Cheshire: PSP is a "bollocking useless waste of space"

By Robert Purchese Published 15 March, 2010

Codemasters bigwig not a fan.

Gavin Cheshire, Codemasters Studios vice president, isn't a great believer in the PSP.

"Well, speaking as a person who bought a PSP, the problem was that I always thought - because it was a better screen than iPod's - that I'd be doing more with it. But it was such a bollocking useless waste of space; just getting stuff on it was ridiculous," he told Edge magazine, issue 213.

"That was its downfall. Relatively speaking, [Codemasters] didn't do too badly on F1 PSP. But regarding the future, I think they've got - well... no.

"PSPgo's a lovely device," he added, "really smart - but our senior VP bought one the day it came out and has a great story, because he ended up on some customer support line just trying to do basic stuff. He had to re-download his software, do an immediate firmware update, and that's your user experience.

"Sony just hasn't got it right. Stuff like that will make people leave it alone."

Conversely, Cheshire thinks Apple's new iPad is "brilliant" and believes there's potential despite the App Store being swamped with content.

"The ecosystem's right," he said, "the straight-to-console nature of it."

Some people believe the PSP and iPhone are on a collision course. PopCap's John Vechey told Eurogamer earlier this year that as Apple revised iPhone hardware, graphics would eventually improve and match Sony's machine. What happens then, we'll leave you to speculate.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (93) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Bealsy #1 2 years ago

    That's pretty descriptive I think. I also like the way the sentence flows. +1

  • mkreku #2 2 years ago

    The hardware is excellent. If it had been (somewhat) open source and had gotten a thriving community, it would have taken over the world.

  • Rirekon #3 2 years ago

    The PSP and iPhone will never be on a collision course, that would require the PSP to be anywhere near the iPhone. Since getting an iPhone myself my PSP and DSi have sat around collecting dust

  • Phishfood #4 2 years ago

    I finally got myself a PSP 3000 model a month ago because I wanted to play Patapon and Taiko no Tatsujin, but apart from those games I don't find myself interested in anything else. I hate to admit it but it is starting to feel like I've wasted my money. I am looking forward to Valkyria Chroinicles 2 because I loved the first one.

    The DS on the other hand I've had loads of fun with.

  • JahB #5 2 years ago

    somebody tell the man about Snes9x, and he will change his mind. it did for me

  • Eraysor #6 2 years ago

    Get homebrew working on it and it's fine, but I'm pretty sure I would have ditched mine a long time ago if I didn't have a homebrew version of the original Quake installed on it.

  • kincaide #7 2 years ago

    With Peggle, Plant vs Zombies, Bejewelled 2 I can honestly I haven't played on the DS and PSP this year. I've just been blown away by how good Street Fighter IV is on the iPhone - it's loading time alone puts the PSP in the shade.

    I'll keep the PSP until PeaceWalker comes out, and then I think I'll trade it in.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 14:29

  • FladgeMangle #8 2 years ago

    A lack of PSP-beating graphics is not the iPhone's problem.

    I hate using my iTouch for games because it's buttonless, there's no tactile feedback and screen-based "virtual" analog sticks are an abomination straight from Satan's arse.

    Great for music, mouse-style apps and the web, but if you want games get a proper games machine. Get a PSP or DSi.

  • Jackface #9 2 years ago

    Sort of says it all, though, doesn't it? That the only way to enjoy a PSP is to hack it and put SNES emulators on it?

  • Mnia786 #10 2 years ago

    Kojimasan loves it on the other-hand. I quite like it - I admit it doesnt get the love of my ds but as a medium for watching converted films or tv shows - its great. Have an ipod touch but not really wow'ed with it tbh -.-

  • Gregolution #11 2 years ago

    I don't see how the iPhone and PSP are even comparable. I love my PSP, it's a great device. The difference is in game quality. If I want to play ranked online games of EOJ, beat my best time by half a second in a world renowned racing sim GT or have some online multiplayer KZ games, I'm sorted with the PSP. Is there an iPhone equivalent to any of those? No.

    Granted for puzzle games and more casual stuff the iPhone is brilliant, but it doesn't come close when you want hardcore game.

