For PSP, not just fun and games
Fans of the PSP have long been speculating as to the development of a PSP phone, but with Engadget Mobile reporting that Sony plans to assemble a team charged with creating a PSP and Sony Ericsson handset hybrid, speculation suddenly seems more like reality. The potential for a PSP phone is clear when we compare the iPhone & iPod Touch’s growth with early sales of the PSP.
Global growth of the iPhone, iPod Touch and PSP
Calling the iPod Touch a comparable, if less gaming centric, match to the PSP we see that their early growth is quite similar. What is interesting though, is the gap between iPod Touch and iPhone + iPod Touch sales, which represents sales of iPhones. Since the iPhone is essentially a Touch with phone capabilities, this gap is the oppotunity that Sony may be missing out by having a PSP, without having a PSP phone.
But has Sony missed the boat on a gaming/phone hybrid?
As I see it, this is most likely the case due to three severe short comings of the PSP.
- No touch screen
- No accelerometer
- No App Store
Hardcore gamers may spit out statistics on the PSP’s superior graphics and the iPhones lack of “real” buttons for a gaming platform, but as recent developments show, this means less and less. Just look at the Nintendo Wii, which has crushed the PS3 in terms of sales using a graphics card that looks like a Vespa compared to the PS3’s Ducati-like hardware.
Everything is about user experience now, not refresh rates and polygon counts. That’s where the touch screen and accelerometer differentiate the iPhone. And the 3GS’s beefed up processor and graphics are starting to level the technical playing field.
Plus, the PSP is still based on the distribution model of customers buying hard copies of games, whereas the iPhone has moved on to the App Store model. Who wants to take the time to go to a store to purchase a game when it can simply download to your device and never be lost? (Though the PSP Go could change this).
While Sony may not have seen the omens until now, its traditional software developers have. Namco entered the iPhone market back in 2007, and even gaming gaint Blizzard is stepping into the arena.
So Sony, that development team may be a stopgap to bleeding customers to the iPhone as a game platform, but it is not a long term solution. You’ll need a major overhaul of both hardware and software distribution systems to remain relevant in a converged mobile gaming world.
