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[FoneBone]

This is actually a slightly offensive myth at this point. PSP NGP represents the most GAMEPLAY FUNCTIONALITY of any handheld on market to date. It's actually incredibly future proof and provides the sort of fundamental gameplay improvement we'd typically see from Nintendo.

I don't dispute this at all, but what's the 10-words-or-less "hook" for the masses? It seems like it's going to come down to "home console, but portable," and we know how that went last time.

 

[polyh3dron]

Please. Would anyone really complain if it were 299? At least you'd feel like you were getting your moneys worth (unlike a certain competitor's machine).

If the fucking thing had twice the power of the PS3 and it was $399 people on here would complain.

 

[rezuth]

And contradicting at least one earlier report, Andrew House indicates that Sony intends to sell NGP at a profit:

Thats not indicating anything more than a wish.

 

[Firewire]

I won't go higher than $349.

Sony better make sure at least one model comes in at or below that price.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Interesting since PSP NGP offers more unique and novel gameplay opportunities than 3DS does.

PSP NGP has TONS of new functional gameplay methods/inputs that combined offer gameplay opportunities far and beyond the call of duty provided in 3DS and other handhelds.

Multi-touch OLED
Rear Touch
Three-Axis Gyroscopes
Six-Axis Accelerometer
Three-Axis Electronic Compass
Dual Analog
3G (Providing unique asynchronous online gaming opportunities)
And yes, near PS3 level power for more high-scale games/physics enhancement/etc.

AND it has of course the microphone and the two cameras (for AR games that seem so gimmicky on 3DS, like "Reality Fighters" PSP NGP).

The 3DS has two things over PSP NGP - it has two screens (which does provide a level of gameplay opportunities and which PSP NGP can still not match) and it has 3D, a purely cosmetic gimmick which enhances the visual "immersion" but offers extremely slim gameplay opportunities ESPECIALLY due to the extremely narrow field the 3D effect actually works, and the fact that 3D has a slider and most games have to be able to turn it off to be playable.

This is actually a slightly offensive myth at this point. PSP NGP represents the most GAMEPLAY FUNCTIONALITY of any handheld on market to date. It's actually incredibly future proof and provides the sort of fundamental gameplay improvement we'd typically see from Nintendo.

It IS still going to be outrageously priced, but to say it's just "more and faster" is absurd.

I just don't know if having more will save it. It's starting out its life behind thanks to the PSP's apathy-breeding nature, the DS printing money, and the 3DS having a significant head-start (several months).

It also has a different market to compete in than it had in 2004: smart phones very capable of playing games of high enough quality to satisfy most casual mobile gamers are ubiquitous, where in '04/'05, they were literally non-existent. They have to make a case for people who already own a Win7/Android/iOS phone or mobile device or tablet. And while it offers tons of new ways to game, it will still only be better at gaming than any of the afore mentioned devices.

• It will probably not be anyone's go-to music player (phones and dedicated devices do that on devices that fit into your pocket)
• It will probably not be anyone's video player when on the go (mobile phones can now use their 3G/4G connections to stream videos off their home computers as well as options like Netflix, ABC, etc.).
• It will probably not be anyone's go-to web browsing device (convenience will still likely reside with the mobile phone)

it all reminds me of the PSP's launch. I thought I'd use my PSP for all those things...and I did for about a week. I'd never do it again and I can't imagine too many people willing to go back to using a rather bulky device for those purposes. So I would suggest that for most people (casual and hardcore), the NGP will be seen as a really impressive gaming device. Thing is, I don't know if being really good at games...at what we expect will be a high price point...is enough to move a lot of hardware in this 2011 market. Competition, my brotha.

A lot of people are suggesting a $50 difference for 3G but I don't think that's very plausible -- they'll pack in more features and make a $100 difference.

Spiderman 3 movie pack-in?

 

[Valtor]

Calling it!

399$ Wifi only

249$ w/ 3G



...
and a contract

 

[Flek]

if this beast is region free i would pay up to 280 USD (not euro fuckers!) if not 190 max…

 

[charlequin]

yup $100 difference would mean 3G plus additional memory, not 3g alone

Right. Sony is going to know that anyone who's interested in the 3G model is willing to pay more, so they might as well pad out the feature list to get it up to $100 more than the lower model. Extra flash memory is a good way to do that.

I don't dispute this at all, but what's the 10-words-or-less "hook" for the masses? It seems like it's going to come down to "home console, but portable," and we know how that went last time.

"A cheaper iPad built for dedicated game playing." I even have two words left.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

• It will probably not be anyone's go-to music player (phones and dedicated devices do that on devices that fit into your pocket)
• It will probably not be anyone's video player when on the go (mobile phones can now use their 3G/4G connections to stream videos off their home computers as well as options like Netflix, ABC, etc.).
• It will probably not be anyone's go-to web browsing device (convenience will still likely reside with the mobile phone)

Spiderman 3 movie pack-in?