  • Murton #12 2 years ago

    "SHARXTREME: Extremely satisfied with PSP as portable gaming and media device"
    "SHARXTREME: iPad is 500$-900$ and it doesnt even support flash or running 2 apps at the same time"

    +1 for truth

  • Bigglesworth #13 2 years ago

    My last two purchases for my PSP have been Crisis Core and then Dissidia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but what games on the iPhone offer the same kind of depth, gameplay and production quality? I'm on the train for two hours a day; I need something more than what the iPhone seems to offer.

  • Johnhost #14 2 years ago

    Not owned a PSP but I do want one. Problem with an iPhone is that it cost a bundle. Unless every game you want is DS quality or less then I wouldn't get it. What I want is a PS2 or Xbox quality game in the palm of my hand for under £200.00. The iPhone is nearly 4x the price.

  • SeanBeansGravyBoat #15 2 years ago

    Since when did Eurogamer populate it's news feed simply by regurgitating stuff lifted straight from other websites and magazines??

    Oh... hang on... I'll get me coat.

  • brazzauk #16 2 years ago

    I am still at a loss to understand the ipad. What is the point of it?

  • Anthony_UK #17 2 years ago

    I think when Nintendo announce and release the DS2, Apple and Sony will both know the feeling of what its like to get owned!

  • Les #18 2 years ago

    Got a PSP on the strength of its exclusives: LocoRoco, Patapon, Monster Hunter and Killzone. I truly enjoy those games but the hardware design itself isn't that great IMHO. Same goes for DSi. Both are just too big to carry comfortably along with you in your pocket. And if you want to play more than just the game in the system, you have to bring even more stuff. So I end up playing both mainly at home or on intercontinental flights when I bring a bag along with me. For true portable gaming I resort to my iPhone. And as those sessions in general are brief (e.g. waiting for an appointment), its limited battery life isn't really an issue.

    But what hurts PSP most IMHO is that it is too much like your proper home console. It offers too few game experiences that can't be played elsewhere. DSi is better positioned in that regard.

  • reality_cheque #19 2 years ago

    Rogue Planet on the iPhone is about the only game I've bothered to play. Turn based RTS games work well on it, can't be bothered to play anything else.

    Saying that I can't be bothered to buy a PSP either.

  • Cosmopolitan #20 2 years ago

    @brazzauk: It's made by Apple, so everyone has to get one. There's no other point.

  • Jackface #21 2 years ago

    The point of it is not aimed at you. That's all you need to know. Don't want one? That's cool, don't buy one.

    @ Johnhost - if you want to get some of the App Store action for yourself , try an iPod touch which does exactly the same things except make calls and take low-res photos. Vastly cheaper too. Personally I love my iPhone but games that try to crowbar a traditional control scheme onto the touch screen really really suffer. GTA for example: awesome conversion, practically seamlessly the exact same game as DS and PSP, but those controls, man they were annoying. Deleted within an hour. Plants vs Zombies on the other hand, wicked.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 15:04

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #22 2 years ago

    Since when did Eurogamer populate it's news feed simply by regurgitating stuff lifted straight from other websites and magazines??

    Some things are too good to miss. Well done Edge for such a priceless quote.

  • Jackface #23 2 years ago

    It was worth a wee story - some people forget the family community vibe EG was born from, they want to share funny stuff they've read and don't forget not everyone buys or can even find Edge...

  • NorUraeus #24 2 years ago

    Not sure I buy the PSP versus iPhone concept. They are simply too different to really compete directly. Sure you can play games also on the iPhone, but it is a very different beast in terms of interface and what kind of games you find on it. Not that I am a heavy user of my PSP, nor am I an iPhone owner, mobile gaming simply do not interest me that much.

  • harhol #25 2 years ago

    PSP is great for things like TRPGs, JRPGs, puzzle games and whatever genres Patapon & LocoRoco fall into. The problem is that a lot of people (especially those who don't own one) can't look past the big franchise games - Assassin's Creed, God of War, Killzone, Resistance, etc - which are mostly terrible. It's a great system, even if you don't consider the fact that it can play every PS1 game from every region ever.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 15:09

  • drxym #26 2 years ago

    The PSP Go is a great device ruined by cost (of hardware and games), and the lack of upgrade path for existing users. There are tens of millions of PSP users - the very sort of people who WANT to upgrade, but can't because there is no upgrade path except start from scratch. Sony have really, really screwed this one up big time.

  • Goffee #27 2 years ago

    As an iPhone and PSP owner, the PSP is by far the better games machine, it just needs a bigger, better store, a modern web-browser (with decent Flash) and little Apps like Facebook and YouTube on the iPhone and it'd be fine.

