Sony Designing Mobile Phone/PSP Hybrid to Better Compete Against iPhone?

[RiCEADDiCTBOY]

Sure, gaming fanatics will always choose a platform that is best for games, whatever it is. But the iPhone is a computer. The games are cheap and downloadable. People get adapted to it, and it's "good enough," particularly when you can also do e-mail, go to the web, have a hundred other apps on the phone, and oh, yes, make phone calls. The old iPod with video was not the best video platform. It was the one that was good enough, and you could download thousands of videos from iTunes, and render other ones that just loaded up with no problem. With the iPhone and the iPod Touch, you have multipurpose computers that can be used like a laptop, and which do a surprisingly good job of games, too. Just the thing to kill time while you're waiting in an airport, a train, or a line. It's no Xbox, or Playstation, or PSP. But it doesn't have to be.

see this is what i find amusing. the forums are up in arms about how iphone/ipod touch is cutting into psp/ds profits and how much better it is as a gaming platform...and yet all too many posts contradict the inital debate.

i will say this. say sony doesn't screw up. they make a phone that is sleek and stylish and doesn't crap it up with its lame properitery devices...which lately sony has been easing up on forcing consumers on...and allows direct acesss to the playstation store as its "App store" i would throw my middle fingers in the air and scream praise jeebus all night long.

sony was on a path to nowhere because of every division being so completely seperated and designers and engineers never able to fully communicate because of the r&d process and etc... but, ever since 09 sony has done some incredible internal changes...for the best. managment has been shifted and focus has become clearer for the company. sony may have been lackluster - but, not incompetent. they are a company full of talent and the knowledge to back it up...they just had the wrong people guiding and losing touch with what made them great. it happens...i'm just glad they are getting their act together.

people should stop being such negative nancys and as "geeks" and lovers of all things technological...we should hope that sony can provide that iron fisted competition that only drives the hearts of others to do better as well. nothing wrong with great products from other companies - we benefit from them.

its late...im tired...i'm ready to get off work.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

If the psp is to compete with the iphone (or vise-versa) then the psp needs to become a usable smartphone or the iphone needs to become a usable game device. The zealots are shouting that the iphone only has to be "good enough" but are you willing to use that theory in favor of sony? The psp doesnt have to be a great phone, it only has to be "good enough" and it will cut into iPhone sales.

 

[applecultvictim]

How is this a negative thing? Bring on the competition.

What competition? Sony? Give me a break. Sony is so big they should have had their own OS by now...and they are still shipping overpriced crap with vista for gods sake in 2009...while a bunch of people from south Africa and a fos community can make something as cutting edge as ubuntu...

Surely Sony could too, but they lack the vision....

Their vision went as far as trying to shove some nonsense atrac music format down our throats while apple blew like the wind over their Walkman and diskman empires.

Nokia and a handful of others are putting some ingenuity into their efforts, and then there's the abyss.

Apple is pretty much competing with themselves. Like some high jump athletes who keep breaking world records all by themselves.

Still apple competing with itself seems to be good enough.

 

[MacFly123]

So another company jumping on the bandwagon 3 years late and with nothing really to show? HAHA, ok Sony bring it!

 

[cocky jeremy]

The greatest weakness of the iPhone is the lack of buttons for gaming. As great as the touchscreen is, you need a D-pad + 2 buttons to get quality controls. The lack of feedback makes most games frustrating to me, particually the ones that try to be more traditional.

YES! Please give us some third party, plugin device to give us a physical directional pad and buttons.

 

[LagunaSol]

Sony = the Microsoft of the electronics world. Zero original ideas anymore. Rested on their laurels while their quality and innovation tanked. Now all they can muster is "me too" products. Rest in peace, Sony. And take Microsoft with you.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Sony = the Microsoft of the electronics world. Zero original ideas anymore. Rested on their laurels while their quality and innovation tanked. Now all they can muster is "me too" products. Rest in peace, Sony. And take Microsoft with you.

Hey now, their HDTVs and cameras are nice. I refuse to buy a camcorder from anyone but Sony.

