We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
DS

Report Says DS Outplays PSP

by Steven Rodriguez - July 7, 2005, 11:35 pm EDT
Total comments: 43 Source: http://www.wavemetrix.com/

Although everyone is talking more about the PSP, the DS is still the better overall handheld.

UK research firm WaveMetrix has been snooping around the Internet lately, gathering up data on what people think about the two new handheld systems, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. After taking in comments from online forums and analyzing them, a finalized research report shows that two screens are apparently better than one.

The report took a look at four areas that many gamers are most interested in for handhelds: Games, overall hardware quality, screen quality, and value for money. The DS beat the PSP in all of the above, most decisively in value. Despite all the extra bells and whistles the Sony handheld offers, the large price difference in hardware and software makes the DS a better buy for those just looking to play games.

In addition to DS games being cheaper, the games are also better. According to the report, consumers enjoy the steady release of good titles for the Nintendo DS, as opposed to Sony's initial flurry of releases and current drought. Titles like Electroplankton, Need for Speed Underground 2, Trauma Center, and the Star Wars Episode III game were just some of the broad list of DS games customers were positive about. On the other side of the spectrum, Madden 2005 and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent got a thumbs down for issues like poor graphics and computer AI. Gamers would also like to see fewer puzzle-type titles on the DS, and eventually hope that the overall library of titles will broaden out.

Although the Nintendo DS does fare better than the Sony PSP in the quality categories, consumer opinions are still generally negative for both. The report claims many DS owners are unhappy with the thin and easily scratchable screen covers, but compared to PSP complaints that include battery life, sticky buttons and a poor analog stick, DS owners are better off. Both systems do share a common problem, though. Dead pixels and other screen defects are something manufacturers have always had problems with, but customers expect that a screen be flawless. Needless to say, many are disappointed with what they wind up with.

In addition to taking a look at what people feel about each system, the WaveMetrix report also examined "the buzz factor" of each of the four categories. For the most part, the PSP is being talked about twice as much as DS. However, the report concludes that since the PSP was outperformed in every aspect, all of that extra discussion about the PSP is mostly negative, despite Sony's big advertising push. In other words, there are a lot of people that aren't as happy with the PSP as Sony would like.

Talkback

King of TwitchJuly 07, 2005

PSP is doomed.

BloodworthDaniel Bloodworth, Staff AlumnusJuly 07, 2005

Also, the latest Famitsu charts are telling. 9 DS games listed in the top 30, and only 2 PSP titles, one of which just came out and the other is a Golf game that's been out since launch.

BlackNMild2k1July 07, 2005

stolen from somewhere else

Quote

Hardware sales :
DS = 35 000
PSP = 21 000

Software sales for the week :
DS = 160 000
PSP = 50 000

All this based on Famitsu data.
Take that PSP!!! Ohh that hurts don't it? maybe you should fight back.....

MarioJuly 07, 2005

Quote

Gamers would also like to see fewer puzzle-type titles on the DS

Not this gamer! More puzzle games please!

IceColdJuly 07, 2005

"Titles like Electroplankton, Need for Speed Underground 2, Trauma Center, and the Star Wars Episode III game were just some of the broad list of DS games customers were positive about. "

LOL!! I love how they don't mention Yoshi, WWT, Kirby, Meteos etc while they say the customers are positive about Electroplankton (a game only out in Japan, and this is a UK research corp), Trauma Centre (which isn't out yet), and NFSU & Star Wars (which can't hold a candle to Kirby et al).

And Electroplankton sold how many, a couple of thousand units in Japan? So exactly how many customers "were positive" about it?

ruby_onixJuly 08, 2005

As this is an "Internet study", it's safe to say that we already know everything that's in it. We might even be the source for some of it.

Of course, that's not to say that this is a bad thing. You just need to know how to take this.

Quote

And Electroplankton sold how many, a couple of thousand units in Japan? So exactly how many customers "were positive" about it?

They probably came across a couple of "Electroplankton Appreciation" threads. And came to the conclusion that "people liked Electroplankton, and thought it was a good game" (even if not many people bought it).

steveyJuly 08, 2005

Yes teh psp suckzy ballz!

