Sony Says No PSP 2 4 U
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: sony, psp, playstation, portable | Themes: Digital Entertainment
According to SCEE president David Reeves, Sony has no plans to develop a PSP 2.
The news really should be of no surprise, as Sony has not seen solid support from developers and fans alike since its original appearance back in March 2005. Deemed as a portable multimedia extravaganza for both gamers and gadget enthusiasts, the PlayStation Portable offers PlayStation 2-like graphics, full-featured movies, Internet browsing, MP3 playback (and even more on hacked firmware). The device can even be used to control the PlayStation 3 console remotely, and just recently, Sony updated the firmware enabling users to download demos and other files straight from the PlayStation Network Store.
However, the device has several sore points: having difficulties rendering web pages due to its limited memory and problems with the UMD disks falling apart or suffering irreparable damage. The UMD format never caught on to the mainstream consumer; tons of movies were initially found on Walmart and Best Buy store shelves, but due to lackluster sales, most movie distributors forfeited support for the UMD format, thus the previous plethora was reduced to small helping at EB Games.
Although revising the original PSP-2000 model helped sales last year (nearly 200 percent by September 2007), the PSP console still falls behind the Nintendo DS in sales by a large number: just this past November, the Nintendo DS sold 1.56 million units, where as Sony's PSP only sold 420,539 units. The PSP 3000 hit the streets back in August, offering an improved LCD screen, a built-in microphone, and expanded video-out options. But with a bigger, brighter screen, the new hardware appalled gamers with its visible interlacing stemming from the screen's response time to reduce ghosting.
"Installed with this new LCD device, PSP-3000 offers more natural and vibrant colors on its screen, but the scan lines have come out to be more visible as a result of improving response time to alleviate the afterimages on PSP-3000," said SCEA. "Since this is due to hardware specification, there are no plans for a system software update concerning this issue."
Despite the issues with the PSP-3000, times are generally tough for Sony; both consoles fall behind Nintendo and Microsoft in sales, the company just announced that it's cutting up to 8,000 jobs (story) and even forked out $1 Million to the FTC for violating children's rights (story). So when SCEE president David Reeves told MCV that Sony currently has no plans for a PSP console, the news really isn't surprising. Then again, the company is focusing on the just-released PSP-3000 in the same manner as Nintendo USA is focusing on the DS Lite despite the release of the DSi in Japan. Both products bring in sales, and have no need for replacement. Yet.
Reeves admits that the PSP's problems is not in the hardware despite what critics (cough) may say, but in the game library. "Its weakness, however, is its software. And that’s because developers, when it comes to placing their bets, have to choose PS3 and 360, then Wii, then DS, maybe even PS2 before PSP. It’s the same at our internal studios, where the focus has been on PS3. They’ve also focused a lot on PS2 as well because we have to get the SingStars out for that format. So PSP games will come – they just take a while longer.”
There's no question that the PSP's library of games could be a bit more exciting, however gamers should note that the portable console does have a few gems: God of War: Chains of Olympus, LocoRoco, Ratchet&Clank: Size Matters, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and more. Hopefully time will bring more quality games to the PSP unit, however at this point in time, it is highly unlikely the device will topple the DS Lite or even the upcoming Nintendo DSi.
-
Previous News Article
Intel & Ericsson's Laptop... -
Next News Article
Palm to Launch 'Nova' OS at CES
No PSP replacement means the company doesn't want the detailed release yet.
I love the fact that children have to fake their age to get into certain site, yet there is no way to enforce it besides punishing the company.
The PSP is just that, a great piece of hardware (once you install custom firmware).
I seem to play all my old NES, Amiga and PSOne games on it and none of the PSP titles. By far the PSP games are pretty weak, even GoW Chains of Olympus, that was a pure cash grab for fan boys like me
I'm sorry to hear that. I own a PSP and was really looking for the a PSP 2. I have a lot of time to play on the go, so a portable console makes sense to me. And I prefer the PSP's bigger screen than the DS's smaller ones. I've enjoyed many games on it, including GoW, Sid Meier's Pirates!, Mega Man, Daxter, Echochrome... I also enjoy wathing movies on that thing. As people say: it's a very sexy piece of technology.
I still can't believe they actually thought people would buy UMD movies. Who would seriously fork out money for a movie that they can only watch on a 6" screen (or whatever size it is)?
one step closer to getting rid of Blu-Ray too. Hurting consumer confidence. Honestly, my prediction is 3 years, blu-ray will be gone.... streaming devices will start to take over the market for monthly fees OR digital downloads to own w/ DRM will...
What no PSP2 that's a shame it is a great device & I would personally pick it above a DS any day but just me. The PSP can do so much even before it is hacked I mean modded. I am sure Sony will come out with something but it may not be named the PSP all we have to do is relearn all those Nintendo egg heads that there is other hardware on the market & most of that hardware has better options as well.
The problem is scope. All these companies try to add crap to overcome their competitors creativety and originality. Look at the nGage, lets create a proprietary gaming platform that can also be used as a phone, if you don't mind holding the device sidways against your head because we added the phone bits as an afterthought, even though Nokia is first and foremost (and only) a phone company.
The PSPs problem was it tried to be a mobile entertainment suite, but it failed on all accounts. No one wants to buy a separate copy of a movie on a proprietary format for a 6-inch screen nor play subpar games nor have subpar internet browsing, nor do they really care that it can play MP3s when their phone and iPod already do that.
Add on to the fact that new smartphones (and even the new iPod touch) offer similar or superior experiences, for an equal or lesser price, and there's really no market for it. I can't explain the DS's success, but I can understand the PSP's failure.
Oh yeah, well i heard from a guy that knows a guy that the PSP2 is going to be released Q3 '09, have a blu-ray drive, a hard drive and play PS3 games.
See i can do it too, make stuff up and post it as news. Nobody knows the future, esspecially when it comes from Sony, they lie about everything.
Although I also think the PSP library could be better, I don't think an iPhone / iPod / iTouch / whichever SmartPhone offers similar / superior experiences. Touch screen? No tactile feedback when pressing a "virtual" button? No analog nub? It may be funny for casual gamers to play pool using the motion sensor, but as a more serious gamer on a shaking bus I take the PSP over any of those (or the DS and its stylus) anyday.
Besides, though it could be better, I still prefer the PSP library over the DS's and the iTunes'.
Well I think the PSP's weakness can be summed up in two ways. 1. Cost too much for a portable gaming unit. 2. Hardware issues and is much more fragile than the DS. I've actually dropped my DS onto solid concrete and it still works. Not so sure about the PSP though.