What's Up with the PSP?

[Commissar Rob]

OPM, by way of 1up.com, has an interesting article (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142637&did=1) on the state of the Playstation Portable...

The PSP has traveled the spectrum of being hailed as the greatest piece of hardware since the introduction of the original PlayStation to being treated like a Goodwill store where developers drop off bare-bones ports and shoddy, old games. Since the release of the PSP on March 24, 2005, to the time of this writing, there have been approximately 30 games released, 17 of which were released during the launch window. Around 10 or so of the games available could be considered ports of PlayStation 2 games, which is about one-third of the entire PSP library. And if you work out the math with the number of games released since the launch period, it comes out to less than one PSP game release per week—.76 games to be exact.
Fairly critical and honest look at the state of Sony's handheld...not sure what games are in the pipeline, but has Sony bitten off more than it can chew by fighting console wars on multiple fronts?

[bapenguin]

I still can't believe how many movie are being released on the PSP. Who the hell is buying those things at those obscene prices?

[Ernst_Jager]

The only thing that has keep me from buying a PSP is the firmware. If they made it where I could do whatever I wanted with it (like Mame, and various other things like this) AND be able to play the newer games I would be all over it. What they are needing for this system is a must have title like Halo, Zelda, or GTA.

[Bydo_Empire]

TEN of the 30 are ports? Wow, it really seemed like 20 or so, but I guess that's just perception. NFL Street 2 is a great game, but new minigames or not, it's still a port.

[hideouslywrinkled]

I guess this is why my PSP is collecting dust on my shelf.

Or, at least, it was... until I put it in a drawer.

[Hellstorm]

UMD movies are coming out because they sell like crazy, better than game software on the PSP. Isn't that why you bought a PSP in the first place? To watch movies? No?! Then surely it was to listen to MP3s then. No?! Net surfing? No?! Oh play games... oh... heheheh. Well see, that's the problem right there.

[IndependentGMR]

My PSP is collecting dust as well.

[Xerxes]

Hellstorm right... And yeah PSP, better than SP, hardware wise maybe but Nintendo cranks out games like a madman... DS is just retarded to me still... I can't hold the controls and stylis at the same time... How silly of Nintendo...

MMORPG POKEMON WORLD WHOOOHOOO....

[Chagrinful]

Hellstorm is saying what I used to tell everyone at work at this shity little videogame store, psp is all of those things and happens to capable of playing a couple games.

[jacktion]

100,000 movies to 2 million PSPs is not exactly selling like crazy.

[bapenguin]

I still play my PSP every night...I try to get a round of Lumines in before bed. But yeah...it needs games. I'm dieng for a top down arcade shooter.

[carneconcarne]

man it sucks to be an early adopter sometimes. I feel really sorry for all you guys who dropped so much money on a piece of hardware that just sits on a shelf. I know how it feels too, I'm sitting on an SD-RAM motherboard and a 4.1 speaker system, these formats don't really even exist anymore.

[Worldcrafter]

I find I don't play many games outside of my house. When I'm out and about, I'm usually with people, so I'm too busy to play. But at home, I have time to myself when I can plop down for a while and game. Because of this, I really wasn't impressed with the PSP. Almost all the games I'd want to play are direct ports of games I can just play on my PS2 (with the exception of Wipeout Pure, drool). I already have an mp3 player, and I already have a ton of DVD movies, so I don't want to buy those again. Really, I don't feel like the PSP is offering me anything new.

I ended up buying a DS because it has gameplay that currently can't happen on other console devices. That little device is packed with potential for new and creative forms of gameplay. Kirby Canvas Curse is played entirely with the stylus, and it works really well. Playing Mario 64 with the touch screen acting as an analog stick is pretty cool, and works well. The micro phone has already been used in some unexpected ways in games, and the wifi connection shows promise.

So for me, and I may be alone here, I don't care if the PSP or DS is portable, but I sure care that I'm getting something new for my money.

[BenSkywalker]

I think the PSP is great for listening to MP3s, watching movies(I own and encoded myself- no way I'm paying $20 for a movie I already own) carrying around photos and handling old school gaming(all of which I own the originals to). Too bad Sony has decided that if I buy any new games they are going to break one of the key features of my PSP. Forced firmware update- I'm not going to buy it- ever. I'm quite pleased with my PSP as a media device for legacy titles- no need to buy PS2 games I already own for my PS2.

[VoodooKarma]

My PSP has been collecting a little dust lately as well. For a time, I was playing emulators on it but since I have gotten bored with that, it hasn't had much use. I keep checking release dates for a game I want to buy for it, but I don't see one coming soon. I am sure they will be coming but it looks like it won't be for a while.

[Heretic Machine]

I'm sorry Worldcrafter, but no matter how "inovative" (w00t) the DS is, I don't play it at home. I wouldn't play the PSP at home either. When I buy a portable, I expect to be able to play fun games while on the go (this is important to a college student who lives on a very large campus). Currently, neither portable impresses me very much... I have the DS, have since the day it launched... I only own Mario and Kirby. Not exactly a lot to do, especially since the online service -still- isn't up. My only hope for it is Animal Crossing.

Currently my primary portable gaming system is my laptop, which is awesome. Dungeon Keeper II ALL DAY LONG!

[Xerxes]

People say portables are retarded when they are out with people and such and such... Ifind myself as waiting in lines are doing shit that requires waiting... After playing bowling on my cell a gajillion times I bought a SP... Movie lines, during trailers I already seen at home, waiting to be seated, waiting on people to come out the house when picking up folks, flying place to place, and riding to place to place... Oh can't forget while my grandmother is talking about some crap I don't really care about... Now even my crap sessions are enhanced by games... Thanks portable game systems, bowling and snake sucked ass... Although you know if snake was on my SP i'd probably play that crap...

[Kamalot]

I'm dieng for a top down arcade shooter.
Try Nanostray (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4311).

http://www.nanostray.com

[benson]

My PSP is collecting dust as well. Well, it's case is collecting dust, while I don't play it. I'm thinking of trading it in to get some money to put towards the Xbox 360. Trading it and the games I have for it towards the 360, plus the $50 I had to put down should bring me much closer to the $300 launch price. And I should trade in my PS2 as well. Good plan, maybe I'll do that tomorrow over lunch.

I really wish they would bring a nice RPG out for the PSP though. That would keep me around...

[TrackZero]

I'm sorry Worldcrafter, but no matter how "inovative" (w00t) the DS is, I don't play it at home. I wouldn't play the PSP at home either. When I buy a portable, I expect to be able to play fun games while on the go (this is important to a college student who lives on a very large campus). Currently, neither portable impresses me very much... I have the DS, have since the day it launched... I only own Mario and Kirby. Not exactly a lot to do, especially since the online service -still- isn't up. My only hope for it is Animal Crossing.

Currently my primary portable gaming system is my laptop, which is awesome. Dungeon Keeper II ALL DAY LONG!

Get Nanostray and Meteos. They're both great.

[HumpYourWay]

"Fairly critical and honest look at the state of Sony's handheld...not sure what games are in the pipeline, but has Sony bitten off more than it can chew by fighting console wars on multiple fronts?"

LOL once again a worthless comment by evilavatar

[Cupelix]

LOL once again a worthless comment by evilavatar...Except Evil didn't make the comment, the poster did. Think before you spew insults.

Either way, it is a somewhat valid thought. Did Sony really need to enter the handheld market? Would they have been better served focusing exclusively on the PS3? Has dominating the handheld market stifled Nintendo's other hardware?

[Draknodred]

yea, my PSP is getting a little dust, but I still play lumines when I can, the only other game that interests me that is out right now is coded arms, but I'm waiting for GTA... We just need some more, good original software. Sequels I'm fine with but not exact ports, that's just lazy... Just give me a good 100 hour rpg and I'll be golden... Although if you haven't upgraded the firmware you're fine though with homebrew and all those emulations.... of games you already own of course =)

and as for the DS, which I'm not a huge fan of, it is a bit big and clunky but it has some fun games, and if nothing else the PSP will be competition, and competition makes people crank out better games, usually =)
or just crappy games, more =P

but nothing can beat the GBA, the ultimate portable in my opinion, lots of great quality games for it =)

[51|RandoM]

PSP is one of those multifunction devices that doesn't work well enough at all of them to make it a suitable replacement for the single-application devices.

