4th March 2005, 4:54 PM
All sales figures should be compared to other contemporary figures too you know not just ones now. How many did the GB sell in those couple of years when the GG was competitive?
Anyway, the TurboExpress, Game.com, Nomad, and almost certainly N-Gage were total failures. The Wonderswan, NeoGeo Pocket/Pocket Color, and Game Gear, though, did better... didn't threaten the GB, but did better. Why not compare the PSP to that? Seems appropriate. Though there are significant differences, of course, in things like how the PSP is aiming at a noticably older audience than any previous portable.
Will the PSP do better than any of the previous challengers? It has a good chance to, yes. The Game Gear had too many drawbacks, the NGPC had Neo-Geo die on it while it was doing pretty well, and the others... well, they didn't matter much... :D Sony has the resources to keep it going and technology has advanced, making high-end handhelds much more viable...
But to really challenge Nintendo in handhelds Sony will have to answer questions like 'how large really is the adult market for portables?' and 'Is there any hope for a console as expensive (and with as short battery life as -- adults might be more used to short battery lives, but kids have Gameboys...) as the PSP to get very far with the children's market?'...
Anyway, the TurboExpress, Game.com, Nomad, and almost certainly N-Gage were total failures. The Wonderswan, NeoGeo Pocket/Pocket Color, and Game Gear, though, did better... didn't threaten the GB, but did better. Why not compare the PSP to that? Seems appropriate. Though there are significant differences, of course, in things like how the PSP is aiming at a noticably older audience than any previous portable.
Will the PSP do better than any of the previous challengers? It has a good chance to, yes. The Game Gear had too many drawbacks, the NGPC had Neo-Geo die on it while it was doing pretty well, and the others... well, they didn't matter much... :D Sony has the resources to keep it going and technology has advanced, making high-end handhelds much more viable...
But to really challenge Nintendo in handhelds Sony will have to answer questions like 'how large really is the adult market for portables?' and 'Is there any hope for a console as expensive (and with as short battery life as -- adults might be more used to short battery lives, but kids have Gameboys...) as the PSP to get very far with the children's market?'...