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Uses for the Second DS Screen

GDGF

Soothsayer
The GB line has had plenty of competition. Nintendo just has this habit of crushing pretenders to it's handheld crown. It just kinda happens. Anyway shouldn't we be talking about uses for the second DS Screen?
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
I thought I understood him right. Joshua effectively gives thanks to Nintendo for providing a robust portable with excellent battery life and a good, lit screen (finally), and Wyzdom rebutts by saying Nintendo wouldn't be alone if there was competition?

Not much of a rebuttal, is all I'm saying. :/
 

Kon Tiki

Banned
neptunes said:
Lost weekend, other than the Gamegear what other handhelds gave the gameboy any serious competition.

Wonderswan? ( I think that is the one). It has a Final Fantasy game, and is still on the Japanese charts.
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
I consider any attempt a serious attempt. Hell, even Ngage is a serious attempt. Nokia has a huge ammount of cash and I see alot of Ngage adverts. The fact that the public isn't biting is a testiment to the GBA's strength, not the Ngage's lack of commitment. It's that same strength that all competitors to the GB family will have to face.
 

Ranger X

Member
I was saying that for a very simple reason. We think Nintendo is the deal and what they do is good stuff but we don't have any real competitor to make a comparison.
When you're alone you're the best and also the worst. Now IMO, i really think Nintendo could (and should) have released the GBA (or whatever it would be called in that case) just as the GBASP is. ------> but this extra comment could make for a thread on his own, i don't want to start a discussion about this here.
 
Uh...

...the fact that systems like the Game Gear, Wonderswan, and N-Gage have not managed to take away more than a sliver of Nintendo's marketshare IS the evidence that Nintendo knows what they're doing in the handheld realm.
 

Ranger X

Member
Well, not necessarily. I don't want to say that the machines you did mention don't have any flaws (because they did and died) but it's more because Nintendo is the creator and the biggest guy out there. It's like in the PC market where Microsoft is so strong with Windows... even if you come out with a good OS, you gotta be very big and with alot of money ON TOP of the quality of your product.

But wait if Sony don't mess the PSP and give it a decent battery life and price... history may not repeat.
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Insertia said:
Gamegear, Ngage, and Wonderswan weren't half the threat to Gameboy as PSP is.

In certain ways you're right, but in other ways it's all business as usual. Apparently Sony failed to notice that the Gameboy gained the position it did through its low price point, its battery life, and it's library. Even if sony gains the library, it's shooting itself in the foot by not addressing the other two points, and by not addressing the other two points, Sony might not gain sufficent userbase to give developers incentive to give the PSP ongoing support. It's a nasty catch 22 situation that Sony's been too blind or arrogant to see.
 

AniHawk

Member
Well, as long as it's advertised correctly, and depending how blind consumers are, it could be a repeat of the PS2 situation. The PS2 was, at release, in competition with a console with a much better library, not too worse graphics, full online play (most games for free), and four controller ports. The PS2 didn't get any of that until about a year down the line, but it still managed to sell 18 million units in that first year.
 
All I can say is that many competitors have tried to sell more expensive, more powerful handhelds, and so far there is no proof that such a market exists for this kind of system. I think that whatever cool features and flaws the PSP has, its main obstacle is the lack of an adult handheld market. Sony may be able to create one from thin air, but it's going to cost them a lot of money.
 

Insertia

Member
Lost Weekend said:
In certain ways you're right, but in other ways it's all business as usual. Apparently Sony failed to notice that the Gameboy gained the position it did through its low price point, its battery life, and it's library. Even if sony gains the library, it's shooting itself in the foot by not addressing the other two points, and by not addressing the other two points, Sony might not gain sufficent userbase give developers incentive to give the PSP ongoing support. It's a nasty catch 22 situation that Sony's been too blind or arrogant to see.

Funny how PSP's biggest weaknesses (price and battery life) are practically speculation.


off to a great start. :D
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Actually the battery life was touched upon by Kaz Hirai himself (or was it Kutaragi...) in an interview where he admitted that a PS2 level game with constant accessing would limit the batteries to about 2.5 hours. And price...do you really expect to purchase the unit for less than 250? I expect 299 myself, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that one :)

Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about this stuff now. This is supposed to be a two screen usage thread. Carry on.
 

Insertia

Member
Lost Weekend said:
Actually the battery life was touched upon by Kaz Hirai himself (or was it Kutaragi...) in an interview where he admitted that a PS2 level game with constant accessing would limit the batteries to about 2.5 hours. And price...do you really expect to purchase the unit for less than 250? I expect 299 myself, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that one :)

The battery life is up in the air. Despite Kaz's comments, I believe the battery life for games will be improved to twice that. It's such an obvious system-killer, I don't think Sony is dumb enough to release something as potentially successful as PSP with a flaw that will obviously prep it's grave. If it means lower specs, so be it.

Do I expect lower then $250? Yes. $249. Guaranteed.
Good to know EA and videogame analyst back me up.

You don't become #1 or even #2 by making completely apparent mistakes.
 

Miburou

Member
Lost Weekend said:
Actually the battery life was touched upon by Kaz Hirai himself (or was it Kutaragi...) in an interview where he admitted that a PS2 level game with constant accessing would limit the batteries to about 2.5 hours. And price...do you really expect to purchase the unit for less than 250? I expect 299 myself, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that one :)

Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about this stuff now. This is supposed to be a two screen usage thread. Carry on.

Didn't Sony say 8 hours for games and 2.5 for movies?
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Nope. The interview should still be on the board somewhere. It was the one with Gamespot I believe. The interviewer asked him to elaborate on the variable energy drain he mentioned at E3, and he admitted that a PS2 level game with constant disc access would limit the battery to approx 2.5 hours. He did say that a game that didn't tax the system would yield more game time, but would you buy a $400 3D graphics card to play Tetris?
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Insertia said:
The battery life is up in the air. Despite Kaz's comments, I believe the battery life for games will be improved to twice that. It's such an obvious system-killer, I don't think Sony is dumb enough to release something as potentially successful as PSP with a flaw that will obviously prep it's grave. If it means lower specs, so be it.

Do I expect lower then $250? Yes. $249. Guaranteed.
Good to know EA and videogame analyst back me up.

You don't become #1 or even #2 by making completely apparent mistakes.

$249 is more than $250 when all is said and done if you want to be anal :)And alot of analysts are pointing to a price point of well over $249 bucks, btw. Just thought I'd mention that. Also alot of what you're believing in goes against what Sony has said themselves. It almost seems like you've decided to hope against hope. Sony isn't really doing anything to install that kind of faith, either...

Anyway, someone should make another thread if you want to argue DS vs PSP. This thread has gotten way of track :)
 
Insertia said:
Despite Kaz's comments, I believe the battery life for games will be improved to twice that.
Well, shit; if Kaz Hirai can't even convince you then I doubt any of us can.

I wasn't trying to say that the PSP isn't serious competition for Nintendo, by the way. I'm just pointing out that if you think that Nintendo's control of the handheld arena constitutes LACK OF evidence that they know what they're doing, you're on the wrong track.

Right now the PSP is trying to do something that has never been done before. That's a risk. But in this industry, every few years somebody does something that has never been done before. So I'd never count it out.
 
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