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[StuBurns]

When game's like peace walker don't even chart in NPD, you know your system is fucked. That game would have sold better on the wii then it did on psp.

Piracy is a real bitch for psp unfortunately, hopefully psp2 somehow locks down piracy while still enabling wonderful emulation.

Although yes, it would have sold better on the Wii, I think it's more to do with indifference about the PSP from owners, and people being burnt by MGSO than it is about sales. I know a lot of GAF love it, but I thought PW was pretty bad, and sold accordingly. Much better than PO however.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I think the software sales were actually pretty good given the quality of the system.

Handheld software sales were never especially strong historically... And despite the smaller userbase in Japan, PSP games still did just as well as DS games if not better. (3rd parties)

PSP had to do well for them to remain and stay in the market with enough of a fanbase to at least bring out a successor. If the numbers are right, then selling half-a third of software as your competitor really cant be that much of a failure as people are making it seem for your first entry into the handheld market.

 

[SSJ1Goku]

$199 or fuck off!

 

[Gravijah]

$199 or fuck off!

So, 50 dollars less than the 3DS.

 

[SSJ1Goku]

So, 50 dollars less than the 3DS.

YES DAMNIT!

 

[chubigans]

When game's like peace walker don't even chart in NPD, you know your system is fucked. That game would have sold better on the wii then it did on psp.

Piracy is a real bitch for psp unfortunately, hopefully psp2 somehow locks down piracy while still enabling wonderful emulation.

There is no way the Wii would have pushed the 1.5 million that PW sold. Tons of sales were in Japan, of course, where the PSP is hot hot hot.

 

[StealthGoblin]

$199 or fuck off!

Strong words.

For me, if I see the value in a system equal or greater than that of its asking price, i'm there. If Sony get the launch games nailed down, I'm almost certainly going to be there. Everything about Vita screams that its a gaming device I'll love.

 

[StuBurns]

There is no way the Wii would have pushed the 1.5 million that PW sold. Tons of sales were in Japan, of course, where the PSP is hot hot hot.

I think it would have. The Wii is much more viable worldwide than the PSP, and that audience hadn't already had a MGS title.

 

[Glix]

Although yes, it would have sold better on the Wii, I think it's more to do with indifference about the PSP from owners, and people being burnt by MGSO than it is about sales. I know a lot of GAF love it, but I thought PW was pretty bad, and sold accordingly. Much better than PO however.

I'm playing PO now, and as much as I love metal gear, its just a chore to play. The controls keep it down.

I'd love to try Peace Walker, but I'm gonna wait for the PS3 rev.

 

[SSJ1Goku]

Strong words.

For me, if I see the value in a system equal or greater than that of its asking price, i'm there. If Sony get the launch games nailed down, I'm almost certainly going to be there. Everything about Vita screams that its a gaming device I'll love.

FUCK VALUE!!!!!!! Value is nothing more that a PR/marketing buzzword to justify high priced shit or get people to believe that they are not getting fucked in the ass!

 

[yencid]

FUCK VALUE!!!!!!! Value is nothing more that a PR/marketing buzzword to justify high priced shit or get people to believe that they are not getting fucked in the ass!

calm your hormones

 

[StuBurns]

I'm playing PO now, and as much as I love metal gear, its just a chore to play. The controls keep it down.

I'd love to try Peace Walker, but I'm gonna wait for the PS3 rev.

Although I was (I think duly) down on PW, practically all of my issues will vanish when it's on a DS3. I can't wait. It'll still have the cutscenes I don't like, but that's a very subjective issue.

 

[SSJ1Goku]

calm your hormones

Sorry but I just really want a NGP. It looks so fucking awesome but I never underestimate the stupidity of some of these companies.

 

[kuroshiki]

FUCK VALUE!!!!!!! Value is nothing more that a PR/marketing buzzword to justify high priced shit or get people to believe that they are not getting fucked in the ass!

What did you eat for lunch?

 

[StuBurns]

Sorry but I just really want a NGP. It looks so fucking awesome but I never underestimate the stupidity of some of these companies.

$199 is stupidity.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

wrong thread

 

[Gravijah]

It's not going to be $199. So if you want one, you best prepare your cracked mind.

 

[yencid]

What did you eat for lunch?

 

[kuroshiki]

never gonna happen. didnt geohotz enable homebrew but did not help to enable rom-launchers? yet, sony sued him

If my memory is right, Geohot actually was not able to run any pirate games (couldn't bypass the hypervisor), and couldn't launch rom launcher either. It was internal leak that made all possible.