    What scares me is that none of those requests are complicated or expensive, or new - yet Sony seems incapable of getting off its butt.

    One major point in its favour, I let my kid play with the PSP - but he's not allowed on the phone

  • X3Entente #28 2 years ago

    I only starting having fun with my PSP after i installed custom firmware, cos the games were shite. Cast your mind back to when the highest calibur games on the psp were the likes of metal gear acid, a fucking card game!!!! The hardware had the potential for a fully fledged MGS game but they were still stuck in the mentality that portable games have to be nerfed down. AND NO i havent pirated any games, ive copied all my ps1 games from disc, i shouldnt have to pay for them twice, i bought metal gear solid for £40 when it came out and just because it happened 10 years ago doesnt diminsh my right to not get screwed over by psn

  • EvilBob_leeds #29 2 years ago

    That's a pretty devisive bit of paraphrasing there Purchese. "Codemaster dev inexplicably flummoxed by piss simple handheld interface" is pretty unimportant compared to "Codemasters' direction regarding motion control"

    http://ww w.edge-online.com/news/codemast...

  • kangarootoo #30 2 years ago

    I'm not sure corporate VPs are really the market for the PSP. The iPad on the other hand is clearly targetted at such people given that they a) will use their device for more iPad type things than PSP things, and b) not bat an eyelid at the price.

    I love my iPhone and I use it a fair bit, but my PSP is where I go if I am playing portable variants of "peoper console games". There are some awesome games on the iPhone Fflightcontrol is an addictive steal at 59p), but they are for 5 minute hits at a time.

    That said, the iPad will end up brining more software to the iPhone too, which can't be a bad thing.

  • kangarootoo #31 2 years ago

    Also, the experience for getting content onto the PSP used to be ridiculous (install an app on your PC, download onto your PC, connect your PSP, transfer content). Now you can connect directo the PSP Store over wifi, its a much better experience.

  • zedzee #32 2 years ago

    Is this guy talking about the same PSPslim versus PSPgo, as everyone else?!

    Lest we forget that the PSPgo:

    - Is much more expensive than a PSPfat/slim.
    - It's not backwards compatible with the games you already bought on UMD.
    - It's download only - no UMD - nothing tangible to hold in your hand, to say you 'own' that game.
    - The storage device is not backwards compatible - say goodbye to all those Memory Sticks you bought.
    - Memory Stick M2 still cost a small fortune.
    - After buying a few games by download, MemSticks will run out of memory (especially if you also download demos, music, photos etc.) More MemSticks = more cost!
    - You now have to consider buying a game and buying a MemStick to fit it on.
    - It's screen is smaller than the previous models...hello!!!
    - No Homebrew. Sony have no intention of 'opening it up' to the open source community or simplifying its SDK.
    - Indented buttons suck.
    - Need I go on...?

    He should really put the two units next to each other and look very hard at what he's missing, if he goes for a PSPgo.

    As for how they stack up against the iPhone? Well, all I can say is that any mobile phone trying to act as a games console will immediately depreciated the virtues of having a dedicated portable games device.

  • smelly #33 2 years ago

    @SHARKXTREME : Me: iPad is 500$-900$ and it doesnt even support flash or running 2 apps at the same time


    Me: Does the PSP?

  • darc #34 2 years ago

    I like Sony products, but he's certainly got a point about Sony not understanding what people will/will not tolerate. Their product websites alone prove the point. The Playstation store is an overcomplicated mess to navigate, and Sony thinks nothing of putting 3 pages of legalese and an epilepsy warning in front of a casual video game. They just don't seem to understand the nuances of "setting a tone".

  • darc #35 2 years ago

    That aside, I wish somebody/anybody would design a new portable gaming system by STARTING with a good ergonomic controller and working from there. A PSP is already a little bit too big for me to walk around town with one in my pocket, and I've come to realize that I usually don't want to play portable systems - not because the graphics are underpowered and not because there's anything wrong with the software - simply because they don't FEEL right in my hands. In fact, they're downright painful. So:

    Why not begin with a really good controller, e.g. an XBox360 controller or a PS3 Dual Shock or whatever, and hang a little screen, processor, RAM, etc off the back of that? It'd fit in a backpack, or by your bedside, or whatever, and you could play games that looked decent, and *felt* right. That would be a step in the right direction IMO.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 16:02

  • Toothball #36 2 years ago

    Hooray, someone else bought a PSP Go!