WindyManSteven Rodriguez, Staff AlumnusJuly 08, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: IceCold
LOL!! I love how they don't mention Yoshi, WWT, Kirby, Meteos etc while they say the customers are positive about Electroplankton (a game only out in Japan, and this is a UK research corp), Trauma Centre (which isn't out yet), and NFSU & Star Wars (which can't hold a candle to Kirby et al).


They do. There were 15 or so games they listed under the positive chart, it's just that there were too many to list. I just picked the games that were varied to give a good idea of the spectrum.

Ian SaneJuly 08, 2005

This isn't really surpising. The DS kind of wins by default. The PSP had a good launch lineup but I cannot think of ANY game that has come out since then. The PSP section in stores is full of movies. The DS is the obvious leader just due to the fact that new games are coming out and the DS is in the news. With most systems I don't own I pick up major news about them just by basically being on the internet. It's only with a few odd exceptions like the N-Gage where I have no idea what's been going on. The PSP oddly enough is like that. I skim every section of IGN every day yet I cannot name a post-launch PSP title. The thing has just disappeared.

Still I think that one huge title could put the PSP ahead. The DS is doing better more due to the PSP's shortcomings than the DS' greatness. In order to really get a clear lead the DS needs some more killer games and I see some in the release pipeline. The DS right now is merely not as bad as the PSP. The DS should be really awesome.

Bill AurionJuly 08, 2005

Sorry, but to me the DS is awesome...Kirby more than makes it by itself...

nickmitchJuly 08, 2005

I think PSP sales will go up once GTA hits it. I could just see people saying, "PSP has GTA?!? OMG!!!" But If the DS could provide a serious online line up then that should keep things like this.

DjunknownJuly 08, 2005

If Nintendogs, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing can get some good buzz and sales, the PSP will be shut down for a while. Nintendog's rabid success in Japan is already documented, Mario Kart online done right will simply pwn the people. Animal Crossing somehow manages to bridge the gap between all sorts of gamers and non-gamers alike. Keep 'em coming Nintendo...

As mentioned earlier, the PSP needs that killer app(s) to get it going. Can something like GTA on a portable still feel fresh after all the years of hype and extensions?

DeguelloJeff Shirley, Staff AlumnusJuly 08, 2005

Quote

I think PSP sales will go up once GTA hits it.


Maybe in America but it won't amount to a hill of beans in Japan. The problem with the more recent games Sony and third parties are throwing up for the PSP in Japan is that most of them are either PS2 ports or PS1 ports. Original games bomb hard and it becomes only financially viable to port old games or concurrent PS2 games instead of making entirely new games or at least new entries in a series.

Compare this to the DS whose best-selling game at the moment is some kind of DS IQ test with an egregiously long title, and whose various new games have sustained themselves on the charts for a long time, and you have environment that is friendly to both new games and ports.

Over here, Sony seems more interested in making the PSP some sort of movie player as opposed to a game device. Only one game is scheduled for release this month, that was Coded Arms and it was released 2 days ago. the next game scheduled is Death Jr. More than a month away, and It looks like it is going to be the PSP's only release that month, too. You know, the sort of thing that would land a Sony exec into the hot seat of a pointed IGN interview, if you catch my drift.

PSP is the new GameCube!

j/k but it looks kinda true for now, in terms of the release schedule.

Ian SaneJuly 08, 2005

"Can something like GTA on a portable still feel fresh after all the years of hype and extensions?"

I don't think it will. A series only sells systems for a few years before the formula gets stale and only a major shakeup to the series like Mario 64 can revitalize it. Sonic sold Genesises but not Dreamcasts. Resident Evil sold Playstations but not Gamecubes. GTA sold PS2s but unalterted I don't think it would sell PSPs. When GTA3 came out you HAD to buy a PS2 to play a game like that. Vice City and San Andreas then benefited from those PS2 sales and also sold really big. However no one HAS to buy a PSP to play a GTA game. It would probably be good but are you really missing anything when there are THREE similar games on the PS2?

If you bought a PS2 for GTA it's like GTA3 cost $350, VC cost $50 and SA cost $50. Suddenly you get a price hike to $300 for the next GTA. That game better be DAMN good and really essential to pay that high "entry fee" again.

