PSP US Launch Date and Price Revealed. $250!?

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 9:57 pm

Well, the reason for a remote on MD units was, IIRC, that early MD units were too bulky to put inside of your pocket or belt pouch. It was a pain having to pull out the MZ1 (AKA "The Brick") out of the shoulder bag just to press pause. So they added the function of an in-line remote to later units,so you only had to plug the headphones to the remote, clip it to your belt or shirt, and not having to reach for the unit if you wanted to stop and ask someone for directions. It's the same reasoning that gave birth to the men's wristwatch. (10K Shmup Points to anyone who can tell me.)

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:42 pm

Just wanted to say I just noticed your replies jp and unscathed, sorry if I misunderstood what you guys were saying.

Post by **system11** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:14 am

And in other shock news, it was discovered that a minaturised PS2 with a screen, a new type of drive and recent development costs, costs more than a normal PS2.

Also worth bearing in mind that it seems expensive to you guys, because the dollar is currently being exchanged for individual brazilian coffee beans - and even then the brazilians are doing the US a favour. The dollar is LOW at the moment, everything outside of your country, or made outside, is going to look a lot more expensive.

My money is on Sony crucifying Nintendo on their home ground. Neither machine particularly appeals to me personally, but it will be an interesting battle to watch.

Post by **system11** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:18 am

Dylan1CC wrote:Unscathed and jp and all who have a beef with one system over the other, please just let it rest OK? Plenty to be excited about on both the DS and PSP front.

Oh come on.

Console holy wars are the -right- of all console owners. That's like trying to moderate history and heritage. C64 > Spectrum! Amiga > ST! Megadrive > SNES! The cycle continues forever, and it's half the fun.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:44 am

Yeah, I was in a bad mood that day and apoligize.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:57 am

"Just out of curiosity what the hell does a portable gaming system need with a remote?"

One could just as easily ask: "What does a portable gaming system need with a touch screen?"

And personally, I'm tired of being told that it would have been "too expensive" to put in a Z80 microprocessor to play GB and GBC games. C'mon Nintendo, we're not talking about a super-expensive state of the art microprocessor here.

I'll save my money and get a Game Gear off of Ebay with a rechargable battery pack; the GG has a better line-up of shmups then either the PSP or the DS probably ever will.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:35 am

"Thats why I don't play Cave/Psikyo games. Wink "

I hear 'ya on those two companies JP, but you should try Zero Gunner 2-its pretty different from most of their other shmups, and it's incredibly fun to play. Jaw-dropping graphics, too. Definately my fav. Psikyo shmup.

silvery wings · Post by **silvery wings** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:42 am

jp wrote:Now shut up and touch me.

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=116

nullstar · Post by **nullstar** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 4:37 am

dave4shmups wrote:I have a sinking feeling that between the higher price, and the glitch with the square button, Nintendo's gonna win this console race.

Right...and next you're gonna tell us that the Game Boy beat out the Turbo Express because it was inferior technology but half the price.

;)

y2kgamer wrote:Sony didn't become #1 by overcharging us consumers.

Indeed -- they did it by making sure the hardware died so consumers had to buy at least two...

OK. Sorry. :)

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 4:54 am

Actually Null, the Game Gear probably did out sell the Turbo Express. There are plenty of Turbo games, including shmups, that don't play well on the Express due to the smaller screen.

At any rate, I only think it logical to predict that the DS will outsell the PSP. Why? Well, pit two systems against each other, and one is cheaper and plays better, while the other one costs over $100 more and has a control glitch. A quick glance at the history of the video game industry will tell you who's probably going to win; regardless of which one has the better technology.

Again, the CD-I and the 3DO both came out in the 16-bit era, and neither one did anywhere near as well as the SNES or Genesis, even though both posessed superior technology. Howard Philips, the former CEO of Nintendo of America, admits that he wasn't worried about the 3DO in the least, because he knew their strategy (letting other companies make the hardware and counting on them to come out with good games) wouldn't work, and he was right.

And why should Nintendo worry about Sony in the handheld race; especially in light of the aforementioned control issue and Kutagari's "Don't like the glitches in our consoles? Call 1-800-EAT-S**T" attitude?

In other words, superior technology is not all it takes, so my money's still on the DS.

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Sun Feb 13, 2005 5:36 am

i bet u 200 dollars DS wont outsell the PSP,dave

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 5:38 am

I wonder why ya picked that amount psikyo

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:45 pm

I'm not betting any money, but I am standing by my argument.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 7:08 pm

I believe the PSP will outsell the DS.

Not because it's better, but just because of Sony's marketing machine. They hype up their stuff more than the stuff's worth but get away with it every time.
Also although the game's aren't neccessarily good, titles like GTA/Wipe Out/Gran Turismo are sure to draw lots of attention from casual consumers.
Casual gamer's often don't want anything new but just want to continue playing games they're familiar with and like.
Only hands-on experiences with the DS and it's novelties might convince the masses to actually buy the system. And Nintendo is gonna need some killer apps for it's system to do that. I am convinced the new Yoshi could win over a lot of people, but N will have to market it and be prepared to invest lot's of money just to let people know of the DS.

