1UP's look at the DS and PSP, "1 Year Later"

[daroga]

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3148983

Some interesting analysis. I do enjoy the compairsons between the SNES and the Genesis. Regardless of what side of the fence you're on (if not both), the coming months and years ought to prove interesting for these two little game consoles.

[encendido5]

Interesting read, thanks for the link.

[SilverPaw750]

Good read. Fair analysis.

[maddfrog]

Really good read, I'm starting to like the insight that 1-up has.

[whoknows]

People (aka fanboys) should really take note of this:

For the time being, arguments about who's leading in the U.S. are moot, because nobody is.

[ananag112]

Yeah. 1-Up has some nice editorials. I agree with them on this one. I think the DS will ulimately win in Japan, but if a Dragon Quest and a Final Fantasy game come to the PSP, I think the gap will close between the two.

[Foolman]

but if a Dragon Quest and a Final Fantasy game come to the PSP, I think the gap will close between the two.

Agreed. I mean, look at the PS2 sales numbers for the past couple weeks.

[Ecofreak]

Agreed. I mean, look at the PS2 sales numbers for the past couple weeks.

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the DS has been King of the Charts for nearly the entire year while everything else is kinda slagging behind.

The numbers for FFXII, however, are absolutely amazing. If a few high profile RPGs are released on the PSP then there could be a pretty big swing for Sony's camp. But as it looks, the PSP is largely getting ports - not originals.

Ex. Suikoden I, II
Sakura Taisen
Valkyrie Profile

I find this bit of speculation interesting:

Thus far, 6,385,193 DS systems have been sold in Japan (through the week of March 12), including the new -- and perpetually out-of-stock -- DS Lite. Sony, meanwhile, has only moved 3,135,588 units of the PSP. And that gap is only going to increase. Japan's market, historically, has always embraced one piece of hardware and skyrocketed it above the competition. So, mark our words: The huge gap there between PS2 and GameCube installed bases is going to be replicated -- but in reverse.

[Foolman]

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the DS has been King of the Charts for nearly the entire year while everything else is kinda slagging behind.



http://www.dsfanboy.com/2006/03/24/japanese-hardware-sales-thats-not-really-fair-is-it/

The PS2 got a huge bump in sales right when FFXII came out. So I would expect a huge bump in sales for the PSP if a Final Fantasy game for that came out also.

[FriskyTanuki]

I haven't been able to read any articles from 1up for a while as I get some error that doesn't allow me to see anything. If someone could copy and paste the article, I'd appreciate it.

[Fire]

Great read. 1up.com keeps going higher in my book.

[whoknows]

I haven't been able to read any articles from 1up for a while as I get some error that doesn't allow me to see anything. If someone could copy and paste the article, I'd appreciate it.
Because I love you Frisky ;)

As E3 2006 draws near and the great next-gen console war begins to take shape, it's easy to forget, in all the hype surrounding the Nintendo Revolution and the Sony PS3, that there's already a major knock-down, drag-out brawl in progress.

That fight is, of course, between the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. And it's been a bloody affair. In fact, the portable-format wars have already seen their share of casualties. Nintendo and Sony, for all their competition, can take heart in the fact that the time and money invested into their handheld battle has at least had the effect of destroying all the other competition in record time, from the Zodiac to the Gizmondo to the N-Gage.

And then there were two. The DS is cleaning up in Japan -- the sheer demand for the console there has siphoned every single unit from the marketplace, while PSPs sit unloved on store shelves. But here in the U.S., it's a neck-and-neck race. And, since the PSP launched one year ago on March 24th, 2005, we thought it'd be an excellent time to revisit the past year and gauge the situation as it stands today.

E3 2003 was pretty boring.

Nintendo's booth was mostly filled with the scattershot dregs of its ill-considered "Connectivity" campaign, a disappointing early version of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and a Japanese-language demo of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles that nobody knew how to play. Microsoft did no better: Besides the hands-off demo of Halo 2, all its booth had to offer was a bunch of half-finished Rare titles that wouldn't be released for another two years.