DeguelloJeff Shirley, Staff AlumnusJuly 08, 2005

Quote

PSP is the new GameCube!

j/k but it looks kinda true for now, in terms of the release schedule.


Even worse. No system has ever had a game drought this bad. What's worse is what Sony is doing about it. In lieu of trying to get new games from third parties or at least trying to develop some themselves, they instead let the third parties run wild with afterthought ports and delay some of their key summer titles like Armored Core and Ape Escape Academy to October and November respectively and stock the shelves with a boatload of movies. While I realize that the movies and games have nothing to do with each other, Joe Casual doesn't. When he looks at the huge PSP rack in EB and sees nothing but movies he is going to wonder WTF Sony is thinking. Potentially worse is if Joe Casual actually buys up a lot of movies. Then Sony will have created an environment where movies compete against games and possibly win. I hear that one or two UMD movies have breached 100,000, which is more than some GAMES. Who's going to want to develop new content for a platform when you might get beat out by a movie? Is this Sony's convergence dream?

And I wholeheartedly agree with Ian for a change. GTA PSP might be big game for it but I doubt it will be a huge draw for the PSP. Like Ian said, you don't NEED a PSP for GTA. On the other hand you NEED a DS for Nintendogs. You NEED a DS for Pac-Pix and Trauma Center and Jump Superstars. It just underscores that Sony has no idea what the handheld market is like.

gallyJuly 08, 2005

I was able to convince a co-worker of mine to buy a DS...for his nephew. Ostensibly, at least! He said he'd try to "borrow" it from him so he could play the games. What games did I show him that caught his eye?

Wario Ware Touched
Another Code: Two Memories (I imported the European version)
Kirby: Canvas Curse (Japanese version)
Meteos

He loved those games. They ALL showed off what the system could do that was unique to it and not the PSP, which is the system he owns. He commented that the PSP doesn't have much right now that he is interested in, and that he now finds it hard to resist buying a DS, ever since Wario Ware grabbed his attention. He really liked it, and I was surprised to see he also liked Another Code as well (he said "this is my kind of game"). Kirby struck him as the type of game that might lack replay value, but he really enjoyed Meteos.

I think more and more people are beginning to realize that, as many of you touched upon, the DS has more ORIGINAL games for it that the other systems do not, and if you want these original experiences, the DS is the only way to go.

I was disappointed at first when I saw the DS's specs compared to the PSP's, and then I was afraid that Sony's efforts to get people to buy movies for the PSP might actually take off, but looking at things now, it seems as if Nintendo had made the wise choice here. Cheaper price, ORIGINAL games, a system that can do things others cannot (the two screens and the touch screen impressed a number of people I showed it to), all work in its favor.

I'm impressed.

NinGurl69 *hugglesJuly 08, 2005

"this is my kind of game"

SUPER KAWAII SCHOOLGIRL LOVE ADVENTURE WINS AGAIN!

steveyJuly 08, 2005

"I hear that one or two UMD movies have breached 100,000"

You hear wrong! All IMD movie have sold 100,000 total.face-icon-small-tongue.gif

BlackNMild2k1July 08, 2005

PSPorn was just released in Japan yesterday or the day b4, I wonder if those will show up on sme charts face-icon-small-blush.gif

steveyJuly 08, 2005

GTAsa is being yell at by law maker for not get a AO rating because they didn't telling the esrb about the sex mingame and now psporn. oh boy I can hear the soccor mom now bitch about vg give porn to kid and want them to stop making it so they don't have to there job as mom and stop kid them selfs.

UrkelJuly 08, 2005

I think the reason the PSP is in the position that it's in is almost entirely due to the higher development costs and system price.

If the cost of developing an original PSP game is similar to the cost of developing a console game, why would a publisher make an original game exclusive to the PSP when it has a much smaller userbase than the PS2? At this point, I think most PSP exclusives are simply there to be the big fish in the small pond. Coded Arms only exists to fill the FPS gap in the PSP's lineup. Why else would a Japanese dev make a FPS? Death Jr. is getting way more attention it ever would than if it had to compete against console platformers.

