PSP vs. DS: The Portable War 2004
Posted by jaleelboone on July 14, 2006
In mid 2004 Nintendo said they were creating a new handheld for the world to see next year. Japanese and American gamers were excited, and so was Nintendo, a new handheld meant more money because they never had another competition in the handheld department that could hang with their pop culture phenomenon, the Gameboy.
Until Nintendo’s longtime console rivals, Sony, decided to step into the fray and knock the Big N off their throne. Sony decides to unveil their Playstation Portable, which is also known as the PSP. Instantly the none-handheld gamers take notice. Sony gloats with promise that their handheld will match PS2 graphics, play movies, and MP3’s. The technology buff groups, (known in the gaming world as the iPod group) is enticed by this outrageous claim by Sony. Are handhelds going to rival consoles?
The interest is starting to fall from Nintendo’s new handheld. In a turn of events, the handheld giant reveals the look of their system as well. The Nintendo DS (short for Double Screen) is shown to the public. The DS tries and takes on a new innovation by providing two screens on top of one another, the bottom screen being a touch screen. “We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century,” explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president. Then Nintendo takes a page out of Sony’s book and does what almost eliminated them from the console battle. Add backwards compatibility. Through a second cart port on the system you can play all of the Gameboy Advanced games already available on the market, which have been made since 2000. Fans of Nintendo lash out at Sony saying that their system is not a true gamer’s machine. Sony followers accuse Nintendo’s DS to be a kid’s handheld system, not advanced enough for their age group. Thus the first true portable war in the history of video games begins.
All over the internet arguments break out over which system is better. DS fans say that anyone who’s a hard-core gamer and not mainstreamer will know that the DS is a better system. The PSP has too many peripherals and Nintendo is only focused on games. The only ones who will buy it they say are the mainstream, Halo, Madden, Grand Theft Auto only gamers. They argue that because of the two screens, Nintendo offers more then the PSP ever will. A Nintendo representative said, “The DS can do everything the PSP can do, but it’s not the same way vice versa”
Sony fans became even harsher in their arguments. They say that Nintendo is a kiddy system and that the DS’s touch screen is a stupid and pointless gimmick, not an innovation. That Sony’s superior graphics makes the DS look worthless. “Just as Playstation and Playstation 2 revolutionized in-home computer entertainment, we aim to become a new driving force in the portable entertainment platform arena,” said Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “The world of Playstation encompasses hundreds of millions of users worldwide, most of whom view computer entertainment as part of their everyday lives. We look forward to extending the experience through a portable entertainment platform, and are excited about the possibilities and impact ‘PSP’ will have on the market. Along with game applications, ‘PSP’ will have a huge potential for delivering other forms of entertainment as well as live entertainment through the network, anywhere, anytime. This is the ‘Walkman’ of the 21st century.”
Nintendo fans respond by saying that with all the extra things on the PSP and the graphics, it will be over $300 dollars, doubling the $150 mark of the DS. Basically, Nintendo fans say, “What cuts better? A pair of scissors or a Swiss army knife with a pair of scissors?” Sony fans counter by stating, “The DS is a system for 9 year-olds. We have movies, MP3’s, and better graphics, the choice is obvious.”
So the battle begins.
These disputes on message boards, known as flame wars, have begun to get out of hand. Some look on and try to be neutral saying that both systems are great. While others just dismiss the use of intelligent conversation and proceed to annoy everyone by typing in l33t (an aggravating typing language that replaces letters with numbers in words), “P$p SuX0rs” or “D$ 0wnz j00!” or “D$ iS 4 K1dS”. The people on the boards who are one-sided, refusing to change their opinion about their company are known as fan boys, and are looked down upon by other members. Everyone’s wondering, how will the sales go? Will PSP get the 17+ age group and win? Or will DS triumph aiming for the lower age group? The sales will reflect the true nature of the industry, whether all gamers are 17 and up like everyone says, or of it’s the same as 10 years ago, where the children rule the industry.
November 2004: Still a long time to wait for either system to come remotely close to release it seems. Until Nintendo shocks the industry and announces the release date as November 21, 2004: In time for the holiday season. The product flies of the shelves, becoming the hot item for the 2004 holidays. The DS is impossible to find anywhere but eBay, where they were being sold at 50-$100 over the retail price (One that was on a local news channel was sold for $5,300). The sales skyrocket, easily topping the one million mark and making its way to two million. “PSP has been created with the assumption that the golden success formula is still working. We don’t believe that. We’re making every effort so that people will say we were right. We’re focusing on our market, ages 5 to 95 whereas Sony has decided to target a very specific demographic.” says Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata. Nintendo fans have something to gloat about, feeling that the war is over since Sony has no way to catch in sales. Sony fans quite only a little though, because the DS has a weak launch game lineup, and the games will only start to pick up around the PSP’s release. Nintendo shocked the world, and now Sony decides to shock them right back. The Playstation Portable’s goes on sale in Japan for 19,800 yen, which is roughly $185. Everyone is surprised, wondering how Sony can fit all that technology in for less then 30 bucks more than the DS. “If you look at any consumer electronics launch, the price of the product in Japan has always been highest,” says a financial analyst. “It’ll retail for something lower than $185 over here”.
Nintendo’s PR Yasuhiro Minagawa told Bloomberg Japan, “That’s not a game machine. They showed [PSP] at the Tokyo Game Show without any fundamental game software, and you can tell it’s not complete.”
Sony’s CEO Ken Kutaragi snaps back, “People who want to play with Pikachu will need Nintendo’s new-style DS machine, but people who want to play our racing game Gran Turismo 4 will need a PSP, right?”
The field is even, the gloves are on, and the bell rings. The portable war 2004 has begun. Will Nintendo prove they are the undisputed king of handhelds? Or will Sony show that Nintendo is the past, and they are the future? Only time will tell, but I’ve come to realize one thing. 2005 is going to be a great year for video gamer players all around the world.
Sony or Nintendo. The choice is yours.
Written: January 9, 2005