    He's right though, it's a lovely device but the overall experience of owning one has been quite arduous. Nearly six months down the line and most of the PSP range still isn't available for download. I don't particularly like what Apple do with hardware and software, but they really know how to run a service.

  • Widge #37 2 years ago

    Technically, the PSPgo can run multiple instances of games in a sleep state, which is quite a nice addition if you are playing a game on a train but want to flick to music when your stop comes up.

    @zedzee you can't site Homebrew as a negative against the PSPgo, its not like it is a standard feature of the standard PSPs either. Also, coming from someone who has to resort to lugging a PSP around for music purposes at the moment, a smaller size is actually a positive, not a negative.

    I'm sure the 16GB of onboard memory kind of negates the entire memory stick thing too.

    Not being able to put a UMD on the machine is a great shame though, and that puts me off the change. Its a hard thing to manage though, as you'd imagine people would just hire and rip off games. You'd need some sort of ripping program that requires validation from the game disc each week or something.

  • darc #38 2 years ago

    P.S. LocoRoco was brilliant because it was clear that somebody picked up the PSP and said, OK, this is the controller at our disposal, what mechanics will feel best for the user? It's a lovely game in every sense, but the fact that it was so perfectly tailored to the hardware in question was a stroke of genius.

  • PearOfAnguish #39 2 years ago

    I know lots of people get all angry when Stuart Campbell is mentioned but he does a neat job of explaining what's wrong with the PSP here.

  • Les #40 2 years ago

    "iPad is 500$-900$ and it doesnt even support flash or running 2 apps at the same time"

    1) I'm an atheist but if iPad helps to rid the net of Flash, it'd be a godsend
    2) 3rd party multitasking on the iPad is one of the big unknowns at this time. But when it comes to games, multitasking is hardly the biggest worry. E.g. PSP and DSi aren't exactly known for their multitasking prowess...

  • peterfll #41 2 years ago

    The PSP is a great machine, seriously comprimised by pirates and mismanaged by its creators. There was an Edge, or GamesTM article a few months ago on it that summed up the PSP situation perfectly.

  • MrChuckles #42 2 years ago

    Ah, Javelin Chesthair....

    The biggest twat i ever worked for.

  • systems #43 2 years ago

    He actually says that the PSP SCREEN is a bollocking useless waste of space, not the PSP.

    "I always thought - because it was a better screen than iPod's - that I'd be doing more with it. But it was such a bollocking useless waste of space".

  • GamesConnoisseur #44 2 years ago

    Good article from Stuart Campbell, whilst I differs by saying people who argues piracy doesn't do any harms are talking bollicks. However with PSP piracy is most secondary issue (last placed perhaps).

    Good for people who loves their PSP and swears by it, but the reality is that the wider world doesn't agree as evident by the poor sales and supports from devs. Still believe Sony made huge mistake in not commiting to PSP2 instead of stopgap PSPGo. The product wouldn't help Sony's reputation any.

    IPhone for me is an unmissable device for all the right reason, does pushes in a lot of new directions in games as well. Sword and Sworcery and few mores show there are still potentials. Yet yes the console experience are better fit on PSP or DS to an extent. Still there are great fun on iPhone as Sword n Poker etc. These doesn't exists on DS or PSP.

  • TopKatt #45 2 years ago

    Well I like my PSP, so bollocks to you Cheshire.

  • kangarootoo #46 2 years ago

    @zedzee

    Some of your points are good ones, but...


    "- It's download only - no UMD - nothing tangible to hold in your hand, to say you 'own' that game."

    I think the app store shows very few people (as in, effectively none) really give a shit about that. And besides no forward thinking person in charge of new tech products should have "tangible disc to hold in your hand" anywhere NEAR a list of core requirements.

    And you seem to be making the memory stick point 4 times in slightly different ways.

    Otherwise, you make some fair points.

  • kangarootoo #47 2 years ago

    @systems

    You have misunderstood the quote, or perhaps just selectively c'n'pasted it.

    The full section was...