Maybe going after the tablet market? Werent there like 20 million of those things sold last year?

 

[VAIL]

I don't dispute this at all, but what's the 10-words-or-less "hook" for the masses? It seems like it's going to come down to "home console, but portable," and we know how that went last time.

"More bells and whistles than the car built for Homer"

 

[Plywood]

I wish they'd one up Nintendo and sell it for $200 but that'll never happen so I can only hope they price match them. :/

 

[FoneBone]

"A cheaper iPad built for dedicated game playing." I even have two words left.

About that, I pretty much have to agree with everything Dreams-Visions said above.

I mean, the appeal of the iPad is its sheer versatility; do people really want an equivalent device that's not going to wind up being as versatile?

 

[Yoschi]

At 300 I'll pay for the tech.

Looking at your post number i see a strange coincidence. This must be a sign.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Right. Sony is going to know that anyone who's interested in the 3G model is willing to pay more, so they might as well pad out the feature list to get it up to $100 more than the lower model. Extra flash memory is a good way to do that.



"A cheaper iPad built for dedicated game playing." I even have two words left.

"and smaller"

 

[bounchfx]

I love how you guys are OK with the price being this high, yet bitch like maniacs when the 3DS broke 200. graphics worth that much to you, really?

 

[Thoraxes]

Doesn't anyone remember what Sony said about the PS3? About how with what features it has, the pricing will be very appropriate and they hope consumers will see the value?

This all seems too familiar to me to be honest.

Also this:
"The first thing to clarify, which I'm not sure the presentation did a perfect job of doing today, is that all of the devices will have wi-fi capability; a separate SKU will have 3G."

So yeah, more and more the contract only version is seeming more and more likely.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Affordable to Sony, is not affordable to most people. $200 would be for me, but no chance in hell its going to be that.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I don't know if this will happen elsewhere, but in the UK I can see mobile carriers subsidising the handheld, maybe getting it to a sub £150/£200 price for the device when you take out a contract with them. They get your £150+, followed by the 12-24 months of contract subsidy you pay them. In fact I could possibly even see it being cheaper than that, as an iPad is £199 with a contract here..

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Maybe going after the tablet market? Werent there like 20 million of those things sold last year?

lots were sold, yes. but Tablets do quite a bit more than games, which steers us back to the point: that the market for a high-priced device (higher than the competition) that will be seen as/used basically just for gaming (since I suspect that's the only place it will truly provide a superior experience) might be a small market. WE will buy...but we post daily on a videogame forum. We do not represent a very good litmus test.

 

[gregor7777]

I don't dispute this at all, but what's the 10-words-or-less "hook" for the masses? It seems like it's going to come down to "home console, but portable," and we know how that went last time.

I'd be interested in a portable home console. Basically what I think they were aiming at with the PSP. My problem with it was that they missed the mark. It was limited by the controls, and quite frankly I didn't find that "graphically" it hit the sweet spot for me either.

PSP2 looks much closer to what I envision as my dream portable.

 

[Anth0ny]

I say $350.

 

[Einbroch]

I love how you guys are OK with the price being this high, yet bitch like maniacs when the 3DS broke 200. graphics worth that much to you, really?

It's all about expectations.

Nintendo has recently been about the cheapness. Wii = cheapest console. DS = cheapest handheld. Now they announce the 3DS is going to be a good 20-50 dollars more expensive than estimates and frankly is just a more powerful DS with 3D, which no doubt may be a industry changer. But what else does it do?

NGP may be expensive, but what it is promising is exciting. 3G? PS3/Android cloud? Breathtaking graphics? Dual analog sticks? Flash based memory (finally)? PSN integration? Internet browsing with youtube/app integration like utilities?

You get a lot more with the NGP. That said, watch this thing be $449 and everyone bitch and moan like crazy.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I don't know if this will happen elsewhere, but in the UK I can see mobile carriers subsidising the handheld, maybe getting it to a sub £150/£200 price for the device when you take out a contract with them. They get your £150+, followed by the 12-24 months of contract subsidy you pay them. In fact I could possibly even see it being cheaper than that, as an iPad is £199 with a contract here..

Would be a smart move and incentive for me subscribe.

 

[charlequin]

About that, I pretty much have to agree with everything Dreams-Visions said above.

Well, I mean, I've said for ages that Sony had two possible competitors to choose between for this device and it'd be insane to pick Apple.

I mean, the appeal of the iPad is its sheer versatility; do people really want an equivalent device that's not going to wind up being as versatile?

Serious question: what versatility is missing here? If you can web browse, play games, watch Youtube and Netflix, and listen to Pandora and Last.fm on this thing, what tablet versatility is missing?