Sony didn't have much to get excited about, either. And maybe the company knew that, which is why it dropped a bomb that seemed very much like a last-minute addition to its press conference. In a shocker, Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Ken Kutaragi said the company would debut a handheld system the very next year. Although no images of the console were shown, the specs announced were enough to make "PSP" the buzzword on everyone's lips.

Nintendo's immediate reaction was to point out that "PSP" was just that: only a buzzword. It didn't exist yet. But the company knew that Sony was serious, and it was widely speculated that Nintendo would end up announcing a new Game Boy soon enough. What nobody expected was that in January 2004, Nintendo would begin to talk up an innovative new portable system that featured two screens in a vertical alignment.

These tiny scraps of information were all anyone had until E3 2004. Sony's PSP showing was impressive -- the unit was sexy, and the games looked positively PS2-level quality. Journalists then packed into buses and rode to Nintendo's press event, wondering how the company would top the PSP. Whether the stage debut of Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo's then-new executive VP of sales and marketing), did indeed best Kutaragi is a matter of debate. But the early videos of games like Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunters were impressive, and the system's stylus-based touch screen controls took everyone by surprise.

Two Launches

The DS and the PSP ended up dropping on Japan within days of each other in December 2004. The price difference wasn't as pronounced as many speculated. Industry insiders said that, at ?19,800 (approx. $180) for the Core Pack, Sony was losing around $200 on each unit sold. But the DS still undercut the PSP at 15,000 yen, which was roughly equivalent to the U.S. launch price of $149.99.

The DS launch was unique for Nintendo in two ways. For one, it was the first Nintendo gaming system ever released in the U.S. first, hitting during the lucrative Thanksgiving shopping season. (Early indications from Satoru Iwata are that the same may hold true for the Revolution.) The launch also differed from past system debuts in that Nintendo's own launch games were bumped off the lineup to make room for Western developers, which were present in full force with games like Activision's Spider-Man 2, EA's Madden NFL 2005, and Ubisoft's daring-but-oh-so-boring dating game, Sprung.

The post-launch drought that followed, however, was the stuff of legend. Nintendo spaced out some of the Japanese launch titles over the next few months, but games like Yoshi Touch & Go, WarioWare: Touched!, and Polarium were...well...boring. It seemed, for a while, that the DS would indeed be relegated to the realm of "gimmick." It wasn't a good few months.

Meanwhile, the PSP took full advantage of the DS' downtime with a much-hyped U.S. launch on March 24, 2005. Even at the asking price of $249.99, the system was a hit. Early titles like Lumines, Ridge Racer, and Wipeout Pure were snatched up by gamers like smack by a junkie. And an assortment of the "supporting cast," like Metal Gear Acid and Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, found cult-hit status. But the PSP wasn't immune to the drought effect, either. After launch, it slipped into the same mostly dead zone as the DS, and it wouldn't be until the fall that either handheld really started to take off.

Dogs, Ports, Updates, and Wi-Fi

All summer, the DS vs. PSP fight was less of a brawl and more like a drunken game of Marco Polo. Everybody was sloshing at turtle-like speeds around the pool, eyes closed, fumbling wildly, hoping to tag someone. The first direct hit came in the form of Nintendogs. The DS puppy simulator didn't receive much attention when it was shown on video at E3, but a stellar Japan launch and a perfect score from Famitsu magazine made waves around the world. Nintendo moved over 1.5 million units of the software in the U.S. alone, actually surpassing domestic sales.

And it kept the streak going with hits like Advance Wars, Mario Kart DS, and Animal Crossing: Wild World -- the latter two being the world's introduction to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the company's long-overdue online gaming service. Within months, it had logged over 1 million users -- and the games weren't that bad either.

