Ubisoft: The PSP Is "Directionless" - PSP3D.com - Sony PlayStation Portable News, Homebrew, Hacks, Reviews, Videos, Mods, Forums

jsf · #1 (**permalink**) 06-10-2008, 02:18 PM

I found this online today

Quote:

While the PSP has managed to stage a major comeback and vault into the top position in Japan on a monthly sales basis recently, there are still a few doubters out there. One of them is Ubisoft UK managing director Rob Cooper.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Cooper said he believes the handheld still "lacks direction, with Sony unsure of how to market a machine he sees as overpriced and too technical for the mainstream consumer." Now, we all know about the PSP overhaul - PSP Slim/PSP-2000 - and the fact that two unbelievably great games have already dropped in 2008 (God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII), but according to Cooper, Sony has yet to solidify its plans for the PSP.

"I think that Sony is disappointed with sales and it's unsure as to which way to take it," said Cooper. "Sony needs to show us a bit more about what its plans are to convince the publisher to invest lots more money into it. Especially when you've got the DS selling at such a tremendous pace."

We have heard nothing but good news on the PSP front lately, including the distinct possibility that many publishers who had initially abandoned the portable are now returning thanks to better sales. But we can't forget about the casual gaming market - big publishers like Ubisoft never do - and perhaps that's the main reason for Cooper's stand on the issue. He continues-

"I suppose it's almost too technical for the casual person, those that are buying the DS at the moment, who want a few buttons and not a lot more. It's so simple what [Nintendo] has done. That's where I think Sony has gone a little bit too complicated, they've over-specced it, the price is too high and they need to go back to the drawing board and start again."

Ubisoft currently has no PSP games scheduled for 2008, and while Cooper still believes the system has plenty of potential, he says Sony needs to move the system "out of no man's land." As he says, Sony just hasn't zeroed in on who the PSP consumer really is.

"It's direction, a real strategic decision by Sony as to what it wants to do with that product. It's a great shame that sales are at the level they are, because you've got a hardware system that is absolutely beautiful."

Well, we're still not agreeing on the whole idea of PSP sales being abysmal; if this were 2007, we'd understand the viewpoint, but ever since the hardware redesign and the arrival of some excellent software, this little handheld has experienced major sales growth. And we do have one question- what is the "direction" of the PS3? It seems that Cooper is putting a lot of emphasis on this from a publisher standpoint, so obviously, Sony has cemented a direction for their home console, but not the portable. This, we remain somewhat confused about, but hey, we kinda get the gist.

Source

I honestly don't think Ubisoft knows what they are talking about

flammingcowz · #2 (**permalink**) 06-10-2008, 03:31 PM

f**k, and what did i just post about a few days ago

dq9 · #3 (**permalink**) 06-10-2008, 03:56 PM

Yes you did.

I agree with this article. The PSP is very similar to the Neo-Geo Pocket. It has a lot of potential, but lacks support from everywhere. Developers, fans, and even Sony does not support it much. Dropping games and more firmware updates than we can scratch at. Constant updates are a major turn off for many people. Yeah they are protecting from piracy, but when will it be enough? The hacking scene is also to blame. Things have become to "idiot proof." It's now to easy to hack the PSP. There is no challenge any more.

metalguitarAD · #4 (**permalink**) 06-18-2008, 09:51 PM

Maybe Homebrew could help the psp! This is kinda werid, but usualy when my mom sees my psp shes like ok just another game console. When she saw the emulators it brought her back to the old days when she played atari, and stuff, and also the youtube on the psp, and the PDA, and all the other applications and by the way my mom isnt realy into games and now shes going to buy a psp and get me to mod it for her.

kids being able to play old games, and have alot of useful applications like GPS, google maps, youtube, pDA seems to make the psp alot more useful and fun. i think Sony should include the applications. Not the ISOs because that would derease game sells.

but as i said allowe emulators/applications and homebrew. But increase security in the PSP protecting it from hackers(no offense guys im just sayin). This would probaly increase sells, just maybe.

dq9 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-18-2008, 10:56 PM

They can't release emulators because that leads to piracy for older consoles. Nintendo went after people few years back who were downloading SNES games.

As for the rest of your post, we all have been saying this for years, but sadly Sony will probably never do this.

And for the record, you mom having you mod her PSP is really freaken cool!

jsf · #6 (**permalink**) 06-18-2008, 11:18 PM

That is pretty cool about your mom and I agree with sq9 but like he said Sony won't listen. I wish I could change my vote on this poll because after the crappy 4.00 update maybe the PSP is directionless

metalguitarAD · #7 (**permalink**) 06-19-2008, 01:43 PM

Yeah thats true...i may have to change my mind now like joint strike fighter said. The PSP will always be awesome to me but maybe it's leading no where now...i'm not changing over to a gay DS though..ahahaha