Sony to compete against Nintendo with PSP's multimedia features
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Feb 1st 2007 at 12:05PM }
After reporting some pretty disappointing losses, Sony is desperately trying to restructure its games division to at least break even. After stating boldly that they will not give up on the PSP, Sony will now seriously push the multimedia capabilities of the system. They've already started developing partnerships with media providers, such as amazon, but it looks like Sony is looking for even larger partnerships.According to MarketWatch, analysts are predicting Sony will partner up with "at least one big ISP, such as Yahoo." Such tie-ins will promote the PSP's ability to download movies, television shows and PlayStation games. The PSP is technically capable of doing a lot, but the goal is to get the word out to the mainstream.
"It was pretty much a competition issue with the Nintendo so we have to fight back by introducing more attractive applications [for the PSP] by using the network," Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's CFO, told the Financial Times.
[Thanks, nav! Via paidContent]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeff Cossey @ Feb 1st 2007 12:18PM
This is a step in the right direction but if they don't lower the price then it won't make the difference they need. This is a current PS3 problem too high a price.
goktekin @ Feb 1st 2007 12:33PM
Games Sony! Games! Jeez! How many more times do we need to repeat this? Games! PSP is a gaming machine! All it needs is GAMES! Find developers. Develop yourself. I for one will not lug your brick sized device around to watch videos on it or to listen to music. It's neither a viable mp3 player nor a PMP. How about easy access (read: one that doesn't require a PS3) to PS1 games? More downloadable game demos? Are you totaly gone braindead?
Johnny Lasley @ Feb 1st 2007 12:44PM
#2.
Kneejerk reactions...!
They just talked about having games available without the PS3, and you already have great games on the PSP. It's not much bulkier than an IPod...less expensive though.
Jeff Cossey @ Feb 1st 2007 12:56PM
The PSP has tons of games and tons more great games coming out this year that is not the problem. What games are you looking for? I mean how many has to come out that you consider enough??
The Poet @ Feb 1st 2007 1:05PM
good games....plain and simple. If they do that then they will make money.
hey but at least they open their eyes to see how Nintendo is killing them. :)
goktekin @ Feb 1st 2007 1:07PM
#3 Touche (for the kneejerk reaction). The above PSP Fanboy reporting is only a sentence from the original report (and not the important part for that matter). I just reacted to it as yet another "will do more media on psp" reporting without reading the original article.
However, PSP will never be a media player in my book. I take it out from the drawer only to play games. And let me tell you everytime I take it out to play a new game I have to set the date and time ;) In comparison my new DS is in use daily.
Pinionist @ Feb 1st 2007 1:08PM
I'd rather have less games, but more of those which I'd actually like to play. I already own around 10 games for psp and it's enough for me right now. Seriously, do you think that all people play games all day long ?
fox619_master @ Feb 1st 2007 2:02PM
you have 10 psp games?. I have 3 and i homebrew, thats how many few games there are that i think are good, i got metal portable ops, tekken, monster hunter, and soon vice city stories, all for free.
Tristan @ Feb 1st 2007 2:21PM
Yeah I am about to have 11 or 12 PSP games, there are really great games on it for all players.
alphacrumb @ Feb 1st 2007 3:06PM
The PSP would really take off if Sony could do just one thing: destroy the perception that the DS has better games and more of them ASAP. I own both the PSP and DS--and I enjoy them both--but when I want to play something really epic, I turn to the PSP. (For short game sessions, the DS is just about perfect.)
Considering that the PSP can play PSX games with barely a hitch, Sony would do well to make the majority of PSX titles available for cheap purchase and quick download *right now*. The PSP would not only have one of the largest libraries available for any console, but some of the finest games ever made.
I recently converted a few of my old PSX discs (Final Fanasty VII, Chrono Cross, Fear Effect, Colony Wars, Tenchu, and Gran Turismo 2). There's nothing comparable on the DS to these classics.
txa1265 @ Feb 1st 2007 3:09PM
Re: #8 "I have 3 and i homebrew, thats how many few games there are that i think are good, i got metal portable ops, tekken, monster hunter, and soon vice city stories, all for free."
QED for pretty much every recent thread.
I own over 50 PSP games - some are really crappy, some are mediocre, some are pretty darn good. Still waiting on a non-crappy strategy game and an really good RPG and a decent run&gun shooter ...
pixelator @ Feb 1st 2007 5:00PM
"And let me tell you everytime I take it out to play a new game I have to set the date and time ;) In comparison my new DS is in use daily."
