A few weeks back I noted on aesthetics and I made passing references to the PSP and the DS. I've long stayed in touch which this particular issue. For me handheld gaming has long been a great idea but it's not always lived up to what I imagined.
I own a few Game Boys and I've gone and played some of the bigger games but it's usually tended to be at home and not out and about which is what handheld gaming should be about. As handheld as they are, they don't seem to be so portable or playable when out. With E3 though, I noticed a few announcements which really caught my imagination.
Nintendo announced that they would be taking the DS online, playable against others across the world. Imagine yourself on the bus, you load up your DS, stick Mario Kart DS on and then participate for 10 minutes in a tournament against a Japanese businessman on his way home from work, an American lady winding down after a night out and someone else on the second deck of the bus you are on. This is gaming on the go as I've seen it. Playing with or against random people, without the need to use link cables nor bound by distances between you.
Nintendo also state they have a new version of the DS in the works, to refine it's look (I guess in direct response to the way the PSP looks, on which I'll talk about later) and a new version of the GBA, the GBA Micro.
The Micro really looks the business, it's tiny but playable and it's the sort of thing you could fit into any pocket. Granted it's got no wifi abilities to play online against others but it allows you to take your copy of Zelda and play on the go when you have a spare moment without worrying that you've no space to carry it.
So as I said, we have two announcements (well three but a redesigned DS is not really one of my main concerns at this juncture) that really caught my imagination. This is how I saw handheld gaming, we have two consoles which will be handy in different situations. One to take out and about with you to enjoy online with others, in addition to a control system which continues to innovate and show real progression in gaming. Another to take out with you when you are short of space to continue your gaming. So what is it about this that leaves me cold?
Both announcements came from one company, Nintendo. Nintendo seem to be the ones wanting to innovate and move the handheld area further, to cater for differing situations and needs. Sony on the other hand have not mentioned anything on this. Prior to launch they made a big song and dance about MP3 playing capabilities and movies you can watch. Great! I can spend £20 on a UMD of a movie I own and squint at it on a PSP. So what about the games or the innovations I can expect?
I have heard nothing, it's left to "hackers" to open up the system to some interesting ends but again nothing groundbreakingly different to anything that wouldn't be able to be done on the DS.
Regardless, Sony's PSP seems to be the must own thing of 2005. It looks sleek and stylish but it's rather souless. Nintendo could be readressing the balance but I'm not sure it'd make a difference. I feel that Sony have a certain cachet that holds amongst the "kidz".
It's a shame as it would force Sony into new ideas but they don't seem to be bothered about it in a way Nintendo seems to be. That might be due to the position Nintendo is in the market but they've tried to innovate constantly as well as produce great games. Sony on the other hand seemed to have taken the approach that if they make a console that looks nice and forget about anything else, it will all work out fine because the wider press will be orgasming on the MP3 and movie capabilities and the specialist press will be ignored highlighting Nintendo's ideas on moving handheld gaming forward.
Nintendo have made a console that really has moved gaming forward. If I give someone Ridge Racer and a PSP they will maybe say how nice it looks before going back to whatever they were doing. I give the same person a DS with Wario Ware and they'll be hooked blowing a car out of harms way, frantically unrolling a roll of toilet paper before the timer ends or slicing a pizza in half.
Nintendo have a system that is capable of bringing gamers and non-gamers together to play and moving games forward. Sony on the other hand, really need to sort their act out to catch up but the problem is they don't need to bother as everyone is lauding them for making a nice looking system.
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2 comments:
i totally agree with you nat, but Sony dont actually have to do anything to sell the PSP, just a release date will sell millions alone this is why they are lazy, they just know that the PSP will sell on the fact that it has the playstation logo on it. Nintendo have to work hard to stay in the market and have come up with brilliant results, but the public over look that and just go for the PSP anyhow, it will be a real shame if sony totally capture the handheld market, as originality will be a thing of the past...
I agree with you. It would be nice to see them forced into a position of having to create something creative. The EyeToy was a very cool addition to the PS2 roster but that is in the minority of what we get from Sony.
NCL have gone down a really good route with the DS though. If Sony are keen to muscle in then they'll bring together not only their core audience but make it so anyone can pick-up, play and enjoy their experience on a DS. If you look at other media such as music or films you're pelted with reviews,previews and trailers/songs in everything. With games you don't get the same exposure so the only way you will get people converted is by making them play.
If it's too hard to play, then no-one will but an interface simple which people use daily such as a stylus, it's only breaking barriers which put people off.
Who knows maybe the education these people will recieve by playing on an NCL machine may lead them to having a more discerning choice of games in future, meaning games like Rez or Ico won't be dismissed off the bat for "sex, guns and blood part 2342" or "football 342342".
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