The only area it could be outstanding in, portable gaming, it is hamstrung by a lackluster library.

What I think it needs is a pile of arcade ports, from the arcade games that use multiple consoles for multiple players, only now we use multiple psps and wireless. Gauntlet, Gain Ground, any of the racing games, any of the tank games, etc.

[Intruder]

The PSP has been severely disappointing until this month. Now I see things may be turning around for it.

The PSP Webbrowser was a BIG boost and the 2.0 additions are great. It really polishes the PSP into a multimedia machine. It is great for putting movies on, converting your dvds and tv eps if you don't buy UMD movies. It is a good alternative as a MP3 player and can only get better with more firmwares updates. I have hundreds of photos on mine. It acts a a portable hardrive and with the addition of the webbrowser it is the icing on the cake.

Now with the PS3 using Pro Duo cards, the availablity of 1 gig cards will increase and become even more useful, so the option of putting movies on the PSP will be more cost efficiant now that you have another use for the card in the PS3.

As for games, like the DS it was off to a slow and painful start but some of these games coming out look to be great fun. From this month on there are several great looking games coming that I am excited about.
Death Jr.
GTA
Madden 06
Winning Eleven
NHL 06
Infected
Pursuit Force
SOCOM
Burnout
LOTR Tactics
SSX
Worms
Grand Turismo

These are all comming out in the next few months.

I was begginning to think about selling my PSP not but 3 weeks ago. Now I am glad i decided to hold on to it. As long as Sony keeps with the Firmware updates and adding functions, the games will start flowing. Most systems have this problem in the beginning. Companies are still learning how and what they can accomplish on the PSP and how to best use the features and limitation of the PSP.

[51|RandoM]

Every single game you listed is a port or is a continuation of an existing franchise. Kind of sad.

[Intruder]

I really don't care.

BTW wasn't there a study recently that said that the majority of video games on any system are sequals or continuations? Such games are the staple that keeps the industry on it's feet. People are willing to spend money on things they know and feel comfortable with.

Death Jr, Pursuit Force, Infected, LOTR Tactics - Those arn't ports or continuations are they? Not for sure.

[Jacob Singer]

Every single game you listed is a port or is a continuation of an existing franchise. Kind of sad.

I don't think either Death Jr. or Infected are ports OR existing franchises, but I might be mistaken.

At any rate, I play my PSP almost daily, and there are some great games on the horizon. I wouldn't sound the death knell just yet.

[Eon]

I bought my DS for Bandbrothers - and that alone was worth the price of admission.

Really a very cool social game that you can play with even a bunch of strangers.

[CapnBob]

Maybe it's just my local stores, but I've been seeing sold primarily as a portable movie player here that happens to play Lumines and Wipeout. And, oddly enough, that's all I've seen it used for by my friend who bought the system. The DS has had a drought until the last month or so as well, but the slightly enhanced GBA functionality has kept it from becoming a paperweight during that time.

[hideouslywrinkled]

Death Jr.
GTA
Madden 06
Winning Eleven
NHL 06
Infected
Pursuit Force
SOCOM
Burnout
LOTR Tactics
SSX
Worms
Grand Turismo


I was excited about Death Jr., but they it received an extremely bad review in the latest EGM. So now I wonder.

Infected looks cool though.

And you're right, Infected, Pursuit Force and Death Jr. are all brand new IP.

[kizke]

I'm not at all disappointed in the PSP because my expectations were rock bottom when I bought it. I wanted Lumines, multimedia and homebrew, and I have them. I'm happy. I think you'd have to have been a shortsighted fool to think the PSP was going to offer revolutionary software or a ton of must-have items. I invested in a DS the instant they came out because I saw a bright future in it (still do) but as for the PSP, I held off until I was sure it could do what I wanted it to (emulators, homebrew, easily convert videos to play on it, etc.)

When GTA comes out I'll buy that, but at the moment I'm quite content with my 30 minutes of Lumines a day for the last month or two.

[Intruder]

I was excited about Death Jr., but they it received an extremely bad review in the latest EGM. So now I wonder.

Infected looks cool though.

And you're right, Infected, Pursuit Force and Death Jr. are all brand new
IP.

Yea I just saw that review. I will wait for some more to come out but it is dissapointing.

Ohhh well, Like any system it will have ups and downs. But to call it either way after less than a year is premature.

[Vandenh]

It is very easy.. the DS is just better value and has better games. In the end nobody seems to care about all those "features" of the PSP. Games, games, games!

[Fonz]

Again another uninformed article making statements seem factual when they don't do the research. There are 25 games coming out for the PSP in 2005. How many games are out for the DS total so far? Don't write off anything until the 4th quarter is over.

By the way if your sick of ports and sequals dont by any EA games, the new york times did an article on EA out of all the games that are being published by EA only 1 is an original title, and thats based off a movie, The Godfather.

[Intruder]

I cared about the features, the DS didn't have what I wanted. Mature games, High quality video playback, MP3 playback, websurfing, Harddrive storage.

The DS had a very rough patch when it came to games if you remember as well.

It depends on what you needs are. If you are in it just for the games, then the DS might be for you.

However if you are a modern technophile and want everything mentioned above, then the PSP might be for you.

Just depends on the person, but to say noone seemed to care is pretty overstretching.

[Mr.Green]

If I recall correctly, there wasn't much to play on the PS2's first year as well...

Just give me GTA:LCS and I'll be happy.

[Metal Jesus]

The people who bitch about sequels on the PSP/PS2 are the same people who will RAVE about the latest Metroid, Zelda or Mario title...as though only Nintendo makes original games anymore.

...and they're the worst of the bunch!

[Inverarity]

My wish list for future firmware updates would be:
- Flash/Shockwave support both in the browser and from memory - it's not just a necessity for functional web browsing, it also opens up an avenue for lots more content.
- SMB share support and UPnP rendering over the 802.11 connection. My Roku Photobridge can handle this in full HD with similar hardware specs; it should be possible on the PSP as well.
- Support for portable USB storage (iPods, flash sticks, etc.) This and SMB/UPnP go together: affordable mass storage is the single biggest problem for the PSP. A more open approach would play to the machine's A/V strengths.
- Some sort of approach to allowing homebrew software. If Sony wants to charge me ten bucks for an 'unlocked' version of the firmware, and I waive my right to support for any software-related issues in return, I'd consider that fair. An approval mechanism for homebrew software would be even better, but it's unrealistic. One way or another, they need to let people take advantage of the skill and creativity that's out there.

I just got a PSP, and I like it a lot, but there's no reason it can't be a much better machine, with or without a slew of new games.

[Stric9]

You people have all the attention span of a gnat. The PSP launced on March 24th which means it has been out for all of 4 months and 18 days. Is 30 games or almost 7 games per month really that low an amount? Also you need to take into consideration that the PSP launched at a notoriously slow time of year for new game releases. I'm willing to bet that by January the PSP will have about 60 games released. As for the point of most of the games being based on existing ip, that seems to be a problem with the entire video game industry right now as was pointed out in the recent article about EA's ambitious plans to develop one new game ip per year.

The multimedia capabilities of the PSP are awesome. If you dismiss them without trying the video and audio features out then you are doing yourself a great disservice. There are tons of freeware apps that allow you to easily convert DVD's and pretty much any video you can find on the internet to PSP format. Further with programs like videora you can turn your PSP into a portable TIVO. I don't travel very much but it's definately nice to be able to queue up episodes of the daily show and watch them during the day at work or on the road, and while the PSP may not replace an ipod it's nice to not be forced to cary a seperate gadget to listen to music or view photos.

