Shogmaster
Member
The launch day is here, but this gadget freak just can't bring himself to go to down to his local EB to pick up his copy. I have plenty of spare cash, but all of the sudden, I'm really not feeling any urge to get it anymore. And I don't exactly know why that is.
Maybe it's because the games, except for Ridge Racers, don't light my fire. Is one racing game enough for me to plunk down $350+? I don't think so. The games are fantastic looking for a portable, but when it comes down to it, it's just a portable, and the games can't really compare to the best of the "real" consoles. And no matter how big and impressive the screen is, it's not the same as sitting in front of a real monitor either.
Another thing is, I don't think I'm quite ready to pluck down $40 minimum and $50 average for portable games. That same exact amount of money could go towards real games for real consoles. It just does not feel right to spent the same amount for portable games as console games. I think they should be 66% of the cost of the console versions at the most. AAA portable titles should cost no more than $35 when AAA console titles go for $50. This is pricing is just rediculous to me, and after the initial launch mania has subsided (which by the way doesn't seem as huge as everyone expected) , I think many publishers will be in for rude awakening when their $50 PSP titles fails to move off the shelves, say, 6 months from now. Seriously, PSP Need for Speed for $50? You've got to be fucking shitting me, EA.
And also, I'm kind of stuck in this wierd place where if I have to pick up a $50 game, I want something substantial and truely console worthy, like Ridge Racers that makes me feel like I'm getting all my money's worth. But yet, console like games that are worth the money aren't exactly ideal games for playing on the go. Playing on the go usually means stealing a few minutes here or there, and you might have to put the game down for unpredicatable stretches. Something console-eque like Ridge Racers just doesn' seem ideal for that kind of play pattern. If I made long regular commutes on public transportations, it's one thing, but I just don't have any opportunities like that. I might play games for few minutes at restaurants waiting for the food, a buddy, or a date, or in a long line at stores or movie theater, or some other such fleeting moments. Not exactly a good venue for intense console-eque gaming. I'm begining to think that Nintendo's approach of uniquely suited for on the go gaming with the DS is better suited for me than Sony's approach of bringing tranditional console gaming to the road. If the DS wasn't so damn embarrassing to be seen, I'd probably get that instead, but alas....
Another thing that's holding me back is that the gorgeous screen everyone is going gaga over is a bit of an old hat for me. I have owned in the last 4 years, 3 portable devices with 3.8" 480x320 LCDs, and 2 portables with 3.8" 640x480 LCDs. My current portables are a Sony Clie NX70 with a 3.8" 480x320 screen, and an Epson P-2000 40GB hard drive photo/media viewer with a 3.8" 640x480 screen. The 4.3" 480x272 screen of the PSP is in a few ways a downgrade from my Epson, and certainly can't begins to compare in media carrying capacity.
And speaking of which: PSP with it's MS Duo makes for a poor media viewing device both financially and practically. If I'm taking a long trip, something like the P-2000 (or a Windows Media Portable) is much more useful for viewing movies than a PSP with a bunch of MS Duos. Last night, I have converted all of my XViD Battlestar Galatica season 1 episodes for the Epson (funny enough, using the Sony's Image Converter 2.0, which took about 6 hours), and that didn't even make a dent in the 40GB HD. That's one 2 hour premiere and 13 one hour episodes @768kbps (around 250MB per episode). If I were to try to make the PSP a decent portable media viewer, I'd have to spent another $100~150 extra on top of the $350 for PSP, accesories and game, for a 512Mb or a gig MS Duo.
So I don't think I'm going to get a PSP just yet. It just does not compell me yet. And if it's going to in the near future, it's probably gonna have to do it with the library of compelling games, or better prices for them. Preferably both.
Maybe it's because the games, except for Ridge Racers, don't light my fire. Is one racing game enough for me to plunk down $350+? I don't think so. The games are fantastic looking for a portable, but when it comes down to it, it's just a portable, and the games can't really compare to the best of the "real" consoles. And no matter how big and impressive the screen is, it's not the same as sitting in front of a real monitor either.
Another thing is, I don't think I'm quite ready to pluck down $40 minimum and $50 average for portable games. That same exact amount of money could go towards real games for real consoles. It just does not feel right to spent the same amount for portable games as console games. I think they should be 66% of the cost of the console versions at the most. AAA portable titles should cost no more than $35 when AAA console titles go for $50. This is pricing is just rediculous to me, and after the initial launch mania has subsided (which by the way doesn't seem as huge as everyone expected) , I think many publishers will be in for rude awakening when their $50 PSP titles fails to move off the shelves, say, 6 months from now. Seriously, PSP Need for Speed for $50? You've got to be fucking shitting me, EA.
And also, I'm kind of stuck in this wierd place where if I have to pick up a $50 game, I want something substantial and truely console worthy, like Ridge Racers that makes me feel like I'm getting all my money's worth. But yet, console like games that are worth the money aren't exactly ideal games for playing on the go. Playing on the go usually means stealing a few minutes here or there, and you might have to put the game down for unpredicatable stretches. Something console-eque like Ridge Racers just doesn' seem ideal for that kind of play pattern. If I made long regular commutes on public transportations, it's one thing, but I just don't have any opportunities like that. I might play games for few minutes at restaurants waiting for the food, a buddy, or a date, or in a long line at stores or movie theater, or some other such fleeting moments. Not exactly a good venue for intense console-eque gaming. I'm begining to think that Nintendo's approach of uniquely suited for on the go gaming with the DS is better suited for me than Sony's approach of bringing tranditional console gaming to the road. If the DS wasn't so damn embarrassing to be seen, I'd probably get that instead, but alas....
Another thing that's holding me back is that the gorgeous screen everyone is going gaga over is a bit of an old hat for me. I have owned in the last 4 years, 3 portable devices with 3.8" 480x320 LCDs, and 2 portables with 3.8" 640x480 LCDs. My current portables are a Sony Clie NX70 with a 3.8" 480x320 screen, and an Epson P-2000 40GB hard drive photo/media viewer with a 3.8" 640x480 screen. The 4.3" 480x272 screen of the PSP is in a few ways a downgrade from my Epson, and certainly can't begins to compare in media carrying capacity.
And speaking of which: PSP with it's MS Duo makes for a poor media viewing device both financially and practically. If I'm taking a long trip, something like the P-2000 (or a Windows Media Portable) is much more useful for viewing movies than a PSP with a bunch of MS Duos. Last night, I have converted all of my XViD Battlestar Galatica season 1 episodes for the Epson (funny enough, using the Sony's Image Converter 2.0, which took about 6 hours), and that didn't even make a dent in the 40GB HD. That's one 2 hour premiere and 13 one hour episodes @768kbps (around 250MB per episode). If I were to try to make the PSP a decent portable media viewer, I'd have to spent another $100~150 extra on top of the $350 for PSP, accesories and game, for a 512Mb or a gig MS Duo.
So I don't think I'm going to get a PSP just yet. It just does not compell me yet. And if it's going to in the near future, it's probably gonna have to do it with the library of compelling games, or better prices for them. Preferably both.
)