The Playstation Vita Catch-All

TheGameguru wrote:

This is very confusing. In other forums 3D is awful and should be shunned...in here though it's the bees knees and the wave of the future...

Is this like that Steve Jobs reality distortion field thingy?!

Have you looked at Everything Else lately?

More seriously though, it does sometimes seem that the whole internet makes up its collective mind about something, but this community a little different sometimes. Some people are still dubious about 3D, but the discourse is usually civil.

I'm still more interested in the 3DS because it looks, well, portable.

I largely detest 3D. My interest in the 3DS has never been the 3D. It's been that this is the next Nintendo clamshell handheld. I will likely always have 3D turned off.

I'm sure the 3DS will outsell the PSP2 but it has undoubtably already lost a large part of the DS casual market (crosswords, sudoku, quiz games, etc.) to smart phones. Meanwhile, the PSP2 should hopefully be able to carve out a niche for itself, well differentiated from both the 3DS and smart phones.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

I'm sure the 3DS will outsell the PSP2 but it has undoubtably already lost a large part of the DS casual market (crosswords, sudoku, quiz games, etc.) to smart phones. Meanwhile, the PSP2 should hopefully be able to carve out a niche for itself, well differentiated from both the 3DS and smart phones.

My issue is that I have doubts it'll be able to differentiate itself from consoles as well. Here's hoping, but I don't know. How the Monster Hunter franchise behaves in the future has a large stake in my interest. If it sticks to being primarily a PSP series, I'll probably cave and buy one (given that they do online properly). Even then, I'd rather just have the same game on my 360.

For those of us that have babies though, or a wife who wants to use the main TV, being able to play our favourite console franchises on a handheld around the house (with sleep mode) is a god send. Personally, on a cold day I like to cozy up in bed with a handheld so this also works. Like I said before, it will probably be a niche device but hopefully will do well enough to support developers.

For me, the biggest factor is the games. Prices drop, hardware revisions sometimes fix problems, and I can get used to new controls. It's a bit hard to judge the PSP2 because I don't know of any games for the thing. I can assume a God of War, Metal Gear, and maybe a new Loco Roco, but none of those are a given. Understandable, considering how far off it still is.

Two hours of interesting PSP2 talk on the latest 8-4 Play podcast.

About twenty minutes in and they're kinda reinforcing my worry for the system.

Actually, misspoke a bit there. The last half hour is more about other games. Made me salivate for The Last Story, the Sakaguchi is still the best JRPG maker for my money.

MechaSlinky wrote:

For me, the biggest factor is the games. Prices drop, hardware revisions sometimes fix problems, and I can get used to new controls. It's a bit hard to judge the PSP2 because I don't know of any games for the thing. I can assume a God of War, Metal Gear, and maybe a new Loco Roco, but none of those are a given. Understandable, considering how far off it still is.

Not a given, but pretty damn likely. I just hope Sony can get Ready At Dawn for whatever God of War game they try to make, because Ghost of Sparta was amazing.

I'm really interested to see if the hacking community manages to make this into something like the PSP. I won't be giving up my PSP, it does too many things (ha, it should have had the tagline "It only does Everything").

ahrezmendi wrote:

I'm really interested to see if the hacking community manages to make this into something like the PSP. I won't be giving up my PSP, it does too many things (ha, it should have had the tagline "It only does Everything").

This might come off as snarky, but I don't really mean it that way. Are you comfortable with the ease in hacking the PSP kind of killing the software market for the US? There are literally two titles coming out in February for PSP, and I believe there was only one in January. Almost every developer/publisher rep I've heard on podcasts talk about the situation has blamed the system's dire software situation on the hacked PSPs running pure piracy.

I don't think you can hope for that sort of hacking and a good development status for the system. It may be convenient for mostly legal uses, but most people aren't doing it for that purpose.

Blind_Evil wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:

I'm really interested to see if the hacking community manages to make this into something like the PSP. I won't be giving up my PSP, it does too many things (ha, it should have had the tagline "It only does Everything").

This might come off as snarky, but I don't really mean it that way. Are you comfortable with the ease in hacking the PSP kind of killing the software market for the US? There are literally two titles coming out in February for PSP, and I believe there was only one in January. Almost every developer/publisher rep I've heard on podcasts talk about the situation has blamed the system's dire software situation on the hacked PSPs running pure piracy.

I don't think you can hope for that sort of hacking and a good development status for the system. It may be convenient for mostly legal uses, but most people aren't doing it for that purpose.

That's unfortunately my reaction as well, Ahrez. I'm also a bit concerned that Sony may be trying to pull some funny authentication scheme with the built-in 3G.