    "Well, speaking as a person who bought a PSP, the problem was that I always thought - because it was a better screen than iPod's - that I'd be doing more with it. But it was such a bollocking useless waste of space; just getting stuff on it was ridiculous"

    Translation. I thought I would get more done with the PSP, as it has a better screen than the iPod, but it turned out to be useless. He ain't talking about the screen being useless. The screen was the benefit in his eyes.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 16:48

  • tomjoadsghost #48 2 years ago

    I barely use my psp, i haven't bought a codemasters game since the 8 bit days.

    I think it's nice to acknowledge those moments when a viewpoint gets the perfect spokesman.

  • Acrid #49 2 years ago

    Has he only just realised what most of the world have known for years?

  • bushwod #50 2 years ago

    I sold my PSP once I got an iPhone as I just wasn't using it anymore.

    I completely agree that the iPhone lacks tactile feedback and for that reason some types of game just don't work, but the PSPs dreadful loading times combined with poor quality console conversions meant I played it less and less.

    In the end LocoRoco was the only really outstanding PSP title for me and that game seems like a perfect fit for iPhone motion controls.

    Edit: Typo
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 17:12

  • gizmo #51 2 years ago

    "bollocking useless waste of space"

    Wow, uncanny - that's exactly what went through my mind whilst playing Dragon Rising.

  • lasersrule #52 2 years ago

    Anyone who uses 'bollocking' as an adjective clearly needs to stop considering Red Dwarf as the height of comedy and learn to fucking swear like a fucking adult.

  • tobsen #53 2 years ago

    Oh the irony... a fair share of Codemasters' recent output came pretty close to qualify as "waste of space" in my book, too.

  • LazyNinjaUk #54 2 years ago

    *Mental Note* Try to use "bollocking useless waste of space" more often in conversation, rolls right off the tongue. :)

    Nice to see a developer who isn't afraid to say what needed to be said.

  • aliki #55 2 years ago

    Want to play good none-Codemasters games on the go, get a PSP or DS.

    Want to look like a bourgeois douchebag, get the iPad/iPhone/iWhatever.

  • greenthumb #56 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    theres a world of difference between buying games on the app store for a couple of quid and being forced to pay full price for PSPGO games on download when you can buy them in a shop for half price. That's the problem, not the fact that they are downloaded

  • FenderMaster #57 2 years ago

    I also like my PSP 3000, got it for Christmas and it's fantastic

    Dissidia is the only PSP exclusive I own, but it's great, also have Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, imo, the best portable Street Fighter experience out there, Breath Of Fire 3, very dated, horrible load times, but decent, and some absolute classic old PSOne gems, RE 2 portable for 5 Euro? FF VII portable for 10 Euro?

    and my most wanted games this year are all PSP exclusives, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and MGS Peace Walker.

    All that and a great portable MP3 and video player makes it 180 Euro well spent

    I have a DS too, which is great, but I love playing console quality games on the bus or train, and tbh, stylus based games can be very hard to play on a bumpy bus journey, console style games usually work better

    PSP and DS both get much love from me
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 18:51

  • FladgeMangle #58 2 years ago

    For a studio vice president, he's a bit bollocking useless if he can't work out how to get things onto his PSPgo.

    It's a piece of piss.

  • smelly #59 2 years ago

    quote : "Well I like my PSP, so bollocks to you Cheshire."


    Well someone has to i s'pose.
    :-D

  • alcides #60 2 years ago

    PSP is great thanks to a bunch of excellent games. But putting videos on it is cumbersome. Also it has no internal storage, which is a massive FAIL.

    PSPgo has it. But it's PSPgo...

    I think iPods do games the way PSP does movies. It looks good, but somehow I don't want it.

  • jefranklin18 #61 2 years ago

    @greenthumb:

    that is why there are PSP Minis with prices from about a £1 to £4; they are the ones you should be comparing to as opposed to the full price titles.

    I like my PSP - I don't play it much. I generally take it with me on hols where it gets used a fair bit.

  • Windypops #62 2 years ago

    PSP was the most expensive paperweight I ever bought. Bit like Woolworths: did lots of stuff, but not particularly well.

    iPad/iPhone gaming is the future: cheap, accessible and letting the bedroom coders get a look-in once again.

    *waits for negs*

  • andyconr #63 2 years ago

    What iphone games can compare with the likes of Crisis Core, Disgaea 1 & 2, GOW or MGS? iPhone is only good for short, budget games. Part of the reason the psp always gets so much hate is because they don't know what to expect, imo. Sony intended the psp to be a ps2 in your pocket and it was directed at hardcore gamers, but most people expected a casual game device like the DS, which it isn't. @above: pleased to help.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 21:04

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #64 2 years ago

    "What iphone games can compare with the likes of Crisis Core, Disgaea 1 & 2, GOW or MGS? iPhone is only good for short, budget games."

