PSP Minis

1. 

   Ofaliss
   Member

   It's only a matter of time before Sony officially announces the PSP2, but what will that mean for minis? I mean the PSP2 is likely to be hugely powerful as far as handhelds go, so will Sony give developer's more room to capitalize on more stunning minis visually and pack in more content? Will they allow multiplayer, online leaderboards? Will prices increase to the point that minis are no longer looked at as a good deal, and the program gets re-invented or dropped all together?

   What do you guys think?

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   FantasyDragon
   Member

   I was actually thinking about this the other day. But I don't know what they could do. Start another program called minis 2? That's just silly.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   blacklabgames
   Member

   I've heard two different rumours about what a PSP2 might be. One a device like the existing PSP with much more grunt, maybe closer in form factor to PSP Go. The other is a phone. It would depend on which of these (if any) is true as to what is likely to happen wrt minis.

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   FantasyDragon
   Member

   There's already a minis program for phones. It's called the App Store. I hope they do not do that.

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   Ofaliss
   Member

   @FantasyDragon
   I doubt if it gets re-invented, that they will call it minis 2. More along the lines of integrating minis into PSN as Multi-system Exclusives (playable on the PS3,PSP and PSP2). You still get the feel of minis, but it takes away the aspect of lower prices. Giving developer's more leeway in charging $6.99-$9.99, without as much backlash.

   @blacklabgames
   I think no matter how the device turns out, Sony is going to take a App Store approach with PSN. Maybe let us download music directly from PSN as well (that would be super amazing!). Which if they intergrate the minis like I said before, will open them up to online funtionality. I love minis, but imagine how much more appeal these games would have, with just online leaderboards being added. This opens up a potential revenue boost for everyone involved on the business side of things, and who doesn't want that?!

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   pspgamer01
   Member

   I hope they release it seperately. A phone and a psp2. Together = battery life sucks or the games suck.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   Ofaliss
   Member

   @pspgamer01
   Without a doubt battery life would suck. I doubt that the PSP2 will be a phone. That would greatly drop the amount of people it can be sold to. I could be wrong, but unless Sony wants to commit PSP suicide, they will stay away from the phone idea. From what I read, the phone/handheld isn't what's to be the PSP2, but just a phone designed for gaming.

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   volcane
   Member

   My first thoughts on this were concern regarding lifting the Minis development constraints because I feel that the 100Mb size (and other limits) help the developers focus their creative efforts and (theoretically) help keep costs down. However, after some more thought I don't think this is an issue.

   Just because it's possible to develop a 100Mb game with lots of wizzy effects doesn't mean that that is right for every game. Developers may choose to develop at the top level of functionality for certain games, whereas other games may be better suited/achievable at lower levels. Meaning; just because today there is a 100Mb limit, that doesn't mean that all games are created to be 100Mb. Some are smaller in size but still deliver amazing gameplay experiences (Young Thor, for instance).

   If the functionality ceiling is lifted, then that's great. I just hope that developers still choose to produce great value bite-sized gameplay experiences, because at the end of the day that is what makes the Minis platform so great. Minis fit a specific niche and fill a specific customer need - this is ultimately what sets Minis apart from other PSN games.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   volcane
   Member

   Maybe let us download music directly from PSN as well (that would be super amazing!).

   I agree totally dude. It seems to me a no-brainer that Sony should offer music downloads/rental from the PSN in the same way they do today with movies. Sony already provide the ability to buy/rent movies which means they already have the foundations of a content purchase/rental or even subscription service which they could naturally extend to include music.

   Come to think of it, when are we going to see a game rental service on the PSN?

   No need for developers to invest in producing game demos - customers could simply choose to rent a game for a couple of days to see if they like it. Sounds awesome to me! :-)

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    Ofaliss
    Member

    @volcane
    You make some great points. Especially with game rentals.

    Rentals will save the time of having to make a demo, and gives gamers a chance to get to the meat of a game, and really make a commitment to purchase a game. Demos are great, but they can be misleading at times. What plays well for one or two levels, may not play so well the entire game, and even if the consumer completely hates the game and never buys it, you created revenue from the rental and that will help developers get the money they put into the game, back that much more quickly. But, demos are free and who doesn't like free stuff?!

    Music downloads is something Sony should really look into, my PSP is my mp3 as well, and it would be HUGELY convenient, if I could download my music directly from PSN. The fact is, handhelds are going to be multimedia devices from now on, Sony helped set that standard with the PSP, so they may as well fully support media distribution through PSN.

