Luke's Rant #2: Five reasons why launching the PSP later in PAL regions was a positive move

PSP Feature | There's a silver lining or two to them clouds.

It's been over ten months since my previous rant, and in that time there's been a heck of a lot going on within the gaming industry. Whilst this article is going to cover the reasons why the late launch of the PSP is a positive thing, it was amusing to read back on my previous rant, which speculated the Nintendo DS would launch at $199.95 (this was correct) and the PSP at $249.95 (over $149.95 off the confirmed RRP). It's the latter of those two that I want to discuss now though, and in particular why PAL people like ourselves shouldn't feel to sorry for ourselves over the PSP's late arrival.

And it is late - the PSP launched in December, 2004 in Japan, and March 2005 in the United States. Whilst it's common for PAL gamers to become somewhat left in the dark regarding the release of the platform and its games, many probably felt extra cheated when Sony announced that the PSP wouldn't launch in Australia and Europe until September 2005. Whilst this was bad enough, the original price point for the PSP was a premium price of $429.95, which was higher than the Americans were paying for their handheld, and excessively higher than what the Japanese had to pay.

Something to look forward to

Whilst this announcement was made months ago - and we've had a little while to cool down now - the PSP is now only a day away from release. However, in the meantime, instead of playing the PSP, we've been looking at why the PSP launching later than in NTSC regions could be deemed a positive for PAL gamers, even if some of the positives weren't what Sony was thinking about when they made the launch announcement. It's nice to be optimistic, kids. So here goes:

#1: New Firmware
Sony has just recently released the latest PSP firmware, which can be downloaded from the PSP firmware website. The PAL PSPs will come with this firmware as standard (well, on the UMD preview disc in the package, anyway - Ed), an update that will include a web browser as well as support for more media formats. Having the firmware embedded into the PSP will make the handheld that much more user-friendly come September.

#2: Hardware Problems Ironed Out (Hopefully)
There were a lot of problems with the PSP when it launched last year, ranging from dead pixels to stuck square buttons. By now, Sony's had ample time to iron out the bugs and we can safely assume that, come the launch, the majority of people won't have any hardware issues.

WipEout Pure, a launch title in every PSP territory

#3: Larger Software range
The Japanese PSP launch was distinctly average, with Ridge Racer, Lumines and WipEout Pure the stand-out titles. The US launch basically mirrored this, with a few sports titles and Need for Speed: Underground Rivals added to the launch line-up. However, the PAL launch line-up will include all of these titles as well as Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, Virtua Tennis World Tour, V8 Supercar 2, Colin McRae Rally and more. The result? A far meatier line-up, and rather than PSP owners having to wait months for a quality title, they'll be entertained right up until Christmas.

#4: UMD Movies
Whether or not you're going to buy them or not, (and retailing for $24.95 - $34.95, they're reasonably priced) UMD movies are going to be available in full force come the PSP launch, whilst those impatient types who imported their PSPs may start becoming envious that they can't play the movie UMDs when they start appearing on shelves. There are some quality movie releases planned, as well as the highly anticipated Advent Children, which will be sitting on the shelves mid November. There's also xXx, but you can't have everything.

Underground Rivals, Right there on September 1st!

#5: More Game Content:
The Wipeout Pure packs have been released, and game saves can be downloaded for every single game. There's no waiting for PAL gamers, the content is available immediately. Some of the bugs of the earlier USA games have also been ironed out.

Anyway, hope you've enjoyed the article, and I'll see you in line tomorrow!

The opinions in this article are that of Luke Van Leuveren and do not represent the viewpoints of PALGN or it's other staff members

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30 Comments

Kaygen

7 years ago

The PSP is going to be awesome. Aslong as Sony back it up with games designed for the PSP and not just ports. Granted the first gen of games should NOT be the benchmark for the PSP's performance rather, the benchmark of even better things.

