Sony Ericsson "PSP" phone could threaten Apple's iOS game revenue

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  • Reply 61 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slackpacker View Post


    The one thing that I am completely confident in is how bad Sony and its Partners will screw it up!



    #1 Cost of Apps

    #2 Purchasing Experience

    #3 Applications there will be a just the old PSP library for a while.....

    #4 It will be a hardware functional equivalent of the current PSP and not a multitouch enabled game system that can run PSP apps as well as new enhanced hardware and software.



    PSPS A GO GO!



    Yeah, I'm thinking the PSP portion will drive the phone portion hardware-wise and what they'll end up with is a PSP Go, but with a crappy phone bolted on the side.
  • Reply 62 of 83
    sendmesendme Posts: 567member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aimbdd View Post


    wow... whats up with these people... ill believe it when i see it.... it would take a while to catch up to apple... and Nokia hasn't exactly been putting out to great of phones recently...



    It is just vapor wear.
  • Reply 63 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is very bad news for Apple. No wonder they've been hiring game people like crazy if this is true.



    Apple has always sucked rather mightily at "social" and gaming.

    This "human stuff" is their Achilles heel.



    I just don't see any reason, why this should even slightly affect apples sales. The biggest drawback for the iP4 is its availability. There is a terrible shortage of units all over the countries, where iP4 had it's rollout. I believe apple could easily sell each unit it produces at least twice. I really hope this situation gets any better soon. Right now it looks, that I have to wait 6 WEEKS!!! for mine to arrive.\
  • Reply 64 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ckh1272 View Post


    You totally missed the point of my post..... All in all, my point is, you made an assumption about me and you were dead wrong.



    Of course I made an assumption as your first post was vague and subjective, while calling you out forced you to be more objective and provide reasons for your conclusions. By providing relevant data about your objections for why you prefer the psp vs the pspgo, you present a viewpoint that contradicts mine, in turn giving other readers more perspective to provide their analysis.



    You also happen to contradict your own statements, but at least in a relevant context. For instance, you state that you used the psp for personal use and wouldn't allow your children to play with it, yet you make the argument that umds allow your children to swap games, thus playing the same system and games you said was too fragile to let children play with. But I understand your point: umds have their place vs download. Next time provide these strong, relevant reasons and we can avoid personal attacks.



    Now to stay on topic; a psp phone wouldn't be a replacement to a psp. While both can play games, one device is designed to explicitly do that while the other device would have games complement its primary function as a phone. In reality, I would choose the psp because I don't play it, my son does. You on the other hand would be a target market because you play games frequently enough to want professional titles yet also need a mobile phone to function in this world like all other adults. One could use these same arguments for ipod touch vs iphone since both devices provide similar yet different functions.



    When I read stories like this I ask myself: knowing whatever information you have about the product, who are the target consumers? When someone says Android users, I think not. From the data I have about Android users, disclosure: being one myself, I don't see this targeting them. Most Android users are power users, not gamers (at least not on a mobile phone). Those that are, are buying emulators because they're aware of the ability to play a plethora of good quality, albeit old, games. My wife is a different type of Android user. She's a power user who finds more use from productivity style apps than games. While she does buy games, they tend to be casual games and rarely 3d. These are essentially the two types of early adopter Android users. So where does that put Sony's psp phone strategy?



    What I can see sony attempting is grabbing the hardcore android gamers as they walk through the door. Since Apple doesn't allow apps with interpreted code or that utilize other languages other than Apple blessed languages (throwing out all emulators), Sony could leverage their vast network of professional developers and publishers to re-release old playstation classics in emulation form via their distribution scheme. Since Sony already has the knowledge of the requirements to do emulation without reverse engineering, publishers may simply have to provide a playstation disc image wrapped in drm goodness for ip protection.



    But as others have mentioned, Nintendo's strategy of going after casual gamers rather than the hardcore elite is a proven strategy that works, and unfortunately for Sony, the only real threat to casual gaming dominance is iOS; Sony's not on the threat map anymore. Of coarse reliving the glory days is always an option.