The PSP, on the other hand......ugh. I had one for a bit, bought about six games for it, and regretted my purchase. The built-in web browser was god-awful, the screen quality sucked (I mean, seriously, a screen that small can and should have a much higher resolution, but I can count every pixel from 2 feet away) it's a PITA to load music tracks onto (not to mention the PSP is too big to use as an MP3-player replacement anyway) and the UMD discs were retarded. Long story short, sold it to some loser who paid nearly full price for it used.

 

[LagunaSol]

Sadly, Sony seems to be on a one-way collision course with destruction. The PS3 platform is sputtering. I refuse to buy anything from MS, so no Xbox for me. Here's hoping Nintendo will join the 21st century with high-def graphics soon. Love my Wii, but I need more.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

So another company jumping on the bandwagon 3 years late and with nothing really to show? HAHA, ok Sony bring it!

I'm sorry but Apple jumped on the bandwagon they just had a great product. Apple saw that the Smart Phone market was dying and that Blackberry was taking advantage of this. Apple saw a way for them to take Blackberry out by innovating a very profitable market. Apple jumped on the bandwagon and took it by Storm. Sony has been in this market along long time. I hate the fact that people here are acting like Apple invented the Smart Phone. Apple just innovated it. Now Apple needs to re inovate there own Smart Phone because even those this "3GS" is out its still the same damn iPhone we saw years ago. Its time for some competition to force Apple to move forward and not just stand still.

BTW: for those of you who have been to Japan you'll probably know that the iPhone is somewhat of a joke there. If you have seen the innovation in the Japanese Cell Phone Culture (notice I say culture and not market. It is a culture in itself) then you will see genuinely "Smart" phones.

 

[consoleboi]

What a bunch of apple sheeps the lot of you..

Forget competition..

Let Apple rule the world with skyrocketted prices and lack of features..

I'm looking forward to seeing what Sony comes up with..flop or not.

Everyone says blu-ray was gonna flop...PS3 would not sell...blah blah blah..

 

[LagunaSol]

Everyone says blu-ray was gonna flop...PS3 would not sell...blah blah blah..

Newsflash: PS3 isn't exactly burning up the charts. Though it is burning through Sony cash in a hurry...

Hey, at least it doesn't RROD though.

Sounds like Sony has some sheep of its own...

 

[consoleboi]

Newsflash: PS3 isn't exactly burning up the charts. Though it is burning through Sony cash in a hurry...

Hey, at least it doesn't RROD though.

Sounds like Sony has some sheep of its own...

Oh pls..
For the price PS3 is charging and still selling..you do the math..
Baaa..

I buy quality products...I don't blindly follow what Apple tells me to buy..

I held off buying into hype of original Iphone because it lacked features common on standard smart phones and even with 3GS it still lacks..so I will play the waiting game until Apple sells what I WANT to buy...

 

[RiCEADDiCTBOY]

Newsflash: PS3 isn't exactly burning up the charts. Though it is burning through Sony cash in a hurry...

Hey, at least it doesn't RROD though.

Sounds like Sony has some sheep of its own...

For several months this year the ps3 overtook the sales in japan. The ps3 from a global sales perspective is doing well. It is selling faster then the ps2 if following the same timeframe. Sure Sony made fumbles with the console..because of arrogance riding in from the success of psx and ps2. So did nintendo back in the days. But Sony has been fighting the good fight and not getting lazy. 2009 has an awesome exclusive lineup.

Another thing to factor in is that the recession is going to impact the current gen consoles considerably which every company acknowledges. With the ps3 slim and price this fall it's only going to get better for Sony.

 

[Mooey]

I can't believe there are so many PS3 bashers in this thread especially idiotic ones with comments like, "Price is too high." If the price is so high, why did you buy an Apple computer? An Apple MP3 player? An Apple TV? All of these things compared to the other guy are EXPENSIVE. Yet you get the best quality out of these products (excluding Apple TV). Sony's PS3 is by far the best console out this generation of consoles.

