Sony PSP comparable price to the GBA.. (1 Viewer)

[paul h]

Been reported on a few sites now that Chris Deering said the PSP would be around the same price as a GBA, that's the kind of news i like reading

"11:31 Sony's PSP is a formidable sounding piece of kit, capable of playing not only games, but also DVD quality playback of movies, according to Sony's blurb. As such, we'd imagine the portable console would set us back more than a few quid; not a bit of it, however, according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's president Chris Deering.
Speaking to a French business publication, Deering said that the PSP would definately launch by the end of 2004, and that the price of the unit would be "comparable" to that of the GBA.

Okay, so that's a slightly ambiguous turn of phrase, but it does suggest the PSP will be a good deal cheaper than we were expecting - a GBA SP costs around £90. If Sony's system - supposedly technically superior and with movie playback to boot, remember - really does weigh in at a similar price, we'd guess the PSP will be practically unstoppable..."

 

[Ken Chui]

Can we say juggernaut?

Anyone knows what the third-party support's like, i.e. who's on board at this time? I think this is the make-or-break factor. I wonder if Nintendo will seek exclusivity arrangements for certain franchises, in an attempt to derail Sony from becoming a viable competitor in this arena? If PSM's prediction of PS2-style graphics on a handheld is actually delivered, as you say, 'the PSP will be practically unstoppable'.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Anyone knows what the third-party support's like, i.e. who's on board at this time?

There's a rumor in the new EGM that suggest Square is making Final Fantasy VII-2 for PSP. That is HUGE third-party support if it's true.

If you think about it, a year and a half from now the technology will probably be cheaper. And if Sony does the "find different ways to make this all work in a smaller package for cheaper" thing (that they have done several times with the PS2) with the PSP before it even comes out, that could significantly reduce the price.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yup, if they can get it in at roughly the same price as GBA SP Nintendo is going to have to dump hardware. Their main cash cow will be garrotted.

don't forget it'll play music on memory stick too

 

[Ben_E]

Is the Sony PSP going to use mini DVDs? And will you be able to play music while your playing the game?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

No it uses a new minidisc size format called UMD. 1.8GB capactiy

No idea on custom soundtracks, I'd say it's possible

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'd guess that the custom soundtrack thing would be slightly possible. It'd be annoying for people to have to somehow put their songs on a memory stick that is also used as a memory card.

I think Nintendo is going to announce a new GBA at the next E3 for either a next winter release or a release before the following E3 (2005). If not, they're screwed.

 

[DaveGTP]

An intelligent response to the PSP from Nintendo would be a portable that plays GC games, perhaps?. Backwards compatibility worked for Sony, right? Not that that is likely.

 

[Rob Lutter]

As big as a Nintendo fan as I am... there has to be a point where you have to raise the white flag and just quit. If they launch the PSP for $99... Nintendo is seriously fucked

 

[Camp]

I'd guess a $150 initial price for the PSP. Anything lower than that would be utterly shocking, IMO. By the time the PSP is released Nintendo ought to easily be able to lower the price of the SP (to at least $79 possibly even more). That ought to buy them some time...

An intelligent response to the PSP from Nintendo would be a portable that plays GC games, perhaps?. Backwards compatibility worked for Sony, right? Not that that is likely.

That's what I'm thinking too -sort of.
Total speculation but here it goes:

Nintendo is loosing ground quickly in the console side of things. They're still making huge money from the handheld side but the new compitition will alter the market significantly. The Nokia and Palm offshoot are nothing but the PSP is frightening.

What if Gamecube's physical size was an experiment? What if Nintendo wanted to work with a smaller unit and smaller discs for a few years for a tactical reason? Make the Gamecube small and its successor even smaller -as in, handheld small. They combine their console and handheld line into a single unit. One that can operate as a stand-alone portable complete with it's own screen and power source yet which can also plug into any TV for console-like gaming.

The solution keeps Nintendo alive in the console business with a fairly powerful console and a force in the handheld business with a very powerful new Gameboy.

 

[DaveGTP]

I don't expect them to roll the portable into one- it seems to me they keep some separation to ensure 2 revenue streams: handheld, and console.

I do expect that they learned from PS2, and will make the next-gen system play standard GC games. I almost feel that that is a given. Their disks remain un-copyable still, so they don't need a change to prevent piracy. If they were SMART, they would also make the new handheld basically a tiny GC, so that it could play GC games. That way they have some, but not all, cross compatibility.

Kind of like a portable Playstation 1 would be for Sony. Again, though, Sony is looking for the separate revenue stream too.

There's a reason no one produces a product like the kick-ass, battery vampiric Sega Nomad - it's too cool. Too many secondhand and discounted games to make much money on the software.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Nintendo wants to keep the GameCube alive well into 2007, remember. They're going to make it last going into their next console (which, rumor has it, is going to be released NEXT fall, giving Nintendo a big jump on Sony/MS and explaining their lack of big E3 titles).

What I think will happen is that they'll announce a new GameBoy with something just more powerful than the N64 (like the GBA is more powerful than the SNES). What would be cool is if they included all the cool stuff we want now (like video outputs, disc-based format, all the cool things about the SP, etc.). What I would love to see happen would be a way to use a special rewriteable disc to get game demos in stores (much like they plan to do with the new media discs for GBA) and maybe even use that to put old NES/SNES/N64 games on those discs and play them in the handheld.

 

[Camp]

I don't expect them to roll the portable into one- it seems to me they keep some separation to ensure 2 revenue streams: handheld, and console.

