Ah, the PSP. On the one hand it is the first handheld gaming system in quite some time to actually compete with Nintendo in that arena, but on the other hand, it has an identity crisis. I was a firm believer in the PSP when it was first announced. I looked at all the comparisons between it and the DS (oh so ugly at the time) and it was a no-brainer. I went ahead and got a PSP, not because it could play music or movies, or for the browser they added on, but to play games. The only problem was there were very few decent games for it (at the time). I enjoyed Wipeout Pure, loved Popolocrois, and had a decent time with a number of other games, but I found myself using the PSP primarily as the best emulator I’ve ever owned and that wasn’t really enough of a reason for me to keep it once I saw the beautiful DS Lite. So I happily made the switch. I have no regrets, but the PSP has definitely gotten better games since I got rid of it. The point is, I just don’t particularly like Sony’s strategy. For instance, I recently saw a PS3 commercial that didn’t show a single game, NOT ONE!!! It just showed Blu-ray movie after Blu-ray movie. It made me wonder, if Sony had been focusing it’s time, money, and resources solely on games, where would the PSP and PS3 be today? Personally, I think we’d be playing better games right now, and I might still own a PSP.
I really have to marvel at something.
These announcements were made at CES. Consumer Electronics Show. The show which does NOT pander to gaming enthusiasts, but rather the electronics enthusiasts. This is the place where the latest in technology is shown, not the latest in games (you’d think sheer lack of gaming announcements out of CES would be some sort of indicator).
Now, given the venue, wouldn’t this BE the preferred time to talk about these features? I mean, hate to say it but your average CES participant could give two squirts about Captain Olimar’s inclusion in SSBB. That’s where you were. Roughly THE show of the year for home theatres, nothing more, nothing less.
But then you go onto rant about a PS3 commercial that has nothing to do with gaming, highlighting BluRay. You have selective memory, man. DS’s launch commercials were more about Pictochat than games. 360 had months “jump in” commercials where the only thing we learned about 360 is apparently citywide water balloon fights are fun.
You say both systems are having an identity crisis. I say you need to take a trip to your local store and see the game racks for both systems. Lookie, games! But new features… ooooh, they scare us. These are supposed to be gaming machines first, and nothing else.
*runs off to check his Everyone Votes Channel*
You’re absolutely right that CES is the right place to announce new features that aren’t related to gaming. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with adding these features as I’m sure there are a few people that appreciate the extra functionality. The problem is that adding this stuff on ad nauseum can take away from the main purpose of the system. I never used my PSP as an mp3 player or a movie player and touting those features instead of the main purpose seems silly. It’s like the car commercials that brag about how many cup holders there are in the car.
I think the PSP had a rocky start which could have been due in part to its lack of focus on games. We don’t care about UMD’s as a format, right? We want games with decent loading times. Sony wanted to have another proprietary format that they could push games AND movies on. It seems to me that Sony made a decision that was not best for the PSP as a gaming device, but as a multimedia device. The title of the comic, ‘Back to Basics’, should clue you in to what we’re trying to say. Ultimately, we want something that plays great games, everything else is background noise. I think sales number reflect that which is why Nintendo is so dominant right now. PS1 and PS2 had great games, and guess what? They dominated.
You bring up the DS launch commercials (which I never saw), but the PS3 is certainly not in its launch window anymore. We’re over a year in folks and seeing a commercial for the PS3 that doesn’t highlight or even mention a game seems like a problem to me. If the commercial came out a year ago, I might understand as they would be educating consumers on what the PS3 is capable of, but if that’s their biggest selling point a year later, I’m seeing red flags.
I will start this off by noting I have never really been a fan of Playstation. I just feel like I have a bond with Nintendo that no other game company can really break. They bring me the same characters I know and love time and time again, and it’s something I can’t get sick of, but when I originally heard about the PSP I was right down excited. The original DS looked absolutely disgusting. I knew it would have the characters I know and love but if I can’t love my system I can’t love my games. I figured I would give Sony another chance, after all the PS2 was fun, not my favourite, but fun.
