PSP Games....or not?

[Morfiend]

So I went out and spent a shit load of money on two PSPs, for myself and my girlfriend in the hopes of some gaming goodness. The PSP being the second comming and all that. So far I am very underwhelmed by all the games except Lumines. (Damn you Lumines)

One of the only games I was really excited about was the GTA: Stories of Liberty City, and I just read that has been pushed back. So what the fuck? Sony put out this killer piece of tech, and what do we get to use with it? "Raign of Fire". Blah.

So, yeah, im being a bit lazy here, but do you know know any hyped or anticipated games comming out soon for the PSP? What are you all waiting for, or is the PSP fading in to the background already?

[NiX]

Sadly it's fading. There's nothing to get excited about right now.

[schild]

It's not fading. August to November has a crazy number of releases. Also, Walmart just leaked info on a ton of games.

Coded Arms comes out in two weeks. Shortly afterward is Armored Core.

Get Hot Shots Golf.

[Kairos]

I second schild's HSG suggestion. Hot Shots Golf has probably spent more time in my PSP than any other game I own. I also suggest Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure if you like racing games at all (of course, I didn't used to, but I'm quite a fan of these two games). Mercury is entertaining as well, if somewhat frustrating in large doses. A lot of people like Untold Legends (though I don't).

[Roac]

PSP is hot, and it's only going to get better.  At the same time, it's new; it has a very limited library, and as with any game unit, it's going to take a while to build up a respectable library of good games.  Moral of the story?  Don't buy stuff on first release.

[Margalis]

PSP is getting beat up by the DS. You guys crowned your new king too early. How long until I get to say I told you so?

[schild]

Getting beat up? Dude. Nintendogs? Please.

Give it time. Sony hasn't realized they need to put out stuff like God of War and other killer apps. Hell, the idea of a killer app is completely foreign to Sony. Xbox has Halo, Nintendo has, uh, Nintendo - and Sony tried to ride the wave of Gran Turismo.

That's bad juju. I'll say this. We have zero used PSPs in stock in the district for EB and about 100 DS'. Crown whatever king you want. Sales don't account for the fact NO ONE OWNS ONE ANYMORE. Oh, except for Nintendo fanbois.

I still might buy one for Electroplankton. But I'm not getting it until they come out with a duotone red/white one, whether it's japanese or american.

[NiX]

That's bad juju. I'll say this. We have zero used PSPs in stock in the district for EB and about 100 DS'. Crown whatever king you want. Sales don't account for the fact NO ONE OWNS ONE ANYMORE. Oh, except for Nintendo fanbois.

I usually don't call you on this, but you're talking out of your ass. Comparing the DS trade in VS the PSP is stupid. When 360 and PS3 get closer PSP's will become a trade regular. That's always how it goes.

[schild]

I've seen more than a handful of people trade in their DS for things like Madden and NCAA downpayments. Also, a couple guys traded theirs in to get new SPs. The PSP may only have Lumines. But that's more than the DS has. Oh and we're blowing out those UMD movies. I don't get it, but we can't keep them in stock. All we have left is 2 copies of the last 2 releases. Everything else is sold the day we get it in.

Comparing the DS trade-in to PSP trade-in would only be stupid if people were trading in the DS for the PSP constantly. Which they aren't. Particularly since we haven't even finished fulfilling preorders from shortly after launch. We do (once in a blue moon) get a refurb PSP with a new screen that's $215. Those last about oh, 5 minutes on the shelf behind the counter before they're sold.

[Riggswolfe]

The DS trade in price at my local store is dropping very fast. PSP are going for 215 used and as Schild said, they seem to last for a short time. At least this is what the guys at the counter told me.

PSP has better graphics and controls than DS. Better games right now.

DS has no support, a gimick of a second screen, and few games.

[schild]

The DS went from $115 trade in to $70 trade-in value in a matter of weeks.

Retail stores not giving a rat's ass about Nintendo will probably be the leading cause of it's death. They simply don't make enough games. Period.

[Margalis]

DS games are outselling PSP games. So what are you guys talking about exactly? I guess people are buying the games even though they don't own a DS as, um, a paperweight or something?

[schild]

DS Games are outselling PSP Games in Japan. To be very specific, Nintendogs is outselling EVERYTHING.

Sample sizes of 1 don't do much, but we've sold a grand total of two DS games in the last 3 weeks at my EB. Feel the Magic (1 copy) and Star Wars Episode III (1 copy).

We did sell 1 electric blue DS though. I haven't seen a single silver DS get sold since I started working there.

Just sayin. Feel free to show me American numbers that point out something different. Even if the DS is outselling the PSP 2 to 1, if 7 out of 10 DS' get traded into EB and Gamestop, that isn't exactly good for Nintendo.

