Goodbye, Sony PSP

[Siri]

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/...ny-psp/1276225

Goodbye, Sony PSP
We barely knew ye

By Mike Smith

Whatever happened to the PSP? The device that Sony once touted as "the Walkman for the 21st century" is fast disappearing from popular consciousness, and if you believe the rumors circulating just three-and-a-half years after its launch, it's up for a major rethink in 2009.

Over the crucial month of November, the Nintendo DS shifted a jaw-dropping 1.5 million units in the US alone (up 20% from last year) while the PSP languished, managing just 421,000 sales -- actually down 27%, in what was in general a tremendously strong month for video games.

Even the software support is eroding. Despite the PSP's healthy install base of around 13 million consumers, only six 2008 PSP releases scored better than 80% on review aggregating site gamerankings.com, compared with 16 on the DS. There's a good reason for that: nobody's making PSP games, because outside of one or two hits like this year's Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, nobody's buying them. That's only going to worsen when the superheavyweight Grand Theft Auto series (previously exclusive to the PSP on handhelds) releases its first DS title early next year.

In a lot of ways, it's a shame. The PSP is a far more capable hardware platform than the DS. It's a phone, a portable music player, a pocket-sized movie device, a mobile web browser, and when paired with a Playstation 3, a remarkably capable remote control for the system, capable of streaming music and movies from a PS3 over the Internet to wherever you happen to be.

Time to put this gaming warhorse out to pasture?

Next to it, the DS looks like a product of another age. It's barely capable of 3D, let alone delivering a suite of mobile applications of the PSP's caliber. Not, in fact, unlike the contrast between the Playstation 3 (modern, immensely powerful, and pricey) and the Wii (underpowered, basic, and cheap.) Oh, and phenomenally successful. The parallels you can draw between Sony and Nintendo's offerings go deep.

But then, set the PSP next to the iPhone or iPod Touch, the year's other big winner in portable gaming, and the PSP's hardware design suddenly looks old hat. Where's the touchscreen? What are all these buttons for? What on earth is the point of this useless analog nub of a joystick? And why, in an age when flash memory is so cheap it practically comes in Cheerios boxes, are we still stuck with a huge, bulky, slow, and noisy optical drive? If you're going to compete by offering a powerful hardware platform, you actually need to outperform the competition. As the iPhone steps into the portable gaming ring, it's already got the PSP on the ropes.

Guess what, Sony: Apple already made the Walkman of the 21st century, and you missed the boat.

[tommyboy81]

Hate to say this happened to Sega when they tried to compete with Nintendo in the handhelds. Besides the weight and short battery life of the Game Gear I thought it was better

[Forrestandjen07]

part of me allways wanted a psp

but everytime i talk myself into getting one

I talk myself out of it because i never know when I would actually use it

[pBLU-RAYs3]

You ever wished more games were showing up on the virtual world, xbla, or psn network to play on your big screen tv OR have that ability with better visuals then blame handhelds in general.

I am more than convinced that when every dollar, man-hour or just about any resources go toward handheld gaming then it is a lose-lose for many gamers in general.

Handheld portable gaming caters to kids being driven around by adults, weary travellers & the ultimate gaming collector with their "must own everything " mantra.

I have no problem with 2-D graphics or retro gaming, such a shame many of these titles WON'T show up as a download or other means.

[ixlegitballinxl]

mine has collected dust for 3 months.. and i've only owned it for 3 months.....

[PoLskA]

im glad i never got one...

the games i wanted for it... like GTA Liberty/Vice City Stories both came out for PS2... only game i missed out on was FF7:Crisis Core...

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by pBLU-RAYs3

You ever wished more games were showing up on the virtual world, xbla, or psn network to play on your big screen tv OR have that ability with better visuals then blame handhelds in general.

Thought after the death of UMD, Sony finally figured out what to do with the PSP by making it a wireless-synch extension of the PS3, for downloadable Network games and movies...
Of course, that would presume most fans already owned one of each, instead of either/or.

[Siri]

I had one when they first came out, and I sold it shortly after, I didn't really use it at all, and the UMD movies were too much $$ then, I had an iPod for music...was of no use for me, lol. Even now, I game on my iPhone as far as handheld devices go

[ixlegitballinxl]

the idea of connecting to my ps3 is what drove me to buy it.. but once i got it hooked up.. you really can't do much with it

[SHines-IT]

I use to have a Sony PSP, it was nice. But I did not use it allot. But I never really used my iPod Nano either... My BlackBerry replaced my music player. But I do want another large portable music device (more storage then an iPod Nano) for the car, since I can plug it in my new Alpine Head Unit.

Edit: I think the biggest reason I did not use the PSP much. Was the price of the games and the games being short. Also it's kinda large for me to want to carry around and I don't travel much to care. I carry a laptop and a BlackBerry everyday.

[Siri]

Originally Posted by ixlegitballinxl

the idea of connecting to my ps3 is what drove me to buy it.. but once i got it hooked up.. you really can't do much with it

Its a nice paperweight?

[ixlegitballinxl]

i bought the warranty.. when i feel like doing it.. going to take back to BB and get store credit lol

oh man.. my battery wont hold a charge!

[Siri]

Originally Posted by ixlegitballinxl

i bought the warranty.. when i feel like doing it.. going to take back to BB and get store credit lol

oh man.. my battery wont hold a charge!

Good reason to take it back then! and a good chance to find some of those Blu-ray 2-Packs at Best Buy, and some of the $12.99 Blu-rays, and some others on sale sunday

[silversnake]

I still like mine and I use it sometimes. I do use it a lot when i'm away on a trip or in a plane, i''m just not away from my ps3 enough to warrant using it.

[SHines-IT]

Originally Posted by silversnake

I still like mine and I use it sometimes. I do use it a lot when i'm away on a trip or in a plane, i''m just not away from my ps3 enough to warrant using it.

Hmm, that's just it. I don't travel enough and if I did, I would still own one. I may get one when I start school at Embry Riddle, I like to get to class early. So I could kill some time for a few, probably...

[toef]

I've said it before, so I'll say it again... as a portable emulator, the PSP can't be beat. Even if there were 0 PSP games worth playing, I'd almost think it's worth it to carry around hundreds of NES, SNES, GBA, Sega, etc games, to play whenever I want.**

However, there are some very good PSP games, so I don't think it's as useless or as much of a failure as some people make it out to be.

For music, videos, photos, etc., I agree that it's kind of pointless.

**Yes, I know that it's not capable of doing this out of the box, but anyone with any interest in it could find out how to do it with a little help from our friend Mr. Goo Gle.

[ixlegitballinxl]

lol, never knew u could emulate games :X

[quexos]

Despite impressive sales of the DS, if we speak technology, the DS is a joke compared to the high-tech PSP.
But yeah, 3 years have passed and as much as I believe the PSP was THE handheld game toy of choice, I now believe it needs a serious upgrade, a brand new model in fact, by early 2010 at the latest.

[SHines-IT]

Is there any Pokemon or what ever it's called games... I have not seen or play them lately. But back in grade school, they where fun!

[Leopold BUTTERS]

Gameboy was the best. I quit with handhelds after the gameboy color. The pocket/Color/Original were the best ones. So many good times. And I am no longer 10 so that probably makes a difference. sony aimed the psp at people 18 and over...I don't know anyone over 18 playing handhelds.