RF Generation Message Board

I just got this in my e-mail from Rockstar:

im excited....ill look forward to picking that one up for my psp once i get it

no GTA blows

GTA is the biggest hunk of shit I've seen since beating Conker's BFD...lol I look forward to Darkstalkers :P

GTA is great, but it might lose its magic on a small handheld. I'm not going to get excited untill I actually get to play it.

I'm not asking the question because I like the GTA series.  Scott and Laurel, no matter how much you dislike GTA, you cannot deny that it will be a console mover.  That's the point of my post.  I didn't like FFVII that much, but that doesn't change the fact that it sold PlayStations to millions of people.  The same will probably happen here.  I'm by no means excited about this game coming out for PSP.  In fact, I think it couldn't come at a worse time for Nintendo....  but what can you do?  PSP is going to sell like hotcakes, and it's not because of the ten people that will play DarkStalkers, regardless of whether or not it is better or worse than the upcoming GTA game.

Dammit Mike can't you just let me live in denial for a few days...lol I'm aware of the kind of power GTA holds and it -is- frightening :(

It will move the PSP but in time it will fail.

I think your wrong Scott.

I don't think many people are going to spend that kind of money for one game either.
People who buy this are going to be planning to buy other stuff for the system as well.

And even if they won't spend that kind of money now, the system and games will drop in price. And Sony isn't going to drop this thing if it doesn't sell as well as expected in the first year. They will probably keep throwing money at it untill it's outselling the DS.

GTA and Halo are the most over-rated mediocre games series ever.  GTA is not a hand held game, and I predict it won't last.  I think we have to step back, look and see what made the Gameboy successful compared to the N-Gage:

Little, simple games.

OD

I agree with Odonadon 100%. Sony won't drop it right away but in the long run Nintendo will still control the handheld market. I doubt parents are goign to drop that amount of coin for little Johnny's handheld system. Plus you then have to worry about scratching
a disc.

Will the PSP be better then a portable DVD player? I doubt it. Will it me a better MP3 player the a iPod? No
Will it be a better gaming system then the GBA? We shall see.

I think making it a CD based system will hurt some sales.

I'm glad the PSP is going to be CD based.  With GTA being on it, I don't think it's garneted to beat the DS but it will at least give Nintendo a run for its money.

How is it being CD based going to hurt sales?
It is definately going to have an increased profit over the Carts in profit.
CDs are cheaper to make are they not?

Plus i don't think scratched CDs are going to be that big of a deal anymore than smashing a cartridge would.

I think a lot of parents that spend 150 bucks on a present for little Johnny, won't have too much problems with spending 250 either. Especially because the 250 set comes with more crap (if I'm correct). Of course little Johnnyy will have to want the PSP more than the DS.

I also think that there are a lot more people that might be interested in the PSP than little Johnnies. I'm 22 and I'd like one, and I'm definately not the only adult.

And it might not be better than a portable dvd player, but it's definately smaller, cheaper and most likely with higher quality stuff. Those portable dvd screens are very very lousy, while the psp screen is beautiful. If you just want to look at something every now and then when you're in the train or bus the psp is great. You won't have to spend 200 bucks on a seperate system you have to drag along too.

And it may not beat the ipod as an mp3 player, but once again, it's cheaper and just an extra.  And if you don't have an ipod yet it's a nice extra.

I think you should keep in mind that the psp isn't targetted at the technology freak that always wants the best. Take mobile phones for comparison. They're all loaded with crap like mp3 players and cameras and they sell like crazy. Sure, there are better mp3 players and better cameras and probably better phones too, but non of them offer the comfort of having it all at once.

Dropping a CD will scratch it dropping a cart does nothing to the cart. I know I wouldnt buy a young child a CD based handheld.

BUM BUM BUMMMMMM

You have answered your own question then.
The CDs will not scratch if your kid is carful and if you don't think he/she is don't get this for them.
I can honestly say i have dropped CDs before and they did not get scratched.On rugs, concreate, sand, nearly every type of surface you can think of walking on.(Some on purose poor AOL CDs)
It doesn't scratch unless dragged.

It is more of a personal thing than an age thing.
If you don't think you can handle CDs yet don't get the PSP but don't foot your bad CD idea onto kids :P

Don't you have a little brother? Kids suck with videogames. They will find countless ways to wreck the pretty little discs. More ways than you can possibly imagine.

My little bro is 13(ish)
We got a Playstation in 97(ish) which made him... uhhh.. carry the 1... 6-7(ish).
Never once did he mess up a disk.