    Please go away and come back when you're slightly less of a retard.

  • Pulsar_t #65 2 years ago

    The class wars are on!

  • knightmt #66 2 years ago

    Now if they made a PSP phone then there might be a collision.

  • ongjg #67 2 years ago

    "our senior VP bought one the day it came out and has a great story, because he ended up on some customer support line just trying to do basic stuff. He had to re-download his software, do an immediate firmware update, and that's your user experience."

    Wow. If you're going to judge a console on one bad experience, then every console is bad. And so is the Ipod touch/ Iphone.
    If anything, the Ipohne is competing with the DS, and given that the cheapest Iphone is still at least twice the price of the most evpensive DS, and more expensive than a PSP go, it's not much of a collision course.

    Also, the PSP isn't marketed in the same way as the Iphone. The Iphone is shown as a jack-of-all-trade machine, on t.v. you get those adverts showing it's utility, and the vast catalogue of different apps. Whereas the PSP is a games machine, and everything else it can do is merely miscellaneous and not the main focus. And the PSP does have better games, so in that respect this is quite an unfair comparison to make.

    In the same way that people don't criticise iphone games on the same level as PSP games, because a games machine is not it's main purpose. Also forgetting the price factor - overall, most would say that apple products are overpriced - hence why most people have PCs, and Iphones/ipods are as much a fashion item as they are music players. There are better and cheaper music players/phones than the Iphone, whereas the PSP is more powerful, and arguably better than the DS.

  • beep #68 2 years ago

    Any hand held system (or home console for that matter), is only as good as the games it has available on it that you like. For me, the PSP has plenty, especially with PSone games being playable on it.

    Me a happy twerp :)

  • chaywa #69 2 years ago

    One thing that has shocked me about the PSP is the lack of marketing for the sharing of programmes via PlayTV. PlayTV is fantastic and I can't wait for the FreeviewHD revision later this year but the Remote Play features make the PSP a very very useful 'Catch up with TV', Music, Multimedia and ultimately Gaming platform with a great roster of games both already out and coming soon.

    If the Go had better battery life and a better browser then it'd be a worthy contender for the iPod touch, as it effectively has all of the same features as the iPod Touch - albeit with a greater focus on more serious gameplay.

    Here's an idea Sony, sell a 37" Bravia 1080p TV with a PS3 and say 4 games (LBP, ModNation Racers, Uncharted 2 and Ratchet and Clank) a few blu-rays and a PSP with £50 PSN voucher, extra Dual Shock 3 and PlayTV for around a grand, aiming it at the all-in-one family device and you're onto a winner...
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/10 @ 23:32

  • kratos-i-am #70 2 years ago

    With the games like MHFU, Dissidia, LBP, MGS, GoW, Wipeout, Gran Turismo, Disgaea, and Original PS games like MGS, FFVII and FFVII the PSP is a fantastic device!

  • MuppetThumper #71 2 years ago

    I've not used my PSP in over a year...

  • drumbaby #72 2 years ago

    I'm convinced that the PSP needs many more cheap shitty games on it, in order to compete with the Iphone.

  • reality_cheque #73 2 years ago

    @SHARXTREME : I paid nothing for my iPhone. Are you telling me they're giving away free PSPs? In fact if they're cheaper, they should be paying me to take them! ;-)

  • Zebula77 #74 2 years ago

    Have to admit, I really love my PSP. I use it mostly for train trips and flights. Watch movies on it (well, I don't have a laptop) and I've poured literally weeks into games like Liberty City Stories, Loco Roco 1 and 2 and the WipEout games.

    Not much happening on it at the moment, that's true, but I'd pick up Loco Roco 3 in a heartbeat. (hope they're making one right now!)

  • kangarootoo #75 2 years ago

    @greenthumb

    "theres a world of difference between buying games on the app store for a couple of quid and being forced to pay full price for PSPGO games on download when you can buy them in a shop for half price"

    I agree whole heartedly. But the issue I was talking about isn't the same thing.

    My point is that "having a disc you can hold" doesn't really matter to anyone anymore. If however, software on the app store could be bought on disc for half as much, people would indeed care about that.