Of course if you have a 1.0 or 1.5 firmware version of the PSP the homebrew scene offers plenty of stuff to keep you busy, and is advancing at an incredible rate. The PSP is by far the best portable device I have ever purchased and probably the best console i've ever purchased. I will admit the games have been a bit slow coming out but I had the same problem with the PS2 and XBox for about the first year after they launched. Beyond that the system offers so many more ways to keep yourself entertained that I am amazed by the negativity here. I use my psp everyday and absolutely love it.

[trip1eX]

the PSP is no longer a shiny new thing. Does the emperor have no clothes? Stay tuned.

IT is ironic that the one of the seemingly most popular games on the PSP is a puzzle game when the PSP's big selling pt is the gorgeous widescreen.

Also ironic that the PSP is now the owner of one of the biggest negatives that was hung on the DS ----the software drought.

I always thought the PSP was too expensive. $250 was too much for a handheld that I won't play alot. $40-$50 was too much for games that are ports. I still think this will prevent it from really making a move in the handheld market like say the original PS did in the console market.

But folks don't seem to mind that. And the whole homebrew thing makes the PSP enticing. Not sure Sony likes that as need to sell games and movies to erease the subsidy they bankrolled on the hardware.

[DeadPixel]

The only games I play on my PSP these days are SNES roms.

[Kefkataran]

Like I was saying to my co-worker yesterday, even if Nintendo is doing horrible in the console industry and eventually bails and goes just to developing games like so many people seem to think would be a good idea, they will always be in on the handheld market. They're still owning that like it's no big deal.

[jacktion]

Every single game you listed is a port or is a continuation of an existing franchise. Kind of sad.
I am not sure where the kneejerk reaction to sequels came from but I am not sure it is warranted. Why are sequels bad? I think people are thinking of games as movies. I've got a memo for you people, games are not movies. They are a new paradigm. They are almost more akin to the automotive market in that the developer has to create technology and an engine that "perform", as well as make a narrative that entertains. You don't look at the car market and say, "Hey, all these cars are just sequels of last years cars! It's kind of sad!!" Car companies invest in the technology and design of a car platform and use for several series of vehicles that last decades or more, just like games franchises. So don't just mimic what everyone else says, think for yourself.

[Commissar Rob]

Great point, Jack - I don't see too many folks lamenting the latest Harry Potter book as "just a sequel." Return of the King wasn't considered one too many Tolkien books...

I guess the negative reaction comes from sequels that don't bring anything new to the table...seems like EA gets the bulk of the flack for that offense.

[Kamalot]

The PSP is by far the best portable device I have ever purchased and probably the best console i've ever purchased. I will admit the games have been a bit slow coming out but I had the same problem with the PS2 and XBox for about the first year after they launched. Beyond that the system offers so many more ways to keep yourself entertained that I am amazed by the negativity here.Woah there cowboy. Lay off'a the kool-aid.
It is called Reality.

The PSP isn't living up to its promise of revolutionizing the handheld industry. Read the full article (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142637&did=1). Think back to the promises of the PSP. Look at the poor ratio of movies sold compared to the number of units (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/psp/umd-movies-sales-actually-suck-109728.php). Realize that people are floating the system on half-assed multimedia features.

For cryin' out loud, My Treo (http://web.palm.com/products/smartphones/treo650/index.jhtml;jsessionid=TUWIZCINMYCASCQFGJDCFFAKAUZ EOIV0) is a MUCH better investment. It plays movies (same resolution you can play off of the PSP's memory stick, in more formats, without the need to convert most of them) has a better browser and has better emulation. It has better text entry has better MP3 (+OGG, WMA and more) playback and a TON of software (http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.category&PartnerREF=&siteid=1) you can run on it to make it do whatever you want. It has a higher screen density and has cool apps for instant-messaging with people on Yahoo, MSN Messenger, AIM and ICQ. It has RSS newsreaders, ebook readers, pdf readers and a better browser as well. You can edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents or build yourself a database to manage your game collection. It uses SD cards instead of the more expensive memory stick cards has better battery life and little-to-no load times.

Oh yeah, it does all that and it is primarily a phone.

As a gadget, the PSP does lots of things half-assed. If you want a video/music player, there are MUCH better alternatives; some of them are just phones too.

What's left? Well, the PSP is SUPPOSED to play some kick ass games. Instead, the article (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142637&did=1) points out that there aren’t many games and the ones that are out there aren't compelling, good or are ports. The article also points out that the future of games does not look good either.; there isn't much worthwhile in the pipeline and E3 was a major disappointment.

So, RTFA (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142637&did=1). If you are in the market for an emulation platform (http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/31/2326213&tid=203&tid=207&tid=10), MP3 player (http://www.apple.com/ipod/), video player (http://portablevideo.engadget.com/entry/1234000670053207/) or game system (http://www.nintendo.com/home), realize that there are better alternatives.

(P.S. I forgot the Treo also has a camera to take pics with and upload to web sites (http://mconnick.textamerica.com/), all using nothing but the phone itself!)

[Kefkataran]

I don't see too many folks lamenting the latest Harry Potter book as "just a sequel." Return of the King wasn't considered one too many Tolkien books

Errr... there's a very big difference between a sequel and a continuation of a series that was planned to be so-and-so long from the beginning. That said, I don't think sequels are considered all-around bad. It's just when a quick, crappy, non-innovative game is made to cash in on the fame of the previous game in the series that they're a bad thing. unfortunately that's done all too often.

[Commissar Rob]

Errr... there's a very big difference between a sequel and a continuation of a series that was planned to be so-and-so long from the beginning. That said, I don't think sequels are considered all-around bad. It's just when a quick, crappy, non-innovative game is made to cash in on the fame of the previous game in the series that they're a bad thing. unfortunately that's done all too often.

That was the point I was trying, and apparently failing, to make. GTA San Andreas or a Devil May Cry 3 or etc. etc. aren't considered bad because they're sequels.

Devil May Cry 2 on the other hand...

[Kefkataran]

And like I said, I don't think anyone's saying sequels are inherently bad, or if they are saying that they're dumb. It's more that sequels have a larger chance of being bad because devs have the opportunity to just blow it off and make some quick cash from the name alone. Thankfully many good developers don't take this route.

[Kamalot]

And like I said, I don't think anyone's saying sequels are inherently bad, or if they are saying that they're dumb. It's more that sequels have a larger chance of being bad because devs have the opportunity to just blow it off and make some quick cash from the name alone. Thankfully many good developers don't take this route.
You put the sequel into good perspective here. A GOOD sequal is a good sequel while a cheap-cash-in sucks. How many EA games are direct 'wash-rinse-repeat' sequels? How many Nintendo games, aside from the yearly Mario party series, are direct 'wash-rinse-repeat' sequels?

[Rangoth]

Personally, I think that sony believed that they could put the PSP together and crush Nintendo like they believe they have crushed all other company's. From the start, Sony did not make a handheld gaming platform from an intelligent design standpoint. You live and die by battery life. Plain and simple, I do not care how nice your screen is, how many poly's you push, or how many gadget's you have. If your battery lasts two hours, your machine sucks. You can't market around poor battery life, people have tried and failed. Sony is now experiencing what many others have already felt: Market Demand. Welcome to the REAL world, where you cannot tell developers and people what they 'want'. You actually have to LISTEN to people about what they really want!

[Ultima Thulian]

If your battery lasts two hours, your machine sucks. You can't market around poor battery life, people have tried and failed.

I own a PSP, and my battery life has never been less than 3.5 hrs. Even when watching movies. Games last any where from 3.5-6 hrs depending on the game. Lumines, being a puzzle game, lasts a long time on the PSP as compared to an heavy combat game like Coded Arms. The DS' battery life isn't much better. In fact, it is about the same depending on the game. Super Mario 64 seems to drain my batteries quicker than say a GBA game like Fire Emblem. It all depends what you're doing/playing on the hardware. Besides, both are rechargeable. You can even recharge them during play. They're even third-party alternatives for prolonging battery life (such as an AAA backup kit) even when the default energy source is drained. I don't see the problem with the PSP battery life. It DEFINATELY lasts longer than 2 hours, I can tell you that.