The PSP, meanwhile, had a pair of hits of its own with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Burnout Legends. Jaded industry types were heard proclaiming that, finally, there were games on the system worth owning besides Lumines. (This isn't to say that those jaded industry types were doing nothing with the PSP. But many of them were playing homebrew software created by hackers determined to crack the system's security vulnerabilities. As a result, Sony constantly issues firmware upgrades in an effort to patch up those holes. This has turned out to be a constant annoyance for PSP owners that isn't going away anytime soon.)

And all told, the first few months of 2006 have been great for both systems. Capcom seems to have gotten out of its "quick-and-dirty ports" mentality and into an "elaborate, clean ports" groove with bottom-up remakes like Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X and Mega Man Powered Up. And Nintendo's Wi-Fi brigade continues this month with the release of Metroid Prime Hunters and Tetris DS.

Where They At Now?

Several different Japanese organizations keep an accurate running count of hardware sales, so it's very easy to tell who's ahead and by how much. Thus far, 6,385,193 DS systems have been sold in Japan (through the week of March 12), including the new -- and perpetually out-of-stock -- DS Lite. Sony, meanwhile, has only moved 3,135,588 units of the PSP. And that gap is only going to increase. Japan's market, historically, has always embraced one piece of hardware and skyrocketed it above the competition. So, mark our words: The huge gap there between PS2 and GameCube installed bases is going to be replicated -- but in reverse.

In the U.S., it's a much trickier situation to read. Just recently, Sony announced that it had shipped 15 million PSP units worldwide. But there's often a huge gulf between "shipped units" and "units that consumers actually bought." How big? It's impossible to tell for sure, since Sony won't release installed base numbers. The most recent figures were that 5.81 million units had been shipped to the U.S. by the end of 2005, but the number of PSPs that had been sold by the middle of February 2006 was only reported by Sony as "more than 4 million units." That's a nearly 2-million-unit difference in the U.S. alone.

At any rate, it seems as if Nintendo and Sony are in a statistical tie. The most recent numbers that Nintendo has reported are that the DS sold 3.97 million units in the US by the end of 2005, putting them right up against Sony's figure. For the time being, arguments about who's leading in the U.S. are moot, because nobody is.

It's difficult to ignore, though, that the PSP seems like the most attractive prospect right now for Western developers making "mature" games. In an era where it's of paramount importance to develop games for as many platforms as possible to minimize risk and maximize returns, the PSP is for all intents and purposes a fifth home console. It's not rare to see games ported across the PS2, the PSP, the Xbox, the Xbox 360, and the GameCube. This is excellent for the overall health of its release calendar, but potentially boring for gamers who are looking for a more diverse experience. When a developer does come up with an "original" PSP game, it's often a spin-off of a popular console series with heavily reused assets (Liberty City, Burnout, Katamari).

It's not as if the DS is faring much better. Yes, third parties are in love with the little odd-shaped-portable-that-could in Japan. But in the U.S., the DS is seen as more like the successor to the Game Boy. Far from the brief flirtation with adult games like Sprung, Western devs are looking at the DS and thinking, "kids." But then again, considering how big a business the cartoon-licenses-on-GBA racket is -- and that Nintendo sold nearly 5 million GBA units in the U.S. last year -- the DS is in an excellent position to take that market home in 2006.

Whether or not the imminent U.S. release of the "brain-training" games will capture the dads-and-grandmas market that Nintendo so deftly wooed in Japan is anyone's guess. For now, the Stateside PSP vs. DS fight is shaping up like the Super Nintendo versus Genesis battles of yore -- a tough fight to the finish. And just as long as Sony doesn't debut a 32X add-on, it's likely to stay that way.

[jkam]

People (aka fanboys) should really take note of this:

Originally Posted by 1UP
For the time being, arguments about who's leading in the U.S. are moot, because nobody is.


