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Gamasutra: Is the PSP a Failure???

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T

theBishop

Banned
index_wen_lg.jpg


Gamasutra asked some industry analysts about the PSP. The following questions were asked:

*What are your general thoughts about the Sony PSP? Do you rate it as a failure or success? Or do you have mixed or neutral feelings about it?

*What do you think Sony and developers could do to improve the PSP platform, to generate more excitement for it among developers, gamers and the industry overall? Or do they need to?

*What do you forecast will happen with the PSP platform throughout this year, especially in relation to the PS3 (the fact that Sony plans to interface the device more with the console), with its recently announced price cut and rumors of a second generation model?
Click to expand...

The answers were pretty similar, but there is some good insight. I'll highlight some of the tastier quotes below:


We forecast that the global installed base of PSP users will be around 29 million at the end of 2007, generating $1.9 billion in software sales. Lifetime software sales at the end of 2007 will be around $4.5 billion. If this is "failing," then failure just got a huge brand makeover.
Click to expand...

publishers are already enjoying some greater success on the PSP than they ever did on Nintendo portable platforms.
Click to expand...

the market is showing that you must develop a game specifically for the portable platform and not just repurpose console [i.e. PS1] games. The challenge is this is likely to take a high-end budget, probably around $5 million.
Click to expand...

Exclusive titles define a platform, and there is less impetus for PSP owners to purchase such titles at full price if they see a PS2 release a few months down the line.
Click to expand...

UMD works fine for games, but the company put so much emphasis on the format for movies and that has proven to be a disaster.
Click to expand...

with retailers beginning to lose faith in the device, and we may see some new version of the hardware, possibly a smaller version that features better battery life.
Click to expand...

I think you will likely see [next-gen PSP] introduced in 2008 with the product shipping in 2009. Sony's too focused on the PS3 right now to deliver a new handheld in the next 18 months.
Click to expand...


http://gamasutra.com/features/20070406/wen_01.shtml
 
Majmun

Majmun

Member
PSP a failure?

LOL

Maybe if you compare it with the DS. But the again, what is not a failure compared to the DS?

PSP is an awesome system.
 
T

TheJollyCorner

Member
Sony doesn't need a "next-gen" PSP yet. The current PSP is just fine... and look at games like Portable Ops 2, Crisis Core, Silent Hill Origins- this handheld has some awesome power in it.

Sony doesn't need to adopt the old SEGA attitude of "oh, we're getting our asses kicked... let's just move on to the next gen!" This PSP is doing well and has some good legs on it.
 
P

Pureauthor

Member
6.8 said:
Of course not. It's the only current-gen handheld, so it wins.
Click to expand...

Whereas the DS has the ability to surpass time, I take it.

Look, we don't get software numbers for NPD before, but somehow I doubt that software sales have really picked up since Novemeber 2006. And software sales has always been the biggest issue for the PSP.
 
B

Big-E

Member
Good article. I hate people that say that the PSP is failure. I am only 20 years old so since I have been alive there has been a Nintendo handheld in the market and it was the handheld of choice. For the PSP to come in in its first attempt and take a good size of the American market is to be commended. People don't realize that the PSP division is making decent money for Sony. Were there missed opportunitys? Most definitely, but not grave enough to call it a failure.
 
davepoobond

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
a "next gen" PSP wouldn't solve the problems that the PSP is perceivably having since most of them come from the PSP being "TOO powerful" for the handheld market in terms of delivering cheapo games
 
Y

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
It failed to meet expectations, however lofty they were.

Though I still think it is a really good system. :D
 
S

sonycowboy

Member
Relative to the bluster of Sony, the high level of expectation, and the perceived superiority of the platform to the DS, it's certainly not had the impact initially envisioned.

Part of that is the brilliance with which Nintendo has managed the DS (as they, by all accounts, were caught flatfooted for the first 12 months after the PSP was announced) which makes sales comparisons almost laughable, and part of it is the inability of the system to define a system defining experience. Yes, 3rd party results can range from good to decent, and by and large for western publishers, it's more profitable.

However, there's little to no buzz for the system and no banner carriers to take it someplace "better".

But, it has sold quite well relative to any prior measure of a system's success, just not at the insane levels of the DS & PS2.
 
W

WrathOfOtaibah

Banned
Ugh.