[Kamalot]

I own a PSP, and my battery life has never been less than 3.5 hrs.
I believe Rangoth was making a point, not trying to state the PSP's battery was 2 hours.

Having said that, 3.5 hours is really bad. My Game Gear (http://www.vgmuseum.com/systems/gg/) consistently gets more than 4 hours of battery life out of it.

[Intruder]

I guess people just ignore it but the PSP is just like any other system, immediately after release software tends to slow down but will pick up toward the end of the year. It happened with the DS and now the PSP has it.

As for the phone comment, good for you. That is cool that it does all that.
However, will it play GTA, Madden 06, Mario DS, Fire Emblem? If it does then we all must be incrediably stupid people for not having one. BTW how much does your phone run, then add on your bills for Instant messaging, Internet, and all that? Just curious?

[Stric9]

What's left? Well, the PSP is SUPPOSED to play some kick ass games. Instead, the article points out that there aren’t many games and the ones that are out there aren't compelling, good or are ports. The article also points out that the future of games does not look good either.; there isn't much worthwhile in the pipeline and E3 was a major disappointment.

So, RTFA. If you are in the market for an emulation platform, MP3 player, video player or game system, realize that there are better alternatives.

I think your missing my point which is simply this. The PSP has only been out for 4.5 months so to bemoan the lack of games at this point is ludicrous. Almost every console in recent history has had a similar problem right after launch, yet they didn't have the added multi-media capabilities that the PSP has.

Your point that the PSP was supposed to be a kick ass game playing device that also does all of these other things is strange because that's exactly what it is. 30 games in 4.5 months is not really that few for a newly launched console, and quite a few of those are good to great games. Add to that the fact that you have 36 more games scheduled to be released by the end of the year according to gamespot's search engine and I don't think the PSP is having any problem with a lack of games. Aside from that I will admit the post launch releases up to this point have been few and far between, but this is a slow time for game releases on all platforms.

I read the article the only valid points he makes are that there have been 30 games released which may or may not be that many, and that one third of them are ports which may or may not be that high a percentage. Beyond that I don't really mind ports from the PS2, in fact I love the fact that Madden on PSP is a port of the PS2 version and will allow you to transfer your franchise between the PSP and PS2. In fact I wish they would provide this connectivity with more games, FFX would be a great game to incorporate that functionality into as would GTA or any other great PS2 game I wish I could play on the road. Oh and the end of the article is all conjecture about how the PS3 may affect development on the PSP, bad article all around.

[Ultima Thulian]

Having said that, 3.5 hours is really bad. My Game Gear (http://www.vgmuseum.com/systems/gg/) consistently gets more than 4 hours of battery life out of it.

Sorry, didn't really clarify that 3.5 hours is the average for movies. Gaming gets about the same (if a little less) battery life than the DS. The battery life then increases if you're looking at photos or whatever. Plus keep in mind two things. 1. The PSP (usually) plays disc (UMD more specifically) games with 3D graphics nearly on par with the PS2. The gamegear plays simple 2D games on a cartridge with a flickering screen. 2. The PSP battery is rechargeable. The GameGear takes (I believe four) batteries. I don't care what the battery life is, if you must buy 4 brand new batteries every 4-5 hours, then forget it. Batteries are way too expensive nowadays. I'm not bashing the GG, I love it personally, but comparing the systems in anyway is unfair to both systems. They are ages apart and way different. Now, if I can just find a Nomad with some good games...

[Meshyf]

I love my psp. Of course its 1.5 firmware. I love reading emags and emulations and fun little homebrew apps. Hell I even use the shitty hopmebrew browser that chinese dude wrote up while I'm out to check Evil Avatar.
I use my psp just about everyday. I hardly play 1 of the 6 games I own but I do use it about everyday.

[Ultima Thulian]

Good point, Stric9! It is a little unfair to be so tough on the PSP when it essentially still in its infancy. The DS had a crappy start, and now look where it's at. It's leading the handheld market with kickass games like Wario Ware, Kirby, and Meteos. And with Castlevania, Elecktroplankton, Ace Attorney, and Final Fantasy III on the way, there will more great games with variety as well. Hell, the PS2, XBOX, (and to a lesser extent) the Gamecube all had rocky starts in terms of games and now all three systems are rock solid. I'm not saying the PSP will have the same fate, but let's wait and see. Look on the bright side, it can't suck as much as the N-Gage.

[51|RandoM]

Look at what is in the pipeline for DS and what is in the pipeline for PSP and tell us with an honest face that the PSP game drought is going to end any time soon.

Oh, and I wish I hadn't read that post about the Trio, I've been resisting the urge for one of those for awhile. Bluetooth support in the lastest version almost pushed me over the edge, but I held back. Now, I don't know, especially since I can get work to pay for $200 of it and I can write off the rest. Hmm.....

[Ultima Thulian]

A lot of people complain about ports or sequels. But look at the top selling games. In May 2005 the only 2 original games in the top 10 were God of War and Forza Motorsport. It is hard to give developers (even those money-sucking baboons at EA) a hard time. I personally don't buy every iteration of Madden or Pokemon, but many people do. It is just as ex-Naughty Dog President Jason Rubin says,(this is somewhat paraphrased) "If you're gonna blame anyone for the mass of sequels and licensed games, blame the consumer. If Tony Hawk 58 is what gamers want, so be it." So there you go. Until these games stop selling you'll keep seeing them. Nuff said.

[Kamalot]

Oh, and I wish I hadn't read that post about the Trio, I've been resisting the urge for one of those for awhile. Bluetooth support in the lastest version almost pushed me over the edge, but I held back. Now, I don't know, especially since I can get work to pay for $200 of it and I can write off the rest. Hmm.....
With Bluetooth, you can wirelessly have your laptop connect to the Internet using the Treo's data connection. Not as fast as DSL, but about 2x the speed of dial up. It works anywhere you have a phone signal; a much wider range than tiny Wi-Fi hot spots.

Best of all, the emulators rock. They are free. I can play Genesis games like a champ. Just finished Phantasy Star IV on the train last week. Sweetness!

I've also read how people use the Treo with bluetooth GPS systems too, like the TomTom (http://www.tomtom.com/products/screenshots.php?ID=103&Language=4).

[kathode]

Will anyone ever make sense of the kam's hate for the PSP? Not me :) I say bring on Burnout and LOTR Tactics! woo!

[Ultima Thulian]

I understand where Kamalot is coming from (well I did, until he started talking about bluetooth and phone signals). His arguments against the PSP are sound for the most part. But you have to give it a chance. Otherwise, it won't improve or flourish. There are more games coming for the PSP. You mentioned two. Don't forget Socom or Infected (I believe that is the game's name) or GTA or Metal Gear Acid 2. There's plenty of games coming, just gotta be patient. As for the whole dreaded "sequelphobia" that's going around, don't worry about. Developers are just trying to get used to the technology, give some time. All we are saying is give the PSP a chance...ok, sorry, that little lyrice was bad, but you get my point.

[Dracula-X]

Will anyone ever make sense of the kam's hate for the PSP?
There is speculation it may have something to do with the Nintendo DS stylus firmly embedded where the sun doesn't shine.

No, he's a lunatic fanboy with what seems to be copious amounts of time to chime in on every opportunity to bash Sony/PSP. It got old ages ago.

[mister_slim]

Considering the most popular PSP feature is the ability to play old Nintendo games, the Revolution may see quite a boost from the backwards compatability.

