Analysts expect PSP delayed to late 2005

[Viper]

Industry watchers PJ McNealy and Piper Jaffray & Co. think the US PSP launch may be pushed back as far as November 2005.

Sony's PSP is at "high risk" of a substantial delay--into next year for Japan, and perhaps all the way to November 2005 for the US market. That's the word from two separate memos sent on consecutive business days from noted industry analysts.

On Friday, PJ McNealy of American Technology Research published a report that questioned whether the PSP software shown at the Tokyo Game Show--much of which was only 50 to 60 percent complete--would be ready for the Japanese launch of the system, currently slated for this December. "The launch of the PSP in Japan this holiday season continues to be at risk," McNealy wrote. "If [Sony] misses the PSP Japan launch schedule, it could affect the announced March North American launch and would be considered a negative to the video game publishers."

McNealy went on to describe two "likely" scenarios for the Japanese launch of the system. The first was a December launch with a "disappointing" launch lineup of "approximately five or fewer titles." This would seemingly contradict Electronic Arts' announcement that Tiger Woods and Need for Speed would launch alongside the PSP in Japan and the US, although McNealy did note in his report that "not all targeted launch titles were likely shown at TGS."

The second scenario posed by McNealy was a delay into January or later. If this delay, McNealy notes, were entirely software-related, it might not affect the March launch in the US. But if there are indeed "hardware issues such as battery management," McNealy sees the US launch window slipping into June.

Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray & Co. paints an even gloomier picture for the PSP's launch ambitions. In a report released today, the securities firm expects the handheld "to launch later than the current March 2005 expectation. First, Sony is usually late with most product introductions…and we are hearing that the platform has other issues such as thermal problems (transistors are running very hot) and a very short battery life (90 minutes) that will almost certainly delay the launch." All this points to a November 2005 launch in the US (possibly alongside the next Xbox system), the report concludes.

With the targeted launch window of the PSP in Japan fast approaching, Sony is expected to reveal pricing and launch-date information in the near future.

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Delaying to to fix its problems is a bad situation but is far better than releasing it with problems.

Just like Shiggy said, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever."

[Michael]

Delays....I'm kinda getting sick of sony beating around the bush, but delaying is better then releasing it with problems as Viper said.

[Viper]

If they could fix the battery problems, the appearent transistor problems, get more games ready for market (should by then), make a cover that comes with it, get the price down and hype the hell out of the UMD (make it writable too) then it might turn out to be a damn good handheld to own.

[Michael]

Yep, a year after the fact...but oh well, this could end up kicking ass, or being the worst decision they could ever think of...We'll wait and see what happens...BTW this could really make the Ds and the psp not compete..for real, it'd be like the xbox and gc competing with sony when they launched there respective systems...

[speed stick]

Nintendo should be happy about this. When the PSP finally comes out all Nintendo has to do is drop the price of the DS a bit and they'll keep selling plenty.

[Nights]

I think they should wait a year. Then the system would be cheaper and it would get better battery life. I welcome the delay.

I think this would be bennificial.

From a casual gamers stand point they will want whats new and the DS won't be new anymore, the psp will then launch with a huge line-up, and so on.

[Michael]

Oh yeah...by this time the Ds sp might be in the works and probably release a couple months after the psp if this is real...

[speed stick]

^Atleast they won't have to compete as hard against the DS like they would have if they released at the sametime.

[Nights]

Oh yeah...by this time the Ds sp might be in the works and probably release a couple months after the psp if this is real...

Hopefully the release the true Successor to the GBA then. The rumored GCN portable. That would smash the PSP. A system with a starting lineup of 100's of games. It would make the GCN last longer, buy the home game and take it on the go. It would make the system more saught after by developers, more revenues from 2 systems making the GCN developement viable longer than Xbox and PS2. It's the all around winning way.

[Michael]

^Hey...the Gc portable was a secret....I mean um...yeah, I pretty much agree, but the Ds is gonna be it's own market, expecially if it's as successful as I think it will be. You want technology to fast, the Ds is gonna have the 120 games by then, and I know nintendo is wants to see how good this lives up to the handheld name it holds...1 year isn't a good lifespan for a handheld, it's really a failure. But I think nintendo will make the gc a portable, because they can market it better that way. It will still not have a video player, or a mp3 player, but if they use thier innovation right with wifi and such, more markets will open up for them...without having to add a completely new drive, and save money and still have movies...

[Blaksmoke]

So Sony starts a game they can't finish... oh well.

[Colin TRADEMARKED]

Maybe the parts will be a bit cheaper by then.