(Sidenote: I think the N64 was way better than the PS1) Anyway, I seem to have lost track of where I was going with this. I was never really a fan of the gameboy (except for pokemon). In truth, I really loved my game gear (God I miss Sega making systems (Also noting I still love and play my Dreamcast)) The Game Gear was in my opinion the best portable system I’ve played until now. It had a beautiful screen and all the great Sega games (Yes ladies and gentlemen… Sega used to make great games) we knew and loved. The battery issue is a whole different matter. The DS at the time really hadn’t shown the touch screens true potential so it just looked like another gameboy. The PSP on the other hand, seem to have a lot of the features I loved about my Game Gear. Beautiful screen and some nice launch title games. (Unfortunately came with the same battery life problems) So in short, I got a PSP. It was great at first, things i’d never seen before in a portable system. BUT WAIT!…. games?… you mean… this system was meant for gaming? I was amused for a while with the launch title games (the ones you mentioned) and then… nothing. Some games came out, but nothing I loved. Nothing I remembered from previous years as a great game. Yet, I see the DS advertising things like New Super Mario Bros. THAT look familiar. THAT looks fun. And I see more and more DS games using that amazing touch pad that I now know and love. Then the DS Lite came out, and to EB Games my PSP goes. The DS is a beautiful system, lately I haven’t even been playing my Wii. Too the point of this ENTIRE thing. Gaming systems are for just that, gaming. Yes, it is nice to have some extra features but they are for GAMING. I like to be able to play games, enjoy games and get new features for my GAMES. ALL of Nintendo’s features for the new consoles are for gaming, Nintendo has always been about gaming. Their consoles can’t play music, movies etc. There are some ways of doing this, but that isn’t what it’s for! Sony really needs to realize that gamers want to game. Not watch movies, not listen to music. It doesn’t matter what new format these movies are on, they still just movies. On a separate note I think Xbox 360 is too much into multimedia things too, but atleast they still focus on games! Sony, just stop making this mistake.. YOU CAN FIX IT! This is the end of my rant:)
P.S. I have been checking out 2pstart! since the beginning, this is just my first time getting around to posting anything. Good job guys!
~~ Kyle
Tim, bravo. Most people would have simply removed that post and moved on but you offered a rebuttal. A lengthy rebuttal which your quote system would have likely made this rebuttal the longest thing ever read in the whole “my e-penis is bigger than yours” contest. So I’ll simply skip responding to each bit and go for a general debate.
Once again you state that adding features on top of features on top of features is somehow a bad thing. Personally, I don’t see it as such. The core principle of the system is still there, especially in regards to PSP. I don’t see “Dude, get your own MP3 player” commercials. Normally they highlight the games. In fact, go to many stores and you’ll find UMDs rather difficult to find. PSP games are easy, however. And with the Playstation Store on PC, I don’t see much aside from games in that particular venue. Simple fact of the matter is Ken Kuturugi has always believed in synergy and since Sony is this big corporation who has their hands in many, many things, they can afford that. In fact, one of the original goals of Howard Stringer when coming in as CEO was to start making Sony more as a unified entity rather than seperate companies. The XMB and it’s appearance outside of Playstations is evidence of this. Essentially, you have a company that CAN do these things, so why not do them? Frankly, I thought of DLing BluRay clones to PSP as a nifty little feature and a nod to the final death knell over the tragically handled UMD endeavor (not going to say too many movie releases but I am going to say there’s something wrong when Disney wants $40 for Kill Bill on UMD, and it’s this greedy dump and unreasonable pricing which ultimately killed the feature)
I wish I could find fault in your BluRay commercial arguement, but I can’t. Well, aside from the fact that I have seen a car commercial that focuses away from the car, many in fact. To me, as a PS3 owner and a gamer, it’s unsettling to see a commercial focused like that. But I own a PS3 (I have all the systems, actually). I’m well aware of it’s functionalities. That commercial wasn’t for me, neither was it for you. It was for the people like my parents who, when coming over for dinner, were shocked to discover PS3 had that ability as I popped in Ratatuoie. PS3 is actually undergoing a relaunch if you were. I mean, Sony has had a full year of most of the PS3 coverage being about how much PS3 sucks. Check your own comic archives for evidence. Any kind words were accompanied with snarky comments. Mostly of price and no games. Sony has consistantly been chugging out on both fronts and now that they have both issues remedied (I’d even be willing to bet Sony put out more PS3 games this year than Nintendo did Wii games), now the are actively targetting consumers who either have heard how useless PS3 is or have zero clue on it’s capabilities. When I still overhear people in Wal-mart or Best Buy being suprised when told PS3 has BluRay support, it’s still a message which needs to get out there. And you’re talking one commercial of, so far, 12 variants.
