DS is a Gimmick, says Sony.

ambro25

As for whether touchscreen is a gimmick or not, there are really only two tests, one conclusive and the other wholly subjective: consumer choice and personal taste. Ive had one and I'm not a fan - that's not to call it a gimmick, just that developers ae still only just getting to grips with touchscreen functionality as standard - and it's a bit more of a quantum leap where videogames are concerned than the transition from say, cart to CD. To call it gimmicky so early in the life of the product denotes short-sightedness of the worst order, imo, particularly coming from one of the worst sequelitis-afflicted parties in the industry.

FuzzyLogic wrote:

I was merely (humorously) pointing out some flaws in his arguments for/against X console.Lighten up.

I'm all humorously lit up - but I'm still waiting for the "flaws"

And I'm not arguing for/against either. I've owned one, got rid as games which I'd be interested in were too slow to come through, but not owned the other - was all ready to own both, but will not buy a PSP since SONY's attempts to gut the parallel import scene (that served them so well 10 years ago with the PS1, when they needed all the parallel importers they could get to float the 'lifestyle' console).

I'm arguing that, all cross-functional that the PSP may be, it's still gonna be compromised as a 'converging' device, e.g. doing a lot of things but none of them good or better than task-specific devices.

Whereby it all depends of what model you subscribe to: owning several devices (PSP, PDA, mobile phone, etc.) which each does a lot of things, often the same, but not as well as a specific device for the purpose, or owning task-specific devices (say, a digital camera, a PVR, a 'standard' mobile with no camera, an mp3 player...) - in that context, I'd call movie UMDs a 'gimmick' as well, since it's not as if the PSP outputs 5.1 sound, is it?

I can't help but think SONY's got an agenda, broader in scope than merely all things PSP-related, and as a very-long-time gamer I'm not sure I'll like the state of things when they get to where they want to be...

Insofar as gaming's concerned, I've had every portable console ever (except the NEC LT and the PSP) and each of the current-gen TV consoles, and got rid of them all at some point or other through boredom. I'm now PC-near exclusively, but you don't see me berating PSP's gaming aptitude with super-duper AlienWare lappies for gaming-on-the-go, do you? 'talk about fanboyism :rolleyes:

evad_lhorg

flogen wrote:

I thought the DS was ahead in all territories, just by a small amount in Japan and the US?

http://www.cube-europe.com/news.php?nid=8175

DS is ahead in all territories tbh.

Citizen_Erased

Wooo , the ds is owning man.

On the subjects of gimmicks , the only thing that will tell is time. When nintendo first came up with the idea of the analog stick it was met by sega fanboy or whichever irrelevant inferior console it was at the time with the same attitude as this. That is why no one need argue with Sony Biatches because they eat their ancestors words every day by using the sticks on the ps pad.

Aaron M

Personally speaking, the DS has re-invigorated my passion for gaming in a way that I thought I had lost having played nothing but PC games for the past several years. There is a very strong line-up of upcoming titles that I am looking forward to playing.

For those who view the touchscreen as nothing more than a gimmick I strongly disagree, but I won't bother debating the point because I don't think anything I could write on this message board would be likely to change your opinion. Perhaps some of the future releases on the format will do that for me.

Though technically speaking an impressive unit graphically, the PSP just offers absolutely nothing of interest that would make me want to personally purchase one currently. If some genuinely good games came out for it, I would consider it. In any event, I would like to play one to judge what they are like.

4Xcut

I really don't see why this added functionality is so important. Firstly the watching movies:1)The films are going to be expensive because of a monopoly on the format.2)Its only a small screen.3)Sony will not release blank UMDs as this would destroy their complete hold over the format which is trademark of them(remember atrac3)

Second the mp3:To get any decent ammount of music you would need a gig card which are not the cheapest thing in the world which adds more expense.

To summerise the consoles: The DS is cheaper with less depth but has some excellent titles. The PSP is more expensive with additional costs and although having better hardware does not as yet have a large ammount of quality titles. It will all rest on the GTA game. Personally i'd go with the ds

Ciaran500

Anything I watch on the PSP are either downloaded or ripped from my dvds. The screen is a perfect size for watching on the bus/during break in college.

I usually have one album on my PSP which is perfect for the walk from the bus to college.

1huge1

columok wrote:

I have a ds and I love it to contextualise my point...

but Sony in a sense are right at the moment.

The DS touch screen is a gimmick and is being treated like such by games developers. Until things settle a bit and nintendo add a bit more urgency to getting loads of good innovative games out there its gonna be seen as same.

The DS needs games that dont have a compulsion to tack on "touch screen elements" when they arent needed. That combined with some good point n click adventures... (Bring on some old skool lucasarts stuff ) and a few good RTSs aswell as the usual crazy Japaneseness and nintendo might just prove them wrong.

ya like day of the tentacle,sam and max and monkey island
they would work perfect for the ds

Rew

1huge1 wrote:

ya like day of the tentacle,sam and max and monkey island
they would work perfect for the ds

You can emulate them on it at the moment.

fortuneg

I'd love to see a Broken Sword game on the DS!