Edit: My bad, some guy bought Mario 64 DS but traded it in 2 days later. So, 3 games in 3 weeks. Meanwhile, we can barely keep Untold Legends, Ridge Racer, any of the UMD movies or Lumines in stock. Sales on NFS are going well also. MVP Baseball and FIFA are also good sellers, but I'm pretty damn sure that's due to the store's location.

[Abel]

Portable sales in the USA for april 2005 : (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/01/news_6126762.html)


1   Need For Speed: Underground Rivals             PSP
2   Lego Star Wars                                              GBA   
3   Twisted Metal: Head-On                                  PSP             
4   Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade   PSP   
5   Mario Party Advance                                    GBA   
6   Ridge Racer                                                PSP
7   Wipeout Pure                                              PSP   
8   MLB                                                          PSP   
9   Metal Gear Acid                                              PSP
10   Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix                   PSP   


No DS to be seen (except on the Japanese charts).

[Jain Zar]

Thats because the DS is excellent hardware saddled with shit games and a handful of interesting experiments you will be done fiddling with in under 5 hours.

It doesn't have the software to be released NOW much less back when it came out in November.  Nintendo has to learn Japan doesn't really matter any more, stop focusing directly on that country as it has been, and get back in the fight.  Otherwise they are gonna be Sega 2, leaving Sony and Microsoft full reign over videogaming, turning it into the biggest shitpile outside a White House press briefing.

Its pretty clear why the PSP games are selling.  Because people who have the money to plop on a 250 dollar portable that's not all that portable want to use the things.  Same as DS owners really.  Cept Sony made sure to have some decent if totally uninspiring software out for release.  Outside of Lumines most of the titles are really just slightly scaled down PS2 titles anyhow.  Which means they are PS1 games with better graphics.  (See my comment about Sony/Microsoft and turning gaming into a Thalomide baby.  Ok, Thalomide toddler.  Close enough.)

Just look at the sales listed.  Almost every one of those games is on the PS2 in some form, usually a slightly superior or slightly inferior form.  That's no real testament to how great the PSP is. 

Sony saw how well it did with the PS2 and a decent release day library, heck, it probably gave the Sega Dreamcast another 6-12 months of existence.

Nintendo has never understood this.  They have botched release libraries for every system since the N64, and the SNES was cutting it REALLY close.  Every system needs at least a dozen release titles on DAY FUCKING ONE.  At least 2 of them need to be system sellers and double A if not triple A titles.  There are maybe 4 games out for the DS that are even B quality.  And the rumors about Advance Wars DS' Real Time Mode might kill the killer app for the system.  And if Metroid Prime Hunters isn't mind blowing? 

Just bury the DS and move on.  Cuz itll be all over.

For me?  250 for a fragile Sony product isn't something I am stupid enough to do so I grabbed an N Gage QD for 100 bucks, got a cell phone out of the deal, and am having a good time with a nice small portable that fits in just about any pocket and all the games are 25 bucks and under.

I wouldn't have played the nearly perfect Pathway to Glory if it wasn't for Nintendo fucking it all up as usual, so I guess there is a good side to their mind numbing stupidity.

[schild]

You're still on the "it's a frail Sony product" bandwagon? I should reach through the internet and slap you.

I've dropped mine multiple times. MULTIPLE. A couple times it has landed on concrete, nary a scratch. I dropped my DS once (before I traded it in), both screens shattered. Granted it was in my car door as I was closing it, but the DS is made of super shitty thin plastic and the bottom screen has nearly zero protection. Every few days a demo display breaks in the stores around me because it only takes a hard poke to destroy the integrity of a touchscreen.

The DS is outdated, obsolete hardware saddled with a bunch of a designers who don't really give a flying fuck about making DS games.

There are a lot of complaints to be made about the PSP, particularly how Sony is handling what you can do at home with it. But complaining that it's frail and too big? Lame.

[Daydreamer]

But I wanna hit on cute nurses and play doctor! or an attourney at law!

I agree with you Schild on the hardware and launch titles, but I just can't get over the PSPs PS2-lite qualities.  I mean, how many games for the PSP can't or haven't been done better on regular console systems?  I mean, if I want a fun racer I'll fire up GT4 or Burnout, not bloody Ridge Racer.  The same is also true of their sports library and fighting games.  How many of the best titles on the PSP are just franchise relaunches or ports of console games?  Only MG Acid and Lumines really break the mold that I can see.

As I believe I intimated elsewhere the PSP, and Sony products as a whole, are sleek and powerful and technically impressive.  They are also completely and utterly soulless as far as I can tell.

