PSP: Appealing to the Masses

It’s hard to think along the same lines of a casual gamer when we’re surrounded by news, reviews, previews, features and blogs not too different from this one on the internet. After all, their reactions to certain things can be very different to ours and it’s often easy to dismiss their views and instead head to a trusted source – a hardcore gamer, if you will. Sometimes, however, we should listen to what they think very clearly; after all, it’s mostly them that make up the all-important sales.

[drop2]Just look at the Wii, it’s not the most powerful console, it has lots of games that lean towards a casual market (and a good core line-up too, but that’s beside the point) and it threw traditional control schemes out of the window for a more active experience with the Wiimote. We all know what happened next of course; it sold exceptionally well, partly due to the games and controls, though mostly due to the approach for the main market with a comfortable price, rather than a focus on core games with a high price tag.

The DS, too, managed this. It’s a fun console with a large variety of games, again opting for a different control scheme in the form of the touch screen, rather than a top-end system that alienates the casual market.

Now, this is where the PSP comes in. Sony’s approach for the PSP is neither here nor there, it never really picked up the momentum it needed with big gaming fans due to the lack of key titles – something Sony have corrected with the Vita by the looks of things – and it didn’t appeal as much as Nintendo’s handheld to everyone else.

At first, it was hard to see why Sony announced a new PSP at the eleventh hour; met with both laughter and confusion from everyone watching Gamescom. Even our news story’s title has a hint of sarcasm in there, “all new” indeed.

Now though? I’ve been thinking about it, and realised it’s actually one of Sony’s best ideas in a while. In fact, I’ve been speaking about it with my younger sister and she managed to boil it all down to something so simple, saying it is at “such a good price”. And that’s when it hit me: I’ve been blinded by all this talk of new games, operating systems and RAM specifications for the new Vita, not opening my eyes to see that the old PSP at 99€ is a superb strategy.

It just takes one passing comment from someone who isn’t looking at screenshots and watching videos of games months before release and suddenly I’m looking at things differently. Children, teenagers even, that haven’t had a PSP before could get one of these at Christmas and be very happy with their new system, for a budget price. In fact, it’s not just the casual market that will be buying this “new” PSP – many people that haven’t had a chance to pick up some of the great PSP games that they are aware of will take the plunge, I’m sure.

[drop]Having a low-spec console alongside your new high-end system looks to be the way forward for gaming: it’s happening right now, in fact, as it has in the past – the lines between this generation and the next are blurring, with a system on the market at the same time as its predecessor becoming the norm. Sony still pushed the PS2 well into the PS3’s reign, Nintendo are still selling the DS alongside the 3DS and it looks like this is how it’s going to stay; Sony will still be selling their first portable console whilst their second – PlayStation Vita – is out. It’s just a matter of how they do it, they need to balance the advertising well with clearly defined differences, making sure not to undersell either product, and everyone will be happy.

If they don’t do that? Well, we’ve seen that happen with Nintendo’s latest release; too many people didn’t realise the 3DS is much more than a DS with a 3D slider. The new advertising combats this, showing the improved graphics and stating bluntly “this is not a DS”, setting a great example for Sony to follow. Microsoft look to be adopting this two console strategy too, with news that there might be an overlap with the new Xbox and the current generation – Peter even speculated that this could happen, with the new console perhaps catering for the hardcore audience and Kinect being “perfectly poised to pitch the Xbox 360 at a younger, more casual audience” .

Yes, the PSP E-1000 might be going back to basics with the lack of WiFi and on-board storage, but that means low production costs for Sony, which leads to the low price and, in theory, massive sales as the console’s final hurrah. Whilst we won’t appreciate it once we get our hands on the shiny new Vita, those that will most certainly never read this article will… and I’m sure Sony will too.

Image Source: Kotaku