The "ten year life cycle" excuse has been trotted out by Sony so many times that it's taken on the properties of a self parody. Whenever the PS3 wasn't doing so well, Sony would claim "TEN YEARS" and that would make everything better. Well, it worked for the PS3, so why not try the same excuse for the PSP?
"There is absolutely a 10-year life cycle for PSP, and probably more," says SCEA's John Koller. "We've talked about 'We'll be in the PSP business as long as we're in the PlayStation business', because we absolutely believe in handheld.
"Now in terms of where we are in the current life cycle, I think we're just kind of hitting our stride. We just announced that we hit 60 million units worldwide, which is a very, very good number for PSP, we've got a lot of good development support. It's just a very healthy platform. I don't think we'd be investment spending to the tune that we are without full belief that this is a go-forward platform."
Pro tip: Saying that you're "hitting your stride" with a system that was released five f*cking years ago is not something you should be proud of.
Video Interview: Sony's John Koller, on PSP Go, PSN and PS3 [Joystiq via Videogamer]
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Contest:
9:20 AM on 06.21.2010
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Should I bookmark this for the inevitable PSP2 announcement?
But I don't need to hear about how long the console will live, I still play PS1 and SNES games, even though they're way over their own life cycle. Supported or not, if you love a console you can play on it forever.
Because it's complete and utter bullshit.
Because Sony hasn't been supporting the PSP.
Because using that excuse after five years of being shit is ridiculous.
Can't wait to get my hands on Valkyria Chonicles 2 or Ace Combat:Joint Assualt though. Its easy to hate on aspects of the PSP and how Sony handles it, but I still pay attention for when a game worth getting comes out.
That is all.
I don't think it's fair to say their system has been shit for five years. It's kept me content. Not that they couldn't do a better job supporting it, and it is pretty silly to say they're hitting their stride halfway through the supposed 10 year life cycle, but c'mon, I've had some good times with my PSP since launch. I guess I just don't expect as much out of a handheld as some people, but I've been generally more interested in the big PSP titles than I have been in the big DS titles. I've also really enjoyed going back and playing PS1 games on my PSP.
I dunno... all I really ask of a handheld is a handful of decent big name games a year and I feel like PSP has provided that over the last 5 years.
I also feel like they're shaping up nicely for the PSP2 to play PS2 games and have that 2nd analog nub. The PSP is worth it to me just to have a portable PS1 and I'd wager the PSP2 will also be worth it if it's a portable PS2.
Of course when the 3DS hits I expect my PSP to become a dust collector, but we'll see. :)
Marcus (while palying a PSP, not looking at KB): I consume....a healthy amount of Newbs online every day! or something like that, cracked me up.
Anyway, I consider my PSP and extention of my PS3, when i'm not at home I've got it on me and if i fancy a little version of something it's there. It's my go-to console for chilling in my den smoking, or for my lunchbreaks and ciggy breaks at work.
Mine is a launch model 1000 series, with fully legit, up-to-date firmware. After a couple of years with a modded PS2 i decided enough was enough and all Sony products in my home are fully legit.
I'm currently playing Patapon 2, GTA Chinatown, Gran Turismo and tonight i'm gonna buy Twisted Metal:Head on and on Friday, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and I cannot fucking wait, not to mention how I still play Monster Hunter freedom unite to this day, despite having dropped 1000+ hours into it already.
I'm also considering the latest Socom as I've not played a PSP Socom for a while and the online was always fucking awesome.
Sorry, what was the problem with the PSP again (please note, PSP as a whole, not PSP go - which is a fully optional model) Why is it failing? Where is the lack of support? Didn't I read that 70+ games are due out this year and 70+ due out next year too? I mean, come on guys, that's a LOAD of games.
Personally the PSP is the system with the MOST games that i want right now on it. Not to say there are fewer good games on my PS3, but it's just that I've bought them all already!