[Roac]

I mean, how many games for the PSP can't or haven't been done better on regular console systems?

I think that's in large part *why* PSP will be successful.  Low cost of development, and a built-in fan base.  Just enough changes from the original to slap "but it's new!" on the cover, but not so much that it requires massive dev time.  While there may be some unique titles that are grade A, this is an easy way to rapidly ramp up the library available for PSP.

[Shmtur]

This is the future for the PSP.  What are the games coming out, now?  Armored Core?  Isn't that the game that lets you build the mech, and then not actually get to play with it, you just watch the game play itself?  (correct me if I'm wrong there, but that's what I've been hearing on it)

While on the other hand, Nintendogs, the game that some people make fun of, is becoming the Sims to the DS.  Possibly.

Nintendo seized the opportunity to release Nintendogs during the typically slow spring season. The company further strengthened the game's sales by strategically shipping it right before the golden week of national holidays in Japan. Nintendogs has been a major hit in the country, and it boosted sales of DS hardware from 21,698 units to 96,191 units during its first week of release. DS sales continue to lead the PSP and PS2 for the week of May 23 to 30. According to Media Create, the dual-screen handheld sold 39,687 units, while the PSP sold 21,996 units and the PS2 sold 35,143 units.

It doesn't look all that close to me.

Note: I also own both systems, and the PSP gets far, far more use from me.  I love HSG.  However, I don't see anything in the future for the PSP that makes me go "I need to get this!" while for the DS, Nintendogs is just that for a lot of people.  To each his own.

[Daydreamer]

I think Sony's strategy, with teh shiny, is likely to make the most inroads into the coveted 18-30 demographic that still doesn't play many videogames.  They can afford it and the line-up of your standard genre fair are exactly what they want.  But for us gamers - the hardcore - I don't think its a long term viable strategy.  Just as the % of NFL 200X buyers who upgrade each year has dropped, so too do I think sony suffer the same fate with their racers and other genres if they only recycle and reuse.  But most of the DS library, however awkward or crude is also unique, and I think probably longer lasting.

Which isn't to say Sony won't be successful, because they will likely rake in lots and lots of cash as the market grows more and more.  But I think their market SHARE will shrink.

Of course I'm a raving drooling Nintendo fanboi, so feel free to ignore me.

[Roac]

Which isn't to say Sony won't be successful, because they will likely rake in lots and lots of cash as the market grows more and more.  But I think their market SHARE will shrink.

Do what?  What marketshare do they have in handhelds outside PSP?  They started from zero, with Nintendo owning virtually the entire market.  It can't shrink for them.

[Jain Zar]

You're still on the "it's a frail Sony product" bandwagon? I should reach through the internet and slap you.

Considering my PS1,PS2, and CD Tape Boom box are all dodgy in operation I will believe my experiences with Sony hardware and fragility over yours thanks.  I think I have enough experience as to not trust Sony in the hardware stability department. 

And given the reports of the PSP? Ill continue to consider your experiences with it to be the exception not the norm.

[Daydreamer]

Which isn't to say Sony won't be successful, because they will likely rake in lots and lots of cash as the market grows more and more.  But I think their market SHARE will shrink.

Do what?  What marketshare do they have in handhelds outside PSP?  They started from zero, with Nintendo owning virtually the entire market.  It can't shrink for them.

If they minted a single PSP, plated with gold, and sold it to Donald Trump's hair for dishplay in its unholy scalp-parlor, Nintendo's market share would technically shrink.  Tool.

I meant from the point that they are at, when their PSP titles start crowding each other out, and Nintendo's better third party titles start coming out.  I'm guessing  early 2006, probably in conjunction with the arival of even prettier titles in the same vein for the 360 and PS3.  But most of this is just educated guesswork, so who knows?

[schild]

No Update Launcher for PSP

Today, Placasoft from psp-arena.de has released a program called “PSP_No_Update_UMD_Starter” for the PSP. In the readme he claims that: “This program avoids the update necessity from new PSP games. The PSP cannot be destroyed by doing this!!!”

Testing this program out, it asks for the UMD to be in the drive and then will launch the UMD that is in it, bypassing the update! Many thanks to Placasoft for this release from PSP users everywhere.

That Is Good Shit. Apparently because of the ability to run a eboot.php on 1.50 PSPs someone simply made a program that manually runs an eboot.php off a disc. That said - VIVA LA 1.50. This is a very elegant solution to a problem I didn't see being fixed.

[HaemishM]

I think this proves Haemish's Internet Law of Product:

If you build it, they will come, tear it down, burn the ruins, piss on the ashes, and then start playing Chinese Freeze Tag on the now salted earth.

