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[Amir0x]

Maybe portable gaming isn't casual enough? Like i know kids who have a PS2, but haven't expressed interest in PSP when i mentioned. I know my friend is getting one, but hes pretty into gaming.

*enter Amir0x "you are biased olol"*

Well you are, but that's besides the point. "Portable gaming" is only as casual as the market deems, and the marketing is one of the driving forces behind it.

Rest assured, PSP will "catch on." Whether it's a 60,000,000 catch-on or a 30,000,000 catch-on is really the only thing up for debate.

*prays Amir0x doesn't see this*

LASER SIGHT LOCKED-ON.

But I am not opposed to quality products appealing to kids. I just don't think Pokemon is quality, but debate for another time!

 

[Ironclad]

when i went to completely pay off my PSP preorder, i was a part of an interesting conversation about the PSP...

random guy 1 had just bought that ESPN Baseball game, and asked the gamestop guy about the PSP...


random guy 1> "what? it's 250?"
random guy 2> "and the PS3 comes out next year and its useless?"
random guy 1> "that sucks"
gamestop guy> "well, it plays music and movies too, and if you catch the train to work, its gonna be great"
random guy 1> "i already have a DS"
gamestop guy> "me too, but i'm getting both"
faceless> "i'm paying for my psp right now" *i then pull out my DS to indicate i also was gonna have both*
random guy 1> "i'll think about it..."
random guy 2> "yeah lets go"


but yeah, i think it'll catch on

Don't you love those awkward moments?

 

[Pedigree Chum]

I know they play consoles. But most console gamers aren't kids. I guess what I'm saying is that Sony needs something like Pokemon to get the really young ones?

There are a lot of kids that want games that adults play, like NFSU and GTA. PS2 hasn't suffered without massive selling kids games like pokemon, GTA is just as big of a draw to kids than pokemon.

 

[Deg]

Most kids dont care about ratings.

Once Sony are done they'll have the kids too. I am surprised Nintendo havent even revealed the new GB yet :lol I can smell the PS1 style victory for PSP. It'll get very established quickly before Nintendo will likely even show the new GB.

At the end of the day Sony raised the bar massively. We're talking MS talk except Sony actually delivered Ontop of that GBnext is MIA. Best possible conditions for PSP. Its like Revolution, Nintendo simply dont have an answer.

 

[Prince]

I know they play consoles. But most console gamers aren't kids. I guess what I'm saying is that Sony needs something like Pokemon to get the really young ones?

ps1 and 2 didn't really have anything like Pokemon but it sold. And i'm not sure how young your talking about to be honest to me it would really be strange to see a that high-tech and sexy PSP in the hands of a 8 year old. but thats probably gonna happen and he will probably be playing GTA too.

 

[Baron Aloha]

Will PSP catch on?

Is the pope catholic?

 

[sammy]

Like a lot of people are saying, it's a 'word of mouth' thing ... or a 'tryout' thing.

I have mine pre-ordered ... honestly, I'm not too excited about it .. not excited enough to even scour the net to see if there will be a break in the street-date...
but I bet once I have one in my hand, I will experience pure glee.

On that note, I think the DS will (is?) catch on more --- it just seems more realistic to me, + hardcore and 'interested' people only go so far.

and I base this on absolutely nothing but my own experience :lol

 

[human5892]

Is the pope catholic?

THREAD OVER.

 

[Belfast]

I honestly think the PSP is going to create a market of its own. It'll definitely *at least* tap into the iPod markets, the same group of people who will own it pretty much *because* of popularity, whether they actually use it that much or not.

 

[Insertia]

It has already caught on.

 

[Deg]

It has already caught on.

Exactly. It craps over anything Nintendo in the word of mouth area. :lol Many people are talking about it. Little children to older adults.