That says more about your gaming habits and preferences than it does about whether the PSP has good games. I personally play games on both my PSP and DS - sometimes more on the DS (like right now with Castlevania and earlier with Age of Empires) and sometimes more on the PSP (like when GTA, Ace Combat X and Dungeon Siege came out).
"I have 3 and i homebrew, thats how many few games there are that i think are good, i got metal portable ops, tekken, monster hunter, and soon vice city stories, all for free."
If you mean you pirated them, you're an asshole. It's one thing to try something out through illegal piracy and then either elect to buy and play or dump it - quite another to take the top titles that you know are good and avoid paying for them.
As for this news, I think it's fine. It's Sony trying to push the PSP in one of the many directions they made it for. It doesn't mean that it doesn't have good games, and it doesn't mean that they (Sony) will not pay any attention to games in the future.
Roy @ Feb 1st 2007 7:03PM
Pushing the multimedia functions is fine, but if they do that with the same weird advertising that they've been using for the psp and the ps3 lately...i dunno...
Someone from Sony should really fire the ad agency running those ad campaigns...they're smoking some really weird sh!t...
Kaw @ Feb 1st 2007 7:31PM
Release full video resolution !!!
Freddy @ Feb 1st 2007 7:41PM
GAMES!!!
The DS sales better cause it has better games.
The DS is really beating the PSP. I was amazed that in my college class this girl took out a Pink DS Lite and played Animal Crossing, then a different girl passed by and said she had that same game. That's why Sony is losing...
Figboy @ Feb 1st 2007 9:44PM
playing Castlevania:Symphony of the Night on the PSP is a wonderful experience.
Sony needs to strike a deal with Konami and legitly release this game over the PS Store.
Then maybe Konami will see that there is a demand for a 2D Castlevania on a Sony console. Screw what Sony wants for the PSP, they don't matter. What matter is the end user (that'd be us), and what appeals to us.
Even if they were to port the DS Castlevanias over, that'd still rock (a good game is a good game, regardless of what platform it's released on. Resident Evil 4 on the PS2 showed us that).
i refuse to buy a DS for just Castlevania.
as for the PSP, i love it. i have about 9 or 10 games for it, and there are at least another 8 or 9 i've yet to buy.
by comparisson, i only had about 8 games for my Gamecube before i traded it in (sometime last October), and i only own 4 or 5 X Box games.
i own over 50 PS2 games, and i still haven't gotten all the back games i've missed out on for whatever reasons (namely cash).
the 9 PSP games i have are plenty, and i absolutely love being able to watch movies and videos on it, and show my friends my pictures and artwork, or check my email when i'm away from my computer.
hell, even my mom wants a PSP after learning it can do all of that stuff (she's not a gamer at all, unless it's solitaire). the only thing deterring her from getting one, and a large portion of the populace is the price. if Sony can get the PSP to under $150, sales will increase.
it already has the software, with more on the way. price is the issue now.
the PS3 is in a weird spot, as it's worth the price, but there isn't enough software to convince people. the console has only been out 2 months, and come the end of this month, better titles are coming, and we'll see a decent stream of quality product throughout the year, even if they are multi-platform games.
not everybody wants a 360 (my roommate has one, and a PS3, but he plays the PS3 more, while the 360 just kind of sits there. i basically forced him to play the Crackdown demo because he didn't want to. fanboy). my personal experience with my roommates 360 has been mixed. there's some good stuff in there (like Crackdown), but the damn thing is too unreliable. it's constantly freezing, and that's annoying. and it's not like this is an old 360. he just bought it in December of last year.
the PS3 on the other hand, has frozen on me just once in the two months since we got it (and it was during a game of Motorstorm), it doesn't overheat, and it's whisper quiet. it's a more reliable piece of hardware than the 360, and as a consumer, that matters to me. there is nothing worse than having a game freeze or crash on you before you reach a save point, losing precious game time.
the PSP and PS3 are both great gaming and multimedia machines, but media and public perception is unneccessarily negative. that's what's hurting both platforms the most. a price cut will help the PSP, and more kickass games will help the PS3
Raith @ Feb 1st 2007 8:14PM
I'd argue that the PSP has better games, whereas the DS offers me no games that spark my interest. As for girls playing animal crossing, yeah I'm not too surprised. I can't imagine girls being too interested in games like Killzone/Ace Combat X.
