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EA calls for cheaper PSP News
PSP News by Games Industry.biz
Electronic Arts boss Larry Probst has said that Sony should consider slashing the price of PSP and introducing a new, smaller model in order to boost sales.
Speaking in an interview with Newsweek, Probst said, "I think what moves the needle is a new form factor that's smaller than the existing unit, at a lower price, and hopefully that price is US$ 100 or lower.
"I think the price point needs to be lower, and I think you're going to see that next year, along with a different form factor," he added.
Whilst Probst was careful to identify his comments as "pure speculation", he said it "would not be hugely surprising" if Sony was to cut the price of the PSP to US$ 149, offering "a more fully-featured upscale unit that retails at US$ 249 or US$ 299".
Probst dismissed suggestions that EA is focused on producing new IP for the PSP, stating, "It's more likely that we would target platforms like the PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii if we had an original in mind. Our strategy on PSP has typically been to take the franchises that we build on other platforms and exploit them on the PSP."
However, he went on to concede that consumers won't necessarily want to buy PSP versions of a franchise title if they already own console versions of the same game. "If someone owns Madden on multiple systems already, they're less likely to buy it on PSP. It's true. If you've got Madden on PS2 and Xbox 360, how likely are you to buy it on PSP?"
According to Probst, EA is "interested in interoperability between PSP and Sony's other platforms, and if we can do something along those lines, that would be helpful".
Earlier this week, SCEA declared that sales of the PSP in North America were up by 280 per cent over the Thanksgiving period, with software sales also on the rise.
But Nintendo's rival handheld continues to perform well around the globe, with the company claiming that the DS is outselling PSP by a rate of more than 2.5 to 1 in the UK.
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MisterFalseName
01/12/06 @ 13:22
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"Our strategy on PSP has typically been to take the franchises that we build on other platforms and exploit them on the PSP."
Exploit? o_O |
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MisterFalseName
01/12/06 @ 13:24
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I was just surprised at how open they're being about their lack of originality in the handheld market. It's like they're not trying to bullshit anymore...
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My PSP is used far more effectivly as an mp3 player than a gaming device.
Plus, EA Suck! http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162530.html |
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crazyhorse174
01/12/06 @ 13:36
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EA IN CANDID TRUTH SHOCKER!!!
Hmm...could this be reverse pyschology? Maybe by admitting that they have no imagination when it comes to games, they're hoping that no-one will be as bothered when they continue releasing FIFA, NHL, Madden and their ilk for another 50 years... Either that or he's trying to get sacked! |
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Lol that's funny.
EA always strives to drive innovation and quality into its titles. EA continues to invest in next-generation development and technology which will translate into high quality gaming throughout the next console cycle." I think Probst didn't go to PR school that's how it's done. ^_^ Although i'm surprised at his attitude towards the PSP how does it make business sense to know that you're not going to sell that many titles by porting the console renditions onto the little handheld. Maybe that attitude is why we aren't seeing much original IP's for the unit. :( Or at least a compotent port by name (i.e Killzone liberation, GTA Liberty City Stories etc). |
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rhinoxious
01/12/06 @ 14:29
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had my Neo-Geo pocket color out yesterday, it got unearthed when i moved.
However that clicky joystick would drive people mad on the commute I imagine! |
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Muddtallica
01/12/06 @ 14:34
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Geeze, is this Probst guy angling ofr a job at Sony or what? Because he seems to be talking more about what Sony should do these days than what EA do.
Still, he is highlighting a problem with the PSP concept that I've always worried about; from a development point of view, what exactly is your incentive to create a PSP game? The DS came up with an original, unique hook in the form of the dual screens and the touch screen. As we've seen (somewhat surprisingly, maybe), developers do find this to be a concept that they want to explore, and the DS is the only one that offers it. The PSP's original, unique hook is that it offers PS2 quality gaming on the go, but the problem is that it's a hook that's only of significance to the consumer; from the point of view of a developer, creating a game for the PSP offers nothing that isn't possible on the PS2 (except perhaps wireless multiplayer), and is in fact slightly more difficult given the slightly inferior hardware and control options. Why, then, if you want to make a PS2-type game, would you choose to make it on the PSP and not the PS2? See, if the PSP had been a roaring success like I thought it would be, the answer would have been "money", so we would have seen a wealth of original PS2 quality projects on the system. That hasn't been the case though, which has led to a large percentage of the PSP library being made up of games designed for other systems, then ported as an afterthought to PSP, with varying levels of success... I'm not sure exactly what the answer to this problem is, and it's something Sony will have to think about. I do know that Probst's idea of making a stripped down version of the system sure as heck isn't the answer, though. I really don't like this new "multiple models" system that the 360 introduced, I feel it just confuses and divides the userbase... |
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rhinoxious
01/12/06 @ 14:41
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"Plus, EA Suck! ">http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162530.html"
That article is such a load of horseshit, basically some guy has spotted that EA's gameranking scores have dipped a little. Not surprsing really, as average scores are bound to dip for established franchises towards the end of the console's lifespan, in this case the PS2, the hardware has little left to offer and the reviewers are jaded. EA would be stupid to put as much money as say MS into 360 titles, the installed userbase is still very small, comparably, and so profits are limited. Whilst MS have a second agenda to boost the profile of the platform. So EA games do badly there as well. Wait a year or so for the next-gen to become mainstream, the you'll see EA making the effort to put out proper versions of their games rather than lazy ports. I don't like EA, but it's not too hard to see that hardware transitions are going to hit them worse than 'hardcore-appealing' developers like Capcom.