    (damn these post are too long)
  • Reply 65 of 83
    The idea of a PSP phone sounds brilliant in theory but unfortunately, I have alot of doubts. Sony's PSP Go ignored important requests from users like a second analog stick, built in front facing camera, an affordable price and downloadable games at a discounted price compared to the PSP 3000. The iPod Touch worked out better for media (despite not being a games console) with games less than £5 generally and more specification for you're money: £220 32GB with accellometer,touchscreen, voice control, 1,000s of apps for increased functionality and iTunes for direct downloads for new media vs 16GB. All PSPs even got beat by the low spec DS so how can Sony stand a chance against Apple or even any of the phone market? The PSP phone should have been released for September 2007 because there would have been no app store to compete with. Sony would have had some chance if they put phone fuctionality into the PSP Go with 32GB of storage, touchscreen and a decent OS. The rumors went on too long without any result so if Sony try to make a PSP Phone, they will probably be too late. At least Apple released the iPad just before people started to close the apple tablet rumors.
  • Reply 66 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post


    i'm surprised Nobody has made a real buttons gaming shell for the iphone and started mass producing it. Certain Games are just painful to play without buttons.



    I remember seeing a mockup shell that went around the iphone, but that's it. After I think about it for a while though, Apple's policy about non-native apis being used would prevent protection of the ip for the addon device and prevent widespread adoption of it (or possibly widespread knockoffs, limiting profit opportunities).



    This could work on android though since the android platform allows you to replace your input methods as needed. There's currently a wiimote controller app that uses the wiimote with bluetooth as an input method with some games utilizing the device fully. Unfortunately the phone manufactures are breaking the primary library that allows for such a program to work (bluez) in order to one-up the competition. Since the standard android apis still work properly, it's not a fragmentation thing as it is a using undocumented apis and accessing the hardware directly.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post


    ....but just how portable could the PSP system get? It's pretty large now, isn't it?



    it's become smaller over the years and with the pspgo, it's comparable to some of these android phones with physical keyboards and four inch screens.
  • Reply 67 of 83
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tjw View Post


    android 3.0 goodness and a phone that plays games with BUTTONS for use as input... I think this PSP would wipe the floor with anything else in mobile phone gaming...





  • Reply 68 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    This is interesting but yet again points out the problems with Android. Every device has it's own design which game developers have a hard time developing for and will end up having bugs.



    Another problem is Android users generally don't like paying for apps. Everybody likes to compare the number of apps but actual sales aren't remotely close. I've yet to hear any stories of an Android dev getting rich from their App Store.



    This device might appeal to some teens but most don't care enough about gaming to have the design of the phone dedicated to it.



    That is an issue for most Android systems but with Sony they will probably provide strong SDK and possibly exclusive licensing. This is going to hit other Android phones harder than it will hit the iPhone as it's unlikely iPhone users will switch from an iPhone just for PSP games.
  • Reply 69 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by str1f3 View Post


    This device might appeal to some teens but most don't care enough about gaming to have the design of the phone dedicated to it.



    For a mass market product like like a smartphone, Sony can't leave out girls and women. The PSP does - quite a lack of games for them.



    I couldn't figure out why our local Girl Scout council offered them as incentives for selling 1000 boxes of cookies this year. Better would have been offering a Ninetendo DS. Both of mine love theirs, playing their Pokemon games on them.



    Which prize were the girls pushing for? The iPod Touch at 1500 boxes. Girls and women are not being left out of the App Store, too (although some of the games seem to have been designed by PSP developers who Think They Know What Women Want... ).



    Nintendo creating a gaming phone. Now, *that* would be interesting.



    FYI #1: The girls who got the iPod Touch also got the PSP.

    FYI #2: Over a dozen girls got PSPs this year in our Troop Group (were called Units - not sure what now), but we are one of the top selling Troop Groups in the U.S.A. Just for those a little more familiar with GSA, we're *not* a Service Unit (a city's or other population centers council of troops), but are just a small part of the San Francisco one.
  • Reply 70 of 83
    android 3 + existing PSP game library + awesome SDK for game dev = huge win. I'd totally consider getting an awesome android gaming device phone thing
  • Reply 71 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hezetation View Post


    That is an issue for most Android systems but with Sony they will probably provide strong SDK and possibly exclusive licensing. This is going to hit other Android phones harder than it will hit the iPhone as it's unlikely iPhone users will switch from an iPhone just for PSP games.