Anyway, iPad isn't really the right competitor, so use up one of my extra words and say "Galaxy Tab" instead. This thing is like a mini-tablet that's optimized for gaming.

 

[Elios83]

Doesn't anyone remember what Sony said about the PS3? About how with what features it has, the pricing will be very appropriate and they hope consumers will see the value?

This all seems too familiar to me to be honest.

Kutaragi said immediatly after the PS3 presentation "This techonology can't be given for a cheap price".
He then said explicitly to the japanese press: "It will be expensive".
He also said that he hoped that gamers would be convinced anyway by the product rich features.
So no back then there was nothing like the comments we have received today from executives about pricing.

 

[FoneBone]

Well, I mean, I've said for ages that Sony had two possible competitors to choose between for this device and it'd be insane to pick Apple.

So they're insane?

(Seriously though, I haven't seen you post an overall opinion post-unveiling.)

Serious question: what versatility is missing here? If you can web browse, play games, watch Youtube and Netflix, and listen to Pandora and Last.fm on this thing, what tablet versatility is missing?

Anyway, iPad isn't really the right competitor, so use up one of my extra words and say "Galaxy Tab" instead. This thing is like a mini-tablet that's optimized for gaming.

Versatility is probably the wrong term. The thing is, if gaming's the only function it does better than tablets/smartphones, is that going to get people to upgrade from their existing devices?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Serious question: what versatility is missing here? If you can web browse, play games, watch Youtube and Netflix, and listen to Pandora and Last.fm on this thing, what tablet versatility is missing?

just so that I'm clear: are you asking what the feature/capability difference is between a tablet like the iPad and the NGP?

 

[NomarTyme]

I wish they went more in depth on the multimedia front. I really wish they incorporate a competent browser.

 

[charlequin]

(Seriously though, I haven't seen you post an overall opinion post-unveiling.)

I stayed up too late watching the stupid thing.

The tl;dr version is that I think their hardware strategy is surprisingly canny (it'll be cheaper to build and way faster to price-drop than PS3 -- this is not at all a Krazy-Ken-style design, and that's a very good thing). Their positioning strategy is probably good for a guaranteed middle-of-the-road performance which should be acceptable due to profit-making on hardware but isn't as ideal as a $199 barnstormer would have been -- instead of going exactly after Apple or Nintendo they kind of tried to split the difference which... well, I guess we'll see how that works out. I think their software strategy so far really sucks pretty bad, though.

I don't buy systems at launch or even at launch price generally so we'll see how I feel in two years, but at the moment it's at least on my radar which is much better than I was predicting a few months ago.

 

[gcubed]

if it is 299 with no contract/subsidy i'll buy it day 1.

 

[pharmboy044]

Just make it $299 Sony just $299 and you'll have everyone eating out of your palms.

 

[Vinci]

The tl;dr version is that I think their hardware strategy is surprisingly canny (it'll be cheaper to build and way faster to price-drop than PS3 -- this is not at all a Krazy-Ken-style design, and that's a very good thing). Their positioning strategy is probably good for a guaranteed middle-of-the-road performance which should be acceptable due to profit-making on hardware but isn't as ideal as a $199 barnstormer would have been -- instead of going exactly after Apple or Nintendo they kind of tried to split the difference which... well, I guess we'll see how that works out. I think their software strategy so far really sucks pretty bad, though.

This is, like, the hyper-analytical method of describing how I feel as well.

Just make it $299 Sony just $299 and you'll have everyone eating out of your palms.

Um, no. But it would definitely help their chances, I agree. Software determines the whole 'eating out of palms' level that a platform reaches.

 

[slider]

Publishers aren't likely to devalue their ability to sell games for $60 on consoles by selling comparable titles at a discount on a newer system. I don't think that position is cynical, just realistic. We saw the same thing with PSP games coming in at $50 to start until the HD systems were out.

It'd be nice if they actually went for tiered pricing and actually made games from $20-60 viable and respectable on the market, at least.

I suppose so. I'm hoping for titles that complement rather than exactly ape their PS3 efforts. If if is exactly the same experience with no differentiators it'd be a shame.

 

[FtsH]

Time to apply for PSP2 mortgage.

 

[Deku]

“From the very beginning of the project — since 2008 — pricing was one of the considerations that we had. Hopefully when we announce the price, people will see the proper value.”

That probably means it won't be cheap. When you have executives talk about Value, it means, perceived value, which translates into justifying premium price.

Whether that premium is $50 or $150 above is the 3DS is up in the air. I'm sure the wifi only SKU will come in at around $300 with 3G at $350

Then again PSP2 appears to be 9 months away, so a lot can change.

 

[antiloop]

I have 3 jobs so any price is ok.

 

[PjotrStroganov]

Well, I mean, I've said for ages that Sony had two possible competitors to choose between for this device and it'd be insane to pick Apple.



