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Forums - Gaming Discussion - PSP vs GBA, can Sony do the impossible??

 

??

YES 163 50.62%
 
NO 113 35.09%
 
What about Virtual Boy (see results) 45 13.98%
 
Total:321
Kasz216 on 19 March 2014

Also the real What if? Dreamcast questions are.

1) What if Dreamcast didn't have it's surprise launch?

2) What if the Dreamcast released a year or two later.



Dreamcast's surprise launch screwed the system, and it's Japanese launch messed up it's Japanese audience who were actually really liked the Saturn.

A properly executed Dreamcast had potential to be like America is to the Xbox.



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ktay95 on 19 March 2014

edited

WTF IT CUT OFF MY ENTIRE POST LOL



Devil_Survivor on 19 March 2014
ktay95 said:
MohammadBadir said:
Yea. Though it's not really that impressive of a milestone when in the end Sony does in 10 years what Nintendid in 4.

Um GBA launched in 01 and was discontinued in 08... seems like more than 4 years unless Im getting really bad at maths


Actually it was Japan in 06, EU in 2007, and NA in 2008. 



 

ktay95 on 19 March 2014
Devil_Survivor said:
ktay95 said:
MohammadBadir said:
Yea. Though it's not really that impressive of a milestone when in the end Sony does in 10 years what Nintendid in 4.

Um GBA launched in 01 and was discontinued in 08... seems like more than 4 years unless Im getting really bad at maths


Actually it was Japan in 06, EU in 2007, and NA in 2008. 

yeah so 08 =P



Chris Hu on 19 March 2014

Not bad and it will surpass it in software sales also despite being very easy to pirate.



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Chris Hu on 19 March 2014
Turkish said:
PSP has already outsold one of the Gameboy versions. Dunno why GB and GBC are lumped together on wiki because they're not the same generation. Might aswell throw in GBA too.


The GB and GBC are esentially the same hardware the only difference being that the GBC can actually display a few colors and the GB can't.  That being said both of them totally destroyed the vastly superior Sega Game Gear in sales.  The only drawback that console had was its lousy battery life.



Kasz216 on 19 March 2014
Chris Hu said:
Turkish said:
PSP has already outsold one of the Gameboy versions. Dunno why GB and GBC are lumped together on wiki because they're not the same generation. Might aswell throw in GBA too.


The GB and GBC are esentially the same hardware the only difference being that the GBC can actually display a few colors and the GB can't.  That being said both of them totally destroyed the vastly superior Sega Game Gear in sales.  The only drawback that console had was its lousy battery life.

True...but there were a decent number of gameboy color only games if i recall correctly.

You can argue it's like the Expansion pack and the 32X... but it is it's own system, so it's a grey area.

I really wouldn't judge people one way or another in how they classify it personally.



Turkish on 19 March 2014
Kasz216 said:
Turkish said:
Kasz216 said:
Turkish said:

Um yes you did it was killed off prematurely.

"So it is totally fair to say that the reason the PSP will beat the GBA is because it's legs were cut out from underneath it prematurely."

Seems someone else's English is failing today huh? Are you always trying to patronize people you interact with?  And not even being bothered to read what I and the other were discussing.  To disprove me, you claim things you cant back up. I dont care how reliable estimates are, they are still estimates, and I asked real figures, which you failed to provide.

The DS is out of this story. The excuse of new hardware cutting old hardware's leg isn't exclusive to this story, it happens everytime. The evidence that DS didnt dramatically affect GBA's sales is that it went on being produced for 4 years after the DS came out, and the fact that it was on decline. The PS2 still sold great after PS3 came out but the outline was pretty clear. The PS2 peaked and was on the decline, despite outselling everything and doing great numbers. The same with GBA, it had it's peak year, it was never gonna go up. It was dangerous for Nintendo to rely on a handheld in decline, and PSP around the corner. The DS needed to come out.  If you're still going about "but what if DS wasnt released GBA wouldve went on to sell gazillion units!" you can fantasize all you want but Im not into make believes. That same silly logic also applies to the PS2-PS3 transition.

So now you know, platform holders arent gonna wait until the x system sold counter reaches 0 to bring out a new system.

 

Not sure why you want me to answer that question, like Ive been trying to make it clear, this is a complete different matter.  The Vita never needed to be out in the market within 3-4 years. Did Nintendo plan to release 3DS that soon that it could threathen Sony's handheld hegemony(which it never was unlike the GBA)? No. There was no need for the Vita. There was need for the DS however. And because of that need and Sony's entrance to the market, Nintendo had to launch the DS to counter PSP.  


