Let the games begin
Picture of the Day ( 27 )
PlayStation enthusiasts occupy game booths at Roppongi Hills during a big PR event over the weekend for the Dec 17 launch of the new PlayStation Portable, PSVita.
JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
Enter the dragon
( 3 )
-
Making history
( 4 )
-
Bright tree
( 13 )
-
Making the cut
( 11 )
-
Flower time
( 6 )
-
1
Hosono visits Fukushima No. 4 reactor amid concern over fuel pool
-
2
Lady Gaga's Indonesia concert canceled after threats
-
3
Oceanographer says beachcombers on West Coast may find bones in tsunami debris
-
4
New Jersey town's monument to Korean sex slaves upsetting Japanese officials
-
5
241 civil servants file suit over salary cuts
-
- Business Teaching Positions - Part-time - Kanto Region
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥3,000 ~ ¥5,000 / Hour
-
- National Relief/Substitute Teacher - summer start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥275,000 ~ ¥300,000 / Month
-
- 営業パーソン
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tochigi
- Salary: ¥240,000 ~ ¥350,000 / Month Negotiable
Order by Time Order by Popularity
27 Comments
Login to comment
-2
cactusJack
The future of Japan...now if they would just put those game consoles down.
5
Stephen Jez
Nothing wrong with game consoles. Gaming, just like any other hobby, is perfectly fine if done in moderation. Don't blame resulting problems of too much gaming on the hobby, blame it on irresponsible people.
-3
Gurukun
It depends on what kind of games the younger generation are playing. For me, it was Space Invader and Galaga. I don;'t understand the concept of virtual girlfriend games and role playing games that are too detailed that show blood and guts flying all over the place.
-4
It"S ME
PsVita looks interesting. But no more UMD all games are download only now.
-3
m5c32
As smartphones and tablets with dual core processors and HD screens become mainstream and with things like backend processing done in the cloud (twitchTV), what is the purpose of this anachronistic product?
A bit late to the business, Sony. I mean, seriously, why?
Imagine Canon coming out with a mass-market consumer level Film camera.
-1
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Or a new Walkman with a cassette tape. Or my favorite way back were the 8 track tapes.
0
BlueWitch
@It's ME
I had the first PSP on white color and for some reason I grew tired of it, maybe it was that I was used to the computer strategy games on a bigger screen. Diablo and Age of Empires were my favorite when I was studying in the U.S. But since I've never been a huge fan, I can't tell you really what is good out there. Lately I've been playing Halo when I have a "break", and that's like once or twice a month. (^_~)
0
It"S ME
BW.
PS3-gamer here myself.
Son had the PSP but also gave it up for a PS3(bigger screen). He was thinking about the PsVita but decided against it. I am happy cheaper as we can share games that fall into his age-range.
-2
saru_au
i've ordered one for a friend in Europe.
Personally I prefer my phone for games now, and I haven't touched my psp in over 3 years.
0
BlueWitch
It's ME,
My husband has the PS3 I got for him (Birthday present) and he has added so much giga I can't even remember. But he's not an avid player either. Work is loooong and exhausting at the semi-conductor plant. He needs to sleep his 8 hours and be ready to go to work again the next day, unfortunately. But he does use it when he gets the chance. Mostly adventure games, etc.
4
iceshoecream
Actually, UMD's or something physical is a lot better for the consumers. Most of the games I own are pre-owned. With "downloads only" we won't be able to get games for a fraction of the original price.
1
nisegaijin
Not getting it until the first revision is out. CPU is powerful but inefficient, resulting in very thick design and extremely short battery life.
cannot use your own media or replace battery. This is a fun little toy that doesn't serve its purpose. Sad, because it did have potential.
0
ThonTaddeo
I love the PSP (white one; should've gotten black so that the screen would stand out more) and use it all the time while on the train. The Vita game I want most is Wipeout 2048 -- the PSP versions are also excellent -- and since it's being delayed, I'll hold off on buying the Vita until it comes out.
I can't understand why some of the people who bash video games are the same ones who will then go home and spend three hours a day in front of the TV watching insipid geinoujin eat things and shout oishii!. I'd much rather be playing a game and actually interacting with the screen in front of me than vegetating in front of the television. I've hardly watched any TV in years -- that screen in my house is a game monitor, not a TV.