I know a little kid who had a PS when he was 5 (probably younger). None of his CDs got scratched(well yes they did but none were damaging).
I have a friend who is my age. Takes terrible care of his CDs and DVDs most of them get bad scratches.
It is more of a person thng than an age thing.

I gotta agree with Terz. My nephew was only like 10 or 11 when I got him a shitload of games (and his first import) and he took damn good care of his stuff (and still does). My 23 year old little bro on the other hand.. I lent him my PSX games and when I finally got them back they were all sticky and covered in dryed-on soda. Pretty much tarred and feathered with that and bits of tobacco, dust, and lint. It was -really- gross. There were also some cases without disks, scratched disks, and missing inserts.

Still though it is a lot more possible for a child to mess up a disk than an adult with all screws intact. If you're talkin bout someone like my bro though, forget it!

I lent a guy my copy of halo *cough*Colton*cough* with no scratches, the case had no damage, and the manual had no bends.  When I got it back the disk was scratched to hell (almost unusable), the manual had bent and ripped pages, and the case was covered in sticky stuff (I hope it was pop).

I'm sure people said all this when CD systems started to become the norm - this never really proved to be a problem.  Printed CDs are generally very durable, and if the PSP has a good laser (which is better, Sony) then this really won't be an issue.  However, a CD does mean more storage, and I'm afraid these games will be over complicated.  I own a DS, a GBA, PDA with emulators, etc. etc.  The Neo Geo Pocket Colour gets the most play BY FAR because, if you're like me, you only use the thing while on the can and you can't justify paying $30+ on a game you'll play for, well, however long it takes you to take care of bidness.  :)  Plus, the games are SIMPLE.  

The whole PSP premise just seems a little silly to me.  While I'm sure it will sell great a first because of Sony's loyal following (yes, I will be a PSP owner), it will eventually disappear into obscurity with all the other high-end portables starting with the Turbo Express, ending most recently with the Zodiacs and N-Gages, etc.

OD

Oh I am sorry kid!

I agree with you on a home console. But when  kid throws the game into his/her backback in a hurry at the bus stop it has a better chance of getting scratched.

What kind of mivies doe sit play?

What happened with CDs compared to Tapes when they came out?
How many parents are buying (even 5+ years ago) were still buying their kids a Tapedeck rather than CD player because they did not want the CDs to get messed up?

There is simple logic behind it. If the kids want it their parents are going to getit for them or not.
The reasons are not going to be the type of media it uses but price, are they old enough(this is paretnt to parent descision), will they get in trouble with it (bringing it to school is a perfect example here).

And what do you mean what kind of movies does what play?
The PSP?
This is the only movie i even know having rumors about coming out on PSP. Although there will probably be others.
http://www.lik-sang.com/list.php?nav=left_sub&category=312&

The way I understand it, the PSP should be able to play the usual formats (AVI, MPEG, prolly Real). Data cable + pc = new friend.

its also getting these four movies:
XXX
Hellboy
Resident Evil II
Once Upon A Time in Mexico

source:  http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4354

from :  http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-11721-1274-x-x-x&body_pagenum=2

concerning scratching a UMD and its plastic case.

Yeah I thought those things came with a plastic case around them.  I really don't think the scratching thing will be an issue at all.

As for it being the next N-Gage, Turbo Express, or Zodiac, I don't think so.  The major differences here are name brand and marketing muscle.  There's just a small gap between what Sony can do with a handheld like this and what NEC or Tapwave can do, companies that 99% of the general public has never even heard of.  And pretending that doesn't matter, like with Nokia (since people do know of them), the PlayStation brand name is HUGE.  And Sony has millions upon millions to pump into it, plus their other divisions (music, movies, etc.) to use to their advantage....  which NEC, Tapwave, and Nokia did not.

Well it sounds like their is going to be some very nice competition going on during this bout of handgelds.
Lets see how long it is before Nintendo looses its footing everywhere.
Nintendo is definately going to put up one hell of a fight to say the least.

I dont kbnow to many kids that are into msic that much and have portable CD players. And when i say kids I am talking about 6-10 year olds.

I thought the PSP was a movie player as weel. I was wondering if you could load movies onto it.

I can really care less how the DS or the PS do. I don't play handhelds at all.  I dont play on getting either of them. Hell i don't even have a GBA.

The only reason I care is that if Nintendo loses the handheld market, it will lose the ability to produce consoles very quickly, unless something huge changes.  I don't play handhelds either, but I do care how they do because they are the sole reason Nintendo even put out the GameCube, and continue to support it.  I don't want Sony and Microsoft to be the only console producers out there.

No no no, you're not getting it.  NEC is a huge electronics company with many divisions.  And I don't know if you remember, but at one point the PC Engine (TG16) was the most popular system in Japan (late eighties, early nineties).