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 14:44
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Muddtallica i'm not sure the DS's touchscreen is as big as people make it out to be.
there are a few titles that use it perfectly like Nintendogs, or Brain Training but then you've got lots of New Super Mario Brothers, Super Princess Peach, Animal Crossing, Yoshi's Island 2 (come back to me on that one), Mario and Luigi Partners in time. ¬_¬ That don't have the touchscreen as an integral part of the game and you have the option to use the D-pad, and given that Nintendo owns these titles they'd most probably translate well to the PSP with minimum effort. The problem is the processing power of the PSP it's too easy to make a 3D game that looks similar to it's PS2 counterpart and not enough of 2D games in a 3D environment (given how much New Super Mario Brothers Sold). ¬_¬ Which is why it isn't shocking that LocoRoco is a very fun and addictive title that i can't get enough of, and i recently downloaded an Exit demo and i'm hooked on that as well. The big difference between the PSP and the DS is 2D games, Sony needs to go down to SCEA and kick whoevers in charge up the balls to get the message that 2D games are fun and they do sell, if Sony's studio's can get that message across by making some Fooking 2D addictive fun titles themselves, and then 3rd party devs start seeing the results of 2D games, then maybe everyone will stop bitching about the PSP not having any good godamn games goddamn it. /takes deep breath. |
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I'll say iit right now the PSP as a pure gaming machine with the type of Dev support they have now would get crushed by the Nintendo DS.
Yes, but what if the PSP had been a pure gaming device from the start? All of the gripes would either be lessened or non-existant: It wouldn't have UMD, that would make it smaller and cheaper and save a lot of battery power. It would be lighter, could be more attractive. Don't know, but together with the good vibe Sony had with the PS2 this might have been the DS killer, and not vice versa. |
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i'm not sure the DS's touchscreen is as big as people make it out to be.
Well, the systems best selling titles wouldn't have been possible without it, how can it not be a big thing? With the dual screen / touch sceen thing Nintendo made sure there are games that are not possible on any other platform. That's exclusives for free. It's also been a huge draw for non-kids, as touching is a very direct and straightforward control method (it's also damn accurate, see MPH f.ex.), that's easy to pick up even if your last videogame was in your childhood.
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 15:02
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Very little of the DS software would be "impossible" on other formats, just not as nice to control without touch screen.
The fact is the PSP is too powerful, Nintendo have purposly restricted the power of its handhelds from the very beginning - so they would be cheaper, have better battery time, and developers couldnt just port current (at the time) console games to them |
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Well, the systems best selling titles wouldn't have been possible without it, how can it not be a big thing?
I said not as big, all the top sellers are made from Nintendo and a good number of them don't use the Touschscreen enough to warrant it not possible on the PSP and the one of the only very good title outside of the Nintendo circle that uses the touchscreen good is Sonic... erm...Rush?
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 15:17
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Very little of the DS software would be "impossible" on other formats, just not as nice to control without touch screen.
There are titles that fit that, yes. There are others that would be so crippled that they wouldn't be fun (think Meteos), which is near enough "impossible". A Trauma Center with a dpad or analog stick? I'd find that quite "impossible". Petting the Nintendog by mashing the a-button? Possible, but it would defeat the purpose. Then there is the second screen. Could you do a Mario Kart without the overhead view to track extras and positions of the competition? You could, but it would take away a lot of the skill and strategy that make the game fun and interesting to play. With "impossible" I didn't mean to say there were no possible workarounds, just none that would result in good, system selling games. |
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YourMessageHere
01/12/06 @ 15:45
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I'd rather have cheaper games than cheaper PSPs, thanks, mister EA drone. The PSP is quite a powerful bit of kit, and has lots of potential flexibility - it's a gaming device AND a media player, after all. Perhaps it's a bit pricey but not as much as people make out. I for one feel a bit aggrieved that PSP games go for the same approximate price as PS2 games when they're so much more limited. Besides the nature of handheld gaming is casual and people are much less likely to pick up PSP games on impulse if they're
It's always been beyond me why the PSP only has the one stick and two triggers. If they had given it exactly the same controls as a PS2, they'd have the option of simply making ports of everything, rather than choosing to either make exclusives for questionable returns or break things by adapting them for controls with 1 fewer sticks and 2 fewer buttons. Yes, you can whinge about ports but for me, the prospect of having a PS2 on the train was why I bought my PSP. I expected cheap PS1 and PS2 classics rereleased for PSP. Perhaps if they had some kind of discount scheme whereby buying the PS2 version gave you a discount on a game's PSP counterpart (or even vice versa), surely that would be a good thing? Edit: I just realised that this sort of looks like I'm saying UMD video is a good idea. That's not right.