0
NetNinja
SONY is really in the ditch. Every Saturday morning on AFN 8.10 there's a radio show called The Kim Kommando show. It's the Christmas season and of course the topic is what kids want for Xmas this year.
"A Hot Item" topic.
It's a decent show, she's takes calls and answer questions. Well, one caller asked her what to get her son for Xmas. She replied: "The kids want iPads". They don't want anything else. She went on to add "The kids aren't interested in PSPs anymore" That's out. Nintendo DS maybe but SONY has lost it's grip on the handheld market - Overseas of course.
SONY shouldn't give up of course, but their products don't reflect the direction the youth of today are going in.
It has often been said that gamers are isolated and lack good communication skills resulting in the label "Otaku". It's the other way around in the U.S. Social networking and gaming go hand in hand now. In America, we are talking MORE in order to achieve common goals in gaming.
If we are going to Co-op the CPU, lets do it together. SONY isn't addressing this issue. Unfortunately, that would accurately reflect Japan's corporate management. It's old and outdated. They tried to copy Blizzard's MMORPG (World of Warcraft) business model but failed with DC Universe. PS4 should have rolled out THIS year but there's still no word of it.
In the U.S. the PC game market has taken almost all of the market share the console market used to have. The handheld market can't satisfy the gamer's hunger for connectivity with other users. It just doesn't have the computing power.
Never thought I'd say this but I know more Japanese kids playing Call of Duty than my circle of geeks and gamers. Nowadays, someJapanese guys ask me if "I" play Modern Warfare. They never ask me if I have a PSP.
-1
It"S ME
iceshoecream.
No UMD(Physical media) is why we decided against, not going to rebuy all the PSP Games. We also buy/trade a lot of games at Geos or Book Off.
ThonTaddeo. Yeah also waiting for Wipeout 2048 but the PS3 Version. Wipeout(PS3) is fun on my 32" TV, used to play the arcade game. Also got the PSP version.
Bluewitch. Get your Husband "Burnout Paradise Ultimate Package"(cheap now). Great Stress Reliever.
0
NinjaDave
There are physical game releases for PS Vita, but also download only games. PSP back catalogue is in download form only and Sony may sell these cheaper to existing PSP owners, so they say.
0
gogogo
haha big PR event with 5 people
0
Foxie
Finally some refreshing news after Occupy Wall Street now Occupy Game Booths.
0
BlueWitch
@Thon Taddeo
LOL!! This comment made my night, Thank You.
-1
Stephen Jez
A bit late to the business, Sony. I mean, seriously, why?
Imagine Canon coming out with a mass-market consumer level Film camera.
Are you serious? Tiny little underpowered cell phone games will never replace console gaming. Just like console gaming has never replaced PC gaming.
0
m5c32
Yes.
Hard-core gamers are the only ones who need that kind of HW --and they are a minority market. In addition, iOS, WP7 and Android ICS phones are nicely specced (dual core processors). In addition, with game rendering done in the data center, lots of the horsepower is no longer needed on the display device.
What channel do you think will have more revenue, game apps in the Apple App, Android App store or Sony's portable games? I mean, there are tens, hundreds of millions of smartphones out in the market ALREADY.
This will not sell well. It's redundant for most people.
-1
Stephen Jez
Sigh, gotta love debating this sad old topic with gadget boys. There will always be a market for console and PC gaming. Cell phone gaming is on the rise, but will not replace either one since the hardware is incapable of producing the same gaming experience that hardcore gamers want and crave. Also, hardcore gamers are not the minority market by far, they make up part of the majority since they too play cell phone games.
Now, if you're talking handheld games only then yes I can see cell phone gaming possibly overtaking the handheld gaming market. But that's not because they offer a higher quality product or better gaming experience. It's because cell phone gaming is more accessible to your average user vs gamers who would use handheld gaming devices (and yes, cell phones to some extent). Cell phone games are more appealing to your average layman while real gamers would still rather play on their consoles or PC vs a cell phone. Just look at the Nintendo Wii and how successful it was. Was it because the games were better? Not at all, it's because they made gaming more accessible and appealing to your average "n00b". But if you look at the Wii now it's something of a joke in the gaming community. Gimmicky and fizzling out since the excitement over motion controlled gaming is starting to wane. What's left when you take that away? An under powered system (even though all the current gene consoles are now under powered) with a very limited game library. The only reason anyone still clings to their Wii is because of the classics like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc...