The only difference between what happened then and now, is Sony has a much larger US fan base than NEC ever did.  The PG Engine GT sold pretty well in Japan, but only lasted a handful of years, not a decade like the gameboy.  

The PC Engine GT played console games.  I still maintain this is why it failed, and is why the PSP will ultimately fail.  Why spend 20 hours playing GTA on the PSP, when you can sit in your comfortable arm chair with surround sound and play the thing on a much bigger screen?  Most of the time people will be playing the thing when on the bus, on the crapper, etc.  I'm talkiing like 10-20 minutes at a time.  It's very important to keep in mind that nobody here is the "typical" gamer.  You might rock a PSP game for 3 hours at a time, but I will bet good money the average consumer will have no desire to do so.  I will also wager the DS won't do nearly as well as it's predecessors, but better than the PSP in the long run because of GBA backward compatability.

We have to step back and look at what was so successful on the Gameboy(s): Warioware, Tetris and other puzzlers, platformers with saves at the end of each level, pokemon for the kids, etc. etc.  Most definetely NOT your typical modern day console games.

OD

It seems to me that a racegame is perfect for a handheld. You can do 1 race, save it, and get out of the bus. Besides, Zelda did pretty great on the DS too, and that's hardly a game you can play for 10 minutes and then put away.

Back to the GTA topic quick, does anyone else realize that GTA is already on a handheld, and it sold for shit! The gba has a version already and nobody wants a pint sized gta, they want it big screen. So to say that it will be a force for PSP i disagree, but FFVII now thats another story.

But GTA on GBA was not like the GTA that people had come to know.
it was more like STA and GTA2 with the top down perspective.

I don't know if the GTA on PSP is going to be the same way or if it is going to be more like GTA:3,VC & SA. Time will tell

Yes, NEC is, but being able to make great monitors is hardly going to help as much with a video game console as Sony's music and movies divisions will help them with PSP and what they plan to do with it.  If nobody makes movies for PSP, SOny still can, and they have tons of stuff to release.  If Sony wants to release music albums on their discs, they can do that too.  If they sell well, other companies will follow suit.  NEC is a huge company, yes.  They have many divisions, yes.  Still, few people know about them or care about them because they make stuff that isn't nearly as noticeable as Sony's products.

As for the PC Engine, you're absolutely right.  In Japan, a lot of things happen.  The WonderSwan actually sells well, and the Saturn didn't suck there.  It's crazier than the Twilight Zone.  I'm not saying the PC Engine is by any means a bad console, but the difference (as you also said) is that Sony also has a huge base already in the USA, and in Japan, and in Europe, and pretty much everywhere.  That's a big difference if you ask me.

Don' get me wrong - I really like NEC.  I just know that the PSP will be a lot different than anything NEC ever put out in terms of financial success.



Excellent points.  One thing that is probably a little different now though is that these games will be developed for a handheld system.  Sure, some of them may require more playtime, but some of the small things that make a TurboExpress or Nomad not as cool won't be problems here.  With those consoles, reading menus and scores, or even seeing what's going on is nearly impossible since the game's visuals were designed for a large screen, rather than the small portable one.  This won't be a problem for PSP.  

Also, many of those console games had no way to save, so when you only play one race or a level or two, there's no way to start where you left off.  Think about how much worse a NGPC would be without the internal battery save feature.  Metal Slug would still be great on it, but it's a lot better since it was designed to work with a handheld.  This kind of thing (which PSP will have in one way or another I assume) will help those games with many hours of gameplay be a lot better on a handheld.

You're right in one respect that developers could definitely go overboard with this thing.  I do think though that the thing will still sell well because some of the problems with the Nomads and Turbo Expresses of the world won't be existent here, and Sony has a big userbase that will buy anything with the name Sony on it, regardless of whether or not it sucks.



Yeah, I know about this.  There were also GTA games on GameBoy Color.  They suck.  I really doubt that the announcement of GTA for PSP means they are making another 2D GTA with SNES graphics.  Remember, this thing can put out graphics on par with a PS2.  I fully suspect this new GTA to be 3D, like GTA3, Vice City, or San Andreas.  I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what will be coming out.  If so, it's a big deal.  If it's 2D, Rockstar is stupid.

GTA is nothing but hype and the PSP sucks anway. You go around as some goofball who shoots up everything... wow. I f I wanted that I'd play Contra which is much more fun. As for the PSP, its a rip-off of the Nintendo DS!

