Sony PSP, The GameBoy killer... Options

[AC9breaker]

Im as a big a fan of nintendos game boy series as the average other joe. But after seeing this video I think Nintendo will have a run for its money. I have been told that the price will be really high. Im talking about new console type high. But after looking at the qualty of games you can play in you back pocket I dont think it matter to those first few people who absolutley have to have it when it comes out. Hopefully they will drop the price enough for us frugal peeps... Although sony needs to address some serious problems. Apperantly it may have a gameing battery life of 2 hours ... Im assuming sony may pull its usual method of releasing a first few prototypes with bugs to see how they sell then rerealesing it with the bugs fixed.

Anway look here and enjoy---->Teh Game boy Killer

Also If you notice closely, one of the games show is armored core .
Another game shown is what appears to be a combination of Ridge Racer games and The uuber swank sleeper hit RAGE RACER. <---- One of the greatest racing games ever made with one of the greatest soundtracks ever. I used to play this game sometimes just to listen to the music. Also, you could pop this game into your CD player and listen to the music. Man that game was so cool...

[Crushinator]

On a technical level, the PSP is awesome. I love the giant screen, and the power behind it.

However, on a practical level it seems to be lacking. Like you stated the battery life is dismal (Game Gear anyone?). And its not quite as "portable" as a GBA...the PSP is about the length of a VHS casette.

The price point they are thinking is $199-299, which is pretty goddamn ludicrous for a handheld system. Sony says they are catering to the "Playstation audience" of adults and teens with lots of money to spend on techno-gadgets, but 300 bucks is still a HELL of a lot of money, for anyone.

And think about durability. I'm sure we all try to keep our GBA/SP in the best condition possible, but we don't shit ourselves when it falls off the desk or we sit on it or whatever...because its solid-state, fairly solid, and hey its only 70 bucks if we need a new one. PSP has a disc-based media, and how many jostles can that take before its knocked outta commission? And the gigantic screen looks like a magnet for scratches... I would certainly be a lot less likely to jam the PSP in my pocket and take it with me anywhere like the GBA, if only out of fear that it might get damaged.

[donkeybeatz]

For that kind of money, I can finally pay for a full tank of gas =)

[unitself]

Wow. That PSP does look cool.
I can see what crush is saying though. That screen (and the unit itself) is freaking huge. Scratches abound! Not to mention that it's a "portable" unit! I love my SP because it's small! Yeah, it could be a bit bigger, but then again I wouldn't be able to hold the thing in my pocket!
Hrm.. then again, did anyone look at the new nintendo portable? That thing looked pretty large too. At least nintendo is talking about backward compatibilty!
Anyways... the PSP looks way cool.
I heard talk about it being like a little media center. Mp3, games, video, that kind of thing. I wonder, is that still in the works? Does it have a hard drive or storage for mp3s?

[Retehi]

I smell another game.com (if anyone remembers those)

It'll be cool for a while, then die out. Then of course Sony is doing this, and probobly refuses to let something like that happen.

To me, it's too much pushed into one thing.

[HC82]

The price tag is the first deterrent. All the extra little gizmos are always appealing to a more casual userbase. I think Crush brought up many of my same complaints. When it comes down to it all, many people might see the GBA as being more "kid-friendly," yet at least from my real life experience, I've seen people of many ages(people on the train for example) playing GBA's. I can't speculate too much intill I see a more defined game library, but if anything, the differences in userbase will be evident in the popularity of the PSP(also Sony has the huge advertising bucks).

[Knightsword]

Sadly I think the psp will fail. Remember Nintendo all ready has the gba's replacement The DS. Two screens, one being a touch screen, and also fully backwards compatible with gb and gba games. and it still folds down to carrible size

[Horosha Onikage]

Whoa.... Armored Core: Formula Front looks sweet. It's amazing, is the PSP using PS2 graphics technology? Or something better?

At this point, I'd have to say that there are still no winners, despite the hefty price tag on the PSP. The deciding factor, for me, will be whichever 3rd party developers either company can convince to develop for their system.

[AC9breaker]

Yes, the PSP has more power then the PS2. I think its may even be better on par with gamecube.(Not entirely sure) Also I have been hearing that the the DS is not suppose to be a GBA replacement. But more like a gimmick type thing. You know how nintendo is with those. *Has a Virtual Boy Flashback*
I however feel that the PsP will be successful at first.

Reason being is that it has the SONY stamp which automatically draws a few consumers there. Also I feel the hype from the PSP as being a positve one where as when it was the N-Gage I felt it to be very ominous. The problems that Crush mentiond do really make me raise an eyebrow though. But I doubt sony will even try to address them. As for the size of it, I was under the impression that it was a little bit longer then the Size of those "Sidekick" cellphones a bit thinner. In anycase, I just really hope its durable. God knows how many times Ive dropped my GBA. If Sony does ever decide to address those problems it will only be after the PSP has proven to be a success=$$$. In any case the would probably follow Nintendos path of upgrades IE.

Gameboy aka The Brick, Gameboy Pocket,Gameboy Color, GBA, GBASP.

What I find funny is that I actually owned all of those handheld sytems before.

[Kazicht]

Nintendo just released the final design and price for the GBDS:

For release in November: $179.99

[AC9breaker]

Wow, NDS looks pretty sexy. It reminds me of the old school NES controllers except rounder.

[Crushinator]

DS is lookin' pretty snazzy. Now lets just hope the games can cut the mustard, and avoid simple gimmicks using the 2 screens.

[unitself]

Hey now. That looks way cool!
but... $180!@! ?? @#$%! Damn it all, that is pricey.
But Animal Crossing DS!!!
I should start putting my pocket change in a jar right now.

[Mute]

They both look really cool and have alot of potential. The pricetag is a bit much for me though. Especially since I have no need for any handheld gaming system. I tried owning a GBA once but ended up trading it in eventually cause I never played it. :\

It will be interesting to see how these two systems pan out.

[Wiryu]

I want to say the PSP will thrive in sales, and i'm sure during the begining of its ascent it will; but, i also do not believe it will oversee the Nintendo DS for a few reasons.

1. Promises of Nintendo Resurfacing to the DS

2. A wide variety of games already in the process of being made.

3. The portability of a DS is a little more compact than the PSP

4. Touch screen is something new, many people tend to like new things, even if they do not like nintendo.

5. And the most important reason, Nintendo has so much history with portable gaming and has remained at the top for the longest time. They know what customers want, what they like, and what boundries they can and cannot cross. With these types of backings and previous success, its almost a guarentee the DS will likely beat the PSP in sales.

I could be wrong, of course this is just speculation

[Dorian]