Schild's PSP Countdown Thread

[schild]

So there's uh, 5 days until launch. In honor of this day, which means nothing, I'm going to post 5 things Americans will most likely never get.



A $100 Porter PSP case. Apparently Japan has an unhealthy obsession with pocketbooks and this is just another example of that. Or so some websites would have you think. I want one. The American cases are all ugly thus far.



I don't know what Doko Demo Issyo is, and I think that's why I want it.



Go is a fantastic game. A portable version with infrastructure mode would be superb. We won't get it.



Strange enough to be useful. I want one.



So the mysterious white psp from early press photos. It can't be bought. Whose knob must I gobble to get one?

So who am I going to be able to pick from as competition in the infrastructure mode games? In other words, who else is getting one or is on a later shipments waiting list?

[Paelos]

Your fanboism is excrutiating. And a $100 porter? It better come with a freaking money hat.

[MaceVanHoffen]

I want a PSP too, which is saying a lot given my Nintendo-fanboi status.  However, I will wait a month or three until the fanboism dies down and make my decision to buy then.  Will you still love the PSP in 3 months?!  I must know the answer before spending cash!

[schild]

Will you still love the PSP in 3 months?!  I must know the answer before spending cash!

Oh, I don't know (the following are supposed release dates for the weeks following launch week):

Week of 3/27/05:
Gran Turismo 4
Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

Week of 4/03/05:
Armored Core: Formula Front
FIFA Soccer

Edit: Chrikey, i managed to cut off half the list. I'm not making it again. Here's some screenshots from the above mentioned games.









Thanks Gamespot!

[MaceVanHoffen]

OMG that's like gamer pr0n!  My knees are weak now ... I want PSP goodness even more.  I've been waiting for another Ys game I could play for way too long.

[Paelos]

I may have to eat my money hat based on those pics.

[schild]

I may have to eat my money hat based on those pics.

You're goddamn right you will. Sorry for assaulting you in the other thread. I didn't see this post before I posted. But still, goddamned idiot still applies.  I'll have a full writeup with screenshots roughly a week after release of the system.

[MrHat]

What the hell is the Y shit I keep hearing about?

[Rasix]

Not trolling here, but what's the battery life on that sucker?  Traveling to Europe in September and I'll be buying some sort of handheld system for the plane flights.

[MrHat]

Websites say 1 1/2 - 2 hours, but my bro at EBgames has an import, and he says he gets about 4-5 out of it.

[schild]

4-6 hours at medium brightness playing games is pretty much the well-accepted case.

An extra battery will run you $50-$60. If you have a friend at Best Buy or CompUSA you can probably pick up an extra battery for $20-$30. The markup on that shit is stupid.

Me? When I go on flights I'll bring my laptop and a usb charger for the PSP. Computer interfacing 4 teh win and all that.

[schild]

Edit: I should probably clean this image up a bit if I'm going to be ridiculous with it.

[Signe]

Do the right thing and delete yourself now.

[Strazos]

You still couldn't pay me to buy and use one. I get a neck cramp staring down at a handheld.

[MrHat]

I want one.

[Flashman]

Schild, what games are you getting for it on day one?

Can't wait to pick up mine and ditch the GBA. The commute to work is going to be much better with this thing.

[schild]

Schild, what games are you getting for it on day one?

[MrHat]

Just thought that I'd:

www.Gamefly.com/psp

[schild]

Ok, so this picture posting thing is a pain in the ass. I'm getting my games staggered 2 days at a time. I have 7 or 8 on preorder at various places. But  here's what I'm getting in order.

Day 1 (launch day, Thursday 24th):
Archer Maclean's Mercury
Lumines
Metal Gear Acid!

Day 2 (the 26th, Saturday):
Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix
Ridge Racer or Wipeout Pure!

Day 3 (the 30th, Wed)
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for PC
Rengoku

Day 4 (the 1st, Fri)
Darkstalkers: Chronicles (probably, maybe, still thinking about it)
Twisted Metal.

On or around April 3rd or 4th, I'll have a full writeup up with my impressions of each and multiplayer if possible.

[stray]

Ok, so this picture posting thing is a pain in the ass. I'm getting my games staggered 2 days at a time. I have 7 or 8 on preorder at various places. But  here's what I'm getting in order.

Day 1 (launch day, Thursday 24th):
Archer Maclean's Mercury
Lumines
Metal Gear Acid!