I wouldn't call PSP a ripoff of DS, and no matter how much you thing GTA sucks, you can't deny the fact that it will probably do wonders for PSP.  I really don't want Nintendo's handhelds to go under, because with them very well could go the company's chances of new hardware in the future....  so don't think I'm just trying to hype PSP.  I just think right now things are looking pretty good for the handheld.

Nintendo still wouldnt go down , they are still making GBA sp modles and have a new "Gameboy" in the works. The DS was never a replacement for the gameboy as far as I know.


As far as the PSP goes however I have heard its a beautiful machine.... But it has alot of stuff that needs to be addressed.

No Nintendo tried to make it very clear DS was going to be the "Third Pillar" that just made me think of the Third Reich but thats just me.

Anyways PSP is going to sell at least as well as DS and i think it will even give Nintendo a run for their money.

As for GTA being about the hype it really is.
But you know what the damn game sells and generally sells big.
And don't forget that it has been on Nintendo systems too. GTA Advance which if i remember was a poor seller.

Oh I realize that Nintendo says DS was never meant as a replacement for GBA, but the thing does play GBA games.....  so if you had a choice between one or the other (not owning either beforehand), which would you pick?  Pretty logical choice if ya ask me (because everyone already has a GB or GBC).  Nintendo may not intend for it to be their main firepower in the handheld war, but it will become that unless they release a new GameBoy very soon.

The DS already broke a sales record in the UK. 87,000 sold in 2 days.

Did it just come out there two days ago?  If so, was it launched in the rest of Europe at the same time?  

That's pretty amazing.

I think it was released here 2 days ago as well. I can't say I really noticed a lot of publicity though. I haven't been in any game/toy shops since then either.

And the record the ds broke was set by the gamecube, 67,000 in 2 days.

edit: no wait, I have been in a game shop. And they had a stand with wario ware, but the batteries were pretty much dead, so before I managed to play, it switched off.

I figured I'd bump this post back up since the DS seems to be creaming the PSP, and it seems quite likely the creaming will continue for a while.  Sometimes it just feels good to be right :)

OD

How come in video games its ok to have such blatant brand loyalty but any where else its frowned upon? Do you people cry over getting pepsi or coca-cola? Do you fret over which laundry detergent and dishwashing soap you get? It wouldnt be they end of the world if any  of the console makers die I wouldnt even shed any tears at all lets worry about the games and not the consoles and besides the DS is the "trendy" system now does that make you all sick inside to know that? That its the big seller and not the PSP that its among the ranks of Halo and GTA two games that were called overrated on this very thread.
Why do we commend and applaud companys that fail time and time again (Nintendo, SEGA Atari), but hate on the success of the companys that will ensure video games will be around for decades to come ( Sony, Microsoft )? I know we are all supposed to be elite hardcore gamers with taste above and beyond they regular consumer but why do we let prejudices get in the way of just enjoying games? Now grant it I have a problem with the DS but its not the brand its the fact that my hands shake irregularly and I cant use the stylus to enjoy any of its better games at all, I wish I could play trauma center and feel the magic but I cant. We should all feel lucky that we can play any games and stop hating on them because their made by certain companys and the same goes for systems their made by corporations whose only care concerning you is whether you'll by their flimsy plastic piece of shit thats going to overheat in five years. To quote Kanye West in away...

Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft doesnt care about anyone! So why should we care if they live or die?

Do you have any figures to back up that claim? Not that I don't believe you, but I've only seen japanese sales figures.

hahaha....it's funny reading what I said almost a year ago, knowing now that I have my psp and i don't want that game.....

@NDiddy: I don't know about anyone else, but most of the time, the games I enjoy come out on Nintendo consoles and PS2.  Very rarely is there an Xbox game that interests me, and because of that, I usually have some skepticism as to whether or not the newest release for the '360 is going to be something I'll like.  I have very specific taste in games, and unlike Pepsi or Cola (which I can drink either of and my thirst is still quenched), I'm not going to get nearly as much enjoyment out of Madden NFL '06 or Kameo as I would with Atelier Iris or Animal Crossing.  And, because I know I'll get ragged on for this, I'm not going to leave out the Xbox games I enjoy, either.  I own 4 Xbox games: Dai Senryaku VII, Morrowind, Jet Set Radio Future, and Metal Slug 3.  The only other games on that system that interest me enough to buy them are Shenmue II and Kotor I & II.  Also, there is only one game on Xbox 360 that sounds interesting to me, and it hasn't even been released yet, nor is it an exclusive title.  Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  (And if I owned a PC that could handle it, I wouldn't have any interest in Xbox 360.)  I'm not going to lie, I'm biased, but that's only because Microsoft hasn't done anything to impress me thus far.

