PSP delayed in US

[Bob-the-Fish]

According to CNN, the PSP will most likely not be launched in the US this holiday season. According to the article, they are holding it back primarilly to allow developers a chance to get a larger number of titles ready for launch. The system and it's specs are still planned to be released at E3 this year. Good news or bad?

I wasn't planning on buying one anyway for a while at least. Gives the DS the whole holiday market as well, if Nintendo can have it ready.

http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1538855,00.asp

[T.Tashi]

According to CNN, the PSP will most likely not be launched in the US this holiday season. According to the article, they are holding it back primarilly to allow developers a chance to get a larger number of titles ready for launch. The system and it's specs are still planned to be released at E3 this year. Good news or bad?

I wasn't planning on buying one anyway for a while at least. Gives the DS the whole holiday market as well, if Nintendo can have it ready.

http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1538855,00.asp
I'm not surprised. A survey of developers showed only... I think it was around 30% were 100% sure they were supporting the system. The rest were unsure or not supporting it at all. I think development houses are stretched thin as it is with 3 consoles, a PC and the GBA.

Depends on 2 things for me... price and content. $200-$250 I've read is too much. Although, if there is any truth to the rumor that a videogame sequel to FF7 is going to appear on PSP, I'm there. Although I'm beginning to doubt it's true.

[Bob-the-Fish]

Depends on 2 things for me... price and content. $200-$250 I've read is too much. Although, if there is any truth to the rumor that a videogame sequel to FF7 is going to appear on PSP, I'm there. Although I'm beginning to doubt it's true.

That's the way I'm leaning too. If it's $150 or less I might get around launch but I'd still sleep on it.

I'd definately buy one if they had an FF7 sequal (or "remake" like MGS:TS). I doubt one is coming though. The FF7 "game" that most of the rumors were based on is going to be a short CGI movie instead (that looks pretty cool anyway) but as for a game, I think they would be building hype by now if they were making one.

[Glockstar]

I'm not surprised. A survey of developers showed only... I think it was around 30% were 100% sure they were supporting the system. The rest were unsure or not supporting it at all. ...

Yeah, they're saying that it's hard as hail to develop games for!

[no.1gamer]

I'd definately buy one if they had an FF7 sequal (or "remake" like MGS:TS). I doubt one is coming though.

They can't make a "remake" for a portable console man. What are you thinking? We're talking about a portable gaming system with a 3" screen right?

[T.Tashi]

They can't make a "remake" for a portable console man. What are you thinking? We're talking about a portable gaming system with a 3" screen right?
It's a 4.5 inch screen and console graphics on a handheld are coming.

["The Game"Evolution]

It's a 4.5 inch screen and console graphics on a handheld are coming.

Theres no way the PSP is going to be packing all that under the hood and not be under $200 bucks.But do I think its the right thing to do to delay the PSP until Sony can get more games available for its launch? Absolutely.

But I would also rethink my strategy about going head to head with Nintendo and Gameboy though.This could be a mistake on Sony's part to even go there.But we've been proven wrong before in the videogame industry,this could be another one of those times.

[Renzatic Gear]

Theres no way the PSP is going to be packing all that under the hood and not be under $200 bucks.You'd be surprised at just how small and cheaply Sony could reproduce a PS1 equivalent handheld. Within the span of ten years they could take what used to require an entire motherboard and seperate chipsets dedicated to certain tasks and cram it all on a single chip.

Just to give you another example here, you've seen how tiny the GBA cartridges are, right? Compare it to the old SNES cartridges...big difference, huh? Well there are a couple of GBA games that are actually 4 times as large as the biggest SNES game as far as megabytes go. Golden Sun 2 is about 12 meg in comparison to most SNES games which take up about 2-3 meg.

They can do it cheaply and efficiently enough, the PSP might be proof of that fact.

["The Game"Evolution]

You'd be surprised at just how small and cheaply Sony could reproduce a PS1 equivalent handheld. Within the span of ten years they could take what used to require an entire motherboard and seperate chipsets dedicated to certain tasks and cram it all on a single chip.

Just to give you another example here, you've seen how tiny the GBA cartridges are, right? Compare it to the old SNES cartridges...big difference, huh? Well there are a couple of GBA games that are actually 4 times as large as the biggest SNES game as far as megabytes go. Golden Sun 2 is about 12 meg in comparison to most SNES games which take up about 2-3 meg.

They can do it cheaply and efficiently enough, the PSP might be proof of that fact.

If they can bring out the PSP under $199 bucks I would be amazed.But its going to take alot more than that in order for them to make millions of people around the world put their GBA's down in order to make room for the PSP.Thats for sure.