Honestly, most of you people make no sense. Another thing is Sony does not make money through hardware. They make it through their games. They currently have 15 first party developers developing exclusive titles that WOW people (LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Uncharted 1/2, etc). It just upsets me that people make ignorant comments such as, "Sony's fumbling the ball this console. Activision is threatening them."

Fact: Activision sold most on the PS3 last year - why would they jump ship?

"Sony's crap with software."

Fact: The Xross Media Bar which is featured in several of Sony's televisions and the PS3 won an Emmy and has been updated to rival the Xbox in online capabilities (give me crossgame chat, and I won't be paying for Live anymore).

"The Wii and Xbox 360 are blazing past the competition."
Fact 1: Xbox 360 came out a year ago - as for the Wii, there's no excuse. That thing continues to amaze me even though I don't play mine anymore.
Fact 2: Once Sony drops the price, the PS3 sales will skyrocket. In Japan and Europe, the PS3 maintains the lead over the Xbox 360. It will outsell them.

As for the PSPPhone, I don't think Sony would do something like this after that fiasco that Nokia made. What was it? The N Gauge? Or something, lolol. Same difference. It'll flop hard.

Anyway, I'm done ranting. I'm sure there will be more ignorance spewed in this thread so I'll make my exit.

 

[twilson]

Sony Corp is working on a cellphone/game player hybrid to better compete with Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone.

This has Epic FAIL written all over it.

Sadly, it's about 3-4 years too late.

 

[fr33 loader]

I want the PSPphone to happen. I want the ZunePhone to happen. I want the next gen IPhone to happen. Heck, I wish all electronic companies produce their own phones to sell. I want all of them to fight for my money. I'll choose the phone that best suits me feature and prize wise.

 

[Bevz]

A positive vote from me because any competition is good, although I'm not sure this will make much of an impact...

 

[aygie]

I just thought that the lighting in the games looked washed out plus the unit looked like an overweight darth vader fanboy sitting in my living room. I just could get that image out of my friggin head. That being said, if they were to recase it slimmer and drop the price a bit I would crack. I am a glutton for gaming.

You might be in luck mate! Thats the exact rumors for this winter, slim version + price drop.

Seriously its a great machine (as the is the 360) and has come leaps and bounds since its release (blessed are the firmware updates !!!

 

[macshill]

Sony making an iPhone killer? OH, NO!

 

[RAGING DEMON]

Nintendo On Apple

http://gizmodo.com/5280410/nintendo...use-a-mac-or-iphone-if-apple-was-a-competitor

 

[neiltc13]

A lot of you seem to be under the impression that the App Store is somehow a gold mine for every professional developer out there. It really isn't.

Unless your game is at the top of the sales charts for week after week after week you're going to see very little return on your investment. The only game I can think that has managed this so far is Flight Control and while it's a good game, it's still not anywhere close to offering the depth of what you can find on PSP.

Remember, Apple takes a 30% cut of revenues before developers even see them. This leaves 70% for everyone else, and if it's a developer working on the game on their own (such as Tag Games, Firemint etc) then this is a very attractive deal indeed. But if it's a major publisher working with an external developer and maybe a marketer or someone else taking a cut then it becomes even more difficult to produce an iPhone game profitably.

As the applications which sell best are the lowest priced ones, there is no incentive whatsoever for any developer to put effort into producing in-depth games. They'll end up losing money.

As Nintendo have found out to their cost in the past, without the support of third party developers your console is worth nothing. Give it a year or two and we'll see how many big name developers are actually producing decent software for iPhone. I bet it won't be many if Apple doesn't allow them to promote their products more effectively.

 

[0098386]

I'm surprised no one has posted this yet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ojLKeewbEk&feature=player_embedded

It only takes a simple add on ($50-$100) to make the iPhone a direct competitor to the PSP. The one pictured above is obviously not the best concept, but they can get there if someone puts enough money into it.