I myself won't buy a PSP, because it wouldn't add to my gaming experiences.
I'll buy the DS just because it "might" offer new ways of playing games and the Nintendo touch on it's games.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 7:32 pm

Also although the game's aren't neccessarily good, titles like GTA/Wipe Out/Gran Turismo are sure to draw lots of attention from casual consumers.
Casual gamer's often don't want anything new but just want to continue playing games they're familiar with and like.

nintendo has the latest mario kart, mario 64 remake, what's the ever-crappy mario party up to now, bunch of remakes. PSP has some original titles like luminees...

I probably won't buy either system, but your accusations seem unfounded

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 8:00 pm

nullstar wrote:
y2kgamer wrote:Sony didn't become #1 by overcharging us consumers.
Indeed -- they did it by making sure the hardware died so consumers had to buy at least two...

OK. Sorry.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:35 am

IGNDS is reporting that Nintendo has trademarked a new product called the V-Pocket. As you can see above, the logo mimics the DS logo font and looks like it may be the U.S. rev of the PlayChan media device. Hmmmm. The memory stick that comes with the PSP bundle would hold like, what? About 10 MP3s? With a Play Yan and a 1gig SD scard you could put a boat load of MP3s and video clips on it. Portable MST3K on my DS (I hope it works) here I come. whoo

Oh yeah, the story is here:

http://ds.ign.com/articles/586/586895p1.html

FatalError · Post by **FatalError** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:13 pm

My personal take is that you are probably better off waiting a few months after the launch to get a PSP (especially since the selection of games at launch are mediocre at best (in my opinion)). One big reason is that knowing Sony, there will be a shortage of systems at initial launch and the systems that DO come out at launch will probably be (knowing Sony's track record) of varying degrees of functionality and quality. In other words, I expect to hear about a lot of defective systems. Hopefully, all the issues that plagued the PSP in Japan will be ironed out for the United States.

FatCobra · Post by **FatCobra** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:16 pm

Looks like what little interest I had for the handheld had just diminshed to almost nothing.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:39 pm

yeah that is way too expensive. i very well may pick one up in the future but we are talking "the kids starting school" future.

To shapermc:
that is the coolest avatar I have ever seen!

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 6:09 pm

Why the heck can't gaming companies make consoles that just PLAY GAMES?? Honestly, anyone who's interested in listening to MP3 files on the go probably already has an MP3 player, anyone who's interested in wireless communication probably already has a cell phone, and anyone who likes DVD's probably already has a DVD player. It's partly all this unecessary extra crap that makes contemporary consoles so blippin expensive.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:40 pm

Good point Dave. However, on defense of wireless, it was implemented so you wouldn't have to be tied by expensive link cables.

Perhaps we all could chalk the extra features to the fact we all would like to get more for our money. PS2 being able to play CDs, DVDs, PS1 and PS2 games made it a very attractive machine in the eyes of Joe Consumer.

On the other hand, look at the Cube. Sadly, I got the feeling that your average Joe looks at that thing and goes "Hmm.. Only a 100 bucks... but doesn't play DVDs, CDs or plays online... nah. I'll just cough up the rest and buy a PS2/Xbox"

(Though I'm willing to fault the lack of success of the Cube to the plain f***ed up desing of the controller.)

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:59 pm

Have you tried the wireless controller?

I think that the average Joe thinks that as well, but I don't understand it. Gaming systems are, or should be, primarily about gaming, and I don't see any gaming system that can't play CDs or DVDs or whatever as being any weaker then one that can.

magnum opus · Post by **magnum opus** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:30 pm

well DVD playback is more of a bonus really, they were already using DVD format for the games just because of increased capacity. at that point its a little silly not to toss in the software (of which both sony and microsoft already have, so it represents no extra developing cost) to let it play movies.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:38 pm

dave4shmups wrote:Why the heck can't gaming companies make consoles that just PLAY GAMES??

It's partly all this unecessary extra crap that makes contemporary consoles so blippin expensive.

Methinks you may well have answered your own question there.

Zhon · Post by **Zhon** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:59 pm

Actually, having DVD player capability adds about 20 dollars to the cost of the console, thanks to licensing fees to the DVD consortium.

As for the new handhelds, the PSP has only two things that might appeal to me - Mercury, and Lumines. But Lumines isn't great enough in itself to get a PSP over - so I'm waiting to see how Mercury turns out.

DS? I'm waiting on it too, but I see myself getting a far larger slate of games here. Even the new Advanced Wars - I'm a sucker for the strategy.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:27 am

Yeah, I guess you're right BulletMagnet!

Personally I'm waiting to see some movies of Nanostray. Can't understand why there aren't any yet, as it's coming out so soon. Same thing with TriZeal.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:41 am

FatalError wrote:systems that DO come out at launch will probably be (knowing Sony's track record) of varying degrees of functionality and quality. In other words, I expect to hear about a lot of defective systems.

Anyone who is genuinely afraid of this kind of thing, I'll give you a tip:

You can preorder from Videogames Plus and they will check each PSP for defects like dead pixels before shipping it to you.

Of course, you can still be afraid of the system suddenly ejecting a UMD disc that slices open your jugular vein during play... or the X button not depressing properly and causing thumb blisters... or whatever else people feel like coming up with to justify their non-purchase

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 3:08 am

Thought some of you might like this:

Another reason to hold out on a PSP.

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 3:29 am

$250?

Fuck that.

The idea of $50 game prices does upset me gravely when it's a portable system in question. If they are going to cost that much then the games better be playable on a TV by some official means- like a PSP player for the PS2.