Blog FeedDSed for Success?
Before last year’s E3, many people believed that Sony’s entry into the handheld market would be the undoing of Nintendo. With the GameCube faltering in sales, only it’s stranglehold on the handheld gaming sector was keeping Nintendo amongst the big dogs. You couldn’t question Nintendo with GBA games and systems selling as well as they were. They weren’t going anywhere. If Sony stormed in and took that market, as they had taken the home console from Nintendo, all would be lost.
But then something unexpected happened. At E3 2004 we saw a Nintendo bristling with confidence come bursting out of the gates, and by the time the show had finished the DS looked to be a winning system. Of course, the PSP with its multiple features and fantastic 3rd party support, would inevitably win out, but the DS looked strong. It certainly didn’t look like it’s unusual mix of microphone, touch screen and second screen would be a failure. But who expected where we’d be today?
Who expected that the PSP would still be unreleased in Europe at this time even as the DS saw the fastest ever console sales in many countries in that area? Who expected that in Japan where the DS was released less than a week before the PSP, that the DS would be leading the PSP in both software and system sales?
America seems to be the only market going for Sony’s system right now, but with the PSP just entering into it’s post launch slump and the DS just coming out of it’s own, it’s hard to ignore how much more excitment the DS generated at this years E3 compared to the PSP. The new coloured DS combined with the pack in bundle of Mario 64 (the only title for either handheld to pass 1,000,000 units so far).
Of course, less than a year from both consoles launches it’s impossible to say anything more than all this. The DS globally is comfortably leading the PSP. In Japan it’s been a downright phenomenon, beating out even PS2 sales over the last few months.
With Nintendo’s history of beating more powerful handhelds again and again, and news of Sony lowering their production of the PSP with Nintendo increasing their estimates for DS sales, you have to wonder what went wrong, and how can Sony make up for it.
There’s no question that the PSP is the more powerful device, with better visuals anyway you cut it. Hardware looks, screen quality, graphics quality. Questions about the consoles battery life proved to be exagerated. The 5 or so hours it provides (depending on game) is more than adequate for most uses. The range of titles on the platform has been outstanding, and the size of the launch library much more impressive than the DS offered. These are the exact same facts that had people predicting a win for Sony, but there are a number of key things you have to consider when looking at the DS and PSP.
Namedly, why do we play games on a portable, and when do we play games on a portable. A huge problem so far with the PSP has been the sheer volume of ports, and how few of those ports have been sensible to convert to a handheld. The worse thing the PSP suffers from isn’t battery life, but load times. If you’re pulling out your PSP between stops on the train, you’re going to be faced with a few minutes loading when playing certain titles. Also the best handheld title is the one you can play for hour or for three minutes… and it’s here that many PSP games fail.
That and, cleaner, simpler graphics, in many ways are more suitable for the handheld game. Something as twitch based and fast moving as Wipeout Pure is not the sort of thing you can play on a busy coach as it trundles over pot holes without feeling hindered. It’s a great game, but does it suit the hand held market? Sony’s approach to having a full powered console with all your favourite console titles sounded solid on paper, but is it working in practice?
The PSP, by apeing a full blown grown up console, has already marginalised itself in a way. Any time that a real console is available, who is going to choose playing a game with worse graphics on a smaller screen? No one. Also, the army of ports and the lack of unique titles hurts the system too, since I end up buying the same game twice. Not everyone may see it that way, but certainly some people will. Ports tend to stagnate on handhelds, unless they offer nostalgic value, most likely for that reason.
When I pick up a game on any system, I don’t think much about the system. I have almost no games on hand helds that I have on my main consoles. I spend more time playing on my DS at home than I do anywhere else, because the games offer unique experiences. That means that the DS often succesfully captures my attention even though I have an X-Box, PS2 and GameCube all sat right there. The titles that have seen the most success on the PSP are games like Lumines. Games that offer that hand held 5 minutes and up level of fun, and games that aren’t available on any of the home consoles.
Sure, I can see the value of Burnout on a handheld. Crash mode seems perfect for handheld gaming. But here’s the thing Sony need to realise and realise fast to turn the PSP around. People like buying new games.
GTA is going to ship a boat load of PSPs in Europe and America, sure, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to buy anything else.
7th July | Reply
THUG 2 on the PSP is actually a pretty damned good game, i mean yeah it’s just like the console version but it’s a skateboarding game, and pretty well suited to play on the road. And this for me is the crux of the issue, is Nintendo seems to hate people who like sports games. I mean going back some time they’ve provided one system that’s poorly designed for the sports gamer after another despite the fact that its a HUGE market. And the thing of that is, at least here in the States sports games are the ultimate populist video game and are perfect for portable gaming as they can provide a quick jolt of entertainment. Madden is a blast with 2 minute quarters, it’s fast paced you gotta score every time you get the ball, Virtua Tennis, Tony Hawk, and then the racers all these are great handheld experiences. If i wasn’t stuck in the middle of no where i’d be a lot happier with my PSP. I’d never really be excited about something like the DS as it just doesn’t fit my tastes; right now I just play Baldur’s Gate 2 all day.