Thirteenth wrote:

That's unfortunately my reaction as well, Ahrez. I'm also a bit concerned that Sony may be trying to pull some funny authentication scheme with the built-in 3G.

But wouldn't that leave the people with non-3G models unable to authenticate?

MrDeVil909 wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

That's unfortunately my reaction as well, Ahrez. I'm also a bit concerned that Sony may be trying to pull some funny authentication scheme with the built-in 3G.

But wouldn't that leave the people with non-3G models unable to authenticate?

I didn't even think about that.

Blind_Evil wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:

I'm really interested to see if the hacking community manages to make this into something like the PSP. I won't be giving up my PSP, it does too many things (ha, it should have had the tagline "It only does Everything").

This might come off as snarky, but I don't really mean it that way.

Here's the snarky response:

You mean turning the PSP into a portable SNES?

Yup, I really hope they manage to keep the PSP2 much more locked down than the PSP. Software sales for the PSP outside Japan have been really depressing.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

I'm sure the 3DS will outsell the PSP2 but it has undoubtably already lost a large part of the DS casual market (crosswords, sudoku, quiz games, etc.) to smart phones. Meanwhile, the PSP2 should hopefully be able to carve out a niche for itself, well differentiated from both the 3DS and smart phones.

I haven't played Brain Age since I got my Droid. I used to play Sudoku almost daily on my DS, but now I do it on my phone.

cube wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:

I'm really interested to see if the hacking community manages to make this into something like the PSP. I won't be giving up my PSP, it does too many things (ha, it should have had the tagline "It only does Everything").

This might come off as snarky, but I don't really mean it that way.

Here's the snarky response:

You mean turning the PSP into a portable SNES?

Also, my Droid already does that, and does it well. I can bluetooth my Wii remote or my Wii Classic Controller, and use that, which beats the hell out of the PSP controls. Got a big chunk of my NES, SNES, and Genesis library on my Droid. Granted I still have all the systems hooked up to my old tv in the guest room, but it's so easy to play them on my phone.

I bought up the size of the NGP on another forum and one of the guys mentioned something that gave me pause. He said how it seemed to him more like some kind of laptop and I realised that the NGP seems targeted more at the iPad than the 3DS.

It seems kind of like an extension of the PS3 model, in that it's a machine that does everything rather than something being aimed specifically at gaming.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

I bought up the size of the NGP on another forum and one of the guys mentioned something that gave me pause. He said how it seemed to him more like some kind of laptop and I realised that the NGP seems targeted more at the iPad than the 3DS.

It seems kind of like an extension of the PS3 model, in that it's a machine that does everything rather than something being aimed specifically at gaming.

The NGP is 7.17 X 3.28, the PSP 3000 is 6.69 X 2.8, the 3DS is 5.3 X 2.9, the iPad is 9.56 by 7.47, and a Macbook Pro is 12.78 X 8.94 (all sizes are inches).

In what way, precisely, is the NGP the size of "some kind of laptop"?

I'm not saying he's entirely right, but it's definitely on the large side for a pocket gaming system. And it's a multi tasking system. While comparisons with the 3DS are obvious it feels like the wrong comparison.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

I'm not saying he's entirely right, but it's definitely on the large side for a pocket gaming system. And it's a multi tasking system. While comparisons with the 3DS are obvious it feels like the wrong comparison.

As for size, it is only fractionally larger than the PSP 3000, and the size difference between the 3DS and the NGP is much smaller than between the iPad and NGP. As for potential, while it does multiple tasks (as the PSP does, as RG says), a great many systems do that, so stating that is hardly enough for the comparison to hold. Is the PS3 like a PC, because both will play Netflix? Again, I ask you to post an explanation of why the NGP is more like a laptop or a tablet than it is like the 3DS. The fact that the front is cluttered with gaming inputs (used by no widely circulated non-gaming computer interface) seems like an odd choice for a company intending it to be something other than a gaming handheld first and foremost.

I'm not going to get into a nitpicky argument over a random thought that I just found interesting.

But I will say that while the NGP is only slightly bigger than the PSP3000 that is already significantly bigger than both the DSi and 3DS, therefore it is not an easily pocketable gaming system.

With that in mind, considering the horsepower and hardware in that case it isn't a great logical leap to see the NGP potentially eating into iPad/tablet territory.

People keep going on about how iDevices are rendering specialised portable gaming hardware irrelevant, yet Sony's very (IMO) interesting response is to move their system look like a serious challenger to other tablets.

And I never once said it's not a gaming system first and foremost. I said it's not a pocket gaming system.