 

[Monk]

I am not sure it will. I mean the GBA really caught on after the SP was released. IMO the size is what is going to stop it from really selling. A flip top version of it will sell even better. Of course it will easily have the success of the DS. But I dont call the DS a success... yet.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I think it will have trouble catching on. I know people like to use ipod as an example..games are not music! Music is a passive thing, you don't need to interact with it. I will buy one eventually, but even I know that i will only use it in the toilet or on long trips. Is that worth 250, i dont know.

 

[AniHawk]

God damnit. The insult doesn't come out right. Ugh.

 

[Ironclad]

I think it will have trouble catching on. I know people like to use ipod as an example..games are not music! Music is a passive thing, you don't need to interact with it. I will buy one eventually, but even I know that i will only use it in the toilet or on long trips. Is that worth 250, i dont know.

This is the kind of stigma that the people need to get over before handhelds can really reach everyone. If you think that you are only going to play it on long trips or other situations, then you are approashing the whole platform from a wrong direction. The PSP will offer unique games that you should want to play at anytime. Just because it is on a handheld doesn't mean it can be played at home.

 

[Speevy]

So did one of the adults tell you about it?

You rock.

 

[Bristow]

This is the kind of stigma that the people need to get over before handhelds can really reach everyone. If you think that you are only going to play it on long trips or other situations, then you are approashing the whole platform from a wrong direction. The PSP will offer unique games that you should want to play at anytime. Just because it is on a handheld doesn't mean it can be played at home.

Exactly.

I think the PSP is going to have alot of software exclusive to the system that gamers will want to play. Just because the system is portable doesn't mean you HAVE to play on the go.

Besides, the system is almost as powerful as current gen consoles in our homes now.

 

[Speevy]

It's already the product of the century, causing the average person to remark "What is Gameboy? What is Xbox? What is Nintendo? Life without PSP? Why that's absurd, old boy." Shut down the forums now.

 

[vatstep]

This is the kind of stigma that the people need to get over before handhelds can really reach everyone. If you think that you are only going to play it on long trips or other situations, then you are approashing the whole platform from a wrong direction. The PSP will offer unique games that you should want to play at anytime. Just because it is on a handheld doesn't mean it can be played at home.

I think handhelds are better for some situations in that regard. If I have to take a five-minute train ride, or if I have a 15-minute break at work, I'd much rather play a few minutes of a game like THPS or Lumines than put on my headphones and listen to two songs on my iPod.

 

[Ironclad]

I think handhelds are better for some situations in that regard. If I have to take a five-minute train ride, or if I have a 15-minute break at work, I'd much rather play a few minutes of a game like THPS or Lumines than put on my headphones and listen to two songs on my iPod.

I agree. Handhelds really shine when you have some downtime on the go, but it doesn't really have to be on the go. It can be anywhere. Sitting at home and instead of turning on a console or your PC, you sit down and boot up a portable. Also, I would much, much rather play Lumines than listen to music.

 

[human5892]

Plus, the PSP's screen is at its godliest when running on AC power.

 

[Speevy]

I have an question. All of these ideas about handhelds and when you should play them, what games are good at what time, etc were probably not developed in 3 months. You guys have Gameboy Advances with several games, don't you?

 

[vatstep]

Plus, the PSP's screen is at its godliest when running on AC power.

I was actually thinking of buying another AC adapter it plugging it in next to my bed so I can play there without having to use battery power.

I have an question. All of these ideas about handhelds and when you should play them, what games are good at what time, etc were probably not developed in 3 months. You guys have Gameboy Advances with several games, don't you?

Of course. The SP was what got me interested in playing more handheld games at home. For a while, there was nothing like playing that thing in a dark room (at least, not until backlit handhelds like DS and PSP).

 

[soundwave05]

PSP I think will eventually be the portable market leader in all three major markets -- US, Japan, and Europe.

DS can't hold it off, and Game Boy Next will be too late to over come the headstart PSP will have.

Nintendo may be able to still command a majority handheld market share though if you count DS + GB Next + possibly another GBA redesign combined.

