14th May 2004, 1:33 AM
Not competing graphically with the PSP in the sense that it has already lost that aspect of the competition, not that it is not a factor into who retains dominance, and dominance of the handheld market is still Nintendo's only existing springboard with which to provide financial assets to regain console market dominance. Hence, as Mr. Yamauchi said, if Nintendo looses with the DS, Nintendo is out of the scene.
I continue to see it as a big problem because Sony can exploit the same marketing and 3rd party strategy that it did with the PSX against the N64. You and I know very well that good games don't require FMV and all those snazzy graphics. However, thats not what Sony's market dominance is about. Sony's market dominance has been about graphics, fanservice, and putting down other consoles by ridiculing them and paying off other companies to slander Nintendo as kiddy and work with Sony exclusively. Sony's market dominance is not about promoting innovative gameplay and neither is its following very interested in innovative gameplay either, otherwise they wouldn't be buying Sony products.
Because the PSP is graphic intensive, Sony can exploit the fact that its got more space in its campaign against Nintendo. What is different about the handheld market is that the power of handhelds tends to be lower, and you just don't get the same experience as you do with a console. Simply said, while Nintendo has innovative stuff on the DS, the Sony can use its existing popularity and momentum to grab the intiative off of Nintendo's hands and redefine the handheld console market as literally a current generation PORTABLE CONSOLE MARKET - in otherwords, the PSP is now a portable PS2, and in contrast, the DS is not a portable GC, its just an N64, despite the extra screen. On intitial evaluation by the average console gamer (who today is quite obviously a PS2 gamer) its quirky and its not down to earth and it doesn't have what they've been impressed with on the PS2, which are seemingly non-kiddy games, good looking up to date graphics, movies, and all the franchises of the PS2, etc. The average console gamer who until now has only been offered the GBA or refused to even get into the console market because it just wasn't impressive enough, have all now been offered something they've been looking for, a real full on console, thats portable. Sony will definitely push this aspect of the PSP with developers and setting the tone of the handheld market. The DS, because of its technology, while in the same category of competition with the PSP, cannot directly compete against it given the new market setting and the evolution of the target audience.
While the DS is initially impressive and over the top with innovation compared to the PSP, all Sony has to do once it enters the market, is push the market in a different direction of down to earth, storage space and technology intensive gaming and the DS won't be able to match that. If you ask me, what Sony is doing is more immediately appealing, and is a simple plan that will sell.
What Nintendo really needs in this time might not be an experiment such as the DS. What they need is a more down to earth, practical solution, which is a next generation Gameboy which can do what the Gamecube does and more to compete directly with and defeat the PSP - not something thats completely off in lala land. Unfortunately, unless Nintendo has that secretly in the works, they might just loose the handheld market initiave to the PSP if they release the next Gameboy later than the PSP does.
As much as Nintendo is a traditional art of war corporation, they're forgetting one of many things Sun Tzu emphasized... simple plans work, complex ones backfire.
I continue to see it as a big problem because Sony can exploit the same marketing and 3rd party strategy that it did with the PSX against the N64. You and I know very well that good games don't require FMV and all those snazzy graphics. However, thats not what Sony's market dominance is about. Sony's market dominance has been about graphics, fanservice, and putting down other consoles by ridiculing them and paying off other companies to slander Nintendo as kiddy and work with Sony exclusively. Sony's market dominance is not about promoting innovative gameplay and neither is its following very interested in innovative gameplay either, otherwise they wouldn't be buying Sony products.
Because the PSP is graphic intensive, Sony can exploit the fact that its got more space in its campaign against Nintendo. What is different about the handheld market is that the power of handhelds tends to be lower, and you just don't get the same experience as you do with a console. Simply said, while Nintendo has innovative stuff on the DS, the Sony can use its existing popularity and momentum to grab the intiative off of Nintendo's hands and redefine the handheld console market as literally a current generation PORTABLE CONSOLE MARKET - in otherwords, the PSP is now a portable PS2, and in contrast, the DS is not a portable GC, its just an N64, despite the extra screen. On intitial evaluation by the average console gamer (who today is quite obviously a PS2 gamer) its quirky and its not down to earth and it doesn't have what they've been impressed with on the PS2, which are seemingly non-kiddy games, good looking up to date graphics, movies, and all the franchises of the PS2, etc. The average console gamer who until now has only been offered the GBA or refused to even get into the console market because it just wasn't impressive enough, have all now been offered something they've been looking for, a real full on console, thats portable. Sony will definitely push this aspect of the PSP with developers and setting the tone of the handheld market. The DS, because of its technology, while in the same category of competition with the PSP, cannot directly compete against it given the new market setting and the evolution of the target audience.
While the DS is initially impressive and over the top with innovation compared to the PSP, all Sony has to do once it enters the market, is push the market in a different direction of down to earth, storage space and technology intensive gaming and the DS won't be able to match that. If you ask me, what Sony is doing is more immediately appealing, and is a simple plan that will sell.
What Nintendo really needs in this time might not be an experiment such as the DS. What they need is a more down to earth, practical solution, which is a next generation Gameboy which can do what the Gamecube does and more to compete directly with and defeat the PSP - not something thats completely off in lala land. Unfortunately, unless Nintendo has that secretly in the works, they might just loose the handheld market initiave to the PSP if they release the next Gameboy later than the PSP does.
As much as Nintendo is a traditional art of war corporation, they're forgetting one of many things Sun Tzu emphasized... simple plans work, complex ones backfire.