Thoughts on PSP2, and Nintendo 3DS

It is becoming abundantly clear that 2011 is the year of mobile gadgets. Tablets and smartphones are taking the world by storm, the iPhone and Android smartphones are selling like flowing water and consumers are starting to lose interest in less mobile products like televisions and things like home theater systems.

Just a mock-up design, not the real thing

To the larger issue at hand, Sony is set to release both the PSP2 and Playstation Phone, both will serve pretty much the same target consumer, people who are looking for solid gaming performance in a portable form factor. Many years ago when the iPhone started to become considered as a capable gaming device people were craving Sony to build a Playstation Phone, and for years that was ignored and now they've finally answered when the iPhone and Android have become runaway successes and catching up would require a phenomenal effort. Why they didn't develop one when the market was open and free and the iPhone was still in its early stages of infancy is beyond me. It seems just like another bad case of underestimating the competition in my opinion, a little bit like the Google/Yahoo story, Yahoo was offered to purchase the Google search engine technology for only a million or so dollars but denied, well, look at Google now.

Many people are saying that the PSP2 is dead on arrival, that before it will even have a chance it will be completely destroyed by the upcoming Nintendo 3DS.

First off, lets get system specs out of the way, we know that Nintendo's next generation handheld is going to have dual CPUs, a 133MHz GPU and 64MB RAM and of course 3D.

The PSP2 on the other hand we know little about but it does indeed exist and is in the hands of developers right now. Interestingly, the PSP2 probably won't have 3D, which is interesting given Sony's extensive focus on 3D, and 3D on the PSP would have been an easy glasses-free implementation. Secondly, yes PSP fans your prayers have been answered and there are dual analog sticks and there is a touch sensitive panel on the back. The display is HD and the device has twice the RAM of the Xbox 360. Sony claims the overall power of the device is supposedly as powerful as the PS3 which is phenomenal for a portable device. Based on what we know I believe it is fair to say that despite the Nintendo's 3D capabilities, the PSP2 is still the more powerful device. It's great that Sony is really pushing the boundaries for portable gaming, because in the eyes of most consumers the Playstation brand will always be about bringing high-end gaming and Sony have to build that reputation further as opposed to selling out like what Microsoft did with the Kinect.

From my perspective, one big issue that Sony have to deal with on release of both devices, is product confusion, not between products, but rather what the product really is. This is something that Apple has done very well with the marketing for the iPod Touch, people know the iPod Touch isn't just a music player, but a portable entertainment monster. What does Sony want the product to be? Well, if I were Sony I would go for the same approach as Apple has gone, a do-it-all one stop entertainment device, and not simply a primarily gaming focused device though that certainly has to be a selling point given the target consumer. The devices entertainment capabilities beyond gaming like music, videos and network services have to be strongly marketed. Also seeing as Sony have probably given up on producing high-end Walkman MP3 players, I would be disappointed if there was not a Walkman presence, or at least a fully capable music and video player on-board.

The crap browser on the Walkman X

Scepticism aside, the PSP2 like many people say, is definitely not doomed though I do believe that the market for one purpose gaming handhelds is small and continually shrinking due to Apple and Google's presence in the mobile gaming field. The main reason I believe why the PSP hasn't sold strongly is because high-end gaming isn't required on the move as such and at the price the PSP is sold at people prefer to leave the Playstation at home.

A definite change is needed for the PSP2 to be able to succeed in a fast growing portable device market. Apple has proven, one purpose devices are no longer good enough which is why Sony can't market the PSP2 as just a gaming device, but a media device more than anything. The PSP brand has always been known for gaming, but Sony must change how people view the device but also maintain the PSP's strong gaming focus. In a sentence, Sony needs to let people know that the PSP is a media device that does music, video, gaming and network services, whilst offering a vast array of these services, they aren't compromising on anything. Sony have a huge advantage when it comes to this, they have superior Walkman technology that they could bring over to make the device a very capable music and video player, the expertise from Playstation and network services to make the device highly capable of gaming and expanding media too. In making the PSP2 a soully gaming device, given the superior hardware, there is a lot of wasted potential.

I always knew that the Playstation Portable and Walkman were supposed to be united into one device, the simple fact is the PSP is a Walkman with more capabilities including gaming, constant software updates, combining the two makes sense, it would be easier to support one device as opposed to two, and it would create a more focused product line-up which is one thing Sony needs. I believe the reason they didn't go with this approach earlier is because they didn't know which brand to give up, the Playstation brand and the Walkman brand both have extreme value to Sony, however it is becoming increasingly clear that the Walkman is too far behind to warrant salvaging (mainly in the high-end segment) and the Playstation brand has significant brand equity so is the logical approach.

More than anything, this device needs to be connected. In the ever growing world of network and connectivity Sony need to show that they're adapting given that Sony has been rather slow in adapting to the digital age. Not only would it do good things for the brand but it would be able to compete heavily with Apple devices. A good web browser is essential, the browsers on the Walkman X and previous PSP's are unacceptable, and kind of makes you wonder how little Sony cared about networking in the past, hopefully the mindset has changed. People want to buy games and media content straight off the device so this service is required and should already be implemented with the Qriocity store and Playstation Network.
There are a lot of lessons from the Walkman X that Sony have learnt that they should have improved on with the PSP2, support for more video formats so as not to waste the HD display, limited video support on the Walkman X wasted the potential of the OLED display. Lag issues on the Walkman X (album scroll etc...) should already be solved given that the PSP2 is extremely powerful and of course the browser problem which should obviously be a lesson learnt from previous PSP's as well.

Like I mentioned in an old post about the Playstation Phone, Sony can't screw this one up. The PSP Go screwed up, if they screw up twice in a row that would represent a huge problem in the confidence and value of the Playstation brand. I have extreme confidence that the PSP2 will win over the 3DS, in actual fact I am almost certain that the PSP2 will defeat the 3DS since the 3DS's extra features are evidently lacking, particular internet related features. Also, to be honest, though 3D is a welcome addition it shouldn't be a selling point simply because the 3D effect on a mini display and given the 3DS's limited graphic capabilities (compared to the PSP2) would not be 'wow' worthy.

The most difficult thing though is to break and defeat the Apple ecosystem, that I believe will stand to be one of Sony's biggest challenges in its history in my opinion.