I don’t see it as losing a focus, frankly. Because for every programmer who is working on the next big addition to PSP/PS3’s capabilities, you have 30+ working on games. Make no mistake, Sony is all about the games. But if your system can do additional things, and do them well, why not? You seem to forget Sony has active studios in several different countries and they are the ONLY console manufacturer who is taking Korea seriously as a new region (fun fact, DS hasn’t even had it’s first year anniversary in that region yet and all the nintards whine that DS doesn’t have a DJ Max Portable). To top this off, Sony is the MOST supportive of indie studios and constantly throws money behind projects developers truly believe in. After all, God of War was a 4+ year money pit (according to a GDC intervew from two years ago with David Jaffe on Gamasutra), Microsoft backed out of Psychonauts in under 2.
I won’t go into Nintendo crimes aside to say for a company so focused on games, as you claim, there’s a whole lot of face training and leening going on.
I’m sorry, I don’t see red flags. What I see is you jumping another nonexistant point to slam Sony yet again. Which is tragic because when you guys get off the Sony hate wagon, you actually become clever and witty. This? This comic strip right now? This is a step backwards. Just go back to observations about the actual game worlds instead of taking every cue possible to throw in a “Teehee, Sony sucks” punchline.
I should probably also add that, should you want to continue this debate, we should do so among private channels (AIM, etc) instead of clogging up your reply system.
Send an email to the one I used to post this message and I’ll give you my aim, yahoo, or msn info (actually, msn info should be easy to figure out).
I thought the comic was funny. That’s all.
Eh, I bought a used DS right after they came out, thinking about all the fun I would have with it in the future. I sold it back a few months later, after the realization that I only used it as a GBA with a backlight and better battery. Once the good games actually started coming out, I got another one for Christmas.
Right now I’m in somewhat of a similar boat with the PSP. I bought one with the idea that there will be good games coming out for it this year. Luckily, there are already some wonderful games available for the system (it seems to be a haven for Strategy RPGs). As far as the emulator thing goes, though, that’s a complicated process and I’ve yet to mod my system for fear of messing it up.
I have both a PSP and a DS. I have more games for the DS, and the PSP has been used for more emulation and MP3s than actual PSP games.
@Brian:I’ve modded at least 8 psp’s alone, and i’ve been a part of about 25 mods(at least), and we’ve never had one brick(break). just go for it, and even if it does brick there’s a way to fix it. if you have any questions check psp-hacks.com, that’s where me and my friends learned to mod.
I just thought it was funny. And the PSP is starting to get pretty N-Gagey if you ask me
@Everyone in the really big argument: It’s just a comic, get over it. if Tim and/or Ray don’t like Sony who cares, that’s there opinion, let them have it just like you have yours. And you do have to admit that Sony has been making some questionable marketing decisions for thier game systems, and as a gamer they’re not appealing to me, much less the system which for the most part only has a number of exclusive great games and is mostly living on future potential. Sony (IMO) should be working on thier online components for PS3, Xbox Live is clearly superior to the PS Network(despite subscription fees) and needs a boost. I think that Sony should focus on Game Developing and catering to Gamers instead of Media-mongrels, when the gaming is sorted out then move on to add-ons and extras. It’s a game system for gamers, not a computer, so focus it on games. And me, I’m a Nintendo Fan-boy, but it doesn’t mean I’m Anti Xbox or PS, I own a PSP(my third one, a 2000 model) and Owned a PS and PS2, I love Sony too, but I’ve had to pass on the PS3 and go for a Wii(and 360 now) because I’m a GAMER, and I want GAMES. Not Movies and Phone Service(reffering to Sony marketing as a whole). But that’s just my opinion….I could be wrong…..