[Kamalot]

There is speculation it may have something to do with the Nintendo DS stylus firmly embedded where the sun doesn't shine.The upgraded, vibrating massager stylus makes all the difference in the world. :D

[thecrazyd]

I cared about the features, the DS didn't have what I wanted. Mature games, High quality video playback, MP3 playback, websurfing, Harddrive storage.
Mature games? Grow the fuck up.

[Ultima Thulian]

Hey CrazyD, stop it! There are a ton of M-rated games on the PSP and every other handheld out there! Oh wait, there isn't. Carry on.

[Deadend]

Ultima 13,
I am hoping he ment mature content and gameplay ideas, and not just "FUCK FUCK FUCK! DECAPITATE!" which is what most 'mature' games are.

Right now, I am seeing Nintendo as smart for the DS, they made a weird system, so that games on it will not simply be ports and the system will not be considered a little brother system, such as the PSP, which almost every game on it, something similar and better exists on the PS2.

Hell, Why is there not a lumines for ps2?

[Intruder]

Mature games? Grow the fuck up.

Whats with the hostility man? You need to calm down abit.

What did I say to so offend you that you would berate me so?

I was simply meaning that when the DS came out there was very little that interested me. I am not a Pokemon guy, Animal Crossing, etc... Nintendo has its target demographic, and though they look to be shifting abit, I feared that they would continue to cater to the younger ages. I wanted a system that could expand with me and offer me games that interest me based on my age. Of course it is not that cut and dry but you have to admit that Nintendo has gotten the label of being "kiddie." Though I am not saying that it true. I just decided to go with the company that has shown to be diversive in its demographics.

Now if you can stop acting like a 10 year old and yelling at people we might be able to have an educated discourse in which you or I might learn something.

BTW I have grown up over the years. Quite a few of them so far.

[jpublic]

Why is there no RPG for the PSP? My lord, with the PSP's standby feature I'd *kill* to have a decent RPG on it.

My PSP is collecting dust, and unless I see something worthwhile for it in the next 3-4 months, I'm dropping it.

[Ultima Thulian]

Why is there no RPG for the PSP? My lord, with the PSP's standby feature I'd *kill* to have a decent RPG on it.

My PSP is collecting dust, and unless I see something worthwhile for it in the next 3-4 months, I'm dropping it.

First the good news: There are two RPGs coming for the system. Now the bad: They suck. The first is Ys: Ark of Napishtim. It is the port of an entirely mediocre PS2 game. The second is a beginner's RPG Popolocrois. It doesn't too bad, but don't hold your breath. Sorry. I want a good RPG too. :(

[Kamalot]

Hell, Why is there not a lumines for ps2?
You know, this is the best idea in the whole thread.

[IndependentGMR]

I still play my PSP every night...I try to get a round of Lumines in before bed. But yeah...it needs games. I'm dieng for a top down arcade shooter.

Nanostray is pretty good, but you'll need a DS for that. :P

[Dracula-X]

The upgraded, vibrating massager stylus makes all the difference in the world. :D
I'll give you points on the sense of humor :)

[IndependentGMR]

Whats with the hostility man? You need to calm down abit.

What did I say to so offend you that you would berate me so?

I was simply meaning that when the DS came out there was very little that interested me. I am not a Pokemon guy, Animal Farm, etc... Nintendo has its target demographic, and though they look to be shifting abit, I feared that they would continue to cater to the younger ages. I wanted a system that could expand with me and offer me games that interest me based on my age. Of course it is not that cut and dry but you have to admit that Nintendo has gotten the label of being "kiddie." Though I am not saying that it true. I just decided to go with the company that has shown to be diversive in its demographics.

Now if you can stop acting like a 10 year old and yelling at people we might be able to have an educated discourse in which you or I might learn something.

BTW I have grown up over the years. Quite a few of them so far.

What's Animal Farm?

[TrackZero]

Whats with the hostility man? You need to calm down abit.

What did I say to so offend you that you would berate me so?

I was simply meaning that when the DS came out there was very little that interested me. I am not a Pokemon guy, Animal Farm, etc... Nintendo has its target demographic, and though they look to be shifting abit, I feared that they would continue to cater to the younger ages. I wanted a system that could expand with me and offer me games that interest me based on my age. Of course it is not that cut and dry but you have to admit that Nintendo has gotten the label of being "kiddie." Though I am not saying that it true. I just decided to go with the company that has shown to be diversive in its demographics.

Now if you can stop acting like a 10 year old and yelling at people we might be able to have an educated discourse in which you or I might learn something.

BTW I have grown up over the years. Quite a few of them so far.

Intruder, many of us have grown up, however I don't let any apparent "demographic" target keep me from enjoying fantastic games. Avoiding a system because of a perception that you yourself agree is probably unjustified is just silly.

IMHO, the use for guns, blood and tits is what's childish.

[Intruder]

I have had every Nintendo system since the NES. And everytime I am disappointed with the game selection. I dont like Pokemon, I dont like Animal Crossing, I don't like Nintendogs. So sue me. Sorry. If I miss out on some great games that is my problem. I do not impose that view on you. If you want to play them then all the power to you, but don't tell me to grow up just because I don't like certain genres or games.

If Barbies Great Adventure is techniqually the best game of the year and provides hours of gameplay and fun, I still will not play it no matter what. You honestly tell me that despite the genre or age appropriateness of that game you would still play it. Gimme a break ;)

I think it would be interesting to see a study done that compares the amount of games each system produces to the age appropriateness of the games. Now I am speculating, but I assume that Nintendo will come out with a majority of games geared toward younger gamers. I don't no that to be true and it may be totally false, but that is the feeling I get.

So once again, I don't get the anger about people prefering one system of another or one game type over another. Go with what you like and don't worry about other people's tastes. Worry about yourself. In all my posts I don't tell people that one system is better or that they are silly for playing or not playing something. I respect what people choose to do.

[Racknahm]

Sorry, didn't really clarify that 3.5 hours is the average for movies. Gaming gets about the same (if a little less) battery life than the DS. The battery life then increases if you're looking at photos or whatever. Plus keep in mind two things. 1. The PSP (usually) plays disc (UMD more specifically) games with 3D graphics nearly on par with the PS2. The gamegear plays simple 2D games on a cartridge with a flickering screen. 2. The PSP battery is rechargeable. The GameGear takes (I believe four) batteries. I don't care what the battery life is, if you must buy 4 brand new batteries every 4-5 hours, then forget it. Batteries are way too expensive nowadays. I'm not bashing the GG, I love it personally, but comparing the systems in anyway is unfair to both systems. They are ages apart and way different. Now, if I can just find a Nomad with some good games...

Game Gear needed 6 batteries, and the rechargeable battery made the thing weigh like 20lbs. The Game Gear is still king supreme of worst battery life.

[NightRain]

Game Gear needed 6 batteries, and the rechargeable battery made the thing weigh like 20lbs. The Game Gear is still king supreme of worst battery life.
Wrong the Nomad (portable Genesis system) from sega was far worse than the gamegear for battery life. It was a monster that ate batteries. The nomad is the worst handheld for battery life bar none.

[Intruder]

Man I wish I still had my Neo Geo Pocket. I'm craving some Bonk's right now.

[Ultima Thulian]

Game Gear needed 6 batteries, and the rechargeable battery made the thing weigh like 20lbs. The Game Gear is still king supreme of worst battery life.

Thanks for the heads up Racknahm. But I think the Atari Lynx has the game gear beat for sucky battery life. I never played one, but it supposedly only has a 2-3 hour lifespan. And thanks for pointing out the GG battery life BS. Someone told me his last for over 4 hours. I had one and it sure as hell didn't outlast my PSP, even with movies!

[Ultima Thulian]

Man I wish I still had my Neo Geo Pocket. I'm craving some Bonk's right now.

I hear ya. The Neo Geo Pocket actually had a good analog stick. Not some stupid ass nub thingy like the PSP uses. I crave some Metal Slug personally...

