G-pinions

First I'll deliver the news and then my opinion. Seems easy enough, but watch for a horrible twist towards the end.

The PSP is coming out March 24, 2005. It will retail for $250. It will only be available in a "Value Pack." This includes a 32MB memory card, headphones, remote, ac adaptor, a carrying case and a demo disc. The first million PSPs sold will include a free copy of Spider Man 2 on UMD. There will be 24 games out during the "launch window." They will sell for between $40 and $50.

You thought it couldn't be done, but I can be just as boring and professional as "real" journalists. Of course, no one would ever come to this site if we just offered the facts and no crazy opinions to go with it. So now that I've thoroughly bored all of you, on to my wild opinion.

This is insane to me. I thought the system would sell for $199 at the most. Even with a few extra accessories and Spider Man 2, it's clearly not worth $250. First of all, the included extras are not all that good. In theory, a 32MB memory card sounds good, but it is, in fact, tiny. If this is truly a multimedia devise, as Sony is saying, than you will need to buy a new card right away. 32MB can hold about 6 songs on it. It can hold a couple movie trailers. Maybe an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as long as you chop out the boring parts. That's about it. If people want to use this for anything other than games, 32MB is not nearly enough space.

Furthermore, while a case sounds like a good idea, it is, once again, a crappy version of what people really need. The PSP, unlike many multimedia devices, does not have the clam-shell design. This means that the screen is completely unprotected. When I drop my GBA or my cell phone, the body of the unit protects the screen from getting scratched or broken. While the soft case included with the PSP will protect it from smudges, it will still break if you drop it. Anyone who wants to protect their pricey investment will need to buy a hard case.

The other extra, the non playable demo and ac adaptor, are pretty much standard with multimedia products. And the remote? For a portable system? How lazy have we become? So basically, Sony feels so confident that the system will sell for $250, they didn't even include an option to just buy the system without the extra, useless crap. Which means if you want a PSP it will run you at least $300 if you want an actual game to play. And while there are a ton of games coming out right around the launch, I'm not sure how many people are going to buy a PSP to get their hands on these games.

Here is the complete list of launch titles:

Ape Escape: On the Loose, Sony Computer Entertainment America
ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, SCEA
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, Capcom
Dynasty Warriors, Koei
FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts
Gretzky NHL, SCEA
Lumines, Ubisoft
Metal Gear Acid, Konami
MLB, SCEA
MVP Baseball, EA
NBA, SCEA
NBA Street Showdown, EA
Need for Speed Rivals, EA
NFL Street 2 Unleashed, EA
Rengoku: Tower of Purgatory, Konami
Ridge Racer, Namco
Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive
Spider-Man 2, Activision
Tiger Woods PGA Tour, EA
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision
Twisted Metal: Head-On, SCEA
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment
Wipeout Pure, SCEA
World Tour Soccer, SCEA

The first thing I notice while perusing that list is that more than half of the games are sports title or racers that already appear, in some form, on the PS2. I guess that's what you get when EA is your biggest partner. Other than that there is a smattering of original games, like Metal Gear Acid which turns a boring stealth game into a card battle title, but most of these simply seem like updates to games that have already been out for quite some time. And while Darkstalkers seems pretty sweet, I don't see the PSP as the ideal place to play a 2D fighter. Unless you have a friend buying a PSP so you can play two player, I don't really see the point.

All told, I'm really shocked the system costs as much as it does. Think about it for a second. When the Gamecube came out it only cost $200. When the PS2 came out almost 4 years ago it only cost $300. This system, which is pretty much an underpowered PS2, only costs $50 less than a four year old system. Just imagine for a second that the Xbox 2 comes out this fall for $300, the same price as the first Xbox. Can you believe that the most powerful system in the world may only cost $50 more than the PSP? Who is Sony trying to fool with this one?

I know the PSP will be a success, at least initially, simply because the Sony name carries so much weight at this point. If the Nintendo DS was able to sell as well as it did with a poor selection of games available, I can only imagine Sony will be able to match Nintendo, even with the higher price. My question is, why would someone want this system? I could see if you don't own a PS2 already or travel often and really want a portable multimedia center, but what about everyone else? What is it that is going to convince people to buy this system? Are the games really that good? Is the screen that nice? Is it just cool to have the newest gadget on the block?

I'd much rather buy 10 or so games for my currents systems than plop down $300 to get my hands on a PSP and Lumines. Maybe I'm just the crazy one, though.