    What they care about is the price difference, not the existence of the disc. To turn things around, if PSP games on the PSN Store cost half as much as the discs in the shops, people would care even LESS about holding a disc :)


    @Windypops

    I don't agree with your paper weight comment, but you are right about bedroom coders getting a look in on the iPhone (maybe if you had posted these points seperately, the second one wouldn't have got negs :) )


    @Rev. Stuart Campbell

    I've never seen you write a post that is becoming of your actual age. Its pretty tragic.
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/10 @ 09:20

  • kangarootoo #76 2 years ago

    On the subject of Stu Campbell's article, aren't several large publishers dropping their DS development arms because of the high piracy rates?

    As I understand it, the mainstream software does ok (as its audience simply don't pirate software), but the more hardcore titles get pirated at an astonishing rate. Given that the PSP catalogue is comprised of far more hardcore titles than that of the DS, is it really comparing apples with apples for the article to put the effects of piracy on the two platforms alongside?
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/10 @ 09:24

  • Grom #77 2 years ago

    Oh my god, you mentioned Stuart Campbell and piracy in the same comment - save yourself now!

  • kangarootoo #78 2 years ago

    @Grom

    When someone says "its not all the fault of piracy", they are alerady skewing the discussion. I'm not saying piracy is solely responsible for anything, I'm not even saying piracy is responsible in part for anything.

    I'm simply saying that "The DS suffers piracy, and the DS has high software sales, therefore piracy does not account for low software sales on the PSP" is an oversimplified and unsafe statement.

    Association, not causation. A crucial difference.

  • gizmo #79 2 years ago

    "our senior VP bought one the day it came out and has a great story, because he ended up on some customer support line just trying to do basic stuff. He had to re-download his software, do an immediate firmware update, and that's your user experience."

    A great story? That explains the 'plot' in Dragon Rising :-D

  • rascoj64 #80 2 years ago

    Bollockingly - What a fantastic word!

  • kangarootoo #81 2 years ago

    @Rev. Stuart Campbell

    He was clearly talking about the iPad (which isn't 4-5 times more expensive than a PSP at the entry point, but its getting there).

    And the post you quoted referenced the "iPhone/iPad". So its a little cheeky to choose the iPod Touch as a comparison for your own ends.


    Why are you always so angry? Always. All the time.

    Edit: deleted post? Interesting.
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/10 @ 13:56

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #82 2 years ago

    "You must be out of your mind.
    Only 4-5 times more expensive then PSP or DS."

    Wow, you're a special kind of stupid.

    An iPod Touch costs less to buy than a DS or PSP - the 8GB Touch, which has room for hundreds of games, currently sells for about £120.

    New (legal) games start at free and mostly cost 59p and £1.19, compared to £20-25 on DS and PSP. There are literally dozens of games made available for free on limited-time promotions every day.

    GTA Chinatown Wars costs £25 on DS or PSP, and £5.99 on iPod/iPhone for the same game.

    So do explain to us where in the non-fuckwit world you get "4-5 times more expensive" from, you complete fucking penis.

  • kangarootoo #83 2 years ago

    Its back. That was weird.

  • actionfitz #84 2 years ago

    yeah if they allowed us to do what we want with it instead of want they want to allow us, it could have been fantastic.
    I'd love to own a PSP GO from an aesthetic point of view... but i know Sony will just wallet rape me for the cost of the beast, then force me to buy their artificially expensive software too.
    bah.
    /mourns what could have been.

  • des #85 2 years ago

    "bollocking useless waste of space"...

    Do something Sony!!!

  • smelly #86 2 years ago

    Its a strange world where i agree with stuart.. but he's right.

    But it seems if you say something "pro psp" you get positives here, pro iphone will net you a negative... Same as posting an anti piracy post on a thread about piracy... etc etc

    .. Something tells me the "positive/negative" thing which (IMHO) is SUPPOSED to be used to hide trolls is being abused.

  • Les #87 2 years ago

    "I'd love to own a PSP GO from an aesthetic point of view... but i know Sony will just wallet rape me for the cost of the beast, then force me to buy their artificially expensive software too."

    This is just bollocks. You can't have it both ways. That's the trouble with gamers: they want the world but never want to pay for it. With consoles, part of the software price is to offset the losses or low margins on the hardware. A disruptor like the iPhone / iPod Touch is now shaking up the market: Apple already makes a profit on the hardware and sees the software as a means to make its hardware attractive. And through digital distribution it found a way to deliver the software very cheap to the users of its hardware.

