be very hard to beat Nintendo. After all, Nintendo was never beat in the handheld market anyways.

Sony did exceptionally well with the PSP, although it did not 'win' the war, it took a very good marketshare from Nintendo.



thismeintiel on 09 January 2011
OneTwoThree said:
thismeintiel said:

Well, the prototype for the PSP2 has the touchscreen on the back, so Sony could still persue a glassless 3-D screen if they wished.  I don't think they will, though, as it would add even more cost to what is most likely going to be a powerful handheld (read costly).  If the PSP2 is powerful enough, they could try going for passive 3-D with glasses.  I am curious how that back touchscreen will work, though.

As far as the UMD goes, I don't think the prototype even had one.  Could be wrong, of course.  If Sony is going UMD-less, they definitely need to put in place some method for putting PSP games on the PSP2.  Well, other than just buying and downloading them again.  Otherwise, they are going to lose some customers for not having a well thought out BC model.  One of the contributing factors to the failure of the PSP Go.

Ah right, I forgot about that backside touch pad. Don't know how well this would work, but at least it's a new idea. 

Regarding the UMD, I recently read an interview with Mr. Hirai where he dismissed a "download only" business model. So I think they're going to have some kind of physical media in the PSP2 - but they should really drop the optical drive, it's no longer up to date. And it would help them big time in achieving a better battery life. 

I would prefer a physical media myself.  Maybe just use an altered (for piracy reasons) Memory Stick.  Those have gotten to 32 GB in size recently, not that they would need that much.  I agree they should go without the UMD.  Though, I wonder if they could create a cheap mini-Bluray player that uses very little energy.  Maybe have it read UMD for BC.

@ slowmo

I hope they can aim for a larger demographic, as well.  Hopefully some more franchises, or at least entries into current franchises, geared towrds children.  They are definitely on the right track with the minis.  however, I think they should make a few collections of those for purchase at retail when the PSP is released.  And if they had Android in this thing, that will open things up even more.