Jeff Cossey @ Feb 1st 2007 9:37PM
My Games I have are
Ace Combat X - Excellent Flyer and nothing on DS compares
Medal of Honor Heroes - Excellent again nothing on the DS compares as the DS really cant do a 3d game like this and not be so pixlated it makes you want to throw up
Namco Battle Collection - This is a much much better version than the nintendo flavor, GBA Namco Museum is ok but there are many more games and remakes of the game as well on the PSP
Midway Arcade Treasurs - Fun Nostalgic on the PSP
Outrun 2006 - Great Title almost an exact replica of the XBOX and PS2 versions - DS has no car game that compares
Burnout Legends - EXCELLENT on the PSP yet another game DS does no compare to
Star Trek Tactical Assualt - DS has touchscreen on its version which is ok but the game looks pretty bad compared to the PSP if you dont belive me check the forums at www.bethwoft.com
I also have Ridge Racer, Star Wars Battlefront II, and Lemmings I love and play all of these but I use my PSP
for watching TV and Movies, so easy to pull a tv show I missed and convert or take one of my DVD's and convert it.
As far as MP3 I usually listen to thru the stereo in my car
I surf very little as the surfing could be better on the PSP but Sony is working to fix this.
My Point is the PSP is great at game playing especially compared to the DS but there is soo much more it can and does do for me almost daily.
Thomas @ Feb 2nd 2007 12:30AM
@#2
I have to agree, it's about GAMES!!! The psp is second because it had a lack of games.
If you look at the library of DS games, vs the PSP games.. I think that DS has some big hits.. but the PSP library overall is better and more robust. This is stil a good time for Sony to push the multimedia features of the psp.. at least they're pushing it... FINALLY!!! Just needs a price drop.. so that the PSP can be an 'impluse' buy..
txa1265 @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:42AM
Re # 18:"Medal of Honor Heroes...
Outrun 2006...
Star Trek Tactical Assualt..."
It is easy to pick a list of games to show how one platform is better than the other, but to what end?
Re #12 - "I personally play games on both my PSP and DS - sometimes more on the DS (like right now with Castlevania and earlier with Age of Empires) and sometimes more on the PSP (like when GTA, Ace Combat X and Dungeon Siege came out)."
Completely agree! For me it is all about the PSP right now - I'm finishing up "Sid Meiers Pirates" and "Thrillville" (as much as one can 'finish' those), working on "Snoopy vs. Red Baron" and just getting started with "Legend of Heroes III". On the DS I was playing "Elite Beat Agents" but can't get it back from my kids, and just got "Hotel Dusk" but haven't started. Interestingly, the game I've been most into lately is a new GBA game "Mazes of Fate", which plays like an old Wizardry PC game.
As for the main topic, I still wonder ... I mean:
- UMD movies are an abject and unqualified disaster.
- The PSP has no traction as a competitive MP3 player.
- Sony has made moves to actively discourage 'rip your own' DVD watching on the PSP.
- Even Apple's video sales are not where predictions indicated.
So the real pull is the PSX games - and Sony has been really slow to get *that* going ...
Nik @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:04AM
Push the system's multimedia functions? Who cares? How can Sony not get it? One big game can convince someone to buy a system. Downloading movies and music on the other hand can not. The reason the DS is whooping the PSP's ass all over the sales charts is because for every AAA PSP game I can name three DS games I'd probably rather be playing. Not to mention that so many of the games are ports or remakes (FFI, FFII, FF Tactics, Castlevania, those horrible Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell games) that I could play cheaper on another system.
Keep trying to sell the PSP as a multimedia device like you've been doing all along Sony, see where it gets you.
txa1265 @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:39AM
Re #22: "How can Sony not get it? One big game can convince someone to buy a system."
Very good point - look at what MGS:PO is doing in Japan for the PSP! 'Focusing' on multiple things is an oxymoron ... you are either focused or taking a broad approach ... and Sony's attempts at ATTAP (all things to all people) have led to people having no real clue about the PSP, and certainly not a positive image ...
pixelator @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:22AM
"The reason the DS is whooping the PSP's ass all over the sales charts is because for every AAA PSP game I can name three DS games I'd probably rather be playing."
It's not about AAA games - it's about games people BUY. The DS isn't long on AAA's (many of its top selling titles aren't all that highly rated, like Brain Age and Cooking Mama).
The PSP has GOOD GAMES. If you don't like ports, there's plenty else on there. If like me you don't mind a GOOD port, there's plenty of those. Just like on the DS.
Right now, the games that interest me on DS are about as many on PSP, although historically the PSP has held much more of my interest as I'm not at all turned on by cooking, math or Mario Bros. XXII.