There is nothing wrong with the games out now, take a look at wipeout and lumines just to name 2. AWESOME. And i cant wait to see what other games they bring out in the near future

vegeta

7 years ago

Haha...We need to update your title dude! PR/ Marketing director for PALGN and Sony Australia!

At this rate you'll be there in a few years!!

All good points though! You won't see me in the line tomorrow but i'm sure I'll succumb to the lure of such big and shiny handheld graphics one day....maybe when the price hits about 250...In terms of gaming it's still just a glorified ps2 with a few extra multimedia funtions!!....But it's just so sleek and sexy....mmmm....*slaps own face*....i'm gonna hafta to lock myself indoors tomorrow! The lure is just too strong...Must...stay...true...and...keep...moral....fabric...intact!

ObsoletE

7 years ago

yeah thats looking at the silver lining of the delay-cloud.

valid (and important) points they might be, i think most people would rather have had their PSP 6 months ago

Mark

7 years ago

ObsoletE wrote

yeah thats looking at the silver lining of the delay-cloud.

valid (and important) points they might be, i think most people would rather have had their PSP 6 months ago

I don't know about that. On average, most PSP owners would only have two-three (or maybe even one) PSP title at this stage. Whereas, having a delay like ours we're going to receive a meaty line-up that consist of a diverse range of titles in genre such as action, racing, sport and party.

I'm glad I waited instead of importing, since I'm sure I would only find myself with one game over the period. Whereas with the delay I'll be picking up at least three games (two games that weren't available for the U.S launch, and still isn't).

The only downside that I see with the delay is the money factor. The coversion rate between importing and buying retail is fairly big. Regardless though, I should be at Myer in the City (Melbourne) buying my PSP.

Spanca

7 years ago

Quote

6 out of 8 games mentioned are racing games. I can't help but feel there's a serious lack of diversity in the PSP library.

Valid points you've made, but I still don't see them as benefits of waiting. With the exclusion of hardware problems being fixed (which is merely speculation), none of the other points are things that US/Japanese gamers aren't getting too, but they've been able to play their PSPs for months. Saying we've got a better launch line-up isn't really true. We're getting the latest games at the same time as US/Jap, and the rest of the games many months delayed.

Chris-Leigh

7 years ago

I'll back that up Spancs! Bloody racing and ports.

That said, at least Lumines and Mercury seem to offer something new.

Spanca

7 years ago

Two puzzle games aren't enough to support a $400 system. And there's debate about how good Mercury is. Different, but not necessarily that great.

Jeremy

7 years ago

Variety ay? Metal Gear Acid anyone?

Chris-Leigh

7 years ago

OK, Lumines, Mercury and Ac!d. And after that...

Just seems like we've seen much of these titles before. I'm sure the situation will improve (as a PSP owner myself, I sincerely hope it does), but unfortunately the way Sony has designed the PSP has tended to encourage a porting mentality amongst publishers and developers. Conversely, the way the DS has been designed has forced the people who create games to actually think a bit.

Cerebral

7 years ago

I was chatting about this to some mates last night. There are too many ports/look alikes coming to the PSP for me to consider it seriously. I'm not even looking forward to the upcoming GTA game becuase it's essentially the same game we've been playing for years. Simply because you can play this game on a bus or in the car won't make the game any better than its predecessors (which are technologically superior) that we've played to death three times over.

I don't know about you, but If I'm not going to buy a console (especially a $400 console) then buy the same games I own on another console. thank the maker Metal Gear Ac!d is a fresh albeit wierd take on the franchise.

Lord InuYasha

7 years ago

^great point!

also i think that it was possibly released late to see how the target gaming audience would react to DS and the audience to learn about the DS and compare it to the PSP, which i obviously superior in every way.

Except for the games part stated by Cereb. So i will hold off until things level out.

Qbert

7 years ago

Hmm a portable GAMES system that is (apparently) superior in every way....exept the GAMES part.