It just proves the point that American gamers are all about pretty graphics and slick looking gadgets. The DS should definitely be the clear winner at least this past year if you go by games and games only. It's not that the PSP can't produce but we still need more original content for the system.

[whoknows]

It just proves the point that American gamers are all about pretty graphics and slick looking gadgets. The DS should definitely be the clear winner at least this past year if you go by games and games only. It's not that the PSP can't produce but we still need more original content for the system.
Thats all opinion though. I had a DS for about 2 months before getting rid of it...none of the games had that "wow" factor I was expecting...I plan to get another one (Lite) someday when there are more games that suite my tastes out, but as of now PSP is my handheld of choice. I'll admit that the games havent been anything too original, but the recent games coming out (Syphon Filter, MMPU, Daxter, etc) show that the PSP just needed some time to get the games out,

[fart_bubble]

Nice to know that I am not the only one getting that error. Every frigging time I open a section on 1up, I have to keep reloading the page just to get it open.

[thorbahn3]

Pretty good feature, but nothing was said that I didn't already know.

[Roufuss]

It just proves the point that American gamers are all about pretty graphics and slick looking gadgets. The DS should definitely be the clear winner at least this past year if you go by games and games only. It's not that the PSP can't produce but we still need more original content for the system.

I've had a DS since close to launch, I've got alot of games for it... most games are easy in difficulty and aren't very long, to boot. Sure, the games are fun, but when I can plow through them in under a week with no problem (Princess Peach) then that bothers me. I haven't yet tried Metroid Hunters or Tetris (haven't opened the first, waiting for a store to get the second so I can use credit) so maybe I'll change my mind.

These last few months the PSP has some great games with a ton of replay value, and I've really been playing the hell out of it. It's funny how everyone always forgets that very long period after launch where the DS was completely worthless.

[evanft]

This isn't like Genesis vs. SNES, because both of those systems had enough exclusive games that warranted purchasing the system. Obviously, the DS one-ups (TEH PUBN!!) the PSP there by miles.

[jkam]

I've had a DS since close to launch, I've got alot of games for it... most games are easy in difficulty and aren't very long, to boot. Sure, the games are fun, but when I can plow through them in under a week with no problem (Princess Peach) then that bothers me. I haven't yet tried Metroid Hunters or Tetris (haven't opened the first, waiting for a store to get the second so I can use credit) so maybe I'll change my mind.

These last few months the PSP has some great games with a ton of replay value, and I've really been playing the hell out of it. It's funny how everyone always forgets that very long period after launch where the DS was completely worthless.

If you buy a game like Princess Peach and think its going to be a long epic adventure than that's pretty silly. Then again I'm not exactly sure what PSP game could be called extremely long. I guess GTA but I'm not into that game. Metroid Hunters is supposedly bigger than Metroid Prime or close to it so that's probably a decent sized game. It also depends on what your into...RPG's are a lot longer than action games so on and so forth.

I guess part of me isn't always looking for an epic game when I'm playing a handheld...not to say I wouldn't though. Pac-Pix was called a demo by most but it was the kind of game that I really wanted to go back to every single time I shut the system off. To me if a game is that fun I could care less how short it is. I actually sold it for more than I paid for it too.

The PSP has games like Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max which I own and love but I feel too as if that's all that's coming down the pipe. Metal Slug Collection...Power Stone Collection....again good games with tons of replay but nothing new. Games like Daxter and Syphon Filter are a start but we need more of that. An action based Metal Gear would be a good idea, maybe a Devil May Cry (which I think is in the works), maybe an original Prince of Persia so on and so forth.

I also prefer the DS for another reason....The hardware is way more solid to me. The D-pad on my PSP sucks donkey nuts and the analog stick loosens up quite a bit. The DS Lite will also close the nonsense about how the looks of the console make a difference. Personally I could care less. I don't have a problem playing a DS in public.

It is really all opinion but if I could choose only one handheld right now it would be my DS.