Just because a system doesn't sell at breakneck speed doesn't mean its a failure. Its by and far the best performing handheld for a non Nintendo handheld ever. It still sells in the tens of thousands in both the US and Japan, hardly a failure.

I think the biggest problem was its expectations. Too many people thought it was going to slaughter the DS or at worst, be neck and neck. The unwillingness to drop the price to a reasonable level is the reason why the PSP situation is not where it should be. If you keep the price range out of reach of what consumers are willing to pay for it, sales are going to suffer overall.

Same goes for the software. Most people are no longer willing to pay $40-$50 per PSP game.
 
Z

zoukka

Member
PSP is a good system. With crappy games lineup.

Well there are naturally some goodies like, Wipeout (4life), Lumineses, Metal Gear Acids/Portable Ops and so on, but thats pretty much it. The developers obviously wanted to bring "big-console" games on psp, but they dont just work very well.

PSP had huge potential but was raped by PS2-ports and such.


More innovation and more 2D would be fantastic...
 
M

Mr.Potato Head

Banned
If i were stranded on an island..and had to pick a DS or PSP..i'd pick a PSP..hands down. Its just way more cutting edge then a DS...i have both so im not knocking DS..i just find PSP way more flexible in many many more ways...let along it being much much more powerful then a DS...
 
H

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
As a DS fanatic who is considering a PSP after the "price drop" I must say that the PSP isn't a failure.

There is just some things that the DS absolutely fails at miserably and that is 3D gaming. I rather jump off a bridge than to play horrendous looking DS 3D games, granted there are games like DQ9 and Crystal Chronicles that are gorgeous for DS level graphics, but they are the exception, not the norm.

The PSP also does another thing right, it is WPA compatible. I would honestly love the DS more if I could use my 801.11g router to play it.

It also has an exciting future lineup, I am absolutely ecstatic about buying Monster Hunter Portable 2 (I loved the original for the PSX), Crisis Core, The Castlevania Remake, and a port of one of the best PSX games ever made (Final Fantasy Tactics).

The DS will always be my main handheld, but the PSP lineup is so impressive that it is hardly a failure by any stretch of the imagination.
 
A

ATF487

Member
The only thing the PSP has failed at is to surpass lofty expectations. Otherwise it's doing pretty well.
 
J

jjasper

Member
One thing they don't mention is price of the games, the price of the system was never really a problem to me but damn I hate spending more than 35 dollars on a handheld game which has really kept me from buying a lot of games. It is good that they at least have a greatest hits line up though (I wish the DS had one)
 
J

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
Mr.Potato Head said:
If i were stranded on an island..and had to pick a DS or PSP..i'd pick a PSP..hands down. Its just way more cutting edge then a DS...i have both so im not knocking DS..i just find PSP way more flexible in many many more ways...let along it being much much more powerful then a DS...
Click to expand...
... but the battery would run out faster :(
 
P

Pureauthor

Member
In my eyes, the PSP got itself out of the handheld gaming ghetto at the expense of landing itself in the console gaming ghetto.
 
O

Oni Jazar

Member
Sensationalist title but the article is sound.

One thing that the PSP has to its benefit is a *very* flexible hardware and firmware package. There's a lot of untapped potential in the system that really doesn't need a hardware revision any time soon.

Imagine if you could buy full PSP games, PSN games, TV shows, music & movies for download. Imagine if you could take your PSN friend's list with you anywhere you go and use the PSP camera and headphone for chatting. Imagine if Sony got off their ass and actually release PSX games to download straight from the PSP.
 
Chiggs

Chiggs

Gold Member
It's not a failure. Software could use some help, but considering how other portables have faired in light of the Nintendo juggernaut, it's doing pretty good.

In fact, I'll be buying one next week.
 
H

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Chiggs said:
It's not a failure. Software could use some help, but considering how other portables have faired in light of the Nintendo juggernaut, it's doing pretty good.

In fact, I'll be buying one next week.
Click to expand...

Exactly, what are the release dates on Crisis Core, MHP2, Castlevania, or Final Fantasy Tactics? I will likely buy the console one month before the first release just because I want to play my copy of Sakura Taisen 1 & 2.

Edit: Oh shit, Valhalla Knights is coming this month.
 
B

Big-E

Member
Hcoregamer00 said:
Exactly, what are the release dates on Crisis Core, MHP2, Castlevania, or Final Fantasy Tactics? I will likely buy the console one month before the first release just because I want to play my copy of Sakura Taisen 1 & 2.
Click to expand...

