the long awaited gba crusher?

flogen

No, not the N-Gage, because that looks like itl be too dear to even have a decent chance at loosing, but the so called 'psp' or portable playstation. anyone have any info on it??
i heard rumours about it from E3, but nothing since, and I spoke to a Sony rep. and he said that its coming, but couldnt tell me much more than that. supposedly it uses cube size disks too, but will it have ps1 graphics or what??

any help on this??

Flogen

Sloth

Apparently Gatesy is thinking of launching his own handheld too. I get the feeling the big two are trying to muscle their way in and destroy Nintendo's last money spinner, the handheld world. Hopefully they'll go the way of the gamegear and wonderswan but Sony and Microsoft are out for Nintendo's blood atm but I'm quietly confident that the GBA can destroy all who dare challenge it

flogen

well theyve done it before, alot of the GB and GBAs competition was better on paper than the GB, but they just didnt know how to get into the handheld world.

I also heard about Gatseys plan, the rumour I heard was that when Xbox 2 (or Next Box as its cheesily called) microsoft will bring out a handheld version of the first, but I doubt that, given the fact that theyre still mulling over relaunching the machine as a slightly smaller model...... Imagine just how 'handheld' the xbox would be........ could that be classed as cruelty to children?

Im still hoping that SEGA are secretly making a new machine that will change the world of gaming forever, its romantic, but heres hoping.

as for nintendo, if they DO lose out to sony or microsoft in the handheld market, they may as well call it a day and sell off zelda and mario to the others.
I wouldnt mind having zelda for xbox......

Flogen

public_enemy

the only information i've heard about psp is that it'll have gamecube sized discs which hold 1.8 gb (cube's hold 1.5, average dvd holds 4.7) and that there will be full 3d graphics. sony have also stated that it will be released at the same time as ps3 and will have numerous "connectivity features" with that console. so yet again sony will gain no originality awards, they're gaining something of a reputation for ripping off nintendo.

its very possible that with clever marketing they can steal the handheld market from nintendo, after all, smart advertising was the main reason the playstation outsold the far superior n64.

its pretty much safe to say that the n-gage will suck, its going to be more of luxury phone than an actual competitor for handheld console sales.

as for sega making a console comeback, it doesn't look likely right now, they're supposed to be in talks with namco about the sale of the company...

Sloth

Well the massive installed user base for the GBA should make it pretty much invincible. I doubt very much though that Sega are doing anything other than trying to keep their head out of water at the moment considering they've just merged with Sammy, a slot machine maker. This doesn't bode well as exactly the same thing happened to SNK before it became bankrupt.
I think reports of Nintendo's death are greatly over exaggerated, sure the GC may not be doing amazingly well but it's definitly not doing as badly as the competitor's want you to think, after all they want you to think that the console is dead and therefore not worth getting despite the fact that it's actually doing pretty well when compared to the Xbox.

Dont be at yourself

Doesn't the PSP use discs smaller than those of the GC?

Anyway, I honestly think that this could turn out very bad for Nintendo. They're never ones to compete head-on with their competitors and Sony will probably be piling a lot of resources into the success of the PSP - especially if PS3 connectivity is going to be important - and one wonders wheter Nintendo will try and compete or rely on it's hardcore niche market. My money would be on the latter.

It's certainly a bit worrying that Nintendo pretty much laughed off the announcement of the PSP at E3. I mean, don't they remember their spectacular fall from the top of the home console market at the hands of Sony?

But bleh. The GBA has plenty of decent games on the way, PSP is another two years away at least and Nintendo's survival is pretty much set in stone for the forseeable future.

super_furry

There is no stopping the GBA right now, it's the PS2 of the handheld world. Nokia's N-Gage is a terrible idea, an ugly machine and doomed to failure. The PSP is a far more interesting prospect, but remember - we haven't even seen a mock-up picture of it yet.