Day 2 (the 26th, Saturday):
Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix
Ridge Racer or Wipeout Pure!

Day 3 (the 30th, Wed)
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for PC
Rengoku

Day 4 (the 1st, Fri)
Darkstalkers: Chronicles (probably, maybe, still thinking about it)
Twisted Metal.

On or around April 3rd or 4th, I'll have a full writeup up with my impressions of each and multiplayer if possible.

That's going to be quite expensive.

Thank God I have other hobbies.....If the PSP and 7 or 8 games didn't cost the around the same price as a new guitar or something else I could add to my rig, I'd probably get one.

I know it's great and all, and I want one. But I'll never get one.

[Riggswolfe]

*wipes a tear* It's so awesome to see Schild going all fan boi gooey over a new product. I feel the load of jaded pessimism lifting already. A new day is coming!

[schild]

*wipes a tear* It's so awesome to see Schild going all fan boi gooey over a new product. I feel the load of jaded pessimism lifting already. A new day is coming!

You think this is bad? Just wait til I start playing Chaos Theory or Hitman: Blood Money. Oh man, the cynic gloves come off when I can kill silently.

[Signe]

He might hate it in a week and a half. 

[schild]

He might hate it in a week and a half. 

Only if there's a cluster of dead pixels that'll make my porn look like it went through the Japanese censor board.

Really though, Sony can do no wrong with this one. You just watch. We're going to go through a cultural shift with this thing.

[Rasix]

Cultural shift? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

I've said some fanboish shit in my time, but that needs to be bronzed.

[schild]

Cultural shift? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

I've said some fanboish shit in my time, but that needs to be bronzed.

What level are you in WoW? Have you not shifted your life to work around it?

I'll make you eat those words, blasphemer. You just watch. Soon the Gameboy will start losing market share, Nintendo will announce their next GBA since the DS was an utter failure, and then Sony will drop the price on the PSP.

Sony will announce a PSP with a 2-5gig hard drive in it that will barely increase the size of the unit, the next GBA still won't get third party support, and Sony will control a majority of the market.

Eventually the FAA will get rid of the cell phone ban, you'll be able to play your PSP with people on planes - wirelessly.

Nintendo in a year or two - maybe 3, won't have the ability to keep up with Sony. They are fearless and have bags full of money. It also helps they control a lot more than the majority of the console market. Nintendo will then pull out of making hardware because their R&D department is COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY.

Then Iwata will sit in his office, rip out his "heart of a gamer" and his last word will be "Fuck."

I have spoken and these words will ring true through the minds and souls of gamers everywhere come this Thursday.

[Hanzii]

Not trolling here, but what's the battery life on that sucker?  Traveling to Europe in September and I'll be buying some sort of handheld system for the plane flights.

I had one for a bit longer than a week.
4½ hours playing Ridge Raver at max brightness was pretty consistent.

And while overly melodramatic, I think Schild is right on this one.
The PSP will hurt Nintendo badly. Maybe even mortaly. While Sony are completely clueless morons when it comes to getting their portable music market back from Apple, they've done their homework on this one.

Let me say it this way: There was wailing in the office when Sony wanted their PSP back. The DS in front of me looks like it's a keeper... and I don't rally care. Even with a free DS, I'm still buying the PSP.

[Jain Zar]

I most likely will not buy one.  Given the lack of hardware quality in both the PS1 and PS2, and given that I already have a Nintendo DS that is apparently only being used as a really nice Gameboy Advance till at least Metroid Prime Hunters, I see no reason to give the not really evil, but annoying anyhow Sony any more money.  Though Ys looks like.  Haven't played a new Ys game since the Turbo Duo days..

But if it gets some great exclusive software I may rethink things. 

[Riggswolfe]

I keep getting tempted to pick up Chaos Theory but never quite do. I love sneaky killing of stuff. I'm always the guy with the sniper rifle in a FPS...now..back to the PSP

I feel the urge to get one, it's just..damn. That price...

I feel weird about paying that much for a handheld. I just do.

[schild]

And while overly melodramatic, I think Schild is right on this one.

