Gaming PSP: Did piracy kill it, or was it just a bad console?

[chyyran]

The DS killed the PSP, not whether it was a shit console, or because there weren't any good games, but because Nintendo's marketing strategies were so much better than Sony's. I have yet to see a PSP ad, but I've seen tons of DS ads, for games and for the console itself. Sony didn't give more than 2 shits on it's promotion IMO. It's great for emulation though, apparently, which is why I have one on my wishlist (or if the Vita gets hacked, then a Vita).

On to that, I feel like Sony is giving the Vita more or less the same treatment as a PSP..

 

[Foxi4]

In that they were both shit?

It just so happened to (arguably) be the best Assassin's Creed game on a mobile platform, so go figure. The iOS version is top-down, Android's Assassin's Creed looks like a glorified DS port, the DS version is pretty much a platformer. The PSP version is the only one that retains the Assassin's Creed formula - it may not be the best, but it certainly comes the closest to the original game.

Now, I'm no big fan of Assassin's Creed, in fact, I don't find the game all that enjoyable, but I can acknowledge a good handheld version of a game when I see one.

 

[Deleted_171835]

It just so happened to (arguably) be the best Assassin's Creed game on a mobile platform, so go figure. The iOS version is top-down, Android's Assassin's Creed looks like a glorified DS port, the DS version is pretty much a platformer. The PSP version is the only one that retains the Assassin's Creed formula - it may not be the best, but it certainly comes the closest to the original game.

Now, I'm no big fan of Assassin's Creed, in fact, I don't find the game all that enjoyable, but I can acknowledge a good handheld version of a game when I see one.

If the game is still shit, that isn't saying much. Who cares if it emulates the console versions the closest if it's still crap.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

Well... I am pretty sure piracy killed the PSP, just look at these examples of how piracy affected these consoles:

- PS1: sold very poorly
- PS2: Just the worst selling console ever. Sony's biggest failure
- PS3: Sony's biggest success, especially due to being the least pirated console
- Nintendo 64: Huge success, although it used cartridges the fact that it was almost piracy free make it win the 32/64 bits war
- Wii: Nintendo's first home console to be widely hacked and the worst selling Nintendo home console ever
- Nintendo DS: Same history of the Wii, the only Nintendo system to sell worst then the Virtual Boy and it competes with the PS2 the title of worst selling system ever
- X360: Microsoft's biggest failure! The only way Microsoft found to sell the system was creating the kinect and launching billions of good quality titles for it.

 

[kristianity77]

Whether or not the PSP was killled by piracy or not could be debated for eternity. The sales figures are very good and that cannot be argued with. The software figures are more a grey area, especially in Europe and America. Games did and still DO sell like hot cakes in Asia though.

For me personally though, its the best handheld I've ever owned. Although in fairness, that IS down to piracy. 128GB storage on 2 MicroSD Cards gives me access without so much as a hitch to 150 PSP games plus PSP Minis and around 50 of the best PSX games not to mention near perfect emulators for SNES, Genesis, Gameboy Color, NeoGeo. Oh and a few hundred MP3 tracks and movies.

Sorry, but for me, even in the days now of 3DS and Vita, you just cannot top that.

 

[Foxi4]

If the game is still shit, that isn't saying much. Who cares if it emulates the console versions the closest if it's still crap.

How objective - let's rate the game using the "I don't like it/I like it" scale rather than look at what it actually is.

The average Assassin's Creed fan who enjoyed the first game and picked up Bloodlines would be happy with what he got. If he picked up other handheld versions, he might be disappointed. At the end of the day, this is what matters. Cast your personal taste aside because it doesn't mean anything - tastes are subjective.

The original point was that the game was closest to the original and it is. You saying that you don't like it doesn't change that fact.

 

[Deleted_171835]

How objective - let's rate the game using the "I don't like it/I like it" scale rather than look at what it actually is.

The average Assassin's Creed fan who enjoyed the first game and picked up Bloodlines would be happy with what he got. If he picked up other handheld versions, he might be disappointed. At the end of the day, this is what matters. Cast your personal taste aside because it doesn't mean anything - tastes are subjective.

The original point was that the game was closest to the original and it is. You saying that you don't like it doesn't change that fact.

Excuuuse me for judging a game based on whether is it good or not rather than how closely it emulates the console versions. Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines was a bad game with empty cities (much unlike the main games), repetitive gameplay, a shitty story as well as a crappy camera.

But even with that said, it's not like the PSP game even emulates the console games properly. With cities that are unusually empty, bad camera control and brain-dead AI, it's a disgrace for anyone looking for a 'full-featured' Assassin's Creed experience like on the consoles.

 

[Foxi4]

With cities that are unusually empty, bad camera control and brain-dead AI (...)

There, objective criticism. Actual faults the game has. Was that so hard? That's so much better than "the game was bad, mm-kay?".

 

[clegion]

I think I put in more time on the PSP rather than the DS , and I am still playing PSP and Vita game compared to 3DS or DS.... Last game I played on my DS was... Pokemon black , and there is a big gaping hole from megaten DS2 to that one.