[evanft]

jkam wins. I'll give my opinion:

The DS has many innovative, fun, and quirky games, while the PSP has many games that are essentially portable PS2 titles. While the PSP games are often longer and do offer more replay value, the core gameplay tends to be pretty crappy, or it's something you've bought and played before. The PSP's missing shoulder buttons and second analog stick (or a solid one stick, for that matter) also make playing games designed for the Dual Shock extremely frustrating (see Socom).

I think the DS' real advantage here is not only does it have more great games, but those games offer gameplay experiences that are impossible to reproduce on the PSP. Would Phoenix Wright, Meteos, or Trauma Center be nearly as enjoyable on the PSP? Of course not. Losing the touch screen would make the gameplay of those games much less natural and more frustrating.

[daroga]

Here's an idea for the PSP that they'll never use:

Produce the EXACT same game on the PS2 and the PSP, and I mean the EXACT same game. Sell the DVD and the UMD in the same pack. Then, enable game-save sharing between the PS2 and the PSP, so that you can play the game on the big screen when you're home, then if you're on the go, download the save to the PSP and play it while out and about. That'd be a little bit of innovation in the stagnant console market.

[SpazX]

I don't have a PSP, so I have no room to comment, so here are my comments:

People say that PSP has few original games, and that's probably true for the most part, but it seems to me that that's exactly what it was supposed to be and what it's marketed as being. The PSP to me is supposed to be a portable playstation (well that's the name right? :-P) it pretty much gets PS2 ports (and they ported at least one good original game (GTA) on the PSP to the PS2) so that you can play them on the go. Some people like that and buy the same game on both so they have one to play at home and one to play when they're not at home. Doesn't make sense to me, but that's why I didn't buy one (that and the ungodly expense).

The DS and game boy are like that partially, but usually don't get direct ports, and when they do they're altered in one way or another probably due mostly just to the fact that they're not made to be nearly as powerful as current consoles. The PSP seems to me to be made about as powerful as the PS2 because it's supposed to basically be a portable PS2 with basically the same games so that it's the same experience. Obviously the DS is meant to be something different from consoles and the game boy with its dual screen and touch screen elements.

So, to sum up all that rambling crap, I think it's weird to complain about the PSP for not having good original games when IMO it's not marketed or intended to, it's meant to be a portable version of stuff you have at home (movies and music), including the PS2. You can expect the games on PSP that get really popular will get ported to PS2 or PS3 unless other companies don't go the way that rockstar did with GTA, but I don't see why they wouldn't. It's probably pretty damn easy to port from PSP to PS2 (I dunno about PS3) so most companies will do it unless sony stops them for some reason.

EDIT: I agree that would make sense daroga, since as I said that seems to be what the PSP is marketed towards - people that want the same game on the go as at home.

[SteveMcQ]

Here's an idea for the PSP that they'll never use:

Produce the EXACT same game on the PS2 and the PSP, and I mean the EXACT same game. Sell the DVD and the UMD in the same pack. Then, enable game-save sharing between the PS2 and the PSP, so that you can play the game on the big screen when you're home, then if you're on the go, download the save to the PSP and play it while out and about. That'd be a little bit of innovation in the stagnant console market.That sounds great, aside from the fact that control schemes would be a pain in the ass w/ the lack of a second analog and two shoulder buttons.

[daroga]

That sounds great, aside from the fact that control schemes would be a pain in the ass w/ the lack of a second analog and two shoulder buttons.
Yeah, they'd have to make it for the lowest common denominaitor in that regard (and probably in graphics and sound as well).

[ananag112]

Here's an idea for the PSP that they'll never use:

Produce the EXACT same game on the PS2 and the PSP, and I mean the EXACT same game. Sell the DVD and the UMD in the same pack. Then, enable game-save sharing between the PS2 and the PSP, so that you can play the game on the big screen when you're home, then if you're on the go, download the save to the PSP and play it while out and about. That'd be a little bit of innovation in the stagnant console market.