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 15:47
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SuperGamerMatt
01/12/06 @ 16:07
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Is there any way of them getting rid of those horrific loading times in the new PSP as well?
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chupachups
01/12/06 @ 17:15
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Is this EA trying to punish Sony even more for the disappointing PS3 launch allocations? I can't see how EA benefits from what they've admitted, but it certainly harms Sony.
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Vertical Stand
01/12/06 @ 17:17
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So the point of this was to say that "we think Sony should make a new, cheaper PSP but we won't make original games for it whatever Sony does." Wow, mind blowing stuff from EA as usual.
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 17:17
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Probst is such a shit stirrer
He'll be casually implying next in an interview with TIME magazine that Sony need some sort of influential spokesperson, akin to Reggie, J Allard - or me (speaking from his point of view). and that PS3 failure rates are higher than the competitions, and that Blu Ray isnt looking too good. Then he'll announce that the EA PS3 portfolio would be limited due to rising costs or whatever. Finally, Probst will call Ken gay, and announce that he wanked over a picture of Peter Moore and had a gangbang with his wife.
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most recently on 01/12/06 @ 19:10
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chupachups
01/12/06 @ 19:55
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"Perhaps if they had some kind of discount scheme whereby buying the PS2 version gave you a discount on a game's PSP counterpart (or even vice versa), surely that would be a good thing? "
I think you're on to something there... Maybe if you buy both at once you get the PSP version for a tenner or something? It would certainly help shift games, although I don't know if it would be quite the profit margin they were expecting. |
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I suppose this is kick in the balls number from EA to try to punish Sony for screwing up the PSP, which EA has invested fairly much development in, and for their failing to bring enough PS3s to the market to make EA's launch window titles profitable.
Interesting. If EA is losing confidence in Sony, the games industry is in for a very interesting ride for the next few years. |
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bloodflowers
01/12/06 @ 22:02
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Fuck off EA, I'm not buying your games on any system anymore.
They're not wrong though, it needs a redesign, the controls are utter garbage on the PSP. |
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dsmx what's perplexing is that EA knows people aren't going to re-buy say Madden for the PSP if they've already got it for the PS2, yet they ship Madden PSP anyway in the knowledge that it's going to sell like crap because millions have already bought PS2 version. o_O
This thought process coupled with SCEA's stupid no 2D policy no wonder software sales for the PSP is poor. Also with the likes of Polyphony and David Gaffe sidelining their PSP projects it's not doing Sony any favours for PSP. |
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ok, I'll admit that I have'nt read the whole thread (so don't shoot me if I'm just repeating).
The PSP is a temptation. Although, I'm more tempted to get a DS first. But, even with that I'm waitiing for a further reduction... I cpould easily afford to pick one up, it's just I believe in value for money (so won't pay over £75). so, you can see how far off I am from 'actually' pickingup a PSP. |
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floppylobster
02/12/06 @ 00:19
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"if we had an original in mind"
That's a fucking big 'if' EA. If you ever had an original idea in mind I'm yet to see. Just change the company moniker to EZ to reflect the risk factor your willing to take when making your ground-breaking original sequels. |
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projectmayhem
02/12/06 @ 02:01
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why the fuck couldn't he just tell sony this instead of making me read his waffle... again?
"omg psp is teh suk" says EA muppet. 3 months later Killzone and VCS arrive, two of the best games i've played this year generally. it's not the PSP that sucks, it provides the power and tools developers have been yearning from a handheld for years, but they're just not using it at all. killzone is basically an in-house job so it was always going to be well done, VCS is a 2nd version try at the format. EA has put out muck on the thing thus far, and that wont change. sorry for the rant, i'm just not overly pleased with EA lately :) |
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I might be going against the grain here, but I actually *like* the PSP. Sure, it's a little unwieldy, and yeah, the thumbstick can be totally craptacular at times (and no, I'm not going into the whole UMD/battery schtick), but it's a bloody nice system with some decent hardware and an excellent display. The real problem with it, as has already been mentioned, is the sheer amount of shiteware that gets shovelled on to it by companies like (ta-daaa) EA.
So, Mr. Probst, I suggest you actually release some product that has some thought put into its design and development before you spout half-a-ton of spurious rubbish - much like your employers. Use your crappy properties, but in a way that works with the platform, not just shoe-horned in to turn a buck. *realises who he's actually talking to, saves his breath, goes back to playing Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins* |
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