Rumor from EGM I believe has Square Enix's PSP titles dropping to 08 in NA. Castlevania I believe is confirmed for fall. I don't know the release date for MHP2.
 
R

Ryu1999

Member
psy18 said:
Pretty good system but need less crappy ports.
Click to expand...

Meh, it hasn't stopped the Wii. But seriously, that thread from yesterday asking people's favorite PSP games pretty much disproved the "there are no good games on psp", cause there was a good list. I mean, its not DS-level, but that's an impossibly high bar
 
R

RumFore

Banned
The PSP is the best system I have ever owned. I have always dreamed of a system that can do almost everything and I finally have it. Kinda like the time Homer designed that car with everything he thinks a car should have. I love the PSP.:)
 
H

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Big-E said:
Rumor from EGM I believe has Square Enix's PSP titles dropping to 08 in NA. Castlevania I believe is confirmed for fall. I don't know the release date for MHP2.
Click to expand...

Nevermind because Valhalla Knights is coming out next week. I will just buy both next week.
 
E

Evlar

Banned
Big-E said:
Sorry if I sounded defensive I just wanted to know why.
Click to expand...
The numbers, as they are now, show about 12.3 million between US and Japan. I don't have numbers for Canada, Europe, or Australia... I would guess about 1 million in Canada, and 7 million or so (similar sales to the US) for Europe, leaving the PSP a hair beyond 20 million as of the end of February, with a few extra weeks in Japan tossed in.

That would require the system to sell well beyond its current rate of sales in all three regions for the rest of the year to reach 29 million. For instance, in Japan, the PSP has stabilized at ~40k per week, higher than its previous threshold prior to MHP2. Continuing at this rate would result in ~1.56 million in sales. Toss in higher sales at major game releases and the holiday season and it may approach 2 million, leaving 7 million in sales for the other regions. Given the rate of sales in the US and Canada I think that's very unlikely, particularly since the system faces more competition than it did previously.

I would anticipate ~27 million by the end of the year. A lot of this depends on where exactly Europe stands, though honestly I feel 7 million units sold is rather generous.
 
J

Jewbacca

Banned
The system could sell better, but it is far from a failure.

Neo Geo Pocket was a failure.
Game Gear was a failure, and many other handhelds.

I do think sony has put the platform on autopilot though.
 
O

Odrion

Banned
zoukka said:
PSP is a good system. With crappy games lineup.
Click to expand...

Far from the truth. I actually like the PSP's lineup better than the DS's. This year's lineup is going to be pretty damn sweet too.

It needs a redesign though. As unportable as it sounds I would love it to be more of a controller with a actual stick with a screen plopped on it. And some way to fix that god awful blurriness.
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
We forecast that the global installed base of PSP users will be around 29 million at the end of 2007, generating $1.9 billion in software sales. Lifetime software sales at the end of 2007 will be around $4.5 billion.
Click to expand...

Wtf? There's something wrong about those numbers..
 
D

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
sonycowboy said:
Relative to the bluster of Sony, the high level of expectation, and the perceived superiority of the platform to the DS, it's certainly not had the impact initially envisioned.

Part of that is the brilliance with which Nintendo has managed the DS (as they, by all accounts, were caught flatfooted for the first 12 months after the PSP was announced) which makes sales comparisons almost laughable, and part of it is the inability of the system to define a system defining experience. Yes, 3rd party results can range from good to decent, and by and large for western publishers, it's more profitable.

However, there's little to no buzz for the system and no banner carriers to take it someplace "better".

But, it has sold quite well relative to any prior measure of a system's success, just not at the insane levels of the DS & PS2.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
J

jarrod

Banned
Second said:
Maybe if you compare it with the DS. But the again, what is not a failure compared to the DS?
Click to expand...
Uh... the first two PlayStations?


As an aside, does anyone think N64 was a "failure"? Genesis? Xbox? How should we define "failure"?
 
E

ethelred

Member
No.

It's not a failure by any reasonable stretch (aside from failing to meet the expectations Sony and many analysts laid out for it -- but even then, it's not the first successful console to get that label). It's a very good system. Most of the systems people label failures around here weren't failures in the ways that actually matter.
 
A

Aleman

Member
I bought a PSP last week and loving it so far. Just give me better battery life. That's all I ask. It's not nearly as "Portable" if you always have to bring the AC adapter with you.
 
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