Mord's Blog

I honestly have no idea what they were thinking. Who would buy that? It's utterly ridiculous.

I mean, I can see nintendo doing something dumb as this.. wait they did! But Sony following in their footsteps?

I dont understand, why would they remove the UMD drive? Why cant I put a memory stick in it? Useless.

Same reason I would not buy a DSi.. I have tons of GB, GBC, and GBA games.. plus whatever games you had for DS.. why would I then want to buy a DSi which has no slots?

Dumb dumb dumb.

Aslo, why did Sony remove the ability to play PS2 games from the PS3? I mean, why would they allow you to play PS1 games, but not PS2 as well? Another dumb move in my opinion.

 

If the big companies keep going down this rout, I will just stick to 3rd party companies like Dingoo and Gamepark..

Looking at it, I'm thinking that the PSP Go should be considered a new portable system rather than a new PSP model - simply because it lacks the UMD drive and therefore the ability to play PSP games. Instead, it will be able to download PSP Go games (which the PSP can also play, unless they are too big to fit in the PSP). Some PSP games may be re-released as PSP Go games. (Note: a UMD can hold 1.8GB max, so storage isn't a limitation.)I suspect the screen shrink and change from Memory Stick PRO Duo to Memory Stick Micro was because too many people thought the PSP was too large. The PSP Go is now more iPhone size. Smaller screens also appear sharper, even though the resolution hasn't changed.However, I agree that the PSP Go looks looks like a step down from the PSP - too much lost and not enough gained.The original DS can play both DS & GBA games, but cannot play GB or GBC games. (Well, GB/GBC cartridges. It can with an emulator and a flash cart.) The GBA can play GB & GBC games, maybe that's what you're thinking of. From Nintendo's perspective, dropping the GBA slot from the DSi made sense - there are now enough DS games out there that the DSi doesn't need to lean on the GBA library. (And those people with large GBA libraries probably already had a DS.) Eliminating the GBA slot (and the GBA compatibility mode) reduced cost so the new features could be added without significantly increasing the pricetag.Sony's decision to drop PS2 compatibility from the PS3 was also for cost reasons. In order to provide hardware compatibility, they had to include the PS2 Emotion Engine on the PS3 motherboard. (And even then there were some 200 PS2 games which it wouldn't run.) PS1 compatibility is via an emulator, so is just a one-time development cost. Later PS3s provided partial PS2 compatibility via an emulator; and I just read that Sony is planning on offering PS2 titles (with an emulator) via the Playstation Store.And that's why both Nintendo and Sony have revised their portable consoles - downloadable games. Downloadable games have big pluses in their eyes:

1. No manufacturing & distribution costs (and no limitted production runs)
2. No retailer costs (unless they want to put an empty box on the shelf)
3. Unlimitted "shelf life" - just try to find last year's sleeper hit in a store
4. No secondary market (used games)

I don't use my existing PSP all that much now, although maybe if I loaded a 2600 emulator on it I would. I'm considering getting Gran Turismo for it, but the lack of a career mode seems like a really bad idea. The PSP Go wouldn't be a bad idea if there was an easy means of transferring UMDs to it, but that doesn't appear to be on the horizon. (I've never liked the UMD format. Another bad proprietary Sony idea.)

 

The PS3 is more promising, since I'm in the market for a Blu-Ray player anyway, but I'm tempted to see what the Christmas shopping season brings for standalone players.

Looking at it, I'm thinking that the PSP Go should be considered a new portable system rather than a new PSP model - simply because it lacks the UMD drive and therefore the ability to play PSP games. Instead, it will be able to download PSP Go games (which the PSP can also play, unless they are too big to fit in the PSP). Some PSP games may be re-released as PSP Go games. (Note: a UMD can hold 1.8GB max, so storage isn't a limitation.)

 

If that were the case however, I would argue that Sony should be marketing it as a new portable rather than trying to call it an "upgrade".

 

 

Eliminating the GBA slot (and the GBA compatibility mode) reduced cost so the new features could be added without significantly increasing the pricetag.

 

I believe a few DS games made use of the GBA slot however. As a result if you had those games, they aren't moving to the DSi with you.