7th July | Reply
obviously everyone is different. Skateboarding games with their two minute runs are well suited to the handheld, but again, it’s the choice of buying the better version for the homesystem or buying the portable version, or buying the same game twice. the DS in Japan is literally expanding the market beyond what we’ve been thinking of as gamers.
it could be an explanation as to why the PSP is doing so much better here in the states than it’s doing in Japan (not terribly, but unquestionably worse than the DS). europe always seemed a little friendlier to the quirky game. of course, nintendogs is a complete wild card that as far as i’m concerned could flop or be as big as pokemon. we’ll find out in a few weeks.
7th July | Reply
It’s strange because in Japan the stuff that really expands the market of who buys games is pretty much the opposite of the games that expand the market in America. Since the playstation era the games that have expanded the market for video games, at least on consoles & PCs, the most are Madden, Tony Hawk, GTA, Halo, and The Sims. Those 5 games have gone well outside the traditional Gamer block and done a whole lot of bussiness by doing so. The stuff that expands the market in Japan tends to be just too weird for mainstream USA. I’m interested in Nintendogs, not so much to play it, but just to see what kind of bussiness it does. I think it’ll be a good trial run for how Nintendo’s think different stratgegy works in the West. I hate dogs myself so it’s not likely to be for me; but if it’s a sensation here then it’ll be a good omen for the Big N. I don’t know why it’s taking them so long to come out with a great game. Traditionally Nintendo has been the company that launched with a great title but their last two product launches have gone without that something spectacular like the traditional Mario Magic.
8th July | Reply
Being a PSP owner and playing a variety of games on it I honestly think it is not the PSP itself that is preventing it from dominating the DS. It is the price. It is the largest factor for a consumer, esspecially in a time where new consoles have been announced, new video cards are coming out and computers in general are moving to new types of hardware. If you want to stay “hip” on all gaming fronts, you are going to have to foot one massive bill.
I’ve had my PSP for 2-3 months now with 3 games (Lumines, Wipeout Pure and THUG2). Honeslty I haven’t had as much fun with a console (except God of War) than I have with the PSP. The “quickness” factor to playing PSP games is eliminated much like the battery life. The only long load times are when you insert a new game, after that you just flick the power switch off. When you turn it back on you are right where you were (usually paused) and can continue without a hitch. This is incredible for THUG2 and Wipeout Pure. Lumines is a very easy pick up and play game that can entrance you for hours, the perfect handheld game.
Now I have never been a handheld gamer. I bought the PSP on a bit of a ‘test’ to see if I had enough time in my life for handheld gaming and such. I didn’t really question the system itself but rather if I could use the system for all its worth. $250 (plus almost another $200 in games/accessories and the like) is not cheap. For the first month PSP took over my life and I was playing it or watching movies/TV shows any chance I got. Now I mainly use it at work. I work in a hotel (either bartending or front desk) which provides a good amount of down time (slow nights at the bar, front desk work in general).
Everyone I show the thing to immediately starts drooling and asking how to get one. The system can sell itself amazingly well. However, once the price is announced most people look like you killed their puppy. I think most people assume that a handheld should be cheaper than the current consoles (even though the PSP is quite a bit more advanced than the PS2). Perhaps PSP’s day will come once consoles cost $3-400.
Oh and a minor problem for the PSP is not essentially the games but the titles. THUG2 was the only true port for the PSP. The rest were ports in name only. Wipeout Pure, NFS:UR, Ridge Racer etc. were all brand new games built from the ground up. Most people just don’t seem to think that. Wipeout Pure (possibly my favorite game for the system) plays nothing like the last 2 Wipeout games and has entirely original tracks/play system/vehicles. Even THUG2 added 4 new levels.
PSP also has a terrible (if any) advertising campaign.
8th July | Reply
Here is what I see as why Nintendo are doing so well with their handheld. Recently I went over my friends house. She is someone who has never played a console game in her life, and hates computer games in general. Yet, when I went over her house the one thing she wanted to show me was the DS she had. She was addicted to WarioWare: Touched. Any other game she would have shunned, but with Warioware, and the unique way of playing it, Nintendo have succesfully appealed to the casual gamer.
Nintendo have managed to get people who never play games, to buy a DS and become addicted. Would she get a PSP? Not in a million years. The DS is simple and quirky. It is also different. As has been mentiuoned above, the DS interests me far more than the PSP because if I wanted to play PS2 games, ill play them on my PS2, not on my handheld.
And im glad Nintendo are winning. I love Sony, and have been a solid Playstation supported long before I liked Nintendo, but I have been finding more and more recently my allegiances falling to Nintendo. From moderating a nintendo forum, to playing my Gamecube a heck of a lot and extholling the virtues of the DS I am finding myself slowly becoming a Nintendophile.
Keep it up Ninty. Maybe you will cause a shock with the Revolution too…