 

[paskowitz]

When game's like peace walker don't even chart in NPD, you know your system is fucked. That game would have sold better on the wii then it did on psp.

Piracy is a real bitch for psp unfortunately, hopefully psp2 somehow locks down piracy while still enabling wonderful emulation.

Thats the one thing I hope the NGP solves. Piracy had a huge effect on the PSP. Although give Sony's newly found spotlight in the "hacking" community I won't hold my breath.

I think for once Sony really understands what their product is and what people want out of a product. They want their home experience gaming experience on the go. The NGP and its games will come at a substantial cost when compared to say an iPhone or Android and as a result people will expect a substantial experience. I think, if handled correctly, COD will be the perfect title for this. I am on the go, lets say in a wifi equipped plain. What am I to do? How about full co-op with my buddy back on the east coast who is playing on the PS3. If I want to play a unique side campaign from the console title I have that as well. Connection not good, I can play against bots. Connect great, play competitive.

Or for an RPG, the work I do on my NGP gets fed back to my console characters. However, the storyline and gameplay is different. There could be 2 different characters in Demon Souls, one for the NGP and one for the PS3. Maybe my NGP character kicked some ass and unlocked some areas for my PS3 guy to go explore, areas that he could get by himself just with more challenge or by different means. This would create incentive to buy both titles even if they were roughly similar.

This would be even more perfect in Gran Turismo. Buy cars, get money, win races... that transfers over directly to your GT5 account. Or you could control B-spec on your PS3 at home directly from your NGP. The PS3 could render it at the NGP's resolution and you could watch the race on the go.

 

[Mrbob]

FUCK VALUE!!!!!!! Value is nothing more that a PR/marketing buzzword to justify high priced shit or get people to believe that they are not getting fucked in the ass!

 

[LiquidMetal14]

lmao

 

[pharmboy044]

Anyone who is realistically thinking that Vita will be less than $299 is going to be sorely dissapointed.

 

[outunderthestars]

Sorry but I just really want a NGP. It looks so fucking awesome but I never underestimate the stupidity of some of these companies.

Get a better job and then you'll be able to afford nice things. Just wait until you hear how much games are going to be.

Anyone who is realistically thinking that Vita will be less than $299 is going to be sorely dissapointed.

I am thinking $300 for base model and $400 for one with 3g and 8-16GB of built in memory

 

[SolidSnakex]

If someone said that a company was coming out in 2004 with a handheld system in Nintendo's market and that it would sell 70 million units... you would get laughed at.

The PSP is certainly a huge success from the standpoint of hardware sales. No one can argue that. The big issue comes in when you start talking about software sales. Software sales and support in Japan are top notch while in the west the sales and support have really been dead for over a year. Sony's going to have to figure out what the problem was with software sales in the west. It seems like a lot of people feel the additional power and controls will fix that. I guess we'll see.

 

[galian beast]

The funny thing is that the PSP didn't have eastern support from the get go and it DID have western support... Remember how big the GTA games were?

 

[user friendly]

2nd analog should help some. A handheld shooter machine might be the key to the west.

 

[Y2Kev]

I just don't think this market will ever take the kinds of games that Sony produces seriously in a handheld context. Nintendo has a great formula...but I don't think Sony's market will ever give a shit about their IP on a handheld. I hate seeing these GREAT games bomb one after another.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

$199 or fuck off!

Im willing for up to $499. $199 is a bargain!

 

[DiscoJer]

This would be even more perfect in Gran Turismo. Buy cars, get money, win races... that transfers over directly to your GT5 account. Or you could control B-spec on your PS3 at home directly from your NGP. The PS3 could render it at the NGP's resolution and you could watch the race on the go.

The trouble with this rosy scenario is that Sony tried it with the PSP, but did a half-assed job.

The PSP could connect to the PS2 or PS3. But how many games actually did it well? Even the few games that had the feature, were gimped by the PSP Version of the game deliberately gimped - not because the PSP couldn't handle it, but because Sony was lazy.

Why is Sony supposedly going to start trying hard with the NGP? (Which development costs will be much higher?)

And even if they do, by some miracle, does anyone really believe they won't drop the NGP like a brick once the PS4 comes out?