[Sairon]

Nintendo was the leaders but the sooner they realise that they can't compete with Sony and Microsoft the better. They should scrap their console development department and just create games instead, because that's what they do best. I can agree that I've also had some problems with my Playstations, but that doesn't change the fact they're superior consoles when it comes to the game department imo.

[AOFanboi]

They should scrap their console development department and just create games instead

Shut your filthy mouth! If Nintendo had done that back when the GC was released, we would not have had the DS. And the world would consequently have been a cold and arid desert.

The Revolution can be a success as long as they avoid the "mee too"-ism of Sony and Microsoft. What the fuck is the point of more of the same gameplay at higher resolutions, higher speed and higher cost? Make something new, like the DS touch-screen.

[Hanzii]

Make something new, like the DS touch-screen.

... and then wake me up, when they start using it for something interesting.
Right now my DS is just a bulky Gameboy and all the games I'm interested in, would look better on the PSP (Advance Wars and the like). So a pure game developing Nintendo would be the bees knees in my book.
And Hot Shots Golf is my current game of choice, so now my other games and the DS is collecting dust again.

[AOFanboi]

... and then wake me up, when they start using it for something interesting.

Point and click adventures like Another Code (though extremely linear and old-school), as mouse substitute in Zoo Keeper, the minigame madness that is WarioWare Touched!...

Also the microphone is used in Project Rub/Feel the Magic, WarioWare Touched! and Nintendogs.

Have you been sleeping in class? Or playing that "PS2 Port Destination" competitor? Shame!

What we need is LucasArts to get off their silly little asses and make a SCUMM collection for the DS, preferrably with all 2D SCUMM games from Maniac Mansion to The Dig. That would be love and justice at the same time.

[Hanzii]

Also the microphone is used in Project Rub/Feel the Magic, WarioWare Touched! and Nintendogs.

Oh, I'm sorry. You read my post as if I didn't understand what the DS could do, when what I meant was "wake me up, when it's something I care about instead of gimmicks and kiddie games".

[Venkman]

To me, the DS has cooler gimmicks but the PSP has better potential. Given that the average gamer isn't interested in blowing in the microphone of their handheld (heh), I couldn't care any less how senstitive the DS mic is. Same thing with Touch Screen. When the world is dominated by tablet PCs and gamers of all ages have adjusted their input methodology to pens, then I'll care. Right now, playing Metroid on the DS is just like playing it with any console controller. Sure you can use the touchpad for mouselook, if you've never gotten used to more traditional methods.

So I dropped the $250 on hope. We'll see.

Oh and on the not-DS bandwagon: can you hack Wipeout Pure to make a rudimentary web browser? 

[Lum]

I've really been disappointed by the titles released for the PSP. The hardware hasn't really been pushed yet. The best title I've picked up post-release has been Midnight Club 3 and that has loading times from hell.

Come on, Sony, put out some wacky Japanese RPG! You know you want to!

[Hanzii]

Yeah, I agree.
I just like the PSP more. It's potential is greater and I prefer graphics and computing power to a wacky control scheme. But there isn't too many great games. But it helps, that I don't own a PS2, so the ports are new to me.
But a good rpg and a good strategy title (somebody rip of Advance Wars without the anime characters, please) would be nice.

Hot Shots Golf occupies most of my game time right now (and I use it whenever I'm waiting for BF2 to load). I still play Lumines (because I suck). But the Engrish save/load question REALLY pisses me of. Twice I've lost two skins because I answered it wrong. Fuckers.

[Venkman]

Probably and old rant, but the only big complaint I have about the PSP is the stupidiot text input areas of the basic OS. What moron decided to use the retarded cellphone input system on a screen that could support a full 88 keyboard with room for foozles?

Worse, I've needed to use it just enough to rant about it.

[Yegolev]

They should scrap their console development department and just create games instead, because that's what they do best.

What N does best is debateable.  Great IP and games, yes, but don't forget they introduced the rock-solid NES controller, letting me happily take one last green, runny shit on my Atari 5200 controllers.  SNES adds more buttons, including the now-ubiquitous shoulder.  Sony steals this and makes a better controller.  N puts out the N64 controller with an analog stick.  Sony steals this and makes the Dual-Shock.  They also realize they need more controller holes and release the multi-tap.  Eventually Sony will release a PSP with a touch screen (when they should release one with TWO analog nubs).  I predict that someone will incorporate the clicking buttons on the Cube controller at some point, but that is a minor thing.

Nintendo isn't perfect, but they are at least doing something creative and new.  If Sony was in charge, you'd be playing 2D Madden with a joystick and one button.  And the button would pop off after a month.