It looks like some are speculating that a Sony announcement of a PSP2 will be received with a lukewarm reception at best.
The 3DS might not be the only handheld coming out, as it’s widely rumored that Sony will announce a new PSP. Even if a PSP2 is unveiled, it won’t have a big impact, Greenwald believes. “Sony may also launch a new PSP, which likely won’t elicit much more than a yawn from attendees and investors,” he said.
Is the PSP as a brand really done? If yes, it is a damn shame. There was so much potential, but in my opinion the price point of the games, which are often very close to their big brother console equivalent, is the biggest factor in a lack of success.
The PSP2 really needs a lot of bells and whistles in order to captivate the portable gaming audience.
I think more than hardware features or capabilities, it needs compelling content that people are willing to pay for.
Nintendo has that content. They put Mario, Zelda, etc. on their handhelds and those games will sell purchases of more handhelds.
But I think especially the adult gamers are finding more and more that “time killers” on smart phones are good enough for most of their portable gaming needs.
Even Nintendo now considers iPhone a threat, although their big games will always sell well. There may only be room for one handheld brand. Nintendo’s games will always appeal to children and their parents will buy those systems for their kids, even if they play smart phone games themselves.
Kind of like how parents buy mostly Disney movies for their kids, maybe Nintendo is the go-to brand in that market.
PSP was always going to appeal to older gamers, with PSP games more geared towards mature themes instead of cutesy characters. But the PSP came out when, 6 years ago? That’s a long time in technology and meanwhile, smart phones got very popular and capable enough graphics-wise. The controls aren’t optimum (of course PSP controls aren’t the best either) yet it saves people having to buy and carry a dedicated gaming device.
The world kind of passed the PSP by.
“The world kind of passed the PSP by.” – Great comment!
I have an unexpected trip to Scotland next weekend, so I may actually pick up something new for my PSP. I would strongly consider an iPad except that I just spent too much on the Slim. Oh well …