 

[Speevy]

PSP I think will eventually be the portable market leader in all three major markets -- US, Japan, and Europe.

DS can't hold it off, and Game Boy Next will be too late to over come the headstart PSP will have.

Nintendo may be able to still command a majority handheld market share though if you count DS + GB Next + possibly another GBA redesign combined.

Assuming the Gameboy Next launches within a year and boasts comparable graphics and developer support at a standard Gameboy price of $100, Sony can't ship enough units to meet that sort of demand. Now that's a ton of assuming. I agree that the DS probably can't beat the PSP, but the Gameboy Next has every bit the opportunity that the PS3 has. Strong brand recognition in 3 regions. 70 million in sales.

 

[Defensor]

Plus, the PSP's screen is at its godliest when running on AC power.

It blinds me eyes at 4th stage brightness!

"Me Vision!?"

 

[soundwave05]

Assuming the Gameboy Next launches within a year and boasts comparable graphics and developer support at a standard Gameboy price of $100, Sony can't ship enough units to meet that sort of demand. Now that's a ton of assuming. I agree that the DS probably can't beat the PSP, but the Gameboy Next has every bit the opportunity that the PS3 has. Strong brand recognition in 3 regions. 70 million in sales.

I dunno, Game Boy is a strong brand, and that gives it some leeway, but for starters, there's no way in hell that Nintendo can launch a Game Boy with comparable graphics and sell it for $99 (what would the DS retail for then? $40?).

PSP is likely to have at least a 12-15 month headstart, possibly even more. That should be a headstart of about 8-10 million units.

People always give the PSP flak because the DS has a few month headstart, why should the Game Boy Next get a pass when its probably not releasing anywhere before March 2006 in Japan?

 

[Deg]

Assuming the Gameboy Next launches within a year and boasts comparable graphics and developer support at a standard Gameboy price of $100, Sony can't ship enough units to meet that sort of demand. Now that's a ton of assuming. I agree that the DS probably can't beat the PSP, but the Gameboy Next has every bit the opportunity that the PS3 has. Strong brand recognition in 3 regions. 70 million in sales.

Come on. Nintendo have really messed up big time. Also how is GB going to do if Nintendo havent even shown it. One thing Sony did with PS2 against DC was to talk about PS2 often. The opposite is happening right now.

 

[human5892]

It blinds me eyes at 4th stage brightness!

"Me Vision!?"

Yeah, but if there's a better way to go blind, I haven't heard of it, unless someone really attractive accidentally blinded you (not from their beauty, but like with a pickaxe or something) and then said, "Geez, sorry about that, I guess we ought to have sex now in recompense." But the PSP is probably better than even that.

 

[heidern]

Nintendo are doing ok at the moment. The DS has outsold the psp 2:1 so far, and it looks like it'll be next year at the earliest that the psp will be able to catch up. That's also disregarding the realistic possibility of DS sales skyrocketing with the release of Pokemon DS. The same goes for the west where the DS will have an even bigger headstart than in Japan. Sony have a tough battle on their hands, and when the GBE does appear with superior hardware, better portability and the Game Boy brand name it could get a lot tougher.

 

[Speevy]

PSP is likely to have at least a 12-15 month headstart, possibly even more. That should be a headstart of about 8-10 million units.

Best case scenario, let's sayt he GBE launched like the PSP, holiday 2005 in Japan and end of March in the US, a little later in Europe.

Let's say 10 + an additional 12 million PSP's a year (just a stupid guess) vs. what Nintendo sells of the Gameboy every year.

12 X 5

60 million PSP's + 10 million = 70 million PSP's.

Crazy hypotehtical Super Gameboy sells the same thing as the GBA, stays on the shelf for a little longer, I can see Nintendo winning. Everything would have to go right. This is assuming Sony sells every freaking PSP produced in the next 5 years as well, a point on which I'm sure I'd get no argument from this forum.