At a conservative estimate, the PSP is probably a year and a half away from a European release and in that time, Nintendo will be able to cement their grip on the current generation of handhelds. What happens after that will be the interesting part, and it won't be until Nintendo reveal the successor to the GBA that the real handheld battle begins.

ozpass

Originally posted by Sloth
I doubt very much though that Sega are doing anything other than trying to keep their head out of water at the moment considering they've just merged with Sammy, a slot machine maker.

As an aside to the actual topic of the thread (apologies) but this isn't strictly correct.

The proposed Sega-Sammy merger is currently just that - proposed i.e. it hasn't gone ahead yet. Interestingly, when the Sega-Sammy merger was first mooted, stock prices for both companies dropped, yet when the Sega-Namco merger was announced the reverse was true with stocks in both companies rising sharply.

The Sega-Sammy merger has cooled off somewhat as a result with board members from both Sega and the Pachinko manufacturer unhappy with the terms of the deal.

EA and Microsoft are still rumoured to be 'sniffing around' Sega however.

sceptre

Originally posted by flogen
Imagine just how 'handheld' the xbox would be........ could that be classed as cruelty to children?

Only if you strap it to the kid's back and send him into a dodgy area of town at night

public_enemy

Only if you strap it to the kid's back and send him into a dodgy area of town at night

you find the kid i'll handle the rest



sammy are also apparently denying that sega are in any talks with namco whatsoever

Epitaph

(Back on topic)

Apparently some top-brass Nokia mouth-piece has drawn the ire of quite a few Game Boy owners with a recent remark:

Game Boy is for 10-year-olds," said Ilkka Raiskinen, head of Nokia's entertainment and media arm. "If you're 20 or 25 years old, it's probably not a good idea to draw a Game Boy out of your pocket on a Friday night in a public space."

Saw it on
Penny Arcade which got it from Gamespot.

Quite a stupid comment to make. I mean the N-Gage isn't going to be that popular, what with camera phones doing the rounds at the moment, so...

Matt Simis

Yes... but the NGage isnt going to be bought by kids anyhow, its going to be purchased by, umm, 20-25 year olds.

In this case deriding your opponents product as a childs toy while promoting your own as gadget for rich yuppies seems like marketing 101. Nokia doesnt see camera phones (and why would they?) or the stereotypical image (they they are fostering) of the Gameboy as a competitor.

Are you suggesting they should saddle up to kids to try and sell the N-Gage? Have you see the pics of NGage users on nokia.com ?


Matt

Flashman

Has anyone on seen Gamepark's GP32? Quite impressive imo.

segadreamcast

"If you're 20 or 25 years old, it's probably not a good idea to draw a Game Boy out of your pocket on a Friday night in a public space."

No offence to the Ninty folk - but well - it isn't. Then again, taking out an N-Gage or any games console isn't much better either.

Meanwhile back to the GBA keeping the throne - personally 9 out of 10 people I know have a GBA (myself included - 2 infact) but use them once every six months in sheer boredom, or maybe take them on the occasional train journey. But apart from that - it's permanent shelf life...

The main contributing factors for the sales are: a handful of good in-house games + a few decent third party games + they're bloody cheap!

The PSP will probably have the first two categories down - but will it have the third? With those damn stats, I doubt it. Thus - I believe Nintendo can hold on comfortably enough - of course there'll still be plenty of muppets who go out and buy a PSP just on the strength that it's sony... but that's another kettle of fish.

public_enemy

n-gage is going to flop as a games console.

several problems have already been identified, such as buttons being awkward for games, the fact there will be less than 15 release titles and to play a game you have to turn off the power, take off the back cover, take out the battery put the cartridge in and then restart the phone every time.

and what kind of idiot says gameboys are for ten year olds? gameboys are for everyone, everyone has them... in my house there is one of every release of the gameboy, and three gameboy colours.

i'd like to see nintendo revive the gameboy camera and printer at some point too.

po0k

Gameboy Advance wireless web server.

public_enemy

according to ngc, sega's new president announced that there will be no mergers or company sale because sega has just turned a profit for the first time in 5 years.

lets hope they start making consoles again sometime and that microsoft and sony go home and leave the gaming industry to the pros