But I digress, my point was that cell phone gaming will never replace handheld gaming and it's quite far fetched to even think so. My personal opinion is that cell phone gaming can be fun, but is more of a time waster while sitting at an airport, work, or while on the toilet lol. But it will never EVER replace console and PC gaming due to the hardware limitations of cell phones. I can't run a game like Skyrim on my cell phone and I have yet to find a game on a cell phone that offers 100+ hours of gaming on one title. Until that happens, I (and most of the gaming community) will only view cell phone gaming as a niche that detracts from the real gaming experience. Which is bad, since it ends up influencing companies who would normally make awesome gaming titles to produce more and more games for your average casual gamer. So in a year we get a small handful of awesome titles, and a bunch of mediocre crap.
This comic always comes to mind with this argument.
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=280
0
m5c32
This whole article is about portable gaming. We're talking about one-trick-ponies purpose-built portable game devices vs. Smartphone-as-a-game-device. The article has nothing to do with PC gaming/home console gaming -those are completely beside the point and a distraction to the actual discussion.
Again, this device will end up a dud -just like its predecessor. A few enthusiasts and that's it. The time is up for single purpose portable gaming devices. Smartphones can do a credible job for most people, and that's all that matters for developers. Who's (what platform's) going to bring me "users"?
Seriously, this thing is competing against Ice Cream Sandwich devices and iOS devices -which already do something else very well -make phone calls and handle/sync data in the cloud to boot. Those other platforms also enjoy mature App stores.
Each one of these devices is subsidized massively, so Sony will have to sell lots quickly and convert game title sales -to even try to break even. It's not going to happen. It's going to flop very badly. It's an ill-advised platform losing about Y20,000 device before it's first turned on. Conversely, each iPod touch and iPhone are revenue positive for Apple before they're powered up the first time.
-1
It"S ME
m5c32.
If you are talking the PSP-Go yeah that was a flop, the PSP-3000 is great.
I still reckon the PSVita will sell better than the 3DS which had an optional upgrade less than 6-months after release. Many people do prefer to have a hand-held console for gaming during the commute. As far as for Cel-phone gaming, looked into it and the games, graphics, etc were so-so.
Yeah, I played on friends Ipad and Iphones, those guys still own 2-3 consoles and do all their gaming on those and not the "superior" apple stuff.
As was mentioned a turn-down is download only games and no physical media, which makes buying 2nd-hand games cheap non-existant.
1
NinjaDave
As i mentioned before but maybe my poss are invisible to others. The PS Vita is not a download only console. physical games can be bough and look simialr to DS cards. The PSP back catalogue and some games are download only but most new titles are available in physical form.
-1
Stephen Jez
Ah, so now m5c32 changes his tune. I originally said that they will never replace console or PC gaming, I was never discussing cell phone gaming cutting into the handheld market originally. Merely that it will never fully replace it. I only addressed the handheld vs cell phones until after you replied. Either way, cell phones will never fully replace handheld gaming because of hardware limitations. Sure cell phone touch screen are great for games like Angry Birds. But I need something I can actually hold when it comes to controlling a video game. Touch screen interface just doesn't cut it.
Either way, your "hardcore gamers are the minority" remark is still erroneous.
0
m5c32
^
If you go back and read my post, you will see I was talking about this PSP/PSV device. You injected the PC-gaming bit into the convo. Not sure if that was intentional or accidental --whatevs.
My "Yes" reply was to your inquiring whether I was serious. I chose to quote the whole text, but I was replying to your questioning my previous statement which did not touch on PC gaming at all.
How many people play "Farmville"? Those are casual gamers -certainly not core gamers. Between Sony and Zynga which one is about to IPO and which one is fighting to remain relevant (in gaming)?
Back to top