 

[Speevy]

Come on. Nintendo have really messed up big time. Also how is GB going to do if Nintendo havent even shown it. One thing Sony did with PS2 against DC was to talk about PS2 often. The opposite is happening right now.

Bla bla bla. This is all rhetoric and means nothing. If people want the Gameboy enough, it will outsell the PSP. Plain and simple. If they don't, Sony's got the market wrapped up. In the end, the only two entities talking about the "Why's" of everything are the marketing people at these companies and us on the message boards. I didn't think the PS2 would sell so great in January's NPD, but it did. Shows you what I know.

 

[soundwave05]

Best case scenario, let's sayt he GBE launched like the PSP, holiday 2005 in Japan and end of March in the US, a little later in Europe.

Let's say 10 + an additional 12 million PSP's a year (just a stupid guess) vs. what Nintendo sells of the Gameboy every year.

12 X 5

60 million PSP's + 10 million = 70 million PSP's.

Crazy hypotehtical Super Gameboy sells the same thing, stays on the shelf for a little longer, I can see Nintendo winning. Everything would have to go right. This is assuming Sony sells every freaking PSP produced in the next 5 years as well, a point on which I'm sure I'd get no argument from this forum.

That's the problem, I don't think Game Boy Next is going to be out in any market this year. Its would be too close to the DS which only a few months old, and to launch it at $99 would be even more unlikely.

Maybe with the DS + GB Next Nintendo will still be the overall handheld market leader, but I think its just a matter of time until the PSP claims the throne as the leading handheld machine.

If the position of the PSP and Game Boy Next were switched in terms of release dates, I'd be saying the same thing about Sony (unlikely that they could catch the GB Next).

 

[Ranger X]

shit, only a couple of weeks, i felt like it was month. My bad.
Then those numbers are even more sad for Nintendo!!

 

[Speevy]

That's the problem, I don't think Game Boy Next is going to be out in any market this year. Its would be too close to the DS which only a few months old, and to launch it at $99 would be even more unlikely.

Maybe with the DS + GB Next Nintendo will still be the overall handheld market leader, but I think its just a matter of time until the PSP claims the throne as the leading handheld machine.

See. I just don't like to think like this. It seems a probable scenario, but it seems that on this forum all the "matter of time" hypotheticals fall in Sony's favor. Sony will kill the Xbox in a matter of time. "It's just a matter of time before these shortages end and Sony's hardware is back in front." etc.

I strongly believe that this is a whole new ballgame. In terms of software. In terms of features. In terms of demographic mixes. In terms of release lists. In terms of marketing mix. But people on this forum seem to be approaching it from a "OMG PSP is hot and has GTA, game over." perspective. What the heck was Grand Theft Auto last generation but an old PC game, and why would either Sony or Nintendo have cared to have it on their system?

It's all about the new thing, and everything about handheld gaming is going to change. Not to mimick console gaming, but to something else entirely. Mark my words.

 

[Deg]

Bla bla bla. This is all rhetoric and means nothing. If people want the Gameboy enough, it will outsell the PSP. Plain and simple. If they don't, Sony's got the market wrapped up. In the end, the only two entities talking about the "Why's" of everything are the marketing people at these companies and us on the message boards. I didn't think the PS2 would sell so great in January's NPD, but it did. Shows you what I know.

If they do. Which i doubt given how GameBoy has been flat out dumped by Nintendo lately. :lol Smart move for the brand. Sales are evidence of this. Hard to believe but they are like that! Also Nintendo's marketing has always been a mess since N64. I think Iwata is about to finish the GB brand. We have heard nothing about the next GB. This is clearly much worse than N64 so far.

They should be showing off the new GB right now as its already very very late.

 

[heidern]

shit, only a couple of weeks, i felt like it was month. My bad.
Then those numbers are even more sad for Nintendo!!