[Renzatic Gear]

Well yeah, if Sony wants the PSP to even come within a hundredth of approaching the GBA's sales they'll have to price it in the $150-200 range and have a helluva lot of good games at launch.

We're talking games like FFVII-2, Metal Gear 3D Remake, and Devil May Cry In My Pocket...if it releases with a bunch of big PS2 franchises then their sales will skyrocket.

[Gadfly2317]

Yeah, they're saying that it's hard as hail to develop games for!


Japanese developers seemed pretty excited about the DS, at least from that one article I posted a link to. But one of the magazines I bought this month (PLAY or GI) mentioned what you just did, that companies are complaining about how hard the PSP is to develop for. I thought the PSP would be a cool thing if it played MP3's and movies on mini-discs, but it sounds like they're already scaling it back.

Glock, thanks for mentioning the deal Gamestop had on Game Informer. Thing is nearly five bucks an issue. . .I don't buy every month, but at $10 for a whole year that was killer. Plus something you didn't mention, when I went in and got their subscription special, they gave me a card good for a year for 10% discounts on all used hardware, games, and DVD's.

[trebor]

More backpeddling and broken promises from Sony. Life is rich.

Let's see, at last year's E3 Sony claimed the PSP (1) would have close to PS2 quality graphics, (2) the ability to play movies, (3) MP3, (4) wireless networking, i.e. Bluetooth, and (5) would have a worldwide simultaneous release in 2004.

Fast forward to present and we have NO bluetooth, NO MP3, NO ability to play movies (the media the PSP uses doesn't have the space for most movies) and NO PSP in 2004. Luckily, the estimates of the price haven't gone down.

Who around here seriously still thinks that it will have "close to PS2 quality graphics"?

Ths is going to end up being a portable PS1, with a library consisting of re-released PS1 games. Okay, so that is what the GBA does, but at least the re-released games are from a console you can't even buy anymore, whereas you can buy a PSOne for $50.

Thanks Sony! :rolleyes:

[no.1gamer]

Even with a 4.5" screen these games will look like @$$. Only simple graphics work on handheld systems. Complex ideas and concepts work well, but only presented with simple graphics. Any games more modern than the Sega Genesis/SNES era will not work well.

[Renzatic Gear]

Actually, the smaller the screen the better most games will look. Since the PSP's screen is rather small and uses a limited resolution (we'll say 320x240) a developer could cram far more details into any given scene then they could a game running at 640x480. Not only that, but because you're looking at alot of detail on a small screen that appears to be running in a higher resolution than what it is stuff like mipmapping and antialiasing becomes a null point..you don't need it. So if the PSP is about the equivalent of the PS1 you can expect games to actually look better on it due to the fact that they can do more with less cuz of the small screen size.

[Bob-the-Fish]

Actually, the smaller the screen the better most games will look. Since the PSP's screen is rather small and uses a limited resolution (we'll say 320x240) a developer could cram far more details into any given scene then they could a game running at 640x480. Not only that, but because you're looking at alot of detail on a small screen that appears to be running in a higher resolution than what it is stuff like mipmapping and antialiasing becomes a null point..you don't need it. So if the PSP is about the equivalent of the PS1 you can expect games to actually look better on it due to the fact that they can do more with less cuz of the small screen size.

PSOne games do look better when you play them with the LCD attachment screen. I don't remember the size of that but it's somewhere around there.

Although having a couple old PSX games for a portable system would be alright, I'm hoping they don't go the route Nintendo did and release mostly old games. If it turns into nothing but a remake machine, I'm not getting one.

[GameLegend]

More backpeddling and broken promises from Sony. Life is rich.

Let's see, at last year's E3 Sony claimed the PSP (1) would have close to PS2 quality graphics, (2) the ability to play movies, (3) MP3, (4) wireless networking, i.e. Bluetooth, and (5) would have a worldwide simultaneous release in 2004.

Fast forward to present and we have NO bluetooth, NO MP3, NO ability to play movies (the media the PSP uses doesn't have the space for most movies) and NO PSP in 2004. Luckily, the estimates of the price haven't gone down.


Thanks Sony! :rolleyes:

I dont know....A lot of people said GBA just doesnt have the capability to play movies. Now u see just how wrong they really are. Usually the specs are released for a console and many developers rely on those result. Often what happens is, some people arent satisfied with the results and take it apon themselves to find the true power of a console. Same thing happend with Rare when they played around with the SNES, and found that it had the capabilites to run 3D objects. What became of that discovery? Only the beginning cool "3D looking" games, Donkey Country, Donkey Country 2 and lets not forget Killer Instint.