So yeah... your english is failing you.  It was a legitamite question... and won that appears to be true.

To cut someones legs out prematurely is a very basic English term meaning "To cut somethings foward momentum"

 

So to use the basketball thing again.  Lebron James getting injured would be "Cutting the legs from underneath the Heat"

Because it would greatly cut the chances of the heat making it far in the playoffs.

 

Outside which?  the numbers you originally provided?

Gameboy Advance SP's 2003 numbers?   15.3 million.

 

Gameboy Advance SP's peak year  2004?

15.43  D

When did DS release?  Late 2004.

So it's actually kind of impressive 2004 was still the highest since it had it's christmas season cut out from under it... when Christmas makes up a huge percentage of sales.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Advance_SP#Sales_information

Without the DS release that year?  Seems obvious.

 

The huge drop you talk about isn't until the DS already released.   Which is like a drop to 7 million.  Less then you'd expect.

 

That said, the PSP should beat it and rightfully be ranked ahead of it in sales... (and I like the PSP more, the GBA just being a glorfied pokemon machine to me).

 

But to suggest it's based soley on the PSP's merits and not based on each company's relative expectations and wants in the area is a pure fantasy.

 

Were you to switch manufacturers, and Nintendo were to have released the PSP, and Sony the GBA, keeping all other factors like games and support exactly the same...


Seems pretty obvious the sales totals would line up differently.  You more or less admit so when you talk about the GBA.

PSP's peak year was 2008 wasn't it?

Vita didn't show up until well past then, because Sony's bar wasn't set near as highly.

 So in other words... You said it was killed off prematurely because it's forward going momentum was cut by Nintendo themselves. No need to twist and bend words, the message is understood.


Anyway. We're discussing 2 things here, 1. whether new hw decreases sales of old hw which we both agree on, this is historically always the case. 2.    whether gba would have had the legs of the psp if the DS wasn't there, which we dont agree on. My argument is that GBA would've sold more in this hypothetical market, if there was no PSP, which in return would mean no DS from panic reaction Nintendo in the year PSP launched.  But, since the PSP did come out(and would always come out), the DS had to be Nintendo's answer. It isn't Nintendo's fault GBA dropped like a rock, it is ultimately PSP's fault.

All this fantasizing is silly imo, I could make the case for Dreamcast selling more if it wasnt for the PS2. N64 if it wasnt for the PS1. Xbone/PS4 etc etc. Every console has more sales potential but they sold less due to this and due to that.


Except... You do realize the DS was launched BEFORE the PSP right?

 

The PSP was revelealed May 11th 2004.

 

So it's your conention that the DS was designed and released in 5 months... on the basis of a reveal and that maybe the PSP would do well?

Despite the fact that the Gameboy  systems had crushed numerous stronger competitors before.

Development spans don't work like that... the GBA's early replacement was in the works before the DS was released.

If anything, i'd think it seems more likely the DS started design before the GBA, and when they didn't get the touch screen prices down enough, they modified it into the GBA for a stop gap system.

 

Additionally  the GBA's drop in 2005 was LOWER percentage wise then basically any other console or handheld that had a percentage drop.  Even PS2 i'd gather but i'm too lazy to look it up, when basically every single other system but PS2 shows the same thing, because quite honestly that's enough proof on it's own.

That in of itself if anything shows the GBA had pleny of untapped potnetial.

 

As for "fantasizing"... it isn't that.  It's projection.

Quite honestly I quite disliked the GBA.

The PSP is the system that actually first got me to like handheld gaming, I more or less resented the GBA because I was basically forced to buy two second hand on ebay to play the pokemon games,  back when the old pokemon games could be played via Pokemon Collisieum.  

Pokemon is actually the only games are the only Gameboy Advance games I own


To me the PSP is my favorite handheld.  On an all systems list, i'd probably peg it 3rd or 4th all time, behind the SNES, NES.  Fighting for the third spot with the Bally Astrocade.   

That said, projection is part of making a list of GOAT.


The basketball terms haven't been used without reason, it's similar to sports.

Bill Russel has more Rings then Jordan...

Jordan is a better player though.


Speculation is part of what makes fans fans.  And true fans of the mediums should look at and accept things for the global truths, not just the personal ones.

Actually, the PSP was announced before the DS, at E3 2003. Remember the first pic of it

Looked very futuristic. It was being marketed as a PS2 in your pocket, PS2 being the rage back then going after Nintendos handheld market ofcourse must've scared Nintendo so much to force their hands. Because after all, I dont see any reason why the DS had to come out ~4 years after the GBA came out if it was doing so well.