Lol. This comic made me laugh histarically. I bought a psp at launch and I regretted that. It was because the lack of games at the time. I sold it last christmas, but now I look at all the new psp games and how much lighter and slimmer the new psp is and I want one. They really improved it imo. Plus, I have a ps3 and I love how it can connect to the psp and play any playstation game via remote play.
I do agree that at the at the launch of the ps3/psp, sony had an identity crisis. But now I think both have been remedied with there releases of great games. And 2008 has soo many great exclusives coming out for it, I just cant wait!
At least Sony had a go, right?
Right…?
To be honest, I don’t see Nintendo being dislodged off the portable throne anytime soon. They are still the best around. But I can be proven wrong.
Hmm, not to stir up any trouble or anything but….
DA has a PSP comic out as well, though in their credit I think it was released at the same time as yours. Also, they have a similar Santa/Wii joke, but again I think they were released within the same timeframe.
Meh, either way the comics are all still funny and again I’m not trying to stir up trouble or anything.
Holy crap, there’s a lot of long comments here…
All I was going to say was that the PSP looks sexy…. o_0
Stripey,
I did notice that and am now a believer that lightning can indeed strike the same place twice…or four times for that matter.
Nintendo ‘balls’ comic: DA (9/13/07) vs. 2P (8/29/07)
Tetris comic: DA (9/20/07) vs. 2P (9/19/07)
Santa Wii comic: DA (12/28/07) vs. 2P (12/19/07)
PSP Diss comic: DA (1/9/08) vs. 2P (1/9/08)
I promise we’re not copying each other, there’s just some sort of comic creators mindmeld going on that we don’t know about.
@Tim: Riiiiight *wink*
Same goes for me. I even fell for the slimmer one and ended modding that too.
Im just amazed at how many people posted REALLLLLLY long comments on this. It’s like…. “0_o”.
Seriously, what’s up with that? Well, at least our comics are up before Dueling Analogs….
i have friends that have a psp and they only use it for video, picture and music but never game’s
the games are a given. In my opinion the PSP has an absolutely brilliant line up of games, but each to their own. The firmware updates for the PSP are like mini presents dotted throughout the year, as a thank you for buying the system; Nintendo make a browser for the DS, slap it on a cart, charge too much money for it and let it flop. Sony make a browser for the PSP and then give it to all of us for free! and then they keep adding more stuff to the system, for free! and then, of course, there are the demos you can download…
I was going to write a really long post about my opinions on Sony again, but I decided to invest my time more wisely………(Not a bash againtst Sony, just saying that I feel this is getting kinda pointless).
You know what’d be really ironic (and pretty cool)?
If you did a guest comic for DA (or the other way around).
That way you can’t possibly copy each other, right?
…….Riiiiiight?
I have to agree with you here. I still have my psp and rarely play it. loading times suck, battery life sucks. Why would i use that to play music when i have something much smaller?
*shrugs* the PS3 commercials here in Australia are basically people in stupid costumes running around. No footage of games, movies, not even the damn console. I wouldn’t buy a PS3, and after that ad, not even *IM* sure what the hell it does.
What? Games on the PSP? Since when? I’m confused.
On the other hand, all my DS games are Mario, Zelda, etc. I simply can’t afford to spend 40$ on tetris or sudoku.
Hey guys, great comic. I understand the gamers frustration. As has been pointed out and acknowledged, this was CES, so the non-gaming features were presented. I agree that even in that, they could have had a note towards the end pointing out that hey, this is a game playing device.
To Sony’s credit, I have seen many two page spreads in gaming magazines like Game Informer of the last few months that show nothing BUT games for the PSP- so I think it really is an environment factor.
Also, you point out the Blu-Ray movie only commercial for PS3. Well, to be fair again, this is only one of the 5 commercials done in that style. 3 are games only, 1 movie only, and 1 a mix. That’s a much higher games-movies ratio, and can’t just be ignored in the argument. Also, right now, Blu-Ray is a big deal, as Warner just announced their exclusive support- like it or not, this will put PS3s in peoples’ homes, and allow for better games. There were entire marketing campaigns (not just 1/5th of campaigns) around the PS2 being a fully functional DVD player, and it absolutely pushed the DVD format into the front of the public mind. Just my thoughts on the debate, keep up the great work on the comic!