[Phades]

I love my PSP and play it daily. Lumines, Ridge Racer, and Wipeout Pure are great and I love squeezing a round of Hot Shots Golf in when I have the chance. I've also really been enjoying Metal Gear Acid and can't wait for the new game coming from Nippon Ichi (Disgaea, La Pucelle, Phantom Brave). I'm also looking forward to Burnout and GTA:LCS. Not to mention Socom, Daxter, Infected, SSX, and Pursuit Force.

So I think the PSP is doing just fine. It's been out less than 5 months and I've already got 5 games I've really been enjoying. Assuming some of you play console games and perhaps PC games as well, how much of a flood of titles do you really need?? Who has enough time for everything out there already? As long as good games are coming out at least every few months, I'm happy.

[HumpYourWay]

Every single game you listed is a port or is a continuation of an existing franchise. Kind of sad.´

Like Nintendo releasing Mario for every system all over again - oh wait they do that....

[Nessus]

http://www.m3adapter.com/main.htm

I'm seriously considering getting one of those.

I don't really care about movie playback in a portable. Unless I'm on an airplane it doesn't matter to me. It's pointless.

Sony, in trying to position the PSP as a video version of the iPod seems to have forgetten that movies and televison shows are different from albums.

You can listen to the same album every day and never get bored of it. But I know I generally can't watch the same television show or movie more than once in the same 3 month period (and that's being generous) without getting bored. Family Guy is a lone exception.

That being said, that M3 GBA Movie Player looks interesting.

Apparently it functions as a passme for one thing, enabling homebrew DS stuff without any special equipment, storing the roms on an SD card. So like, the SCUMM emulator, Heretic and Doom DS, Linux DS, etc.

It also has built in hardware SNES, NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, Sega Master System, etc. emulators, so no worrying about firmware upgrades disabling the feature (I don't know, can the DS even do firmware upgrades? I know the Play Yan mp3/movie player can, but I've never heard anything about DS firmware updates).

The standard ebook, mp3, etc. support.

And it just seems like a cheaper alternative that doesn't require me to never buy a new game for fear of an update disabling the features.

I dunno. I'll get a PSP eventually (I don't even own a DS yet, but I'll be getting one soon) but right now there just aren't any games I want for it. Lumines, just by reputation is about the only one that interests me, and not enough to justify spending nearly $400 Canadian on.

Devil May Cry PSP, if it isn't just a port, sounds interesting. The original Devil May Cry was what convinced me to get a PS2. But I don't like GTA, or Gran Turismo, so I don't see a lot on the horizon.

[Kamalot]

http://www.m3adapter.com/main.htm

I'm seriously considering getting one of those.
WOW!

I am too. Never heard of this before. Thanks for the find!

When you get one, be sure to come back and give us your impressions!!

[TrackZero]

I have had every Nintendo system since the NES. And everytime I am disappointed with the game selection. I dont like Pokemon, I dont like Animal Crossing, I don't like Nintendogs. So sue me. Sorry. If I miss out on some great games that is my problem. I do not impose that view on you. If you want to play them then all the power to you, but don't tell me to grow up just because I don't like certain genres or games.

Good work in picking the 3 most childish games you could think of. Now if you look at the other 100 DS titles (go check the list at gamespot), you've got nowhere to go but more mature (excepting Puyo Pop Fever, heh).

*Snipping out your barbie banter in the middle*

So once again, I don't get the anger about people prefering one system of another or one game type over another. Go with what you like and don't worry about other people's tastes. Worry about yourself. In all my posts I don't tell people that one system is better or that they are silly for playing or not playing something. I respect what people choose to do.
I just decided to go with the company that has shown to be diversive in its demographics.

While it's true you are doing what you believe best for yourself, I just want you to realize that the Gamecube's lineup was diverse and I don't see any reason that the DS won't follow the same. If anything Nintendo has spent some effort this generation trying to undo the damage that Pokemon did during the N64 days and having no red blood in Mortal Kombat on the SNES. This has been covered in other threads, but to re-iterarate many of the 'M'ature titles released:

Eternal Darkness
The complete revamped Resident Evil series
Resident Evil 4
Geist
Killer 7
Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3
True Crime: Streets of LA
Def Jam: Fight for NY
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
BloodRayne
BMX XXX
Turok: Evolution
Hunter: The Reckoning
Blood Omen 2
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Red Faction II
Dead to Rights
The Suffering
Rogue Ops
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter
NARC


I mean, seriously, how much more mature are we talking here? Do you need a game called "Skull Fucking Zombies from Hell" to be released before you change your mind?

Which, by the way, coming from a system that can have a Barbie game sitting alongside The Suffering, THAT's the defintion of diversity.

diversity

n 1: noticeable heterogeneity; "a diversity of possibilities"; "the range and variety of his work is amazing" [syn: diverseness, multifariousness, variety]

[Intruder]

I see your point. However I played most of those games on other machines and then had 100s of others to still choose from.

We are talking about the DS not the GC.

Here is how I look at it. Nintendo got itself a bad name, deservedly or not, as being geared toward a younger audience. It took them a long while to break that sterotype, if indeed it had been broken. When the DS came out, it SEVERELY lacked titles, just as the PSP. The PSP has the potential to get the games I want to play. Look back on the PS library, they have everything for everyone. Much more so than Nintendo.

Now I've been dissapointed in N for a long time, every system of thiers since the original I have owned and subsequently sold within a year of buying it. The DS doesn't excite me in the least. To me it can't do nearly what the PSP can. The PS library has a much better history with me than the N library. So when spending my money I go with the company who have proven themselves to me, not the company who might get around to making the games I like.

As for you Skull Zombies comment. No, it will take another generation of the console proving to me that it is changing its focus. If I see some interesting games right from the beginning of the Revs lifespan then I may consider it. But they have to prove to me. I believe they will do this. They have caught too much flak over the years and I think they want to prove themselves. They may have already rpoven themselves, I admit I am jaded.

Now you ain't gonna change my mind and Im not gonna change yours. I appluad that you can find games that you enjoy on the N. I really wish I could, maybe I will get over it, maybe not. But really it doesn't matter. It's a freaking game, I will live with or without it. I don't much care.

I leave you now, but I will not insult your intelligence by quoting a dictionary definition of a word that you obviously know the meaning of.

[TrackZero]

I leave you now, but I will not insult your intelligence by quoting a dictionary definition of a word that you obviously know the meaning of.

And here I was content with your response, but I have to reply to this. I was not insulting your intelligence, merely that you weren't looking at the word properly. Nintendo's library spans a much wider rating selection than you'll find on Sony, who concentrate largely on the 'T'een market and Xbox who handle more of the 'M'ature market. But definition of the word that you used, you were mistaken, that simple. We all make mistakes, but don't take it as much trying to insult you, just correct you.

[Intruder]

I know, I just couldn't help myself. :D
I shoulda put a smiley in sorry bout that.
I still like you, you are a nice person, a great human being, and a Wonderful mammal :)

Truth be told you already know that I am not thrilled with Nintendo. However I am not up in Sony's ass either. In reallity the Xbox is where I spent most my time, but even now I am selling it. While I greatly enjoy both systems I am a PC elietist. :D

[Ultima Thulian]

I mean, seriously, how much more mature are we talking here? Do you need a game called "Skull Fucking Zombies from Hell" to be released before you change your mind?
[/I]

You know, that does sound like a kickass game. :p But I do get what Intruder is saying. But asking for more mature content/rated games on HANDHELD systems (PSP and DS included) is asking a little too much. Most handhelds are geared toward a teenage demographic so I wouldn't look forward for too many mature titles. It would be nice. But if you need a mature fix stick to the consoles/PC. Besides, do we really need to hijack airplanes in GTA while on an airplane? Well, that would be awesome come to think of it. Hell, get a decent labtop and get your Brothers in Arms/GTA fix there instead.

[Intruder]

When the marketting for the PSP was in full gear it was specifically markets toward the 20+ demographic. Plus with it's price point not many kids will be buying them and many parents will see the cheaper DS and want to go that route. I think the PSP was trying to change the handheld market in that way as well.