 

... and I just read that Sony is planning on offering PS2 titles (with an emulator) via the Playstation Store.

 

So instead of getting to use the games by default, you get the honor of paying for a brand new copy!

 

 

1. No manufacturing & distribution costs (and no limitted production runs)
   
2. No retailer costs (unless they want to put an empty box on the shelf)
   
3. Unlimitted "shelf life" - just try to find last year's sleeper hit in a store
   
4. No secondary market (used games)
   

 

To which in return the gamers receive:

1. Nothing physical to actually collect, for those who enjoy that. (Like myself)
   
2. Full price on games forever. Maybe a sale here and there on downloads... maybe. But expect the same price as a physical copy or more as we already see happening.
   
3. Limited lifetime. It'll only be offered as long as they want to offer it. At any time it can all go poof!
   
4. You no longer own what you're purchasing. If it sucks, you no longer have the ability to re-sell it.
   

 

I -really- hate the attack on the used market in particular, and that's basically what it is. And I can't wait for 10 years from now when Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo are no longer offering to restore games bought for your PS3 or Xbox 360 or Wii for when the consoles fail on you. But instead offer you discounts so you can rebuy them ALL over again on the spiffy new console offerings - if they bothered to keep it available. This is especially true with the 360's and their failure rates. Microsoft's little exchange warranty isn't going to be around forever and I'm going to be sitting there with popcorn laughing my ass off when I see people bitch about it.

 

Mind you, I understand what you're saying about why things are being done. I just don't agree that they should be doing these things. Let's consider another aspect of the new generation. With standard harddrives for the most part, it's starting to become expected or acceptable to ship unfinished/buggy games with the intent to patch them later on. I expect that from PC vendors, and it (along with their use of DRM) is the big reason I don't bother with major PC games. I liked console games because for the most part you could put them in the console, turn the power on and VOILA! the game just -worked-. Properly.

 

One of the latest Xbox 360 games, a racing game iirc, that got released is apparently riddled with bugs. To the point where the 360 version tries to connect to THE PLAYSTATION STORE! Awesome! Don't worry guys, we'll fix it if you'll connect your console to the internet! At least for now. God help you if you buy a second hand copy of it 10 years from now or just get a replacement 360 10 years from now and want to continue playing the game on that console!

 

But I rant.

 

I blame the pizza.

Looking at it, I'm thinking that the PSP Go should be considered a new portable system rather than a new PSP model - simply because it lacks the UMD drive and therefore the ability to play PSP games. Instead, it will be able to download PSP Go games (which the PSP can also play, unless they are too big to fit in the PSP). Some PSP games may be re-released as PSP Go games. (Note: a UMD can hold 1.8GB max, so storage isn't a limitation.)

If that were the case however, I would argue that Sony should be marketing it as a new portable rather than trying to call it an "upgrade".

Yeah. I'll agree with that. The PSP Go is even less of an upgrade than the DSi.

 

Eliminating the GBA slot (and the GBA compatibility mode) reduced cost so the new features could be added without significantly increasing the pricetag.

I believe a few DS games made use of the GBA slot however. As a result if you had those games, they aren't moving to the DSi with you.

Yep, there are a few games (like Guitar Hero: On Tour) which have GBA slot accessories. But, I'd agree there's very little reason (so far) for someone with a DS to upgrade to the DSi, if game like GH:OT were your cup-o-tea, then you would have bought it and a DS already.

 

 

... and I just read that Sony is planning on offering PS2 titles (with an emulator) via the Playstation Store.

So instead of getting to use the games by default, you get the honor of paying for a brand new copy!

Again, I'd argue that if you had a PS2 collection, then you logically also have a PS2.

 

But I rant.

I agree with you whole-heartedly.

 

Oh, I have a PS3 (w/o PS2 support). I bought it last year as a Blu-Ray player which I also use to play games. The only big negative for the PS3 slim as a Blu-Ray player is audio outputs. It has analog R/L and digital audio over HDMI. So if you want true surround sound your amplifier needs an HDMI passthrough. The PS3 will either decode the audio to PCM or stream it to the receiver. And if you want to use an all-in-one remote, then you need to spend extra on an IR to Bluetooth converter. (I just use the $25 PS3 remote.)