[no.1gamer]

Although having a couple old PSX games for a portable system would be alright, I'm hoping they don't go the route Nintendo did and release mostly old games. If it turns into nothing but a remake machine, I'm not getting one.

Are you kidding? Nintendo released many of the old Mario games. But there is an eff load of brand new games available for it. Some made by Nintendo and some not. You will NEVER have time to play all the brand new games on the GBA! There's too many of them!

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

One of the biggest problems I see with the PSP is developmental cost if this system is really going to have graphic capabilites between a DC and PS2 (as stated by EGM) then the publishers are going to have to pay just as much to develop a PSP game as they do a game for a home console. Why develope for that system when the GBA has something like a 10 million unit lead and is cheaper to develop for?

Plus if it's already hard to work with I just don't see the upside for publishers. Maybe if it really is just a portable PS1 it will be better then it will become port city more than likely.

I hope that doesn't happen because is it just me or do PS1 games don't stand the test of time like the previous generations or hell even N64 games. I find it hard to even play a PS1 game now because they are so ugly the shimmering on most of the games literally gives me a headache now. Unlike the old 2d classics that aged well and a lot of the N64 games.

[tekbit]

My question is, if the PSP will be priced around $250. Does that mean the games will be $50 a pop?? Because if so I don't see many people willing to shell out that kind of cash for a handheld system. And with the developers already expressing the dificulty they are having with the PSP I can imagine the games being priced as such. By the way how much do GBA games cost anyway??

[trebor]

I dont know....A lot of people said GBA just doesnt have the capability to play movies. Now u see just how wrong they really are. Usually the specs are released for a console and many developers rely on those result. Often what happens is, some people arent satisfied with the results and take it apon themselves to find the true power of a console. Same thing happend with Rare when they played around with the SNES, and found that it had the capabilites to run 3D objects. What became of that discovery? Only the beginning cool "3D looking" games, Donkey Country, Donkey Country 2 and lets not forget Killer Instint.

Well, keep in mind a few things...

(1) There is a company that is trying to develop a peripheral that will allow a GBA to play movies, that's true, but the GBA has been around for over 4 years now. So not only did Nintendo never claim that the GBA would play movies, it has taken several years beyond the intial launch for another company to attempt it.

(2) If I'm not mistaken, the SNES was around for years and years before Rare made those "3D looking" games.

So basically, what that means for your argument, is that the PSP would have to be around for several years before a company would get the gumption to tinker with what the hardware was capable of. Thats years after Sony first claimed the PSP would be able to play movies, and still years after Sony admited that the PSP wouldn't be able to play movies afterall.

Do you see my point now? If the company that is making the product keeps hyping up the capablilties, only to tear them down at a later date, then who is to say what the finished hardware will be capable of? You can't trust Sony to give an accurate explanation without them exaggerating the system.

[T.Tashi]

By the way how much do GBA games cost anyway??
Brand new day of release? $30. A bit more if it's some high profile title like FFT.

[Renzatic Gear]

FFT was only $35 at release...I think that's the most expensive I've ever seen a GBA game.

[Nissian X]

FFT was only $35 at release...I think that's the most expensive I've ever seen a GBA game.

Up here they can go up to 50-60$, what a bloody rip, I know, thats why I don't play any hand held games, although I do own a GBA the only games I have for it are MK:A, not half as good as it is on consoles, and that Wario game, and all the other games for my GB, GO POKEMON BLUE VERSION! YAA HOO!

[Bob-the-Fish]

FFT was only $35 at release...I think that's the most expensive I've ever seen a GBA game.

And it was worth it too! I'm on hour 70-something and I'm still playing it.

If Sony wants to charge $50+ a game for a handheld then they are seriously over estimating the demand. There is no way the system would sell well even if it says Sony on it. But it's all nothing but rumors and speculation at this point...

[no.1gamer]

But it's all nothing but rumors and speculation at this point...

Yea, that's a good point. None of this is anything but rumors. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony pulled the plug on this project at the last minute, especially after seeing the N-Guage go down in flames the week after it was released.

[Bob-the-Fish]

Yea, that's a good point. None of this is anything but rumors. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony pulled the plug on this project at the last minute, especially after seeing the N-Guage go down in flames the week after it was released.

The N-Gage went down because it was a cell phone that could play games, not a handheld gaming device. Their problem was it didn't work well as a phone either. Also, no one was looking at Nokia and thinking gaming.