 

I like both handhelds, a PSP3000 with a GBA emulator is best of both world! Advance Wars, Golden Sun were so good and I had good times with the Yugioh games.  

Bally Astrocade? damn



Djoeru on 19 March 2014
ktay95 said:
7 Game Boy Advance (GBA) 40.39 21.31 16.96 2.85 81.51
9 PlayStation Portable (PSP) 21.39 24.14 19.96 15.26 80.75

Will Sony achieve the impossible and have the PSP be the 1st handheld gaming system to outsell a Nintendo handheld??

http://www.vgchartz.com/analysis/platform_totals/

So far this year the PSP sales are just shy of 250k


Assuming that the PSP keep selling at the same average, about 15k per week, it would take it 1 more year to beat the GBA's score. Now i doubt that Sony will still leave it for so long, and even so, it's not very likely it will keep selling 15k per week until then. Except if the console was released very late in some new emerging markets where the sales are still good enough, then it would still be possible i guess x)



 

Kasz216 on 19 March 2014
Turkish said:
Kasz216 said:
Turkish said:
Kasz216 said:


Except... You do realize the DS was launched BEFORE the PSP right?

 

The PSP was revelealed May 11th 2004.

 

So it's your conention that the DS was designed and released in 5 months... on the basis of a reveal and that maybe the PSP would do well?

Despite the fact that the Gameboy  systems had crushed numerous stronger competitors before.

Development spans don't work like that... the GBA's early replacement was in the works before the DS was released.

If anything, i'd think it seems more likely the DS started design before the GBA, and when they didn't get the touch screen prices down enough, they modified it into the GBA for a stop gap system.

 

Additionally  the GBA's drop in 2005 was LOWER percentage wise then basically any other console or handheld that had a percentage drop.  Even PS2 i'd gather but i'm too lazy to look it up, when basically every single other system but PS2 shows the same thing, because quite honestly that's enough proof on it's own.

That in of itself if anything shows the GBA had pleny of untapped potnetial.

 

As for "fantasizing"... it isn't that.  It's projection.

Quite honestly I quite disliked the GBA.

The PSP is the system that actually first got me to like handheld gaming, I more or less resented the GBA because I was basically forced to buy two second hand on ebay to play the pokemon games,  back when the old pokemon games could be played via Pokemon Collisieum.  

Pokemon is actually the only games are the only Gameboy Advance games I own


To me the PSP is my favorite handheld.  On an all systems list, i'd probably peg it 3rd or 4th all time, behind the SNES, NES.  Fighting for the third spot with the Bally Astrocade.   

That said, projection is part of making a list of GOAT.


The basketball terms haven't been used without reason, it's similar to sports.

Bill Russel has more Rings then Jordan...

Jordan is a better player though.


Speculation is part of what makes fans fans.  And true fans of the mediums should look at and accept things for the global truths, not just the personal ones.

Actually, the PSP was announced before the DS, at E3 2003. Remember the first pic of it

 

Looked very futuristic. It was being marketed as a PS2 in your pocket, PS2 being the rage back then going after Nintendos handheld market ofcourse must've scared Nintendo so much to force their hands. Because after all, I dont see any reason why the DS had to come out ~4 years after the GBA came out if it was doing so well.

 

I like both handhelds, a PSP3000 with a GBA emulator is best of both world! Advance Wars, Golden Sun were so good and I had good times with the Yugioh games.  

Bally Astrocade? damn


That still doesn't seem like nearly enough time to develop the concept.  Espiecally considering just how long it took for Nintendo to even bother puttig out the Gameboy Advance.

I just don't think the GBA was ever meant to last long no matter how popular it was.   

Though even if it was scrapped for the PSP, that wouldn't change the fact that it would of sold much better without the DS.

I don't mention it to lower PSP's achiement, but just as something interesting to note as a fan of videogame sales and talking about the GOAT.

That the GBA sales were cut out from under it prematurely by nintendo is clearly true.

Does that matters as far as the scoreboard is concerned?  No.  That's the arguement to be made.   Russel has more rings than Jordan.  Jordan may be the better player, but Russel still has those rings.  

Is it an interesting thing to look at?  Totally.

As for the Bally Astrocade.  My parents owned one before i was born, so it was the first system i ever played on, and playing it are actualy my very first memories.

It still has some games i'd play today.  Wizard of Wor, Checkmate, Gunfight.

Awesome system with some awesomely weird controllers.

I hook it up and play it pretty much everytime i fly back home.