While the PSP is great and the best non-Nintendo portable ever IMO, it doesn't have great games yet. Not to say it won't have any soon. But for me a system that can give me nintendogs, mario kart and animal crossing pwns any day.

Wait, none of those games are out in PAL territories yet...so I guess by my own standars the DS isn't the best yet

I

've just confused myself.

themak

7 years ago

Qbert wrote

've just confused myself.

Don't worry it'll wear off soon.

David

7 years ago

Qbert wrote

Hmm a portable GAMES system that is (apparently) superior in every way....exept the GAMES part.

Also the control part. And the price part. And the battery life. And the build quality (dead pixles etc). And the release date part. And the development support part. And the sales part.

Sorry, couldn't help myself! But sweeping statements like 'superior in every way' need some rebuttal. Spanca had it right I believe.

Quote

Wait, none of those games are out in PAL territories yet...so I guess by my own standars the DS isn't the best yet

True! They got the system out early, but the US has Meteos, Kirby and Nintendogs already. Why don't we? However.....

Nintendogs in 22 days.
Advance Wars, Kirby Canvas Curse, Castlevania, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Nanostray and Tony Hawk (which looks like a new take on the DS) in a month.
Lost in Blue, Meteos and Mario Kart within 2 months.

I'm gonna be poor.

Spanca

7 years ago

Do any of the people interested in Nintendogs actually have their own canines?

I really don't see the thrill of the game for someone who owns a real dog. I have my own dog (who turned 10 last week

) and I love playing with her every day. I couldn't imagine choosing a video game over her.

zombibubonik

7 years ago

Most of those reasons aren't so much a reward for waiting since everyone still got them before us. It's like saying "I'm giving this person one block of chocolate, and another block of chocolate every month for the next 6 months. You get to watch them slowly eat that chocolate and then at the end I'll sell you 7 blocks of chocolate of your own at twice the price!"

Kaygen wrote

Aslong as Sony back it up with games designed for the PSP and not just ports.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha *gasp* hahahahahaaaaa

Qbert wrote

While the PSP is great and the best non-Nintendo portable ever IMO

..........................................

Capoeira

7 years ago

That's the thing. This game is perfect for those of us whom love dogs, would love to own a dog but without having to worry about any of the responsibility involved. In other words, lazy bastards with a soft spot for pooches.

David

7 years ago

zombibubonik wrote

Quoted for truth.

But Luke did say "It's nice to be optimistic", so he's just trying to be positive!

Luke

7 years ago

We're looking at the positive reasons, there are negative reasons as well.

ObsoletE

7 years ago

Spanca wrote

Do any of the people interested in Nintendogs actually have their own canines?

I really don't see the thrill of the game for someone who owns a real dog. I have my own dog (who turned 10 last week

) and I love playing with her every day. I couldn't imagine choosing a video game over her.

yeah i'm in this boat. i don't see the appeal of a digital pet either.

i suppose i can in places like parts of Japan, where there isn't the room (or permission) to own a real dog, but in general it just doesn't make sense.

i hope nintendogs can chase nintencats.

Spanca

7 years ago

I'm tempted to buy Nintencats just to make the thing starve.

Dogs FTW!

Qbert

7 years ago

I own a dag, which turns 10 in December and I got Nintendogs yesterday and love it. My dog Seymour is a Dashhound and so far he can sit, shake, rollover and lie down just from my voice.

It's an incredibly fun, yet limiting game, as you can only go on 3 walks a day, 3 contests a day and after a while, the dog gets tired of learning.

The great thing about the game id that I know in 6 months time when I've just turned of animal crossing DS, I'll still be playing this regually. The only bad part of the game is that I can't really speak to it on the bus from school...might look a bit weird... I just have to pat it instead.

Goes without saying that it's not for all though.

Lord InuYasha

7 years ago

^QBERT snapped out of confusion.

Chris-Leigh

7 years ago

'The only bad part of the game is that I can't really speak to it on the bus from school'

That would certainly be a quick route to social exclusion.