PSP isn’t dead just yet |
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BY Mike Wehner June 24th, 2008 |
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Despite a recent wave of pretty negative news on the PSP front, which was punctuated by the departure of one of the system’s best developers, Rebellion’s Chris Kingsley sees things a bit differently. Rebellion is responsible for a number of PSP titles including Gun: Showdown and Bond:From Russia With Love.
Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Kingsley explained his take on why the PSP seems to be tripping up at the moment. In regards to developers, “Well, you know what people are like, they all like to work on the flashy, high-end stuff.” He adds, “But there’s still very good business to be done on the less glamorous platforms - look at PlayStation 2, it’s still selling bucket-loads of consoles and bucket-loads of games, though they’ve got to be the right games for the right platform.”
He also echoes a personal belief of mine as to why the PSP doesn’t look like it’s doing as well as it really is, “It’s funny…I guess the PSP has also been a bit in the shadow of the DS, but the PSP is incredibly successful…but I guess that the DS has been a super-amazing platform.”
“I think the PSP is a great little platform, it’ll be interesting to see what will come out next. I think it’s got a good few years left in it still,” Kingsly notes, and I would tend to agree with that statement as well. With Japanese sales of the PSP climbing at a staggering rate I think it’s just a matter of time (and a price drop) before the same thing happens on western shores. Games like Patapon and Locoroco are the perfect showcases for the system. They’re not terribly taxing on the hardware but they still look amazing and have the freshest gameplay you’re likely to find on a handheld.
I do, however, think it’s going to be harder than ever to take the spotlight away from the Nintendo DS. The DS has such a ridiculous install base at this point that every single IP in the known universe is likely to see a DS iteration before it’s all said and done.
June 24th, 2008
at 5:26 am
I used to own a PSP and traded away for a DS about 2 months ago. I honestly haven’t looked back since. The PSP is an AMAZING handheld. There’s no doubt about it. I has more than a handful of great games and the added features are more icing on the layered cake. But in my opinion it is like too much of an actuall home console experience. While there is nothing wrong with that, I look at the DS as more of handheld and unique experience. Plus DS has just got the games and that’s what it comes down too. A huge downfall for me was the UMD format. Those disk are not durable and quite flimsy and fall apart after awhile. Horrible, sure you can get special carrying cases and things of that sort. But nothing tidy and convient. If I want to carry something around in a “briefcase” for a long trip it’s more than likely not going to be a gaming device.
The PSP though is the first successful handheld not associated with Nintendo, and that in itself is remarkable. I plan on buying another when I can afford it as they have went down in price. But I’ve been using my DS far more than I ever used my PSP, on trips, during breaks at work, in car rides to the store (when I’m not driving) and etc. But the perfect scenario is to own both the handhelds…
Wow wonder how I would carry those on trips?!
June 24th, 2008
at 6:58 pm
I’m the opposite there. I got the DS first, but then had to pawn it. Then a friend got me a used PSP and I love it. I miss my DS and will buy one again eventually, but there are some great games for PSP. Sure I watch movies and share files with it, but it still is a great game system. I took an Altoids tin and use that as my UMD case. There are good games already like Dead Head Fred and God of War, but there are more on the way. Birth by Sleep anyone?
Still I want to play Professor Layton like crazy though.