OpEd: PSP--Powerful Hardware, Unspectacular Gaming System
- April 02, 2005 09:15 AM PST
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It's pretty, capable and snazzy-looking...but hasn't flipped the handheld world upside down as people expected.
"Wow, that looks amazing," said a friend looking over my shoulder. Before the console was released in the states, I took home the Japanese version to try it out. "So what good games are there?""Well...," I pause for a moment and reply, "Ridge Racer's kind of fun, I guess."
And months after the Japanese release and a week after the PSP release, I find myself still hard-pressed to name a compelling game on the handheld, one that would make it worth the $249.
Sony likely expected the console to explode in popularity stateside, upping shipments close to one million. However, the PSP so far has yet to be the blockbuster sellout that some expected it to be. American Technology Research reported that only 50 of 150 stores surveyed nationally in the last two days were sold out, while 15 stores had three or fewer units left.
In Japan PSP hardware sales have been outstanding--supplies are scarce, and until this week it consistently landed at the number one spot in week-to-week sales, according to Japanese marketing research group Media Create. But just this week the DS trumped the PSP in hardware sales, selling 12,000 more units--so jury is still out.
High on Power, Short on Games
Software sales, however, have been largely disappointing. While it did outgun the DS by nearly doubling hardware sales until recently, Nintendo still enjoys solid software sales from GBA and the DS. Hot Shots Golf on PSP was one of the more successful titles on the PSP, selling 65,900 units in its first week--yet this year it is eclipsed by Kirby Canvas Curse on DS (75,365 units), Super Robot Battle: Original Generation 2 on GBA (117,876 units), and trailed by Mega Man Battle Network 5 on GBA (62,458 units) and Another Code on DS (59,346 units).
The problem so far: aside from upcoming Gran Turismo 4 (which may just end up as a mini-version of the PS2), the PSP suffers from a lack of original and compelling games, titles that would stand on its own two feet and not use the PS2 as a crutch. Most games on the PSP (with some exceptions such as puzzle game Lumines) are based off PlayStation 2 properties, many feeling like a toned-down rehash.
iPSP?
On top of that, PSP software titles are some of the priciest for any handheld, prices ranging from 39.99 to 49.99.
The rehash of course, is likely due to Sony playing it safe and relying on familiar brands to bring users in. But if that were the case, why a Metal Gear card game (of all the genres to choose from) and not an action title? And is mobility enough of a reason to go out and spend 50 bucks on a Tony Hawk game that's not too different from the PlayStation 2 version?
Sony has been attempting to put itself in the same echelon with the iPod by slapping a more exclusive price tag on it--but a major difference is that MP3s are inexpensive (and for the unscrupulous, mostly free), while PSP games aren't.
Sure, compelling games may be on the horizon--but high costs of development means games may not get any cheaper--and those $30 DS games keep looking better.
But this isn't to say the PSP is destined for a fall--unlike Nokia's ill-fated N-Gage, hardware sales still make Sony's handheld a resounding a success so far. But the future is uncertain when considering reports of recalls to fix sticky buttons, the numerous incidents of dead pixels straight out of the box, and Sony's unfortunate insistence on using proprietary technologies (Memory Stick Duo, UMD).
Is the PSP cool and powerful? Yes. But the console will only be as great as the media inside of it--and movies can only take a handheld gaming system so far.