Sony deosn't have those problems. They have a lot of experience in the game market (and breaking into it vs Nintendo) plus massive name recognition. I seriously doubt Sony would pull the plug on the PSP this late in the game though. They have to at least release something to try and cover development and hype costs.

[GameLegend]

Well, keep in mind a few things...

(1) There is a company that is trying to develop a peripheral that will allow a GBA to play movies, that's true, but the GBA has been around for over 4 years now. So not only did Nintendo never claim that the GBA would play movies, it has taken several years beyond the intial launch for another company to attempt it.

(2) If I'm not mistaken, the SNES was around for years and years before Rare made those "3D looking" games.

So basically, what that means for your argument, is that the PSP would have to be around for several years before a company would get the gumption to tinker with what the hardware was capable of. Thats years after Sony first claimed the PSP would be able to play movies, and still years after Sony admited that the PSP wouldn't be able to play movies afterall.

Do you see my point now? If the company that is making the product keeps hyping up the capablilties, only to tear them down at a later date, then who is to say what the finished hardware will be capable of? You can't trust Sony to give an accurate explanation without them exaggerating the system.

yup
I only mentioned those arguments to state that the possibilities of PSP playing movies hasnt died and i bet there still is a way. Hey if GBA can play movies i bet PSP can too, well later on that is.

["The Game"Evolution]

Yea, that's a good point. None of this is anything but rumors. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony pulled the plug on this project at the last minute, especially after seeing the N-Guage go down in flames the week after it was released.

I'm starting to believe the same thing.

[Glockstar]

Glock, thanks for mentioning the deal Gamestop had on Game Informer. Thing is nearly five bucks an issue. . .I don't buy every month, but at $10 for a whole year that was killer. Plus something you didn't mention, when I went in and got their subscription special, they gave me a card good for a year for 10% discounts on all used hardware, games, and DVD's.

Heyyy, you're welcome.

I didn't want to mention the discount card, because I wanted you to be pleasantly surprised when you went in there. :D

Well, actually, it's more of because I find the mag. subscription to be the real value of the deal. I don't know if I really get $10 worth of savings from the card. The card is nice to have, and I'll definitely take it, but... 10% off doesn't add up to much.

[Gadfly2317]

Are you kidding? Nintendo released many of the old Mario games. But there is an eff load of brand new games available for it. Some made by Nintendo and some not. You will NEVER have time to play all the brand new games on the GBA! There's too many of them!

One other thing is, if the PSP were releasing directly ported PS1 games (like nintendo has done with SNES games) what would be the point? The ps2 already is backward compatible and plays those games, so its not like you can't play them on a current generation machine. And anyway, the PS1 games are only one generation old, its not like were feeling nostalgic for those games is it?

Whereas the SNES games, I haven't own an SNES in years, or an NES for that matter. The re-release of things like Contra: Alien Wars and Mario games I hadn't played in a decade was great, and it wasn't like buying them for the GBA was much more than buying used SNES games at a store.

But you're right gamer, there have been a ton of new games for the GBA; lots of RPG's, lots of great 2D sequels like Metroid Fusion/Zero Mission and the Castlevania and Mana games. Some of the best new stuff of the generation like Wario Ware and Advanced Wars (I've spent more hours with Advanced Wars than with Zelda Wind Waker) and I'm looking forward to eventually playing the really well rated Mario and Luigi Superstar action/RPG. And that's just a few off the top of my head. GBA is definitely more than just a lot of old re-releases.

Glad to see I'm not the only one still playing FF tactics.

["The Game"Evolution]

One other thing is, if the PSP were releasing directly ported PS1 games (like nintendo has done with SNES games) what would be the point? The ps2 already is backward compatible and plays those games, so its not like you can't play them on a current generation machine. And anyway, the PS1 games are only one generation old, its not like were feeling nostalgic for those games is it?

Whereas the SNES games, I haven't own an SNES in years, or an NES for that matter. The re-release of things like Contra: Alien Wars and Mario games I hadn't played in a decade was great, and it wasn't like buying them for the GBA was much more than buying used SNES games at a store.

But you're right gamer, there have been a ton of new games for the GBA; lots of RPG's, lots of great 2D sequels like Metroid Fusion/Zero Mission and the Castlevania and Mana games. Some of the best new stuff of the generation like Wario Ware and Advanced Wars (I've spent more hours with Advanced Wars than with Zelda Wind Waker) and I'm looking forward to eventually playing the really well rated Mario and Luigi Superstar action/RPG. And that's just a few off the top of my head. GBA is definitely more than just a lot of old re-releases.

Glad to see I'm not the only one still playing FF tactics.