Lack of support kill it more than game library if anything

 

[Vampire Lied]

Piracy actually probably HELPED sales of the console. Games however, didn't sell well. Keep in mind, I'm speaking of the US market. Yes, its still going strong in Japan. There is one solid fact I can refer to for the death of software sales in the US due to piracy. When GOW:Ghost of Sparta leaked about a week before the game hit the streets, the devs knew about it and they saw poor sales of the game due to that fact. I'm also willing to bet that's partially why yakuza: black panther wasn't localized and I'm pretty damn sure that's why squenix won't give us FF Type 0. Well, that and the fact that squenix have been douchey of late about getting games to the west.
You'll still find ppl tracking down the hardware at shops, but rarely do they buy games for it.
I don't think piracy was singularly at fault though. Sony just came with the killer games for it a little pate in the life cycle. A trend they are seeming to keep going with. Once vita price drops and it's hacked to hell and back, the system will sell very well in the US. If they want to keep what little faith devs still have in them, they need to get their killer apps out before they're all free. Another ghost of Sparta incident will seal vita's fate imho.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

The day when over 50 million console sales constitutes a "poorly performing console" is the day when we change the definition of "poorly performing console".

For a handheld competing in a Nintendo-dominated market, it did rather well. It had a solid library (I would take it over the DS one to an extent) and was a really well done console. Had a lot of features and some of the stuff it brought to the table has since carried over as a staple of handhelds.

No shit. 50 million is an outstanding number.

 

[Just Another Gamer]

Well... I am pretty sure piracy killed the PSP, just look at these examples of how piracy affected these consoles:

- PS1: sold very poorly
- PS2: Just the worst selling console ever. Sony's biggest failure
- PS3: Sony's biggest success, especially due to being the least pirated console
- Nintendo 64: Huge success, although it used cartridges the fact that it was almost piracy free make it win the 32/64 bits war
- Wii: Nintendo's first home console to be widely hacked and the worst selling Nintendo home console ever
- Nintendo DS: Same history of the Wii, the only Nintendo system to sell worst then the Virtual Boy and it competes with the PS2 the title of worst selling system ever
- X360: Microsoft's biggest failure! The only way Microsoft found to sell the system was creating the kinect and launching billions of good quality titles for it.

Lol. Bias fanboy much.

Piracy never killed any console, ever and if you bother to follow the PSP scene than you would've known that piracy actually helped its sales because its capabilities were much better than those of the DS for emulation and overall media and the main problem was Sony inability to advertise its consoles properly not piracy.

 

[hart37]

My view point on this is that I have always liked the PSP system better than the DS but the DS games better than the PSP ones if that makes sense. Both handhelds have their strong and weak points. Personally I like hacking the psp more than ds and I don't mean that as in I have my psp to play pirated games. Atm I have CFW and an ereader app so I can read a number of ebooks I have on it. Then with the link to my ps3 for a media service I can more or less have my psp running as a tablet. Then of course I can use it to play games when I do feel like it.

 

[Veho]

The day when over 50 million console sales constitutes a "poorly performing console" is the day when we change the definition of "poorly performing console".

Anything performing worse than the DS = performing poorly, duh. If you're not number one, you're an epic failure

 

[clegion]

Lol. Bias fanboy much.

Piracy never killed any console, ever and if you bother to follow the PSP scene than you would've known that piracy actually helped its sales because its capabilities were much better than those of the DS for emulation and overall media and the main problem was Sony inability to advertise its consoles properly not piracy.

I think he is saying that in sarcastic tone, considering... virtual boy is there and the 64 as a sucesss

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I think he is saying that in sarcastic tone, considering... virtual boy is there and the 64 as a sucesss

The N64 really didn't do as well as people think. About a third of the sales of the Playstation and it has a serious lack of games. If it wasn't for OoT and SM64 it'd easily go down as the worst Nintendo console to date (not counting oddballs like Virtual Boy).

 

[RodrigoDavy]

The N64 really didn't do as well as people think. About a third of the sales of the Playstation and it has a serious lack of games. If it wasn't for OoT and SM64 it'd easily go down as the worst Nintendo console to date (not counting oddballs like Virtual Boy).

The N64 was a great console. Despite people blaming the use of cartridges I think PS1 piracy helped kill the N64 too... I bought the PS1 because of their cheap games. Since the PS1 the console to sell the most is usually an easy console to pirate and worst, third party developers prefer to produce games for the most pirated consoles, even though they claim their hatred for piracy.

 

[clegion]

I will be honest though , if I am forced to choose one portable and one portable only for the last gen? I would choose PSP, it just provide way more for me than the DS.
This gen I would chose vita, just because 3ds is a gigantic *** for using region lock

 

[emigre]

third party developers prefer to produce games for the most pirated consoles, even though they claim their hatred for piracy.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahahahahahahahha

Did I mention hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha?

 

[RodrigoDavy]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahahahahahahahha

Did I mention hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha?

I guess I used the wrong words. 3rd party developers claim they hate piracy, but that won't stop them producing most of their games for the most popular consoles which is most of the times the most pirated consoles. PS1 and PS2 say hi and their game library is huge.