I'm not criticising anyone, you can like what you like and that's cool.  I'm just trying to show that gaming biases have a lot more to stand on than most other industries.  (A big example of an industry with biases is the music industry.  I won't even get started on that...)

- Zac

Madden 06 came out on all consoles.
Bad example.
Please pick an exclusive title that you do not like for future comparison of exclusive PS2 and GCN titles.

Yeah...sorry...that just seems to be one of those "must-buy" games on Xbox.  How about HALO!!??!!!?!  OMFG I R TEH HATE HALO SO MUCH LOL WTF WHY R U GAY FAGS PLAYING THAT IT IS SO DUMB.

Hahaha...

(And yes, I am making fun of myself.)

- Zac

lol
Halo 3 preorders have been going on here for a month or so.

Anyways I only personally know 2 people with a PSP and one of them owns a DS as well.

There's one person I see regularly that owns a PSP, and he's the guy who wrote the Halo article I posted that generated so much buzz.  He bought a PSP for Metal Gear Ac!d, and two weeks after beating it, his screen died.  He got super pissed for a while, sent it in to Sony, and then they shipped him a nice, shiny, fully-working one.  Now he's enjoying Popolocrois (or, as Vlad, who is no longer posting here, calls it, "Popolononocrisis" :laugh:), Tokobot, and Legend of Heroes, but he still hates Sony for releasing such a flimsy system.  Some people are never satisfied...

I love Pespi and hate Coke!!!!!!! ;) (actuall that is true)

I don't hate Sony because they are a huge sucess. I hate them becasue their shit breaks all the time. Then again in 10 years all CD based systems out now prolly won't work but my 2600-Genesis will.  :laugh:

I just have a problem with anyone expecting me to pay so much money for a video game system, especially a portable system.  Why do you think I never have owned a Turbo Express, yet I'm a huge PC Engine/TurboGrafx fan?  It doesn't have anything to do with the company, I just think Sony has it all wrong this time and will ultimately lose this battle.

As far as sales figures go to support my claim that the DS is "creaming the PSP", I didn't necessarily mean in the financial arena, though I'm pretty sure the DS is winning if the Japanese sales figures tell us anything (see Nep's post).  I firmly believe the DS is all around better - innovative games (not simply console ports), unique methods of control (Mic and touch screen), not to mention two screens and great battery life.  The only thing it doesn't have going for it is looks - the DS is an ugly little machine while the PSP is gorgeous.  However, knowing Nintendo, I'll bet money there will be at least 2 more DS form factors coming out in the future.

OD

I think the DS looks pretty sleek.  In my book, simple is better when it comes to design.

I agree with Odonadon the PSP is pretty and teh DS is UGLY!

I'll go ahead an say it,

PSP is sexy, has a lot of games you can play on your home console

DS is ugly, but has a lot more original and enjoyable games than PSP.

GBA SP is sexy, has a lot of games unique to the system, and was designed in a way that makes it resistant to wear and tear.

I give my kudos to the design of the GBA SP.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7797

The DS is dominating the PSP in Japan at least, with the consoles outselling the PSP 2 to 1, and several games in the top 10 sellers for all year.

And while that's not the US, it's pretty clear that the PSP has an uphill battle to climb.  

The DS may not be as sexy, but it's a better machine for games.   Kids can drop a DS and it'll bounce back just fine compared to a fragile PSP.

The PSP is better for browsing the internet or listening to MP3s.

Bingo!  People always say that one of Nintendo's faults is their simple, toy-like console design, but the fact is that toys are designed to withstand the abuse kids inflict on them.  I would rather be able to still play my games in 10 years than have a system that's aesthetically pleasing right now.

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?title=PSP+outsells+DS&id=3745&sid=c878fc0563de47e392aa1ca4f595ec6f

According to this article, the PSP outsold the DS in USA during 2005.

Yep, every kid wants a PSP to make up for their phallic shortcomings.

In something that is not in jest, it should be noted that the DS still has the lead for overall sales thanks to it 2004 sales.

Which begs the question Certain victory for the PSP?  I think not.

OD

I'll give you the MP3's, but I won't give you the web browsing.  The DS may not have web browsing capabilities (yet), but if you've actually used a PSP to browse the net, you know that no support is better than the HORRIBLE support the PSP has.  You have absolutely no idea how painful it is to type a web address in on that thing, or even how long it takes for pages to load.  Trust me....  the web browsing on PSP is not a good feature.  It's more like a festering wound.

ill second that....the web browsing was a fun gimmick for the 1st page or 2 you view.....after that it is just plain terrible....

...and i tried to load ebay on it and it couldnt load the whole page bc it said the psp memory was full.....

ill stick to my PC for the web.....that is until i get my MacBook Pro this summer....