[Kefkataran]

So how many people just preordered their copy of Skull Fucking Zombies From Hell off of Gamestop? *rases hand*

PSP may have been trying to change the handheld market in an interesting way, but I think it's safe to say it hasn't succeeded yet at least. And if having a higher price is what makes it more mature, I'm gonna be shooting for the kid's stuff 90% of the time anyways. :\

[Intruder]

Of course a high price point doesn't mean mature. And I agree it hasn't achieved anything yet. I was simply saying that When Sony was marketing it heavily, they said they were aiming for an older age group. That is what they said, not me.

BTW I pre-ordered and got the free Anal Raping Zombie expansion pack with it via EBGames.com!!!! Plus free shipping!!!

[Intruder]

Besides, do we really need to hijack airplanes in GTA while on an airplane? Well, that would be awesome come to think of it.

Get with the times man!! Everyone knows that GTA PSP will not include flyable vehicles!!!! JEEZZZ phrekn newbs!!! :D

Joke :)

[Kefkataran]

BTW I pre-ordered and got the free Anal Raping Zombie expansion pack with it via EBGames.com!!!! Plus free shipping!!!

Shit. I'm cancelling my Gamestop order immediately.

[Ultima Thulian]

Shit. I'm cancelling my Gamestop order immediately.

I hear that! And don't forget the new EA tilte, "Shitty Sequel to Overhyped Game VIII"! Sorry, it is just too easy to pick on EA. :)

[Rangoth]

Hey, without broken Engrish no one would know that All Our Base Are Belong To You!

[51|RandoM]

´

Like Nintendo releasing Mario for every system all over again - oh wait they do that....

Thanks for bringing that up. My next point would be that Nintendo is about the only one who does do it, while still putting out really good games. Most nintendo sequels=good, most sequels elsewhere=crap.

Somebody asked why there was no Lumines for PS2. The answer to that should be obvious, make Lumines for PS2 and you've just removed the best reason to purchase a PSP.

[51|RandoM]

Can anybody name a "mature" game that was good because it was "mature"?

I'm thinking... and drawing a blank here.

[Commissar Rob]

Can anybody name a "mature" game that was good because it was "mature"?

I'm thinking... and drawing a blank here.

Oooo! Ooooo! Custer's Revenge!

No wait....

Seriously, I don't think the GTA games would be as enjoyable without the film noir aspects. Conflict makes the story, and a compelling, visceral conflict does that much more.

Just mho tho.

[Intruder]

Singles Baby!!!! Woo hoo BOOBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rangoth]

Oh Goodie. Portable GTA. >insert extreme sarcastic tone here< I'm sorry, but am I the ONLY person who just honestly could give a flying rat crap about GTA anymore? I'm bored with them.

[Rangoth]

Can anybody name a "mature" game that was good because it was "mature"?

I'm thinking... and drawing a blank here.

Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64. Say what you will, without the M rating that game would not of been nearly as great as it was. You have not LIVED until you have gotten drunk and pissed on fire demons.!

[Ultima Thulian]

I liked the opera singing poo monster myself. You had to defeat it with toilet paper. Not mature in the sense that Intruder was getting at, but funny none the less.

[Eon]

Oh Goodie. Portable GTA. >insert extreme sarcastic tone here< I'm sorry, but am I the ONLY person who just honestly could give a flying rat crap about GTA anymore? I'm bored with them.

Judging from the sales figures from San Andreas it's just YOU and a guy called Dave in Montreal, yes. ;)

[Rangoth]

Yeah, and how many million idiots watch Anna Nicole Smith on TV or purchased Paris Hilton's 'Book'? A fool and his money are soon parted my friend.

Still does not change the fact that the GTA series is tired. They do very minor improvements to each installment. The developers are being lazy with the series and I for one am sick of it. I would prefer they not make a PSP version and take some time to re-invent the whole damn thing. REALLY add something new, not a few new cars and 'oh goodie, I have a new gun' or some other trivial crap. Come on Rockstar, have some balls. Take chances!

Pussies.

[Eon]

Man, I just don't agree with you. They upped the size of the environment, fixed a lot of the graphical issues kept the game to a length that is almost unheard of these days, kept the free roaming gameplay, crammed the whole thing full of content and are STILL head and shoulders above the competition in terms of the way they handle music ingame on their radio stations.

GTA is an iterative series - notice the way that gangs have evolved from regular peds in GTA 1 through to the gang war system in SA. Take the whole stat system and the clothes system - I expect personal mods like that to increase in complexity. I don't know what they're doing next, but as the gameplay is fairly linear still, maybe that will be the way forward.

And asking Rockstar to take more chances? :D

[Rangoth]

Everything you mentioned are minor gameplay changes. They are not additions. They have not challenged their gameplay formula, they have mearly refined it. They are doing exactly what EA does, the difference is that people kiss their ass becase its Rockstar. Its cool to hate EA the way it was cool at one time to hate Microsoft. Expect more from a game then evolution. I expect a company of the calibur of Rockstar to truely blow me away with every game. They are failing to do so.

By the way, you need to do research before you post. It was GTA 3 through SA. Not GTA 1. GTA was an overhead type affair.

[Magnum350]

We still have a few years to see the full possibilites ogf the PSP, right now the only thing that it has going is the DVD's that are coming out on it.

[Rangoth]

Man, they could of done something REALLY cool on the PSP ya' know? Just taken the GTA universe in a different direction. Had the balls to just throw caution to the wind and just do something totally different! I know they would do SOMETHING on PSP but I had (while I admit slim) hopes they would suprise me with a new direction. What did they do? GTA3: Redux. >yawn< I'll be honest, you want to know what game on PSP required some real balls to make? Metal Gear Acid. I do not care if you liked it or not, man that game was such a radical change from the Metal Gear games! THAT is a developer taking chances.

[Eon]

I don't NEED to do research on this before I post because I've played every GTA game on release and I actually know what the word iterative means. Catch me suggesting that iterative and refinement mean different things and you can question me with some credibility! :)

The move to 3D introduced some new technical problems and allowed a refinement of the shooting and driving gameplay - but it didn't 'remake' the series entire. It was a refinement.

Firstly, I don't hate EA for what they do - I admire the hell out of them, because they're ending the destructive "3 Game IP" cycle that had been chewing the hell out of developers and publishers. Look at Blizzard - they have three major IP's and they cannot afford to develop them properly.

Iterative improvements is THE way to go with the GTA franchise. They have identified the key elements of the gameplay and they improve each of them with each new title. Looking to the future I can see rosy things for GTA - provided they stay ahead of the law. According to the sales figures, plenty of people agree with me - they LIKE the core play experience of GTA, and will vote with their wallets every series.

Frankly blowhards can waffle on about innovation as much as they want - sales is the TRUE arbiter of success. How many people did you entertain? A great game with no audience is a total failure.

[Kefkataran]

Catch me suggesting that iterative and refinement mean different things and you can question me with some credibility!

Well, one's an adjective and one's a noun. Who in their right mind would think they mean the same thing? *heads back into English major hole*

Look at Blizzard - they have three major IP's and they cannot afford to develop them properly.


They can't? I mean sure, it takes a while for the games to come out, but I remember pretty much all of them being nothing short of spectacular so far... I'd say they're doing things right.

Frankly blowhards can waffle on about innovation as much as they want - sales is the TRUE arbiter of success. How many people did you entertain? A great game with no audience is a total failure.

Sorry, but Beyond Good and Evil is far from a failure. See, what you're doing wrong is mixing up artistic and financial success. Obviously sales is the "arbiter" of financial success. And if that's what you're going for, as companies such as EA are, good for you. But artistic success is something much more fleeting, less often appreciated, and (obviously) harder to judge and name outright. Personally, I'm more concerned with artistically successful games than financially successful ones. Now that doesn't mean I won't keep playing most GTA titles, because I like them and their fun to play. But I'm not going to pretend their the be-all, end-all of gaming or thatt their great financial success makes them better than games like Psychonauts or Grim Fandango or Beyond Good and Evil or Ico or etc, etc.