    I think you are missing the obvious here. The PSP/Android phone will be the only Android device capable of playing the games almost certainly. This is *more* fragmentation by design. Fragmentation was already a problem even with the minor screen differences out there now. This is a whole new hardware platform bolted onto the side of the existing android platform.



    There are lots of ways Sony could screw this up and they have a long history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. For instance how much will they charge for the games?



    I'm also wondering whether Sony will like it when all the games are hacked to be played on all the Android phones that *don't have the PSP button slide-out and given out for free in the illegal app stores. When you figure in how old most of the titles are, I don't see how Sony is going to make a single dime out of this.



    I'm also wondering who the market is for this thing? If the slide-out has PSP controls on it for instance, then there isn't any hardware keyboard. So the typing part will have to be virtual instead. One of the biggest attractions of Android phones is for geeks who like those old-style physical keyboards, so I think those that buy this thing are really just buying a PSP Go with a crappy phone "on the side." Other than a few enthusiasts, no one is going to use this thing for both really.



    This feels more like a desperate "last hurrah" of Sony PSP rather than a re-birth IMO.
  • Reply 72 of 83
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    I think you are missing the obvious here. The PSP/Android phone will be the only Android device capable of playing the games almost certainly. This is *more* fragmentation by design. Fragmentation was already a problem even with the minor screen differences out there now. This is a whole new hardware platform bolted onto the side of the existing android platform.



    There are lots of ways Sony could screw this up and they have a long history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. For instance how much will they charge for the games?



    I'm also wondering whether Sony will like it when all the games are hacked to be played on all the Android phones that *don't have the PSP button slide-out and given out for free in the illegal app stores. When you figure in how old most of the titles are, I don't see how Sony is going to make a single dime out of this. ...



    I'm guessing that Sony's SDK will apply a layer of DRM to their games that will prevent them from running on other android devices unless, "they meet certain specification and control requirements." -- i.e., unless they support the DRM scheme, so all current Android phones probably need not apply. That's the whole point of a separate section of the Android Market. Sony doesn't care about fragmentation, and Google doesn't really care either. It's more important to Google that they have additional data collection and ad opportunities than any headaches this might cause developers. And Sony only cares about selling their devices and titles.
  • Reply 73 of 83
    alfiejralfiejr Posts: 1,524member
    Sony is finally facing the reality that (a) the iPod touch and, finally, iPad have killed the PSP (just like the iPod killed the Walkman). in part because (b) the PSP Go is a flop due both to design and pricing tactics.



    Catching up with an hybrid Android/Sony game device is really its last option/hope. but combining the two is no small thing. Assuming it keeps the standard game control buttons and is about the PSP Go's size - its key selling point - the unit will be too big to be a practical phone for most. but to port the games to conventional smaller Android phones with only touchscreen controls will require completely redesigning them, as has been done for established games ported to iOS, and Sony has not be willing to do that - yet. and Sony wants to keep charging high prices for its game portfolio, which is where it makes most of the profit. but that pricing tactic is doomed by iOS competition.



    had to laugh reading it could be "ready by October." sure. October 2011.



    once again, history is passing too-little too-late Sony by. bye-bye.
  • Reply 74 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Yes, but the Andromeda galaxy will collide with us even before that. So we gots that to worry about too.



    God damn it! And to think I was almost up to the free coffee on my loyalty card!
  • Reply 75 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SendMe View Post


    It is just vapor wear.



    Is that like a nudist colony or something?
  • Reply 76 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alfiejr View Post


    Sony is finally facing the reality that (a) the iPod touch and, finally, iPad have killed the PSP (just like the iPod killed the Walkman). in part because (b) the PSP Go is a flop due both to design and pricing tactics.