I believe part of the reason the DS is getting so many original games is because there's more an attitude of innovation with the DS. Odds are that the people who buy a DS are doing so because they want something new, so publishers are more willing to take a risk on delivering something different. At least, that's the only reason I can think of for Capcom to actually be willing to release a wacky lawyer game outside of Japan.

BlackNMild2k1July 08, 2005

Capcom should take a chance and release Okami on the DS

I woulda thought that that would be obvious, even to them.....

UrkelJuly 08, 2005

Knowing Capcom, they'll milk the Okami franchise with three DS sequels before the end of the year... and then port them all to the PSP.

Because Capcom enjoys pain.

evil intentionsJuly 08, 2005

Ahh, the PSP was doomed from the beginning.

RABicleJuly 09, 2005

OH NO! What about that DS give peopel a rare form of epilepsy that doesn't have any of the usual epilepsy symtoms, instead giving them head spins. Remember, your EB guys know more about it than doctors, who are part of a conspiracy to increase the net profits of drug companies and their 4 years of univeristy education with twice the workload of otehr courses is why they are so under acheiving.

Obviosuly this report didn't monitor Planet Gamecube.

NephilimJuly 09, 2005

psporn = japanese porn = blurry porn = bad

GoldenPhoenixJuly 09, 2005

What is sad, in Washington State at least, you are hard pressed to find accessories for the DS in non-gaming stores yet find a ton for PSP!

Hostile CreationJuly 10, 2005

The internets prove my argument right.
This is pretty cool news, though. It's nice to get confirmation on something I believed all along (and which is, in fact, a matter of opinion face-icon-small-tongue.gif).
I can't wait to get Meteos, but problems keep blocking my attempts to get to a game store.

Smash_BrotherJuly 10, 2005

It's all about the killer app.

If Animal Crossing Online and/or Mario Kart Online hit before the PSP can get any form of killer app out there, then it's going to be game, set, match: Nintendo.

There is currently no true killer app available on the DS, but once it goes from being a simple handheld to being an online portal device, love for the machine will increase tenfold.

I've read some of the details for AC DS. It's like Nintendo robbed my bank of AC online ideas. I'm not saying I'm taking credit, but everything I could think of which would make AC online fun, they're already doing.

-SB

mantidorJuly 10, 2005

isnt Nintendogs already the killer app?

Smash_BrotherJuly 10, 2005

I've not played it so I couldn't say, but it's a new franchise which may not even appeal to the American segment and it doesn't feature online play. I understand the game has excellent reviews and all, but that's from Famitsu and the Japanese segment tends to have a great deal more affection for the "giga-pet" genre than the US does.

I'm not doubting the selling power of Nintendogs, but unless Nintendo fires up a multi-million dollar ad campaign for the game in the US and hypes it like crazy, then I doubt it'll see the same sales here that it did in Japan.

I cite MK and AC because we already know they've both succeeded around the world AND there has been a great deal of fanfare about seeing both games online (MK more so than AC, but AC was still widely speculated as being an excellent potential online game). Before the release of MKDD, people were going crazy over the notion that it COULD feature online play.

If Nintendo launches the game with an online meeting server, ladders and even tournaments, then I expect it will tear up the sales charts for quite some time and lend the DS its first TRUE system-seller. Right now, my friends who don't own the console find it to be a neat gimmick, but I don't yet have a game I can place in front of them which will cause them to say, "I need to buy this." However, AC online would do that in a heartbeat and MK online would likely do the same.

Maybe Nintendogs could perform the trick, but I'll have to play it before I can make a judgement call and thus I'm not certain. Unless MK and AC are royally botched, then they'll both haul DS systems like nothing else has yet.

-SB

Edit: And no, that was not intended as a pun.

Bill AurionJuly 10, 2005

"I understand the game has excellent reviews and all, but that's from Famitsu and the Japanese segment tends to have a great deal more affection for the "giga-pet" genre than the US does."

So where does that leave the "Tamagotchi" phase in the U.S.? face-icon-small-smile.gif

mantidorJuly 10, 2005

hehe, well I see it as a "the Sims" game with dogs, and based on that I dont see it performing badly at all, even in NA. Regarding online, Im not quite sure about the outcome, but it will be interesting, I personally doubt very much that Nintendo will achieve the 90% DS users playing online goal, even with titles like Animal Crossing. Maybe in a distant future, but in the next couple of years? not likely, what I really like about that scenario is that Nintendo will have the proof that they werent that crazy when they said "gamers dont want online", and that listening to their "fans" sometimes is not such a good idea. Of course theres always the possibility that Ill have to eat my words, which I wouldnt mind face-icon-small-happy.gif but I really cant see a 90% goal of online players as a realistic number.