I've got a list of PSP spending to do, and cannot wait to get stuck into Twisted Metal and MGSPW.
Are you seriously going to say that the PS1 and PS2 truily had "10 year" life cycles? After the PS2 and PS3 came out respectively, rarely would a game come out that would be worth it on the systems. Name a PS2 game that came out last year that you bought. I thought not.
That's like saying the Dreamcast is still alive, because one game came out last year.
Look! Dreamcast has a 11 year life cycle. They one upped Sony!
Too bad it took this long to get there and they're now losing attention to the iPhone, which has games that are novelties at best. Even so, what PSP is getting is a pittance compared to what DS has this year.
Hasn't kept me from being glued to MGS: Peace Walker, which I would consider one of the top portable games ever. Its probably also the best MGS I've played.
The words "legit" and PSP-1000 don't go together. They teach you that in primary school. Plus, it's common knowledge that every 1000 and 2000 are hacked. How else would people play "Super Mario World" on their PSPs?
First take out all the shit games out of the "70+." Then take out the games you would actually pay for it new. The compare that to the DS's library of good games. It's small. I got two PSPs, 1000 and 2000. I do love the platform. But every year, I ask "where the games?" Last one I bought was Persona, and that was a while ago.
For the PSP... I'd be shocked if it lasted another two years. Sony should really just give up on the handheld market. Between Nintendo and Apple, I don't see what they could possibly do to be anywhere near as successful. They tried with the PSPGo, and look how THAT worked out.
And sorry, these Marcus ads don't look the slightest bit funny to me, AND they're hindering the Kevin Butler campaign by dragging him down with a wisecracking sidekick. Butler is ALREADY a character that is snarky, so what's the point?
but I do believe we'll be seeing the next major version by E3 next year(not a psp4000 a real psp2).
the psp in its current form has one or two years top.
But please built it like the 1001 and don't cheap out on build quality like all the plastic-y lites.
3DS anybody?
boo-hoo that Americans can't see the value in it
PSP has a lot of good games as well. Not like "oh, that's awesome, I'm gonna go play something else now" good, we're talking about "woah my save file says 500 hours. When did that happen?" good.
tl;dr - anything that can play Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker does not need a fucking upgrade in the near future.
Regardless, it's nice to know that my new PSP won't be obsolete for another 5 years.
This isn't a matter of liking the PSP. I like the PS2, and I could only play PS2 games for the foreseeable future I'd have plenty to keep busy. If Sony said the PS2 had a 15 year life cycle, my ability to enjoy it now with the games it has doesn't mean they're making sense. It's smoke and mirrors. As for what I'd prefer him to say, it's simple enough to focus on the games, or at least mention your software amongst what has become Sony rhetoric for "we don't have a good answer".
BUT IT NEEDS TO DIE.
My cell phone is more powerful than my PSP. It has the same size screen, it's got several orders of magnitude more pixels, and it's about 66% as thin with a battery in it that has an extra 550mAh capacity than the PSP's. It has several times the RAM, three times the processing power. The PSP2, at this point, could be a technological beast if Sony engineered it properly. They could create one of the most marvelous handheld systems ever created; but for some reason, they don't seem to be interested. Fucking hell, Sony. Get it together. It's time to catch up.
Alas, you have my respect.
Estimating system life has become a huge part of ANY business that deals with technology, from software, to computers, to bulldozers. Complaining about this is both ignorant and perplexing.
I use my PSP pretty regularly, and it's also 100% legit. But the majority of gamers aren't as self-righteous as I am. Really, Sony, it would be a mistake to not reveal a new handheld at the 2011 E3 or TGS.
They freely admit that pricey is killing the system, so why say stupid things like this, when they know its not true? Nintendo caught them off guard with the 3DS and now they're going to be scrambling to catch up. You'll see a new PSP by the end of 2011, or in early 2012. Or however long it takes them to get a 3D screen into the PSP2. Let the copying begin!