[smacks head]
I mean, I have an iPhone and plenty of games on it. But it's not a game system. It's a communications device that can play some games. That's not how analyst Nicholas Lovell from Game Brief sees it, though.
"...the iPod doesn't have expensive processors or a unique format disc like the UMD; it is an easy-to-use device that offers consumers their music, podcasts, short-form video and accessible games on the move and in my opinion, will be the final nail in the PSP's coffin," he says on CasualGaming.biz.
The article boasts that there are three times the titles for iPhone/iPod than there are the DS, and five times the PSP. I think that's because games are easy to make and release for the Apple devices. These numbers say nothing about the quality of the games. Lovell continues to list other silly reasons why Apple's devices are better than Sony's. He actually cites "rounded corners" as another reason.
It's a totally different market. Sony wants all gamers, not just the casual ones. There's plenty of younger gamers that don't have phones or music players, but want game systems. And more hardcore gamers that like buttons.
Look, if the PSP dies, it won't be because Apple killed it. It will be because Sony killed it. And Sony is working hard this year to revitalize the platform with lots of hot new titles and not a bunch of half-assed download-ware. Also, there's talks of the next PSP going around. Don't count Sony out just yet, silly analyst.
[Via CVG]
Contest:
5:40 PM on 02.26.2009
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...but I'm just going to go with a HAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA!
Sony will be around for a little while.. even if they (god forbid) stop making the PlayStation brand.
The lack of buttons is pretty profound, and unfortunately in terms of gaming, I haven't been entirely impressed with what the App Store offers. A lot of the games use accelerometer control (which isn't 100% perfect), or they use on-screen control pad/buttons (which I found was bad for emulation but for some titles does work), or regular old touch-screen (which works the best, provided it's nothing drastic).
The App Store was going to get a "premium" selection of titles breaching the $20 line, but do I see them doing well? No. It was around a year ago now that I saw App Store sales by price, and believe it or not, the 99 cent apps were the highest, followed by free. And it just went down from there, dropping off around the $5 mark. I don't see people shelling out a ton of money for these games. I don't really see support being incredibly strong either.
Anyway yeah, irrelevant. Is like saying the Sega GameGear kicked the Game&Watch's ass
Are we really saying that one million dollars in apple iTunes game sales are different than 1 million dollars in PSP software sales? The concept of "gaming platform" is no longer limited by the definition of specialized hardware like a PSP or DS. I actually enjoyed playing a sortof "bullet hell" shooter on my iTouch the other day that a co-worker is producing to sell on iTunes. I think we're still in the first generation of games for the iPhone/iTouch, much like any console generation.
I certainly believe that the iPhone/iTouch will displace the PSP as the 2nd place financially successful handheld console.