You can actually see that with the NGP. Just like the PSP, it's getting the "B" Sony teams, not the "A" ones. (In terms of prestige and marketing. In skill Sony Bend is as capable as any team, but Sony never pushed any of their PSP games that much. Since Uncharted is the critical darling, it will get some love, but that won't last long, I'm sure )

I love the PSP, it's probably my favorite gaming device era. But pretty much in spite of Sony. My worry about the NGP is that it won't have the Japanese third party support the PSP did, because of higher development costs and the high price of cartridges (over optical media).

 

[galian beast]

$199 or fuck off!

Sony is targeting core buyers in year 1. So I wouldn't really expect 200.

But I definitely think 249.99 is the sweet spot.

Sony has to have learned from the PSP and the 3DS, and putting out a system that is MORE expensive than both... makes no sense. Maybe with 3G, but not the stand alone model.

 

[outunderthestars]

I just don't think this market will ever take the kinds of games that Sony produces seriously in a handheld context. Nintendo has a great formula...but I don't think Sony's market will ever give a shit about their IP on a handheld. I hate seeing these GREAT games bomb one after another.

The problem was that all of Sony's major IP are 3d franchises, then made into portable versions that played like complete shit because of the horrendous control schemes.

Jak, Daxter, Socom, Syphon Filter, Resistance, etc are all games that really needed two real analog sticks to be played well. The PSP was designed poorly for the majority of games ever released for it.

 

[galian beast]

The trouble with this rosy scenario is that Sony tried it with the PSP, but did a half-assed job.

The PSP could connect to the PS2 or PS3. But how many games actually did it well? Even the few games that had the feature, were gimped by the PSP Version of the game deliberately gimped - not because the PSP couldn't handle it, but because Sony was lazy.

Why is Sony supposedly going to start trying hard with the NGP? (Which development costs will be much higher?)

And even if they do, by some miracle, does anyone really believe they won't drop the NGP like a brick once the PS4 comes out?

You can actually see that with the NGP. Just like the PSP, it's getting the "B" Sony teams, not the "A" ones.

I love the PSP, it's probably my favorite gaming device era. But pretty much in spite of Sony. My worry about the NGP is that it won't have the Japanese third party support the PSP did, because of higher development costs and the high price of cartridges (over optical media).

Compare PSN on PS2 compared to PSN on PS3...

Compare the EyeToy to the PlayStation Eye.


Sony at least continues to progress their services and products.

 

[Violater]

Calling it now $35O starter price

 

[Gravijah]

The problem was that all of Sony's major IP are 3d franchises, then made into portable versions that played like complete shit because of the horrendous control schemes.

Jak, Daxter, Socom, Syphon Filter, Resistance, etc are all games that really needed two real analog sticks to be played well. The PSP was designed poorly for the majority of games ever released for it.

I hope we get more from the Vita than PS3 IPs like Killzone, UC & Resistance.

 

[thuway]

Sorry but I just really want a NGP. It looks so fucking awesome but I never underestimate the stupidity of some of these companies.

I'm sorry, but are you serious. This might be the dumbest post of the year. Take your rage, get a job, and get the goddamn thing.

Its not going to be 199, it probably wont be 249, there is a chance it'll be 299, and it would most likely be between 300 and 349.

If this upsets you, don't buy it.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I'm sorry, but are you serious. This might be the dumbest post of the year. Take your rage, get a job, and get the goddamn thing.

Its not going to be 199, it probably wont be 249, there is a chance it'll be 299, and it would most likely be between 300 and 349.

If this upsets you, don't buy it.

How do you know it wont be 199 or 249?

 

[KingDizzi]

The PSP is certainly a huge success from the standpoint of hardware sales. No one can argue that. The big issue comes in when you start talking about software sales. Software sales and support in Japan are top notch while in the west the sales and support have really been dead for over a year. Sony's going to have to figure out what the problem was with software sales in the west. It seems like a lot of people feel the additional power and controls will fix that. I guess we'll see.

Saying more than a year is being REALLY kind to be honest, it's well over two years and again I'm being a little too nice. More than anything it just shows how Sony fucked up with the software support, they had to save that abomination aka PS3 so had to move all their first parties and full stop attention towards it. Hopefully it's not like that again, broken record I am but say PD had released GT PSP within the first two years of its release and it had been a new turd?

Expecting a whole lot of stuff from 3rd parties this time tomorrow Vita, my high expectation are gonna fall flat on the face. Santa Monica has a few unannounced games, hopefully one is a full blown Vita title. So if I've got it right Sony Santa Monica does not just consist of the GOW team? They seem to also look over a lot of other external games.

How do you know it wont be 199 or 249?