Serious question: what versatility is missing here? If you can web browse, play games, watch Youtube and Netflix, and listen to Pandora and Last.fm on this thing, what tablet versatility is missing?

Anyway, iPad isn't really the right competitor, so use up one of my extra words and say "Galaxy Tab" instead. This thing is like a mini-tablet that's optimized for gaming.

If you put it against tablets, then its ability to compete will be partly limited by its openness. And we don't know much about that.

 

[charlequin]

Versatility is probably the wrong term. The thing is, if gaming's the only function it does better than tablets/smartphones, is that going to get people to upgrade from their existing devices?

I don't think anyone is going to upgrade from "their existing devices," which is certainly part of the problem they have to cope with here.

That said, think of how people talk about the iPhone beating (handheld X) in the "what one thing do I take in my pocket" question. The NGP loses that one pretty handily since it doesn't even fit in a pocket, but I think the fact that it can do web browsing, etc. while also playing dedicated games could give it a leg up in the "what do I take in my backpack" argument.

I'm definitely not forecasting certain success here, BTW, just saying that given the lousy options for positioning, this doesn't seem like an insane choice to me. It's not a direct iPhone or iPad competitor, and it's not a direct 3DS competitor, but it's possible the weird in-between niche it tries to stake out will be viable.

 

[Gamecocks625]

If there isn't any on-board storage (you have your game saves on the cart itself, correct?), then I could possibly see a $349 price point. I'm totally expecting $399, though.

 

[FoneBone]

It's not a direct iPhone or iPad competitor, and it's not a direct 3DS competitor, but it's possible the weird in-between niche it tries to stake out will be viable.

It's going to be interesting, that's for sure. Right after E3 10, I know I was feeling sure there wasn't space in the market between Nintendo and Apple, but then, I was sure that Sony would pick one or the other.

Of course, if one goes by the "it's all about the games" viewpoint, they don't seem to have learned anything from the first PSP.

 

[Raistlin]

Versatility is probably the wrong term. The thing is, if gaming's the only function it does better than tablets/smartphones, is that going to get people to upgrade from their existing devices?

Given how sales of dedicated portables have continued to be ... yeah, probably. Well I wouldn't say upgrade, but people seem to still want a game-centric portable. If it also happens to have enough features giving it some crossover with tablets/smartphones, so much the better.

 

[charlequin]

This is, like, the hyper-analytical method of describing how I feel as well.

Never let it be said that I am anything but hyper-analytical.*


*I mean, I suppose "mysterious" or "dashingly handsome" would be fine.

 

[charlequin]

Of course, if one goes by the "it's all about the games" viewpoint, they don't seem to have learned anything from the first PSP.

That's the Achilles heel of this platform announcement, IMO. I really can't think of how they could've made the software less inspiring for my purposes. Uncharted is like a double offense in that it's not by Naughty Dog but it is keeping Bend from doing something more interesting.

Of course, third-parties can easily fix this, although I'm concerned that "able to port from PS3" will mean "will almost exclusively port from PS3."

 

[FoneBone]

Of course, third-parties can easily fix this, although I'm concerned that "able to port from PS3" will mean "will almost exclusively port from PS3."

Don't know about "easily" - budgets, userbase, et cetera, and I'm not optimistic.

 

[cyclenut]

I would definitely be in at $300 for a package deal.

 

[clav]

$599

iPhone 1 launched at that price.

Also, if you buy any top tier smartphone unsubsidized (without plan/contract) it will cost $599 or more.

 

[LCfiner]

Just occurred to me (I'm a bit slow) that with this 5" multitouch screen, likely sub 500 USD price and 3G, this thing is a much bigger threat to the upcoming wave of 7" Android tablets than anything else out there.

It's too small to browse the web as well as the ipad. it's too big to be always pocketable like an iphone. but compared against those 7" tablets, this thing seems like a better product to me. as long as they use a decent webkit browser and not some slow as shit browser, of course.

I wonder how that will shake out.

 

[Einbroch]

$599

iPhone 1 launched at that price.

Also, if you buy any top tier smartphone unsubsidized (without plan/contract) it will cost $599 or more.

I don't know anyone that buys a phone straight up with no early upgrade plan or contact signing.

 

[MThanded]

Free but you have to agree to a data contract for the life of the system.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

lots were sold, yes. but Tablets do quite a bit more than games, which steers us back to the point: that the market for a high-priced device (higher than the competition) that will be seen as/used basically just for gaming (since I suspect that's the only place it will truly provide a superior experience) might be a small market. WE will buy...but we post daily on a videogame forum. We do not represent a very good litmus test.

So will the NGP not do web browsing and apps? Are you assuming that the browsing experience will be somehow worse automagically than other tablets?