Yes, the games-movie ratio seems to be pretty high. But still not as high as Nintendo’s DS/Wii ads, they tend to be all game ads… hm… strange…
Anyway, enough joking around. I was going to say that it seems like Sony are pushing the PS3 and PSP as “multimedia” devices rather than “gaming devices.”
Someone referencing the “PSP has no games” idea. That has never been done before. I’m just wondering when someone’s going to make a “DS has no games” comic, since last I checked, the PSP has more highly rated games than the DS does (103 games with a Metascore of 75 or higher for the PSP as opposed to 89 for the DS), and yet, the PSP has this “no games” perception. The only thing I can think of is that the DS tends to have more big names and the media tends to have a more positive opinion on it, leading to less coverage.
Then of course, if we all just looked into what we say before we say them just a little more, the world wouldn’t be so bad off, now would it? And I wouldn’t have to read this stupid webcomic, although I can blame Joystiq’s weekly roundup for that. This wasn’t really even funny, as much as it was just stupid and copypasta from an executive’s speech.
HARD WORK: Not an integral part of the webcomic creator’s ‘job’
2007 called and wants to remind you to return the jokes 2006 borrowed from 2005, because 2008 should damn well know better by now. He also called to remind 2008 that it seems the PSP has as many if not more higher-ranked games–especially of late–and that both “ports” and “shovelware” are nasty infestations on both platforms. (All platforms, really.) He also made a point to mention that chatting up other capabilities while delivering good games is not a bad thing.
Finally, he wants to remind 2008 that individual taste matters, but platforms change, and one’s mind can tend to change with it when one actually takes a look at a platform again after ignoring it for a while; and that it might behoove 2008 to play around on the PSP again if one is still lamenting yet another Ouendanned touch screen. 😉
cuppajo and carterman, brilliant answers. I could put up with this comments love of nintendo because, well, nintendo can be kinda cool when they can be bothered, which sadly isn’t that often. The PSP is an awesome system with so many features AND brilliant games, I rarely leave it at home. My DS is yet more clutter on my bedside table
I admit I was letting a bit of snark out there, but it’s a tired and inapplicable joke anymore. The PSP started off slowly, but has grown into a robust platform with plenty of excellent games. This and matter and loading time ( http://www.duelinganalogs.com/?date=2008-01-09 ) get brought up endlessly, when they simply don’t apply, are misrepresenting things on purpose, or are STILL badgering on years old, horrible examples that bear no relation to well-rated titles.
There are plenty of great games–more good quality and interesting ones of late than the DS (personal opinion again, but even DS-only owners I know have been complaining about the relative dearth)–and little to be LOLTIREDJOKESAREFUNNY!! about. The PSP will always be a trade-off of loading time for the graphics quality and content size, but most people aren’t in the habit of switching games every half-an-hour anyway, and the system has excellent power management, sleep, and wake-up response, so I find that 90% of the time the “pick up and play” time to be the same as if I flipped open my DS. (Level loading is a more important trait, and I haven’t had a serious complaint from any good game in a long while. Some games just suck, but they tend to suck on all levels.)
It’s just… well… can’t we all find something better to do with our time? “Platform wars” aren’t called that because they’re particularly rational, I suppose, but some battles are just tired.
To each his own my friends. Again the comic was not saying that there are no great games to play on PSP. In the post I said: “the PSP has definitely gotten better games since I got rid of it. The point is, I just don’t particularly like Sony’s strategy.”
I personally think that had the PSP been focused more intently on making great games, it wouldn’t have had some of the early problems it had, it may have had better games earlier, and I might still own a PSP and not a DS. The DS had a rather ‘ugly’ start as well, but I think they got their act together quicker than Sony.
It’s always “to each their own.” 😉 I’m just tired of ancient jokes.
Personally, I agree that they both had a rocky start. The DS started to sprint forward quicker, and deliver interesting and unique content while the PSP was still trying to build a library and was getting a higher percentage of ports.
Now, however, the DS has really exploded with shovelware and sequelitis, and the PSP has been delivering better games by comparison, which is why I’ve mentioned “of late” a lot in my previous posts.