My IQ exceeds that of a banana, that's how I know. If people are seriously thinking it will cost anything less than $300 at launch, well tomorrow will be evn worse for you than it will for me with my lofty expectations in terms of software support.

 

[galian beast]

The problem was that all of Sony's major IP are 3d franchises, then made into portable versions that played like complete shit because of the horrendous control schemes.

Jak, Daxter, Socom, Syphon Filter, Resistance, etc are all games that really needed two real analog sticks to be played well. The PSP was designed poorly for the majority of games ever released for it.

I agree, but Syphon Filter was amazing, same with God of War. I think another problem is that graphically and technologically they weren't able to create PS2 level games consistently...

You had some sort of gimped PS1.5 experience, where sometimes the controls were even worse than PS1 games were.

Imagine playing Dual Shock games on the original PlayStation without analog control... yet worse... playing PS2 games on the original PlayStation controller without dual analog control...

NGP should be able to give a proper experience graphically and control wise. We'll see how big of an issue the missing l2/r2 are, but I would say MANY games only slightly use those controls, and they can be emulated with touch screens.

 

[galian beast]

Saying more than a year is being REALLY kind to be honest, it's well over two years and again I'm being a little too nice. More than anything it just shows how Sony fucked up with the software support, they had to save that abomination aka PS3 so had to move all their first parties and full stop attention towards it. Hopefully it's not like that again, broken record I am but say PD had released GT PSP within the first two years of its release and it had been a new turd?

Expecting a whole lot of stuff from 3rd parties this time tomorrow Vita, my high expectation are gonna fall flat on the face. Santa Monica has a few unannounced games, hopefully one is a full blown Vita title. So if I've got it right Sony Santa Monica does not just consist of the GOW team? They seem to also look over a lot of other external games.

I don't know one Sony development team that consistently makes handheld AND console games... only one I can think of is Polyphony Digital... and that didn't end well.

 

[CamHostage]

When did selling 70 million systems become a disappointment?

Look, I like the system a whole lot, and its hardware sales have been grossly undercelebrated. However, the guy I was commenting to was saying that the PSP was a disappointment and that NGP looks like it may be repeating some of the same mistakes (or rather he was a part of a conversation about that,) and there is absolutely truth to that.

The PSP didn't exactly achieve that status of great shining saviour for portable gaming that Sony had ambitions for. Software sales have been underwhelming, and as much as PSP achieved in sales and acclaim, NDS and iPhone will be the ones that go down in the record books. Flash-forward to today, and the chatter around NGP's great graphics and console quality engines is quite familiar. Remember that this was us circa 2005:

Jump forward just one year and the story read like this:

But like I was saying, Sony tends not to compare itself to its competitors so much as it does mark its own milestones. There was a lot that went right with PSP, and a lot that didn't, and those things that didn't -- no matter what Apple or Nintendo do with their systems -- are things that Sony is concentrating on improving or pushing beyond. They're not doing it by throwing out the old playbook, because they can't make a portable like Nintendo does and expect it to succeed the same way; Sony needs to approach the market the same way. And if some of those ways include things like making mega-million dollar epics like God of War and Uncharted even though software sales didn't strongly support that kind of effort last time, it's still in Sony's best interest to mine that area again because that's what they do best and things may change this second time around with more compelling hardware. They'll learn, they'll adjust, they'll try new things, and they'll hopefully make a lasting mark with this new platform.

Whatever truth there is to the hype and the worries over Sony's approach to portable gaming this second time around, there is no telling for sure how the cards will play out in the end... though as an almost exclusively-portable gamer since 2005 and with all the awesome titles we've seen in the line-ups on NGP and 3DS so far, I must say that I cannot imagine a scenario where either system will disappoint me as a gamer.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I just don't think this market will ever take the kinds of games that Sony produces seriously in a handheld context. Nintendo has a great formula...but I don't think Sony's market will ever give a shit about their IP on a handheld. I hate seeing these GREAT games bomb one after another.

This has been my feeling for quite some time. I really don't understand why Sony didn't include video out with this thing. They've made the controls more like a console, so why not take the extra step and allow people to play it on their TV? It would fix the issue that many have with not wanting to play their games on a tiny screen. It makes even less since when you consider that they're on the dev units (GI confirmed this).

 

[galian beast]

Look, I like the system a whole lot, and its hardware sales have been grossly undercelebrated. However, the guy I was commenting to was saying that the PSP was a disappointment and that NGP looks like it may be repeating some of the same mistakes (or rather he was a part of a conversation about that,) and there is absolutely truth to that.