Smash_BrotherJuly 10, 2005

Quote

So where does that leave the "Tamagotchi" phase in the U.S.? face-icon-small-smile.gif


Not to marginalize it by any stretch, but in comparison, the Japanese market eats up the genre in ways the US doesn't. That's purely by comparison, though, and maybe I should check the sales of the game in Japan before I say things like that, but I still don't think 'Dogs will be the truly "killer app" that AC or MK would be in the US and Europe.

I don't expect 90% of DS users to be online. I think that's a heinously unrealistic number, but I credit Nintendo for shooting for it and I believe they've done so because of how much they intend to streamline the process of getting online. I've read a list of the AC features and one of them is to simply enter the town and name of your friend and you can access their town if they've given you specific permission. In other words, no screwing with IP addresses, no setup beyond talking to the Copper at the main gate of the town and saving your friends to your buddy list so they can enter the town again later.

Again, 90% is unrealistic, but they're going to make it as easy as possible.

I think of MK and AC as killer apps because they'll be the first games which will allow Nintendo gamers to either compete or congregate over the internet in a game setting. The online element of the games could easily determine their success. Players who have been hesitant to pick up a DS would probably be brought in by one of the two, be it the die-hard competition of MK or the community-based nature of AC which just became literally hundreds of times larger and more detailed.

In fact, I dare say it's the brand recognition which will sell these games so well. AC was a hit on the cube and Mario Kart is Mario Kart and has been popular since its inception.

I'm not going to shed a single tear if 'Dogs sends DSs flying off the shelf in the US (with all the dog lovers out there, it could be a coiled spring waiting to be unleashed (again, no pun intended)), but I think the game which I'll be able to place in front of any modern gamer which will sell them a DS would either be MK or AC.

Again, I'd love to be wrong, but that's my current prediction. face-icon-small-wink.gif

-SB

Ian SaneJuly 10, 2005

"I'm not doubting the selling power of Nintendogs, but unless Nintendo fires up a multi-million dollar ad campaign for the game in the US and hypes it like crazy, then I doubt it'll see the same sales here that it did in Japan."

I think Nintendogs will sell well but it will be to a different groups than the traditional videogame audience. Most people who would consider purchasing the PSP won't give Nintendogs a second look so in that sense it won't be a killer app in that it "steals" PSP userbase. However if it increases the userbase then it could attract more third party support which will "steal" PSP userbase.

IceColdJuly 10, 2005

Whatever new users are drawn in by Nintendogs are good for Nintendo. There will be enough "traditional games" and "traditional gamers" will buy DSes as well, but these new users have the potential to become hooked on "traditional games" (especially if they have an expensive console with only one game) and that results in more software sales. I'm not too concerned about the audience of the DS. And if Nintendo can market their big upcoming games well enough, the DS would be set, especially because, as Deguello said, there isn't another PSP title for a month, and it is in the middle of one of the worst droughts in history.

And, as Ian said, a big userbase attracts third parties; they don't care if "non gamers" have the console (look at the PS2)

Smash_BrotherJuly 11, 2005

I didn't think of it that way: if Nintendo will be aiming for the non-traditional gamer with 'Dogs, they'll likely pull a whole different audience. However, I stand behind the need for a HUGE ad campaign to accompany the launch of the game. In order to hit new gamers, they're going to need to get the product in their faces, showing people of all ages having fun playing with their pups and the plethora of activities they can do with them. Advertising could easily make the difference between 'Dogs being a "hit" or a "sleeper hit".

I think MK and AC online will hit a different gamer, mostly the gamer who was once a fan of Nintendo but fell away from the company when they became disappointed with its performance. It could have been a GC drought period or even way back in the day when Shiggy showed the cel-shaded Zelda trailer. I remember IGN reported that they saw the highest number of people go from the GC forums to the Xbox forums on that same day.