Eh? The fact that the DS only had a 10 day headstart makes the fact that it has sold 1.85M to the psps 0.90M units all the more impressive.

 

[Ranger X]

Yeah because of initial sales. But in the long run this doesn't count much.
PSP is already selling faster than the DS in Japan, that's what's dangerous for Nintendo.

 

[Guy LeDouche]

Mark my words.

Sure thing, chief!


damn, you guys will argue about the weirdest shit.

 

[soundwave05]

Eh? The fact that the DS only had a 10 day headstart makes the fact that it has sold 1.85M to the psps 0.90M units all the more impressive.

Well the headstart in Japan was more or less due to the PSP shortages.

The PSP may have launched in Japan 10 days later, but the DS really had a longer headstart than that since PSP supply was so limited that it would be hard to really qualify that December release for the PSP as a real launch.

Its kind of like releasing a movie only in a few major markets and then gradually expanding it to a nationwide release.

 

[Deg]

See. I just don't like to think like this. It seems a probable scenario, but it seems that on this forum all the "matter of time" hypotheticals fall in Sony's favor. Sony will kill the Xbox in a matter of time. "It's just a matter of time before these shortages end and Sony's hardware is back in front." etc.

I strongly believe that this is a whole new ballgame. In terms of software. In terms of features. In terms of demographic mixes. In terms of release lists. In terms of marketing mix. But people on this forum seem to be approaching it from a "OMG PSP is hot and has GTA, game over." perspective. What the heck was Grand Theft Auto last generation but an old PC game, and why would either Sony or Nintendo have cared to have it on their system?

It's all about the new thing, and everything about handheld gaming is going to change. Not to mimick console gaming, but to something else entirely. Mark my words.

I agree it is changing. Its is very different now. But Nintendo dont seem interested in this direction they want to add other features like DS stuff that publishers wont endorse rather than PSP which has far more practical usage and appeal.

Also as more people try PSP they will realise its alot better than what Nintendo are doing with DS. There's a pattern developing with Nintendo if you havent noticed. DS should have had many of PSP's features. DS's unique features are too underutilized or worthless to bother about. You know only the token Nintendo or unknown 3rd party release will really use the features.

 

[heidern]

Yeah because of initial sales. But in the long run this doesn't count much.
PSP is already selling faster than the DS in Japan, that's what's dangerous for Nintendo.

No, no no. I remember a few years ago, a team I was rooting for was in second place, 3 points behind the leader, but with two games in hand. If they won those games they would have been 3 points clear at the top. Of course they went on to lose the next two games...

The fact is, a sale in the bag is more valuable than potential sale. The lead of the DS is also significant. The ps2 as the no1 system sells around 3M units a year, so the DS having a 1 million unit lead is not to be sniffed at. Not only will it take a long while for Sony to catch up, it will in the meantime be attracting 3rd party support. And like I said, it's disregarding factors such as Pokemon or the fact that the number of releases will jump from 1 in January and 1 in February to 8 in March.

The PSP may have launched in Japan 10 days later, but the DS really had a longer headstart than that since PSP supply was so limited that it would be hard to really qualify that December release for the PSP as a real launch.

Regardless, that launch was the only one Sony had. You also cannot just extrapolate that the demand is much higher than the supply. It could be that Sony are only meeting 35% of demand, but it could very well be that they are meeting 95% of demand. In fact judging by reports that the psp stocks levels are improving, the fact that by current sales it will take 5 months to reach where the DS is right now, you can very reasonably state that the DS is in far higher demand in its first 6 months than the psp in its first 6 months.

 

[krypt0nian]

One thing they will miss for sure is the "parents buying for kids".
I saw some parents dissing the cost of the PSP at Toys R Us saying it was ridiculous.

If it was being launched before the holidays then parents will fork out the cash but not in March. Sony will have to rely on "early adopters" at first. Xmas will see the spike.

Anyone else think this alone will create higher attach rates?