Oh dear that's horrible
What a lot of people don't realise is what makes a good gaming system is having games. What the iPhone currently has is nothing of real stature. There isn't a game with history or with character. They're still mobile phone quality games, just with fancier graphics. There isn't a 50+ hour RPG or anything to really rival Mario, Kirby, Metal Gear Solid etc. There are ports and clones but nothing groundbreaking.
In a way it's an awful lot like Microsoft. Just pure vanilla. There's a lot of it and it's expensive, high quality vanilla.
A cheap controller for the iPhone is no competition for something as brilliant as the DS or as powerful and console-like as the PSP.

I can't believe there are so many PS3 bashers in this thread especially idiotic ones with comments like, "Price is too high." If the price is so high, why did you buy an Apple computer? An Apple MP3 player? An Apple TV? All of these things compared to the other guy are EXPENSIVE. Yet you get the best quality out of these products (excluding Apple TV).

Because with Apple you get a heap of quality. I know if I buy Apple hardware with a single dead pixel I can complain about it and get a replacement. I know that the hardware I buy today will still be functioning years down the line, unlike the Playstation hardware I've owned. What has that got to do with not liking a PS3?

Sony's PS3 is by far the best console out this generation of consoles.

Opinion, opinion, opinion. I'm very happy with my Xbox 360, Wii and spend most of my gaming time on the PC.

Honestly, most of you people make no sense. Another thing is Sony does not make money through hardware. They make it through their games. They currently have 15 first party developers developing exclusive titles that WOW people (LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Uncharted 1/2, etc).

As I said earlier in this thread, it all depends on what you are wowwed by. I've played 3/4 of them above titles and wasn't particularly blown away. At the end of the day I went back to playing L4D on PC or Brawl on the Wii. Most of the PS3 games I saw at E3 didn't wow me at all. (though I did think the PSP 'won' it)

"Sony's crap with software."

Have you not used their MP3 transferring software, the PSP or PS3? Less so the PS3, they've put effort into that but we're still seeing basic functionality missing from the PSP (playlist support, DivX support, better web browser).

Fact: The Xross Media Bar which is featured in several of Sony's televisions and the PS3 won an Emmy and has been updated to rival the Xbox in online capabilities (give me crossgame chat, and I won't be paying for Live anymore).

If a menu winning an emmy doesn't scream fix then I don't know what does . The XMB had been out for years before in the PSX and a few of their TV's but it honestly took until the PS3 to win the award? It's all very suspicious.

"The Wii and Xbox 360 are blazing past the competition."
Fact 1: Xbox 360 came out a year ago - as for the Wii, there's no excuse. That thing continues to amaze me even though I don't play mine anymore.
Fact 2: Once Sony drops the price, the PS3 sales will skyrocket. In Japan and Europe, the PS3 maintains the lead over the Xbox 360. It will outsell them.

Actually this is not true. The gap is closer in the EU market but overall the Xbox360 is doing better in Europe than the PS3, in totals and in weekly results (vgchartz.com) the PS3 is behind the 360.

 

[Speedy2]

A lot of you seem to be under the impression that the App Store is somehow a gold mine for every professional developer out there. It really isn't.

Ha ha you are really funny.
I guess sometimes people just don't see the obvious and prefer to stay entrenched in their simplistic views.

Why do you think the OS X platform is so insanely popular among developers? They must all be blinded by stupid Apple propaganda. No other explanation possible.

 

[Pika]

Ha ha you are really funny.
I guess sometimes people just don't see the obvious and prefer to stay entrenched in their simplistic views.

Why do you think the OS X platform is so insanely popular among developers? They must all be blinded by stupid Apple propaganda. No other explanation possible.

Can you give an exemple of "Apple propaganda" ?

 

[aygie]

Actually this is not true. The gap is closer in the EU market but overall the Xbox360 is doing better in Europe than the PS3, in totals and in weekly results (vgchartz.com) the PS3 is behind the 360.

I've heard many many times that Vg chartz info is very incorrect, i think you're still correct though, the 360 has the slight lead in Europe but i wouldn't trust those figures they give you.