    I'm really not sure the iPod/iPad had any major effect on the success of the PSP. I have a feeling they didn't, or at least, not in the same direct way the iPod did with other PMP brands.
  • Reply 77 of 83
    Haha! Yeah, could happen. Sony would never compete with itself, and when it comes to the game console business, Sony is as vertical as they get. I have a PSP and while it was a nice game system 6 years ago, I much prefer the capacitive touch screen to either the "old school" console controllers or even Nintendo's awkward pressure-sensing touch screens, which are comparatively crude. I dunno, but the PSP's library of titles aren't really interesting to me. This move sounds like desperation on Sony's part.
  • Reply 78 of 83
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    An unconfirmed report claims that Sony Ericsson is at work on a Playstation-branded Android smartphone with a new gaming ecosystem.



    Published by Engadget, the report cites "a trusted source" for leaked details of the upcoming device. Described as a cross between "the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go," the phone would use PSP-style controls instead of a traditional QWERTY keyboard. It could also include a 5 megapixel camera and a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor.



    With a potential release as early as October of this year, the phone would pioneer both an Android dedicated gaming ecosystem and the long-rumored PSP phone combination.



    The smartphone will reportedly run Android 3.0, also known as Gingerbread. A new area of the Android Market would be created specifically for games, which could be ported from the PSP or PSX library. These games could then be brought to other Android phones, provided they meet certain specification and control requirements.



    For its part, Apple has recently been ramping up its focus on mobile gaming. The Cupertino, Calif., company is developing a Game Center social gaming network for iOS 4 that will provide a centralized friend system, leaderboards, and unlockable achievements. The feature was announced in April and is slated for release this fall.



    In March, Flurry Analytics reported that Apple's share of the American mobile gaming market had grown from 5% to 19% from 2008 to 2009. Apple's growth cut significantly into the Sony PSP's market share, which dropped nearly half from 20% to 11%.



    In April, Apple hired a new games editor, Matt Casamassina, for the iPhone App Store. According to Casamassina, he will "be leading the charge for games on the App Store."



    Apple could also be looking to purchase a Chinese game developer to advance further into the mobile gaming market. In early August, rumors said a final deal with Handseeing Information Technology Co is "close," with an estimated price of $148 million.









    How do they define mobile gaming? There's a big difference between some independent developers game and say metal gear peace walker. Sony has access to AAA developers and titles and has game experience that Apple dosen't.



    I don't know if anything can unseat the iPhone, but I'll say a PSP Android phone would probably have the best shot.
  • Reply 79 of 83
    alfiejralfiejr Posts: 1,524member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Firefly7475 View Post


    I'm really not sure the iPod/iPad had any major effect on the success of the PSP. I have a feeling they didn't, or at least, not in the same direct way the iPod did with other PMP brands.



    Before iOS game apps, Sony and Nintendo had the portable game market all to themselves. with the PSP and DSI. that market was mainly hard core gamers and kids. "casual" adult games for iPods and cellphones existed, but were lame and a small market. Sony and Nintendo sold the hardware pretty cheap but charged very high prices for the games, and it made them both a ton of money. they held a captive market.



    BAM! along comes iOS apps and an explosion of new games. kids games, sure, but more imporantly a whole new generation of casual adult games. and at very low prices! this is just like how the Wii opened up the adult market for console games, even tho it is not for hard core gamers, and quickly jumped ahead of both Sony and MS in that market.



    after being caught with their pants down like this, Sony and Nintendo both responded eventually by bolting on communcation and media features to their existing products - the PSPGo and 3DS. but it doesn't work. the adult market is looking for multifuncion portable computers like iPhone/Android that include games but are not built around them. and the iPod touch is a big hit with kids. the iPad is further extending this concept and other such tablets will follow.



    So Sony needs a smartphone really. maybe it should just buy out Erricson and take full control of that established product. then port all its games to it. but the PSP line has hit a dead end. and the DSI line is sure to follow.



    yes there will always be some hard core gamers who buy that stuff. but that is a niche market.
  • Reply 80 of 83
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alfiejr View Post


    Before iOS game apps, Sony and Nintendo had the portable game market all to themselves. with the PSP and DSI. that market was mainly hard core gamers and kids. "casual" adult games for iPods and cellphones existed, but were lame and a small market. Sony and Nintendo sold the hardware pretty cheap but charged very high prices for the games, and it made them both a ton of money. they held a captive market.



    Apple didn't kill the PSP, Nintendo did. Although the PSP has sold well, it never sold as much as the poorer DS. This was happening before the iPhone was released.
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