Actually, the PSP is lighter than the DS lite or at least that's what I though when I picked up the PSP 2000 for the first time. It's certainly smaller than a DSi XL.

TheGameguru wrote:

This is very confusing. In other forums 3D is awful and should be shunned...in here though it's the bees knees and the wave of the future...

Is this like that Steve Jobs reality distortion field thingy?!

Filthy skimmer, we shun gimmicky 3D slapped onto 2D movies and screens that require cumbersome glasses. The 3DS may feel underwhelming to some because the 3DS isn't giving us a new means of interacting with our games, Nintendo is again not engaging the increasing connected social gamers in the U.S., plus the PSP's nub wasn't setting the world on fire 6 years ago. NGP is taking a serious attempt at uniting the interfaces of touch screen phones with (hopefully) competent twin-stick controls, something I find interesting. And at least Sony tries things with online.

Day one - I'm a sucker. And a handheld ho. I was there for the PSP launch, and despite a few flaws here and there, it's been a wonderful system when I've had the opportunity to use it to it's full potential (i.e. stuck somewhere for a long time, playing games like Jeanne d'Arc). The hardware seems to be pretty incredible.

Some interesting (possible) tidbits about the NGP:

With Sony urging developers to create releases that work across PS3 and NGP, the implications of this are significant. "They want us to do cross-platform," said the source, explaining that the submission process has been streamlined, with only a single submission required for a title on PSN and NGP.

And developers were told: "All games at launch available on flash [the physical storage medium] would also be on PSN."

However, Sony is also insisting that it "does not want exactly the same game" on NGP and PS3 – there "has to be a reason for the NGP title". "They want at least some kind of interactivity between the two versions with NGP-only extras," the source added.

The rumoured addition of 'cloud saving' – seen as key for enabling gamers to switch easily between a game on PS3 and NGP – was raised by developers, but SCEE would not officially confirm it.

I don't know about others, but I shun this crappy pseudo-3d nonsense in all forms and on all devices. Glasses or not, unless it's some kind of actual holographic projection complete with a correct modeling of point of view and head tracking, I just don't see how it has anything to offer.

Anyway, if the NGP runs a modern 2 stick version of Madden with decent performance (and load times) I'd probably buy one. That way I can play anywhere and don't need to hog the TV.

I shun 3D. I don't shun the 3DS. I'm more excited for NGP, but I'll be playing the 3DS until it arrives.

And yeah, playing a season of twin stick Madden or NCAA would be great. Playing a season where I could smoothly go between PS3 and NGP with the same save would sell me both consoles.

I had my eye on 3DS until I realized that Nintendo was requiring that every title released on it be fully functional in 2D, both mechanically as well as visually. That's fine from a presentation perspective, but it essentially kills any opportunity to introduce innovation through 3D-exclusive gameplay design.

Aaron D. wrote:

Nintendo was requiring that every title released on it be fully functional in 2D, both mechanically as well as visually.

I'd bet $50 that sometime in the next two years there will be a game that can only be optimally experienced on 3DS, because of the 3D tech. Life finds a way, in the words of the great Goldblum.

Aaron D. wrote:

I had my eye on 3DS until I realized that Nintendo was requiring that every title released on it be fully functional in 2D, both mechanically as well as visually. That's fine from a presentation perspective, but it essentially kills any opportunity to introduce innovation through 3D-exclusive gameplay design.

I kind of agree with you. While I want most games on the 3DS to be 3D-optional, it will be weird if they create a console with that as the selling point and never really use it. They might as well have just released the DS2.

DSGamer wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

I had my eye on 3DS until I realized that Nintendo was requiring that every title released on it be fully functional in 2D, both mechanically as well as visually. That's fine from a presentation perspective, but it essentially kills any opportunity to introduce innovation through 3D-exclusive gameplay design.

I kind of agree with you. While I want most games on the 3DS to be 3D-optional, it will be weird if they create a console with that as the selling point and never really use it. They might as well have just released the DS2.

Isn't that what they did, though? All that's required in a traditional system followup is more power and maybe a few more convenience features, and that's what the 3DS has, plus 3D. The only difference is they didn't call it the DS2. Nintendo seemed to give up boring (or conventional) naming conventions with the N64. Kinda.

After more careful consideration I think I'm in with the NGP as long as it's $349 or lower. I've started to regret not purchasing a PS3 when it became reasonably priced ($299) and it feels kinda late in the game to buy one now. I think starting with the next gen portables I'm going to just buy everything that the major platform holders make. Dollars to entertainment hours, none of them will likely end up being wasteful.