The PSP didn't exactly achieve that status of great shining saviour for portable gaming that Sony had ambitions for. Software sales have been underwhelming, and as much as PSP achieved in sales and acclaim, NDS and iPhone will be the ones that go down in the record books. Flash-forward to today, and the chatter around NGP's great graphics and console quality engines is quite familiar. Remember that this was us circa 2005:

Jump forward just one year and the story read like this:

But like I was saying, Sony tends not to compare itself to its competitors so much as it does mark its own milestones. There was a lot that went right with PSP, and a lot that didn't, and those things that didn't -- no matter what Apple or Nintendo do with their systems -- are things that Sony is concentrating on improving or pushing beyond. They're not doing it by throwing out the old playbook, because they can't make a portable like Nintendo does and expect it to succeed the same way; Sony needs to approach the market the same way. And if some of those ways include things like making mega-million dollar epics like God of War and Uncharted even though software sales didn't strongly support that kind of effort last time, it's still in Sony's best interest to mine that area again because that's what they do best and things may change this second time around with more compelling hardware. They'll learn, they'll adjust, they'll try new things, and they'll hopefully make a lasting mark with this new platform.

I see the NGP potentially very similar to games like FF7, GTA3, and Metal Gear Solid.

Compare FF7 and FF6, GTA3 and GTA2, and Metal Gear Solid compared to Metal Gear.

These franchises took a technological step forward, and that step really put them into a new audience altogether. They were all successful before (not so sure about metal gear), but they really blew up when they took it to the next level.

NGP is really taking the PSP to the next level. Proper graphics, proper controls, touch screen... that's going a long way.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

$199 is stupidity.

If Sony was looking to "scorch the earth" so to speak...pricing it at $199 would ensure that they get a tonne of sales.

For me...$199 would be a guaranteed purchase no matter the titles at launch. $249 and higher...forget it. I'll wait for a "must-have" game which I figure will take 12 to 24 months from launch.

I will fucking eat my hat if it's $199.99.

I figure I won't be eating my hat.

 

[KingDizzi]

I don't know one Sony development team that consistently makes handheld AND console games... only one I can think of is Polyphony Digital... and that didn't end well.

Well when it comes to PD I don't know what happened with GT PSP, seems like they put it together within a few weeks. Then again GT5 is a pretty medicore game and this is coming from a huge fan of GT that can't stop talking about it. But what about proven devs like SSM, ND, we know MM are making a game, Sucker Punch etc. They need to at least try making a game for the system, with great respect to Bend it should be ND making the Vita Uncharted games. Also Bend should stop being treated as the team that just make spin offs of other franchises, allow them to make something new because they are absolutely mint.

This has been my feeling for quite some time. I really don't understand why Sony didn't include video out with this thing. They've made the controls more like a console, so why not take the extra step and allow people to play it on their TV? It would fix the issue that many have with not wanting to play their games on a tiny screen. It makes even less since when you consider that they're on the dev units (GI confirmed this).

Same here, baffled. Only thing I can think of is that Sony are worried that people will get Vita and then not bother getting their next home console like the PS4. Only reason I can think of, shit I like the Vita and all graphically but they really think it will replace a console? Silly, it should be in.

 

[Jinfash]

When the system was unveiled people cried "What the hell Sony? This thing is gonna sell for AT LEAST $400!"

Then the components were examined and people switched to "Ok, a base SKU can be priced at $300."

The next thing we know, Yoshida is going around talking about "setting a target price before even designing the system" and people take that as a hint that it would be sold for $250!

And now, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, the $200 price tag is being thrown around!

It's like you guys take joy in setting yourselves up for disappointment and look forward to your own meltdowns. Get a grip on reality dammit, for the sake of GAF's servers!

 

[galian beast]

This has been my feeling for quite some time. I really don't understand why Sony didn't include video out with this thing. They've made the controls more like a console, so why not take the extra step and allow people to play it on their TV? It would fix the issue that many have with not wanting to play their games on a tiny screen. It makes even less since when you consider that they're on the dev units (GI confirmed this).

NGP-2000 (Video out, smaller, 4g)....

 

[Gravijah]

NGP-2000 (Video out, smaller, 4g)....

I would be quite pissed.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

The PSP suffered in the west in the last year or so, because developer support largely shifted onto PS3/360
Whereas Japanese devlopers shifted further onto the handhelds

 

[Chiggs]

I really hope the device is $399.99; I want something that feels classy and is built as well as my iPhone 4. No cutting corners, please.