[Eon]

I'm not mixing financial and artistic success up, I'm flat telling you that one is of interest only to minority academics and the other is the yardstick of success that determines what kind of games you'll be seeing in the future.

You can talk about which one you feel is more important - but the other one has its fist around the testicles of this months release schedule. I realise that I'm answering your last point first, but that's the most important of them.

After all the first point is mere pedantry. You're quite correct, Iteration is the same as a PROCESS of refinement. Quite what your point brings to the argument is more debatable - but congratulations for getting to bring your education up in conversation.

Regarding Blizzard - they are making money and therefore they are succesfull. They're not doing anything WRONG, per se. On the other hand - who here would have bought Starcraft 2 a year or two after Starcraft 1? That's a lot of missed sales - which would have brought more money under their control, allowed them another studio maybe? More influence over the industry as a whole? They might have skewed the whole development of RTS's down a better line than C&C...

[Kefkataran]

I'm not denying that more games simialar to the ones that are financial successes will be made. that's obvious. But I think it's the ones that are artistically successful that actually have an impact on people and tend to really matter to them. The way you write that off is sad but, I think, reminiscent of how most people write that off. Unfortunate, but a fact of capitalistic life.

See, tons of people would've brought Starcraft 2 and it would've been a financial success, but because of rushing it out the door it also probably would've sucked or at the very least not been half as grand as the first Starcraft. You might say, then, that Blizzard's more concerned with artistic successes than financial successes. And I think this is true of most of the critically-loved game development houses (Blizzard, Valve, to some extent Nintendo, etc.).

So we'll always see more games aimed towards financial success. That's something we both agree on. But if anything, I think that just makes the artistically successful/viable games even more wonderful if only for their rarity, and I further push my point that those will be the games that really matter for people. If not for artistically strong games like Final Fantasy 6, Half-Life or, hell, even Mario Bros. 3, I wouldn't care about gaming one bit beyond the weekly Halo LAN party.

[Eon]

I disagree - a game that is an artistic success but not a financial success has MISSED THE POINT. More to the point, Developers who produce financially unviable product are hurting the industry and, eventually, hurting the fans of their products. These are artisans in their trade and their work should be seen by the widest audience possible - the lessons in their work should be learned by developers.

Instead, tarred by the brush of financial failure, their excellent games get avoided and forgotten. It is a telling point that all the "artistic successes" you mentioned, FFVI, Halflife and Mario 3 were ALSO financial successes.

[Kefkataran]

I didn't say an artistic success couldn't also be so financially? And one of them I mentioned was Beyond Good and Evil. Huge financial failure, but amazing artistic success from the standpoint of almost everyone who's played it. Same with Psychonauts. Same with Ico. Just because people who would enjoy the game aren't picking it up, often because of shitty publishers who don't do enough to get the game advertised and out there, DOES NOT MAKE IT A FAILURE. It does not even make it financially unviable. It means it didn't get pushed enough to make an impact, but the fact remains that those who did play it end up getting a lot more out of it than most games they'd play.

Anyways, what is your solution to that? That dev teams that make great, artistically successful games that aren't being bought generally because of reasons not even directly involving them should water down their games and create a couple more clones instead? That's not a solution, and regardless of whether or not they'd sell better, I honestly believe that would hurt the industry a LOT more. Because even when these games don't sell well, those inside the industry take note of them and will often learn from them. If the game is just another GTA clone, they have nothing to learn from it.

To worry about how much cash you'll make more than how the actual game is means only one thing -- you're either a publisher or an accountant. Either way, I'd want nothing to do with your input as a developer.

[Eon]

In the cases where a Publisher has doomed an excellent title with broad appeal to obscurity through lack of investment or not "playing the game" with retaillers / distributors I agree with you.

I can't talk about all the millions of reasons why a game doesn't make money through no fault of its own. But in my mind, appealing to an audience that can't financially support your work IS a failure - and a big one. If you want to appeal to a niche market, then put in a niche budget. Anyone can make a great game with unlimited time and money!

[Kefkataran]

I mostly agree with what you said in that last post, honestly, or at least in many ways. The main problem comes when great games are made and then the publishers don't support them. But hopefully with the dawn of downloadable games we can just start phasing out publishers altogether. ;)

[whish]

I have to agree with jpublic and Ultima 13 - Where are the PSP RPGs?

I'm not sure if it was a case of developers not having enough time to develop a solid RPG for the PSP launch but it is surprising that there isn't a worthwhile RPG on the horizon for the Christmas rush (plaease correct me if I'm wrong).

I picked up a PSP about two months ago with Lumines and Wipeout Pure. Great games but they haven't held my interest for the entire two months. I dabbled with emulators and homebrew for a bit which was fun but I don't have the patience to play through any of the older SNES games. Just as on my PC, emulators are more of a curiousity and I rarely play them for more than a few minutes at a time.

I have been using my PSP quite a bit as both an MP3 player and a movie player for downloaded .avi files(movies and football matches) (which I convert with PSP Video 9). I'm not sure why people say that it does a "half-ass" job as an mp3/video player.

[whish]

I know that the Nintendo DS consistently outsells the PSP in Japan but does anyone have any North American sales numbers on the PSP vs. the DS?

[Kefkataran]

Both PSP AND DS need some RPGs. RPGs just work well on handhelds, if only for the ability to play a bit while bored, grind, not have to worry about that later, etc.

[whish]

Hmm...this just hit the wires at Gamspot:

The Legend of Heroes (http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/eiyuudensetsuivakaishizuku/index.html) - a PSP RPG <gasp!>

Anyone familiar with this series?

(As a sidenote, I just have to say that using Klipfolio (http://www.serence.com/site.php) to keep track of my gaming feeds (including the Evil Avatar feed!) is a dream. The above news item popped up as an alert in my Gamespot news klip (http://www.klipfarm.com/farm.php?page=info&klip=2012) a few minutes after I posted about the lack of PSP RPGs....lol)

[Ultima Thulian]

Both PSP AND DS need some RPGs. RPGs just work well on handhelds, if only for the ability to play a bit while bored, grind, not have to worry about that later, etc.

Well, the DS has a better RPG future at the moment. There is going to be FF Crystal Chronicles and FFIII (not sure if FFIII is the Jap or U.S. version, someone wanna tell me?). There is also Black and White Creatures (not really an RPG, but whatever), Advance Wars Dual Strike (a strategy-rpg) and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Not an rpg, but dammit, it's 2D Castlevania. Nuff said.

[Rangoth]

Give me castlevania and I'm a happy camper :)

[Ultima Thulian]

Give me castlevania and I'm a happy camper :)

Yeah, amen. I think the PSP should do some spiffy 2D titles every once in a while. They work great for handhelds. Just ask GBA owners.

[Kefkataran]

Well, the DS has a better RPG future at the moment. There is going to be FF Crystal Chronicles and FFIII (not sure if FFIII is the Jap or U.S. version, someone wanna tell me?).

Pretty positive it's the Japanese FFIII, the one not yet released in the U.S., yes. Square has finally started being smart and really trying to stick with the same number and lessening silly difference between Japanese and American releases (thus the Dragon Warrior game being called Dragon Warrior in America this time around).

[Babbster]

Pretty positive it's the Japanese FFIII, the one not yet released in the U.S., yes. Square has finally started being smart and really trying to stick with the same number and lessening silly difference between Japanese and American releases (thus the Dragon Warrior game being called Dragon Warrior in America this time around).

Close, very close. The series you're referring to has traditionally been called "Dragon Quest" in Japan and "Dragon Warrior" in the US. They're standardizing now and when the latest is released on PS2 in November it will be "Dragon Quest VIII." :)

[Kefkataran]

Ack. My bad. :P See what they've done to me?!