The console revenue stream is drying up for them. Will Nintendo really be able to compete in the next round? When the expectation is a sub-$300 console that can also perform music and PVR functions?

What about the rumors that just won't go away of a Nintendo/Microsoft partnership? Microsoft could provide the home console and Nintendo could get the portable.

 

[DaveGTP]

I guess I'm not convinced that their console $ supply is drying up. Historically, console dominance has swung back and forth between different companies. No one really has stayed on top more than twice. I know Sony has had the lead the past 2 console eras, but I am not convinced that equals an eternal stranglehold.

As far as a Microsoft-Nintendo partnership, I'm sure that would be good for both companies, as they are both stuggling as #2 man.
But, (no offense to the Xbox crowd here, it's a good machine, especially for those of you with kick-ass HT setups), I am loath to see Microsoft gain any more clout than they already have.
That's coming from the guy who works in I/T side of me (although my area is mostly VAX/VMS systems). As a gamer, it's a good system.

 

[Ben_E]

MS and Nintendo would be wise to combine forces against the juggernaut as both companies can't even compare to what Sony has sold. Another huge factor in the Nintendo vs Sony portable market is how the PSP is designed, 4 main buttons plus shoulder buttons = a win for Sony (at least with my money). I've hated the fact that Nintendo never put 4 main buttons on the GBA, big mistake IMHO. Any word on how many buttons the PSP will have?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

To be honest, Nintendo is NOT in the toilet, not ANYWHERE near as bad as Sega was. Is their console successful? Yeah, overall, but not as much as they would like. Sega had a complete failure with a few things they made, but Nintendo has kept everything generally good.

With that said, they don't need to ditch their console business.

 

[Camp]

At the very least they're going to have to scale back the console business -and there is a very real limit to how far it can scale back. Gameboy has to be their #1 priority -from a business perspective.

I strongly believe Sony & Microsoft intend to offer music & PVR features in the next generation (a la PSX). It's a competitive move against one another but it's also a move Sony & Microsoft can afford to make -financially and technically. While they both hope to one-up each other in features they both know Nintendo cannot compete in offering such a device. Nintendo can do a game console but a PSX-like machine is out of the question. Sony & Microsoft will more than make up for the cost of these added features by slicing up Nintendo's former piece of the market.

This theory balances (dangerously, I know ) on the presumption that devices like the PSX represent the future of gaming consoles. I think their is fair evidence to suggest either way. However, if Microsoft & Sony decide to make a PSX-like machine the future I guarantee you Nintendo, as an independent company, will not be able to compete in the console market.

I think Nintendo sees this coming. That is why we're already hearing talk of them launching first in the next generation. Their only hope is to hit first and shoot for a large enough installed base that will sustain business through that generation. Unfortunately, there is historical precedent that indicate this move can be disastrous: Sega Saturn & Sega Dreamcast. Both were intentionally launched quickly in an effort to beat their competition to market. Both were designed by a software-first company without the hardware resources of Sony or Microsoft. Both were failures.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Unfortunately, there is historical precedent that indicate this move can be disastrous: Sega Saturn & Sega Dreamcast. Both were intentionally launched quickly in an effort to beat their competition to market. Both were designed by a software-first company without the hardware resources of Sony or Microsoft. Both were failures

And both were Sega. Sega's last good product (in terms of overall success and quality) was the Genesis. After that, Nintendo came in and developed the better reputations, which is what kept Nintendo in the lead until Sony came in. They also didn't have very captivating ad campaigns (IMO, of course, seeing as how the only real Dreamcast ads I remember were the 9/9/99 thing and those annoying as hell commercials with all the mascots/characters).

And to be honest, both consoles weren't thought through totally. The DC launch in Japan was a total failure (the first real nail in the coffin) and the North American push was overshadowed by Sega's bad past. Also, the PS2 was able to be successful and come out so early because it had strong launches EVERYWHERE, regardless of the crappy launch games. The main selling point was the multiple functions it had right out of the box. When the DC came out, all it did was play CDs and games, and while it did have a pretty good launch lineup, I'm not sure it had nearly as many "must-have" games as the PSX, N64, PS2, and even GameCube and X-Box had in their first year.

Nintendo's bad past resides mainly in the problems with the N64 and their kiddie image, both of which are blown out of proportion, IMO. Nintendo is already changing their image (sponsoring concerts, making games like Eternal Darkness, getting all the RE games as exclusives) and the N64 was actually a great success and had some amazing software(Zelda:OoT and Super Mario 64 are considered by many to be the best games ever made, and the N64 brought us things like Conker, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Smash Bros., GoldenEye/Perfect Dark, and so on).

So, in short, I see no reason why Nintendo would go the way of Sega (drop out of the console business).

 

[Masood Ali]

About the whole DVD-quality playback of movies, have movie distributors jumped on the UMD bandwagon yet, or are we going to be limited to mainly Sony/Columbia pictures releases at the beginning?

Also, for a piece of hardware that is about 15 months from expected release, I don't know how they can say the price will be competitive with the GBA (as if they have Nintendo's pricing strategy for the next year and a half predicted).

If the Gamecube is any clue, when Nintendo has visible market competition, their two strategies are to undercut their opponents price by at least $50, and/or offer free games to sweeten the deal. The original GBA can be found for $50, and I expect the GBASP to be around $50 this time next year.

 

[MikeAlletto]

About the whole DVD-quality playback of movies, have movie distributors jumped on the UMD bandwagon yet, or are we going to be limited to mainly Sony/Columbia pictures releases at the beginning?

I haven't heard anything and I bet its one of those "features" that never turns into anything.