I'm only overly dramatic when necessary. Even the smartest people aren't giving into Sony on this one, and they should be. The GBA is the only thing keeping Nintendo in the black and this is going to end that run. Some people here will note, when I go all future prediction crazy in the video game market, I have a track record of being pretty accurate. On Thursday my head will reach maximum diameter. Now, all SOE needs to do is make an MMOG for the PSP. Then things will get really crazy. Unfortunately I think that would require at least a 512 meg Memory Stick or maybe a 1 Gig one. And that's an expensive goddamn game. And they'll have to compete with genius ideas like Infection. Though competition is always healthy.

The PSP will hurt Nintendo badly. Maybe even mortally.

Here's to hoping. I'd rather play Mario on a very high res widescreen than on that DS piece of shit.

Let me say it this way: There was wailing in the office when Sony wanted their PSP back. The DS in front of me looks like it's a keeper... and I don't rally care. Even with a free DS, I'm still buying the PSP.

I traded in my DS and games and my PSP is now going to cost me about $100 with a service plan. So for $250 I'll be able to get a PSP and 1gig Memory Stick. I have zero complaints post-mortem on the DS because of the relatively high trade-in value I got for it. I can feel comfortable saying the DS was worth the $200 or so I spent on it for the 3 months of somewhat entertaining content I got out of it.

[MrHat]

Just a heads up:

Best Buy is opening early on Thursday to sell their PSP stock.  Opening at 8am, recommended to show up at 7am.  Pick it up and take it to work.

[Kairos]

Does anyone know if the PSP is going to have region lockout? Could be hope for that Go game after all (though it probably takes a geological age for the program to decide on a move).

[schild]

Does anyone know if the PSP is going to have region lockout? Could be hope for that Go game after all (though it probably takes a geological age for the program to decide on a move).

There is no regional game lockout. There is regional lockout for movies.

[Litigator]

I'm gonna jump on as the naysayer on this one.

$250 is way too much to pay for a handheld video game system, and the mass market won't jump on it.  Sony thinks this will be like an iPod for games and video, but people don't want an iPod for video and people won't pay that for games.  Portable gaming is not something people spend a lot of time doing. Kids play with game-boys, but this is too lavish a toy to buy for kids, and most adults simply don't spend enough times playing with portable games to justify the price tag.  I think Sony and Schild expect this thing to blossom into a cultural phenomenon like the iPod, but it isn't going to happen. The iPod wraps sleek design (much more high concept than the utilitarian PSP),

I thought the DS was extravagantly expensive at $150.  The geeks seem to be exploding in their pants over this, and I think the launch day sales will be impressive, but the drop in sales will be precipitous after that.  Geeks can't support a platform; Dreamcast proved that.  Schild dramatically overestimates people's desire to play portable online games. 

I think this is a cool gadget, but I don't want it bad enough to pay $250 for it. The average consumer has less money and less interest in games than I do, so I think this thing is not going to make the iPod-sized splash  I think Sony expects.

[schild]

$250 is way too much to pay for a handheld video game system, and the mass market won't jump on it.

Nintendo DS 2005 sales to date = 407,099
Sony PSP sales to date = 536,476. I would venture to guess this is only limited by the number made available.
Source.

Sony thinks this will be like an iPod for games and video, but people don't want an iPod for video and people won't pay that for games.

Flat out. I'm comfortable saying you're wrong. And when they sell all million units by the weekend, I won't even have to convince you. Cuz you'll want one too.

Portable gaming is not something people spend a lot of time doing.

This will change.

I think Sony and Schild expect this thing to blossom into a cultural phenomenon like the iPod, but it isn't going to happen. The iPod wraps sleek design (much more high concept than the utilitarian PSP)

This is utilitarian:


This is much more high concept than both the iPod and it's competitor (shown above):

Even OPM (That's official playstation magazine) knows the PSP was a cut at the throat to Nintendo. As much as Kaz and the rest of Sony play it off like Nintendo isn't a competitor, it's because they know they already have them beat.

I think this is a cool gadget, but I don't want it bad enough to pay $250 for it. The average consumer has less money and less interest in games than I do, so I think this thing is not going to make the iPod-sized splash  I think Sony expects.

You being a penny pincher doesn't exactly make you the sort of sample size Sony cares about. The average consumer has less money, sure, but he's also willing to blow credit card debt through the roof to get one of these fuckers. I'm confident enough to say that the midnight sale at the Sony Metreon store will look much like a Detroit riot. It will be a viscious pit fight. And it upsets me, people will be playing Lumines before I can.