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Sony Designing Mobile Phone/PSP Hybrid to Better Compete Against iPhone?
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The casual handheld market already exists with the DS, so is the iPhone competing with the PSP or DS? Or neither? Or both?
I know! Apple will "reinvent" gaming so they arent even on the same level as other devices!
The handheld gaming market works great as it is. You have casual gamers playing MarioKart and Nintendogs on the DS, and you have more serious gamers playing God of War and Crisis Core on PSP. The iPhone is only going to attract the group of people that want a phone that can play cheesy time-wasting games while they are stuck in traffic. This does not compete with the PSP at all, and only steps on the DS's toes a little, but apple is going to ahve to do something drastic to stop the DS from taking over the world.
I remember a day when SONY was like Apple building quality products that nobody else could build. SONY was the TV the stereo the Walkman.
But you need to remember that the Mylo was a great product, but it had to be connected to Wi-Fi to get the most out of it.
Sony is a great company, with good quality products, so I'm glad to see something like this hopefully become a reality. I never did like their cellular devices though...so I'd like to see what they do.
I love their TVs, Video Games, Camcorders, etc. Phones are eh to me (besides the Xperia X1).
You're missing the point. Because of the lure of the iPhone/iPod Touch, Apple is creating gamers to some extent. So PSP, DS...it hardly matters. Sony can't take the chance of the "Apple platform" getting too far(although it may already be).
And Apple may do something drastic. But as price continues to come down on the iPhone/iPod Touch it will lure more and more people. And people sure seem to like a device that can do more and more. And the reality is that Apple seems to be going full throttle with promoting their handhelds as gaming devices. You can be sure that it is all developing future products around that idea as well. And when Apple sets out to create a product, that is when it does come up with something drastic and more than likely game-changing!
Yea, I'd say.... This is tantamount to the captain of the titanic looking for a bucket a few hours *after* the ship sank.
Dave
Okay...
Apple has taken:
The Walkman business away from Sony with the iPod
The PSP business away with the iPhone/Touch
Could there be more, what's left?
TV (but I don't think so) but hows about Console Gaming?
****WELL*****
What do we have that could jump right into that market...
Apple TV
Sure it wouldn't work in its current incarnation but with Apple slowly but surely building its relationships with game developers... Would it be that much of a stretch for Apple to drop in a real GPU and throw in a controller with the Apple TV? (with a blueray player please)
Now you'd have your first game console where you can buy the games you want to play without leaving the tv.... Apple would simply sell AppleTV games using the same type/style storefront that they are using for the iPhone/Touch.
Everyone always shoots down the idea of an Apple console, including me for a long time. Now, I'm starting to think they might very well be in a position to pull it off.
Dave
I can see it now. The hackers will be looking for ways to hack the crap out of it and it be another Wii but maybe even better... lol.
I'm sure I saw this discussed elsewhere, but - the 3GS offers an API allowing communication with devices attached to the dock port.... it won't be long.
Sony still makes high quality TVs. The problem Sony has had this decade is that they are lousy when it comes to software. It is now software that is king and it is less about the hardware.
The PS3 is hard to develop for and Microsoft has taken Apple's all-in-one solution and applied it to gaming. The PS3 online gaming is lousy as well. It also doesn't help that they keep forcing proprietary formats down our throat.
Because of their inability to make good software, this will not be good. The PSP Go is already considered a disappointment and it's not even out yet.
Sony should be very scared. With all their recent hirings, it looks as if Apple is taking the Apple TV into the gaming market and some kind of Wii/Natal experience.
As for others complaining about the lack of buttons on the iPhone, there are controllers already being developed for it, so those excuses will disappear. I also won't be surprised that there will be iPhone cases that have keyboards as well.
I know of a lot of kids out there that have a PSP but no cell phone, nor could they afford a cell service plan, so how are they going to get to the Sony ap store?
Adults have the ability to afford cell service, so they can get to the ap store, but imagine a businessman whipping out his PSP to make a business call in front of his client. Or sitting around with his contemporaries with his PSP and they with their Blackberries and iPhones. It would be like reading a comic book while they discuss the stock market.
One end of their market can't afford a phone and the other end won't be caught dead making a call with a toy.
Adults have the ability to afford cell service, so they can get to the ap store, but imagine a businessman whipping out his PSP to make a business call in front of his client. Or sitting around with his contemporaries with his PSP and they with their Blackberries and iPhones. It would be like reading a comic book while they discuss the stock market.
One end of their market can't afford a phone and the other end won't be caught dead making a call with a toy.
Sony really needs to get back in the game. PSP and Bravia TVs have kept them afloat the past few years.....
Who knows what the PSP Phone would look like. Maybe it will have a fully functional touch screen interface, with a similar control scheme as the PSPgo that slides out. That way on the outside, it has a sleek, smartphone-ish, look to it (Something that would appeal to most consumers).
You're pretty much assuming too much, and not seeing potential in products, imo.
It's not a matter of how late you are to the game. All that matters is how good you play your cards.
This is exactly right.
I've never been a gamer, I generally hate playing computer or video games. That said on my iPhone I have a few "simple stupid" games that I find highly entertaining when waiting on a plane, or wanting to kill a few minutes in a low intensity way. I would never by a PSP or whatever nintendo has come out in that segment due to the iPhone.
This is not a zero sum game where someone purchasing a game for the iPhone platform is not purchasing one for a PSP or vice-versa. It is reasonable to assume it is someone buying a game for the iPhone platform that wasn't previously going to buy a game, period.
Because there is a larger market out there than that targeted by games consoles (which is counted in millions). It's a market inhabited by people who would never buy a games console, but are buying mobile phones (which is counted in billions). And many of them appear to enjoy a casual bit of gaming every now and then. It's this market the iPhone appears to have unveiled. Much to the surprise of many doom sayers. Like Sony & MS who only now are starting to realise the potential of this market segment. And they want a slice of it.
You can already use a PS3, Wii, or 360 to buy games directly.
Once you start requiring peripherals though you start moving away from the casual gaming audience the iPhone is cultivating.
Lethal
IMO Sony would be better developing a surround of some description for the iPhone / iPod Touch to dock with giving actual PSP controls when needed.
I own a HD video camera and a Digital SLR camera. I take more video and photos with my iPhone 3GS on a day-to-day basis than I do with either of the other devices. I also play more games on my iPhone than my Xbox or my Wii.
I don't see this as a "problem" or a mess. Sure the iPhone isn't a better camera, video camera or gaming device.... but the convenience matters over "better" in so many ways. To the point that it needs to be significantly better than the iPhone 3GS to make me want it.
So... I may still buy a high-end HD Camcorder / Next Gen Xbox in the future, but I'm certainly not going to buy a Flip Camcorder or PSP.
arn
Ahhh. I think you laid down the dots, and they just need to be connected. Basically, all of the devices that you mentioned are specialized. And... the iPhone is too. Yep. The iPhone is a master of being an all-in-one device. The others are not masters of being an all in one device.
PSP can try to make an all-in-one, but they won't be the best, because Apple is the best at making all-in-one devices. Casio Exilim just announed a "phone camera." Yep, it's a 5.0MP camera .. oh, and it has a basic cell phone built into it - just pop in your SIM card. Apple is not a master at gaming nor a master at cameras, and just as much, neither Sony nor Casio are masters at all-in-one devices.
It's doesn't have to be a requirement. A person would have the option to choose between the two. Developers will still have to develop on screen controls because most people would not have this accessory.