    DS, PSP and the home consoles still make use of the 'old' model. PSPgo is in an especially odd position because it embraces the new model while still being tied to the old as Sony didn't cut the ties completely with the PSP, thus creating competition between DLC and physical games which in turn resulted in retailers putting the pressure on Sony to price its DLC higher or dropping the PSPgo altogether. A very stupid move by Sony.

    Solution to this is either increase PSPgo price so retailers make a healthy margin on the hardware alone or cut out the middle man for selling the hardware by opening Sony stores and using direct web sales.

    It will be interesting to see which business model in the end gets the upper hand: 1) cheap hardware vs expensive software or 2) expensive hardware vs cheap software.

    My bet is still on the old model because of human psychology: People just can't properly value future cost and therefore will pretty much always go for a 300 euro system with 60 euro games instead of a 600 euro system with 30 euro games although simple math will tell you that you 'only' need to buy over 10 games for the second option to be the better value (not taking into account time value of money and other uses the console might provide).

  • smelly #88 2 years ago

    I actually own a psp. I bought 4 games for it, but i never really played it - problem was that the games were trying to be "full console" games and not really suitable for trains/planes/on the bog/etc. The only game i really really enjoyed playing and was actually the reason i bought a psp was locoroco.

    Now on the other hand, i have an ipod touch - and have bought EASILY 80 or 90 one dollar games for it. It's perfect for the plane/train, as they're simple quick games to enjoy without too much concentration (for example swords and poker). They're certainly not games i'd pay $20+ for the umd of, but when i can buy 5 games for the price of one beer, that's good value imho.

    Im also more likely to be more experimental with my purchases at that price too. Subsequently my ipod gets used lots, and my psp (to quote the fanboys in a wii thread) is "gathering dust".
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/10 @ 17:36

  • Les #89 2 years ago

    One more thing: what is interesting to see is that even though Nintendo has made the transition to already selling its hardware at a profit from the get-go, it still is able to sell its software at the same old prices. So it can get by with a much lower attach rate and still financially outperform PS3 and 360 as a platform if it just sold at their hardware levels.

    E.g. in pretty much all cases I can get AAA PS3/PSP titles for considerably less than in the stores with a little searching on the internet while the difference between online and brick&mortar prices for Wii/DS games is negligible. Or am I looking in the wrong places?

  • Les #90 2 years ago

    "I was replying to the post about iPad.Which is 600$-900$"

    Well, actually the price range is $500 (499 if you want to be precise) to $ 830 (829 if you want to be precise again)...

    The 'cheap' model is actually relatively inexpensive (looking purely at cost price, not from a value to the consumer PoV as that's rather subjective), being subsidised by the more expensive versions. Like the low margin on the 8GB iPod Touch is offset by higher margins on the more expensive models / iPhone.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #91 2 years ago

    "1. I was replying to the post about iPad."

    No, you were replying to one about, and I quote, "iPad/iPhone gaming". Currently there are no iPad-specific games, so iPod, iPad and iPhone games are all the same thing, which can be accessed on a cheap iPod Touch.

    In any event, games costing 59p rather than £25 would make up any hardware price difference in no time. App Store gaming is by miles the cheapest overall of any current format.

    My penis is fully functional, but thanks for your concern. If only we could say the same about that soggy dishrag between your ears, eh?

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #92 2 years ago

    "Now use that functionality and piss off, since you didn't fuck off after my last post. "

    Delighted to, as soon as you explain to us how it's more 4-5 times more expensive to play App Store games than DS or PSP ones, or acknowledge that you're a fucking idiot who badly needs to shut up before he makes an even bigger dick of himself.

  • Grayvern #93 2 years ago

    To be honest I own a DS a PSP and an Ipod touch and all have things going for them. But with the DS and PSP i eventually lost interest, I don't say that about the ipod touch cause its an mp3 player and therefore nearly always on me, which is it's main advantage.

    I go through handheld phases every now and then but without major commutes the appeal eventually fades. Yes threre's gaming lying back on the sofa or in bed but hell I have my 40" tv by my bed and use the bed as a sofa.

    Its a shame really because I know Im missing out on some great PSP and DS games. But as it is I'm buying 2 full price console/pc games, at least, a month so I can't really justify buying handheld games as well.