I was in a debate on another board about how Sony is going to introduce a ‘Playstation Portable’ basically their handheld system. Here are the specs-
“PSP” Specifications
Platform name: PSP™
Display: Wide screen (16:9) TFT LCD with backlight
(480 x 272 dots)
Disc medium: “UMD” 60mm optical secured ROM disc with cartridge (1.8GB)
Video CODEC: MPEG4
Graphics: 3D Polygon/NURBS
Sound: PCM (built-in stereo speakers, stereo headphone output)
I/O: USB 2.0, Memory Stick™ slot
Battery: Rechargeable (lithium-ion)
Some hardcore PS fans were saying this is going to oust the gameboy just like how the PS took over the console market after ten years of domination by Nintendo. I for one am skeptical, since no handheld system has come close to toppling Game Boy. The fact is, most of the other handhelds that tried to compete with it WERE in fact better technology-wise, but they either lacked a game library to support a decent fanbase, or weren’t marketed well, or just plain cost too damn much to put a dent in Nintendo’s handheld share of the market. I think this is probably going have the same effect.
Way too soon to tell!
Is it ergonmically correct? How good will the graphics be? How many and what games will be available immediately? What formats will be compatable with it? Not the least, how much will it cost?
There’s no way this can cost anywhere near what the Game Boy Advance SP costs. It only costs $100 now, and might be even cheaper than that by the time the PSP comes out.
I think there is too much power in an alleged “portable” system for this to work. I predict a really crappy battery life for this system. I also have lots of doubts about what kind of game library there will be to compete with. The size also concerns me. Look how small a Game Boy SP and its cartridges are. It rivals some cell phones these days. How small can this thing from Sony possibly be?
Nintendo’s domination of the hand-held gaming market is complete. The Game Boy in all its forms has had no problem defeating even much more powerful newcomers to the scene, and I predict the same for this Sony entry.
ElwoodCuse nailed it. The PSP is a DVD based system, and as everyone knows, they drain batteries like no one else’s business. Add to this a “back-lit” screen (not front-lit, like the SP) and you’re looking at a sub-standard battery life. I also predict the price will be insane, at least 150 but more likely 200 (if not more). And as ElwoodCuse also mentioned, the size is going to be considerably larger than the GBA SP. I also imagine it will be a lot less resilient to damage (since it has moving parts). In addition, the GBA SP has a library of over 1,200 games compared to the PSP’s minimal amount at launch. I really don’t see how it can even hope to compete.
Specs don’t really mean much, the playstation 2 beating the crap out of the game cube and xbox is proof of that. Its all about the games, the one with the better games and bigger library will win in the end. Nintendo has pokemon which caters alot more to the demographics of the handheld crowd, i dont see anyone beating them any time soon.