[Viper]

I think the PSP is too costly for developers, not just gamers.

Production costs for PSP are expected to be as high as PS2 games. This bad for developers that are used to small teams, low production costs and quick returns from handhelds. If Sony plans to make their money from software, they may not get much of that after a while with developers dreading the costs.


This has another much more worrisome problem that encompasses the entire industry, not just handhelds. We're already familiar with the balloning cost to make games and how it drives out the small dev teams that make those wonderful sleeper hits. IF the PSP catches on, expect the same thing to happen to handheld games and that will just expedite the entire process faster and soon, only a few mega studies will remain....a la Hollywood. Then Those studios will spawn these little 'indie' studios that have budgets the size of GC discs and games worse than the Ataris Jaguars gamepad.

You've been warned.

[shadowrunner]

it might turn out to be a damn good handheld to own.

0_0*

that confused me, i thought for a minute there viper was saying something complimentative about the psp. then i realised he did say something good and i almost fell off me chair. :rotate: :rotate: :rotate:

[Viper]

Someone help him spread the word that I'm not a fanboy, just a fan.

[Backlash]

From a casual gamers stand point they will want whats new and the DS won't be new anymore, the psp will then launch with a huge line-up, and so on.

Actually, this is not the case. The PS2 was released a year before XBox/GC and it's still the number 1 system by millions and millions of units. The public will think nothing of "newness". There are many people who still actually believe that the PS2 has better graphics than GC/Xbox, they don't care that the GC/Xbox were newer (not to mention the fact that their specs are WAY better!).

[shadowrunner]

well then its just the simple case that mainstream love sony and they think nintendo is childish and as nintendo isnt doing much to rid itself of that image [wow, res evil, bravo] psp will pwn the mainstream.

now if they painted the ds black and made DS stand for something geh like....i dunno, `Da Sweet` or something, then they moght have achance with the mainstream.

oh, change that sorry, everyone in japan owns a GBA. you see popular teenage girls. little boys, old guys, everyone playing SPs on the train. so i dunno, time will tell.

[Serene Samus]

Everyone playing SPs, lol. Japan is so cool.

[shadowrunner]

4 16yo guys haveing pokemon battles in my class right now.......havent even seen half of these weird creatures before. Fire Red? wtf?

[Nights]

Actually, this is not the case. The PS2 was released a year before XBox/GC and it's still the number 1 system by millions and millions of units. The public will think nothing of "newness". There are many people who still actually believe that the PS2 has better graphics than GC/Xbox, they don't care that the GC/Xbox were newer (not to mention the fact that their specs are WAY better!).

Uhm we are talking overhype here...

Example Dreamcast VS PS2

Dreamcast had a year more features
PS2 had mystery and overhype (long run marginally better graphics)

DS more features worse graphics
PSP mystery and overhyped (way better graphics)

That' what this reminds me of. The DC vs PS2.

EVERYONE CHECK OUT THE NIGHTS PSP FORUM LOTS OF NEW MOVIES AND PICS OF PSP GAMES JUST ADDED.

[OutlawAdidas]

well then its just the simple case that mainstream love sony and they think nintendo is childish and as nintendo isnt doing much to rid itself of that image [wow, res evil, bravo] psp will pwn the mainstream.

now if they painted the ds black and made DS stand for something geh like....i dunno, `Da Sweet` or something, then they moght have achance with the mainstream.

oh, change that sorry, everyone in japan owns a GBA. you see popular teenage girls. little boys, old guys, everyone playing SPs on the train. so i dunno, time will tell.


you should never be allowed to post again

[koten]

EVERYONE CHECK OUT THE NIGHTS PSP FORUM LOTS OF NEW MOVIES AND PICS OF PSP GAMES JUST ADDED.

Everyone knows about your damn thread. Stop advertising it.


Uhm we are talking overhype here...

Example Dreamcast VS PS2

Dreamcast had a year more features
PS2 had mystery and overhype (long run marginally better graphics)

The power that PS2 had was the backwards comptability and the large developers support.


DS more features worse graphics
PSP mystery and overhyped (way better graphics)

Hum... DS... GBA compatability, Large developer support...


That' what this reminds me of. The DC vs PS2.

This is a whole different ballgame Nights. DC had very little support as far as third parties, where as DS has 100+. Then DS also steels the PS2's greatest advantage. Backwards compatability. What is the PSP compatable with? It has no old games to give it a kick start. Just about everyone has a GBA and there are a lot of those people will want the convenience of being able to use GBA games and DS, where as PSP owners will have to buy brand new games to get any sort of library started.

The facts are right there... black and white. It all depends on if you want to see them.