I believe these two games would bring some of those players back, with Nintendo finally offering them a real online experience and games which have already been established as solid franchises. There will still be plenty of nay-saying by the aforementioned types who would dismiss Nintendogs as nothing more than another frivolous virtual pet (I've already seen it on forums I visit), but online Mario Kart? How do you dismiss THAT?

Like I said, though, it'd be great if Nintendogs were to fly off the shelves in the US the same way it did in Japan. I'd rub that in the faces of the PSP fanbois...

-SB

nickmitchJuly 11, 2005

Well how many people on the fence do you think will compare the online line ups? If people see the PSP online as nothing major then that'd be great.

Smash_BrotherJuly 11, 2005

I've heard nothing about the PSP's online lineup. I haven't been listening, but I would expect my resident PSP fanboy to be oozing over upcoming online PSP titles, if there were any.

Also, it's my firm belief that Nintendo's games being online brings something to the table which no other company has yet done. Nintendo is best known for its multiplayer mayhem, but a number of its titles are so obvious as potential online games that it's both frustrating and exciting at the same time. When games like Pokemon and Fire Emblem, games which could run over a 2880 baud modem because they're turn based, are passed up because Nintendo believes gamers don't want online play, it's frustrating. However, Reggie admitting that it was a mistake to ignore online play the last time around is a relief, as well as the knowledge that the online Nintendo games ARE coming.

I know there's almost a stigma around the notion of it, but I've always seen Nintendo's online offerings as being so much more than what Sony or MS could ever hope to accomplish. I can play FPSs and racing games online on my PC and I don't have to pay to do so. Games like these have been done and done to death. However, I cannot enjoy a community-themed game with friends (AC), a strategy RP (Fire Emblem), or a MMORPG in which I raise a team of creatures and combat other players and NPCs for the glory of victory (Pokemon).

Maybe I'm over-enthusiastic about it, but I just see Nintendo's franchises going online as something which will provide vastly more entertainment value than previous online console offerings.

-SB

steveyJuly 11, 2005

"I've heard nothing about the PSP's online lineup. I haven't been listening, but I would expect my resident PSP fanboy to be oozing over upcoming online PSP titles, if there were any."

It a short list wipe out pure, the game with an evil clown, and the santionist EA sport games. They all came out on relase of the psp and up coming game is a game with zombie the you shoot with your blood and other fluid from you. I know this because of I use to look at G4 but they sold out to sony after the bouth tech tv (that love ms) and now it just one big anit-nintedo place that must be kill.

nickmitchJuly 11, 2005

So wait, SB, what you're saying is that you're excited that games ARE comming, but you aren't excited about Nintendo's franchises going online? Are you just happy for Nintendo and not yourself?

Personally, I'm hoping for a rev oniline custom robo. It could work on DS, if they allow you to change items via the touch screen (like how you can use items during play in Bomberman).

Smash_BrotherJuly 11, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: TVman
So wait, SB, what you're saying is that you're excited that games ARE comming, but you aren't excited about Nintendo's franchises going online? Are you just happy for Nintendo and not yourself?

Personally, I'm hoping for a rev oniline custom robo. It could work on DS, if they allow you to change items via the touch screen (like how you can use items during play in Bomberman).


I mean that I'm damn excited about Nintendo's online titles because I can finally pwn my friends at fishing.

But, in the past, I was frustrated to see games released by Nintendo which would have been so insanely improved by online play: Animal Crossing, SSB, Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Battalion Wars, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, etc. etc.

A lot of Nintendo's franchises are original in their design and offer something which I cannot get from Sony or MS's online offerings. The fact that Nintendo is finally taking their systems online is a huge relief as well as a welcome change.

And CR would absolutely rule online. The main problem I found with the game was that everyone needs to understand the game in order to truly do well in multiplayer combat, including the various robos, weapons, bombs, etc. This was difficult to come by, as getting everyone up to speed just didn't work unless you each had the game or had one copy and passed it around to everyone.

Online play would remove that problem in a heartbeat for CR and any other Nintendo franchise. I quiver at the thought of ALWAYS having a competent opponent to fight at the press of a few buttons. I can only imagine that the replay value of these games will increase exponentially for this reason alone.

-SB

Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement