The Playstation Phone - and why it will fail

This is what is believed to be a prototype of Sony's rumored PlayStation Phone, to be built by Sony Ericsson and powered by Android 2.3. The rumored specs according to the original leak by Engadget list a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and all that general high end smartphone jazz, but what is going to make this Android device unique is Sony offering their own games through a special PS Marketplace. Couple all that with dedicated gaming buttons and a trackpad that looks like it could properly replicate the feel of dual analogue controls and it is everything that the PSP fanboys have asked for. Of course because this is what people asked for means that the PSP Phone is doomed to failure, but for some more developed reasons, read on:

1) The target market is gone

Despite the Hanna Montana edition, the PSP never really had a bigger market than '13-17 males with $$$'. That was 2004, here in 2010 that market already has been assimilated into the smartphone market. For at least a year all of those potential PSP gamers have found new homes on iPhones/iPod Touches, one of the million high end Android phones already out in the market, or even one of the several Windows Phone 7 devices that have made it out this year. And since I've brought up WP7, despite its quality analysts still don't see it being as significant as iOS/Android devices over the next few years.

That result stems from MS taking forever and a day to get it out - now imagine a company like Sony (who has been flailing in mediocrity in the smartphone market with the Xperia lineup) coming up and claiming they have the ultimate gaming phone. Consumers aren't going to lineup. They are too busy playing Angry Birds. Whats that you say? The PSP Phone is Android powered so it too can play Angry Birds? Well that brings me to my next topic

2) Android wont be Sony's salvation in gaming

This PlayStation Phone can play Android games, but so can the other million devices that run the Android OS. Every 6 months the benchmark for Android devices seems to jump, leaving past models struggling to run games. Within a year the PSP Phone will be considered obsolete by techheads and will be left struggling trying to play the latest Android games.You only need to look at Rovio's list of Android phones that wont run Angry Birds to see just how many devices are coming out. Some of those phones are less than a year old! While many are released with intentionally lower specs to cut costs, the point stands that Android is a platform that changes and evolves faster than the handheld gaming market. Sony will have to push out yearly revisions to the hardware just to not fall behind on the Android side of things, and thats not even taking into account how this would affect the 'Sony Marketplace' side of these phones.

Does anyone remember PSP Minis? You know, those tiny games that were originally designed to be downloaded and played in quick bursts at a budget price. All I remember was stripped down versions of iPhone games that were sold at inflated prices (to account for classification costs generally since Sony wouldn't take more than Apple for distribution). Sony blames its high price point for the failure of the PSP Go system, but they need to look at the price of software too. Digital gamers have enough trouble paying full rrp for games on services like Steam, and Sony is trying to charge the same (if not higher in some cases) for digital versions of PSP games. To keep things short, NO ONE is going to buy games at that price on a PSP Phone when Angry Birds is available FOR FREE.

Side note: Yes I am aware that this argument contradicts itself somewhat, but despite Androids fragmentation, there will always be an abundance of cheap/free software to distract consumers from anything Sony would offer - which brings us to

3) Sony Marketplace would be a joke

Mobile publishing have made huge levels of growth in recent years, and everyone involved has benefited greatly. Gameloft gets to churn out 500 knock offs a year, independent success stories like Trainyard get as much attention as any professionally published game, and even Epic Games is stepping onto the iOS market with Infinity Blade, aka 'That mobile phone game with graphics that piss on your Wii'. On the Android market side of things, fragmentation and ease of piracy have slowed it down compared to the App Store, but anyone and everyone has access to the content distributed on the Android Marketplace. Which brings me to my question: Why the fuck would EA/Activision/Ubisoft/any other major publisher distribute a game exclusively to a PlayStation Phone when it could just as easily be distributed to 100 other mobile devices at the same time?

Despite how many handsets would be unable to run such games, even just getting distributed on phones with equal power to the PSP Phone (Desire, Galaxy S, EVO .etc) would increase potential profits dramatically. So now we are left with a Sony store distributing only first/second party titles. That might work for Nintendo, but no matter how enjoyable Ratchet & Clank are, or how fast paced Wipeout is, those brands do not have the pulling power of Mario and Pokemon. Sony needs third party support to make a Sony Marketplace (and a PlayStation Phone) relevant.

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This is generally the part where I defend my stance by being a Sony fanboy and owning all the previous systems and a Bravia TV and all that crap, but that wouldn't get me out of the dog house. The truth is while I may not own that fancy pants Bravia set, I do like Sony and wish their gaming and mobile devisions all the best, but a PlayStation Phone is not the answer. They could make a device that gave blowjobs and cooked you a bacon sandwich at the same time, but its too little too late. If they want to continue the PSP legacy their best bet is in a non-cellular device, while still learning a thing or two from what has recently been going on in the Android/iOS markets.

You got the touch

For a while, the miracle of digital distribution seemed to only be popular on the PC end of gaming. The opportunity for small indie developers to make their works available to the gaming public for a fraction of the price of retail software has opened the doors for even more people to step into the industry. The current generation of console and handheld hardware has opened up more digital distribution channels with services such as Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare and the PlayStation Network, but one of the biggest surprises is the success of the App Store on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch range.

In just over a year of operation, the App Store has become home to over 65,000 individual applications ranging from virtual bubble wrap to touch versions of popular puzzle games like Tetris or Bejeweled. With prices ranging from free to hundreds of dollars, the option for cheap digital distribution of games has taken off. Independent developer Luc Bernard took a chance on the App Store with his strategy game Mecho Wars, and has reported great success from digital sales. On the other side of the coin, big name publishers like EA and Capcom are releasing App versions of some of their biggest franchises, including Madden NFL 2010 and Resident Evil 4.

The success of the App Store has changed Apple's marketing position towards the iPod Touch, with recent advertisements pushing its gaming capabilities over its other multimedia functions. The company has even taken swings at Nintendo and Sony in recent months, touting the App Stores larger library of software compared to both retail and digital offerings available on the Nintendo DSi and PlayStation Portable.

While the DSi is relatively new to the digital market, the PSP has offered access to the PlayStation Network for some time, but failed to reach consumers on a marketing level. The newly released PSP Go! is taking risks by ditching the disc drive featured on older PSP models and working entirely in the digital arena. Over the year, Sony has worked with publishers to make the existing library of games available in digital forms along with hard copy discs for retail – but higher price points and lack of regular sales have kept consumers at bay from ditching their local EB Games of JB Hifi. Although this problem may soon be resolved with the introduction of PSP Minis – smaller, available via download only games released at lower price points.

For now, the biggest difference between these choices are entry prices. All current PSP models can access the PlayStation Network, and are available for AU$279.95. The PSP Go! will be a bit more intimidating with an rrp of AU$449.95. Apple comes off slightly cheaper for consumers with the lowest entry price for the iPod Touch being the 8GB model for AU$268, with 32GB and 64GB editions also available for AU$399 and AU$549 each.

Dear Sony

I understand you wanting to give we consumers a choice in a nation where our internet downloading capabilities are ... let's say, limited. And it's great for those collector nerds such as myself who like to display pointless cases for games that I will never sell and probably only come back to 3-4 times in my life.

But really Sony, how much more would it have cost you to make plastic cards with PSN funds and supply them to local Australian retailers? Heck, they could sell these pre paid cards to consumers who want to actually BUY YOUR GAMES but have no access to credit cards. I can only live so long off the single demo track available for Wipeout HD - although if you are still releasing PSN games on disc, I wouldn't mind it on my shelf. And this new PSP Go! If it is going anywhere IMO, its straight to eBay for most Australian users when we discover little Timmy needs mummy and daddy to give out important credit card info so he can play Patapon.

We are not asking for blood Sony, just a way for us disgruntled Australian Playstation users to give you more of our dipleating stimulus packages (does anyone still have $$$ from those?) Anyways, please get on this issue immediately so everyone can get back to the important issues, like bitching about how expensive the systems themselves are!

signed in virtual blood

Australian Playstation users

PS. I'll be heading down to the Connection Tour sometime this weekend, stay tuned for pics and pointless bitching about Wii Sports Resort.

Holy crap! This is the real deal

Yup, after showing off the greatest trailer of all time no one could consume the sheer awesomeness of the Duke. In response to this, everyone stuck their heads in the sand and pretended that this would join the ranks of Duke Nukem Forever.

But I knew better

And as of today, I know for a fact that the handheld Duke Nukem trilogy is the real deal. Seems to be VERY early on, and I still can't help but doubt the 09' release of this game. Not because the devs will fuck up and not finish in time, but because sudden release delays fits right into Duke lore alongside alien pigs and strippers by this point. Although first they need to release a section of a low-res screenshot to prove the games existance to the public. Til then while everyone has their heads in the sand, I will be proceeding to walk around picking pockets until I have enough to pick up the trilogy on both systems.

Cheers