Just quickly scanning at recent releases, the DS has been more shruggable. Since the summer it’s really been… what? Phantom Hourglass? Ontamarama? Revenant Wings, Contra 4, and–just now–more Advance Wars are the only real ones of note I can think of. And very little that I know about and am looking forward to in 2008 other than Crystal Chronicles and the other FFTactics.
The PSP, meanwhile, has delivered Dracula X Chronicles, Disgaea, War of the Lions, Silent Hill Origins, and Jeanne d’Arc which I can think of just off the top of my head, which brings more quality and playtime. (I mean, you could almost devote pick-up gaming for the rest of one’s days to Disgaea. 😉 ) But more importantly is what I’ve been seeing so far in just the next few months: Wipeout, Patapon, God of War, Wild Arms XF, Crisis Core, Echochrome, Orochi…
Obviously more games than I’m going to pick up for both platforms ANYway, and you can certain stretch and grab more good games (but likely only worth renting) for each platform or something of real personal taste (say, a Picross or a D&D Tactics), and thankfully Gamefly feeds the hankering. ^_^
“To each their own,” but it’s pretty obvious that the PSP is moving along quite well and bringing out plenty of great games. Personally, I think the PSP has hit a stride and is still accelerating, while it seems to me like the DS is losing a bit of momentum, distracted by a heavier concentration of shovelware, not-as-well-handled sequels, and none-too-thrilling cross-Wii promotions.
I don’t see anything wrong with their strategy, excepting that they don’t promote PSP games much. But then, DS games don’t get a whole lot of attention either. They both seem to rely on gamer’s word of mouth, print and web advertising, etc. And at a “consumer electronics” show, one can hardly blame them for promoting upcoming features and capability, since games have their own dedicated shows. (And TGS was only a few months ago.) CES is where they more heavily show off features, peripherals, and deliver the occasional status report.
Gamers will follow the games they prefer regardless.
…as a point of mention, I’d enjoy the DS a lot MORE if they had more concentration on the education, informational, and internet-based interesting software that there’s a lot of in Japan. Language tools have only JUST now come out (but starting with Spanish and French, and no word yet on Japanese, Chinest, Korean…), but almost nothing else that isn’t “as tight clone of the Brain Age format as they can get away with.” Perhaps Wii Fit will change people’s perceptions and acceptance in North America, but there’s a lot more interesting educational and informational stuff out there; things we’d really more expect to see “for PDA’s.” (But hey, the DS _IS_ a PDA! It shouldn’t be afraid to take advantage of that, too.) No MP3 player. No camera. No TV tuner. Why not? Heck, even the Opera browser itself appeared and disappeared in damn near the same month, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it since. So, seemingly, has the rumble pak.
You know what was also pretty cool? Back at E3 2005, when they announced DSpeak. Sadly, no follow-through, and the headset only seems to work with a handful of games that have voice support.
None of that strikes me as being prohibitive of getting out great games, or dilutes the strategy. On the contrary, it adds unique value to the platform.
I disagree with this comic and Tim completely.
PSP games come out on a regular basis. Announcing another at this show is pointless. PSPs library is rated higher than DS’s on both metacritic.com and gamerankings.com
I personally do use PSP as an MP3 player, and a movie player all the time. I have 34 PSP games, and thats more games than I’ve bought for all my other systems combined in the time PSP has been out.
I only have 6 DS games, 1 being the metroid demo, 2 others being ones I bought so it wouldn’t be a paper weight.
UMD was chosen because of the capacity. You can’t have PS2 level of quality on a solid state medium. The publishing costs would be astronomical. And there is no memory stick out that fits enough games to even suggest forcing users to install to it.
I hate when people say UMD is a bad choice for Sony, it screams “I have no clue about what goes in to game development”.
As a personal note, I have abandoned reading your comic because of your stance. And I have NEVER seen a bluray-only PS3 ad. They’ve ALWAYS had games shown.
exact same thing happened to me wipeout pure wasn’t bad. traded for ds
omg! your the first gamer on the internet iv’e met to acknowledge popolocrois exists! you guys rule