They did that in Madden sort of.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I think complaining about the lack of "length" of a portable game is sort of flawed. To me, portable gaming is something where you can pick it up, play for a few minutes to kill some time and then put it down. While I realize that not all portable gaming has to fall into this box, I think the most successful portable game ever sure does- Tetris.

There are "epics" on DS if you look for them. I agree with the idea that PSP is PS on the go, the same games. If you want innovative new gameplay experiences, then DS is your system.

This will be a big few months for DS too. MP, Tetris just released, a new look for the system and Mario (OLDSCHOOL!!!!) and Zelda on the horizon. What does Sony have to counter except more ported FPSes?

[blandstalker]

Here's an idea for the PSP that they'll never use:

Produce the EXACT same game on the PS2 and the PSP, and I mean the EXACT same game. Sell the DVD and the UMD in the same pack. Then, enable game-save sharing between the PS2 and the PSP, so that you can play the game on the big screen when you're home, then if you're on the go, download the save to the PSP and play it while out and about. That'd be a little bit of innovation in the stagnant console market.

The more I think about this, the better an idea it seems.

Ironically, it's a concept I think Nintendo would be far more likely to try.

[Chacrana]

I think complaining about the lack of "length" of a portable game is sort of flawed. To me, portable gaming is something where you can pick it up, play for a few minutes to kill some time and then put it down. While I realize that not all portable gaming has to fall into this box, I think the most successful portable game ever sure does- Tetris.

There are "epics" on DS if you look for them. I agree with the idea that PSP is PS on the go, the same games. If you want innovative new gameplay experiences, then DS is your system.

This will be a big few months for DS too. MP, Tetris just released, a new look for the system and Mario (OLDSCHOOL!!!!) and Zelda on the horizon. What does Sony have to counter except more ported FPSes?

Now that MGA 2's out, there's literally no original games to look forward to other than Monster Hunter Freedom... But then again, I haven't seen a DS game worth buying since Mario Kart so it's been collecting dust and will be until Mario comes out. The other issue I have with the DS is the "innovation." Simply put, the touch screen is still a gimmick. Yeah, Trauma Center used it well, but games like Castlevania, Mario 64, Mario Kart, Phoenix Wright, etc. didn't need the DS' "innovation" at all. I'd like to see some more practical uses of the touch screen like Trauma Center managed and I'd like to see the PSP get some original games sometime.

So both portables need to get something new. I like them both a lot (especially the PSP as of late since I'm a sucker for those collections and remakes), but they both need to see definite improvements.

[FriskyTanuki]

Now that MGA 2's out, there's literally no original games to look forward to other than Monster Hunter Freedom...
So Loco Roco isn't original? What about Field Commander? There's even the Metal Gear game that Kojima's working on that supposedly has a new type of gameplay that's only possible with the PSP. Or is it just based on your taste? How is Monster Hunter Freedom original when it's based off the PS2 version?

[Dr Mario Kart]

how the heck can you have a new type of gameplay only possible with the PSP when the controls arent any sort of radical departure from home consoles.

[Roufuss]

how the heck can you have a new type of gameplay only possible with the PSP when the controls arent any sort of radical departure from home consoles.

Leave it to Kojima to figure something out.

[botticus]

how the heck can you have a new type of gameplay only possible with the PSP when the controls arent any sort of radical departure from home consoles.
The game shuts off when it comes within range of a non-Sony electronics component, so you HAVE to play it outside?

[FriskyTanuki]

how the heck can you have a new type of gameplay only possible with the PSP when the controls arent any sort of radical departure from home consoles.
You'll have to wait to see what Kojima has in store.

[Dr Mario Kart]

The game shuts off when it comes within range of a non-Sony electronics component, so you HAVE to play it outside?

That reminds me of Kojima's last zany game innovation.

Boktai.

haha.

Boktai.