Maybe Sony should reconsider bringing out the PSP.Or at least try it out in Japan first and see how the Japanese embraces it.If its all good there then they should bring it stateside.

[Bob-the-Fish]

Maybe Sony should reconsider bringing out the PSP.Or at least try it out in Japan first and see how the Japanese embraces it.If its all good there then they should bring it stateside.

The Japanese market is not a good indicator of how a gaming device or game will do over here. If MS was going by sales in Japan, we wouldn't be getting Ninja Gaiden right now, we wouldn't even have a system. They have a couple of portable systems from other developers that were selling better then Xbox for a while. Most of those systems we haven't even heard of here. People in Japan buy different gaming products then we do and plus Sony is a homebased company that will sell there no matter what.

And it looks like that's what will happen anyway since the delay means the PSP will launch in Japan this Christmas and then arrive in the first quarter of 2005 here.

One other thing is, if the PSP were releasing directly ported PS1 games (like nintendo has done with SNES games) what would be the point? The ps2 already is backward compatible and plays those games, so its not like you can't play them on a current generation machine. And anyway, the PS1 games are only one generation old, its not like were feeling nostalgic for those games is it?

But you're right gamer, there have been a ton of new games for the GBA; lots of RPG's, lots of great 2D sequels like Metroid Fusion/Zero Mission and the Castlevania and Mana games. Some of the best new stuff of the generation like Wario Ware and Advanced Wars (I've spent more hours with Advanced Wars than with Zelda Wind Waker) and I'm looking forward to eventually playing the really well rated Mario and Luigi Superstar action/RPG. And that's just a few off the top of my head. GBA is definitely more than just a lot of old re-releases.

The big difference between backwards compatiblilty of the PS2 is portability. If you can play you FF7 and what not on the go, that's easier then carrying around a PS2. It doesn't look like Sony is going to focus on PS1 ports though. They delayed the system because they think they need more games (at least that's what we were told) so that probably means they're developing new ones. Also the talk about playing games across platforms (PS2 and PSP) means that at least some new games will be introduced.

As far as the GBA goes, I bought one a few months before FFTA hit just because I wanted that game. I got Metroid Zero, Golden Sun, and Advance Wars while I was waiting and there are a couple other RPGs I still want to check out. Other then that, I haven't seen many new games that look interesting. I won't deny there are plenty of new games for the GBA, just looking at the game racks at the store will tell you that, but the only ones that keep my attention are those few I mentioned. The rest are remakes.

["The Game"Evolution]

The Japanese market is not a good indicator of how a gaming device or game will do over here. If MS was going by sales in Japan, we wouldn't be getting Ninja Gaiden right now, we wouldn't even have a system. They have a couple of portable systems from other developers that were selling better then Xbox for a while. Most of those systems we haven't even heard of here. People in Japan buy different gaming products then we do and plus Sony is a homebased company that will sell there no matter what.

And it looks like that's what will happen anyway since the delay means the PSP will launch in Japan this Christmas and then arrive in the first quarter of 2005 here.



The big difference between backwards compatiblilty of the PS2 is portability. If you can play you FF7 and what not on the go, that's easier then carrying around a PS2. It doesn't look like Sony is going to focus on PS1 ports though. They delayed the system because they think they need more games (at least that's what we were told) so that probably means they're developing new ones. Also the talk about playing games across platforms (PS2 and PSP) means that at least some new games will be introduced.

As far as the GBA goes, I bought one a few months before FFTA hit just because I wanted that game. I got Metroid Zero, Golden Sun, and Advance Wars while I was waiting and there are a couple other RPGs I still want to check out. Other then that, I haven't seen many new games that look interesting. I won't deny there are plenty of new games for the GBA, just looking at the game racks at the store will tell you that, but the only ones that keep my attention are those few I mentioned. The rest are remakes.

The Sony HDD debuted in Japan.It did reasonably well.Now its coming stateside.Sony indeed should do the same with the PSP before bringing it stateside.Plus remember this we arent talking about bringing over a mere game here.We're talking about a brand new handheld console with a slew of launch titles.Thats a big difference.

[Renzatic Gear]

Only one problem with that, Game...Japan isn't a good test market for the US. Just because something does well over there doesn't mean that it'll be a success over here, their tastes are completely different to ours (insert Tappy Tibbons response here).

Metroid and Sega are good examples of that.

[Bob-the-Fish]

Only one problem with that, Game...Japan isn't a good test market for the US. Just because something does well over there doesn't mean that it'll be a success over here, their tastes are completely different to ours (insert Tappy Tibbons response here).

Metroid and Sega are good examples of that.

That's excatly what I said...