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    Takao
    Member

    I fully expect a tiered Minis platform to launch with the next PSP. One tier would support PSP/PSPNext/PS3 (this would be all Minis released prior to the new PSP), the next tier would support only PSPNext/PS3. The new tier would likely have it's own sub tiers as PSP Next has got to have a touch screen, and that would make it incompatible with the PS3. The next tier might have maximum size boosted to 200MB, and depending on the infrastructure in the PSPNext, online play may be a possibility for the higher tier.

    I also expect PSPNext to be released in tiers itself. It'll likely have a Phone iteration, alongside a standard handheld version. I wouldn't expect any UMD backwards compatibility, and hope/expect all backwards compatibility to come from PSN downloads.

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    ianmt
    Member

    Anyone remember the N-gage? I rest my case. Bad move for sony to make a phone and a console in one. Its pointless in trying to be an iphone when you just cant be one. Just focus on what you do best and thats consoles with quality. As I sell phones for a living, we have already discussed its potential. With android phones and Iphones being rivals, the PSP2phone would be sat amongst the lousy Motorola Flipout (flapout as I like to call it) where it will be recycled for a nice shiny iphone. The release of a "new" psp, should not effect anything. Why change a perfectly good platform that enables both ps3/psp owners to download? I think they may bring out an update but this psp2phone is going to be such a washout, I doubt they will do much.

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    Takao
    Member

    Every rumor about the PSPhone this year has all gone hand in hand with it running an Android based OS. Sony recently filling papers asking for people experienced with Android coding is putting even more credit towards that.

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    Ofaliss
    Member

    @ianmt
    I agree, Sony was one of the first to try to topple Apple when the PSP was first released, claiming it to be an iPod killer. They dug a bit of a hole for themselves, because they took the focus away from gaming and put it on the media aspect of the handheld. The PSP is a good media player, but gaming is what it does best, and it took them a little while to completely put their focus on just gaming, with media being the little something extra. They can't afford to do that again. Apple now is a threat in gaming, and the 3DS is highly anticipated, They HAVE to come out the gate strong, and a PSPhone, just places it in the background in every market.

    Posted 1 year ago #
15. 

    Carson
    Member

    let me set the record straight: (as far as the rumors go) they are making a PSphone, but it is not a psp2,
    it is a sony phone (that is almost as powerful as a psp).

    they are 2 different devices, its like calling the psx the ps3. IMHO

    now, lets talk about the psp2, as a hypothetical device, and keep the rumor talk a little on the low (in other words, try to keep any non factual information about the proposed successor to the psp to yourself).

    I strongly believe that if Sony released something like that, they would try to make it backwards compatible (one of the things that made the ps2 big was that it had backwards compatability), with the psp software. assuming it wasnt possible to do that, would minis still be playable on it? absolutely!
    sony demonstrated a major thing with minis: that they are working on a psp emulator, but cannot effectively emulate games that use the full strength of the psp.
    hence minis being playable on ps3, they are a line of games that are so simple that it is possible to emulate them with ease! for proper emulation of "real" psp games, the psp hardware would be the only way to do such a thing while guaranteeing no problems. I strongly believe that these facts can be applied to the ps3 or hypothetical psp2 (which, it can be assumed would be somewhere between a ps2 and a ps3).
    

    I fully expect a tiered Minis platform to launch with the next PSP. One tier would support PSP/PSPNext/PS3 (this would be all Minis released prior to the new PSP), the next tier would support only PSPNext/PS3. The new tier would likely have it's own sub tiers as PSP Next has got to have a touch screen, and that would make it incompatible with the PS3.

    that is quite likely, bravo for being the first to suggest it here.

    Posted 1 year ago #
16. 

    FantasyDragon
    Member

    @Ofaliss
    That's what I'm saying. It'd be completely pointless and kind of redundant.

    I agree with the comparison to the N gage. iPhones, Androids and phones like that are great for mobile gaming, but with a PSP or DS you can get so much more in many aspects. More hardcore games are better played with a great processor, and physical buttons. If they do make the PSPhone, I doubt many would leave their iPhone behind and get that instead.

    Posted 1 year ago #
17. 

    (Grip Games) Jakub Mikyska
    Member

    I believe that after a PSP2 is released (or even PS4), it won't have any impact on minis and they will remain to be the same as today (plus a natural evolution caused by the passing years).
    It makes no sense to introduce "minis2" program. Even now, PS3 is utterly over-powered for minis, but people still play minis there. There may be some minis that are only compatible with the new hardware, but it should be possible to release a minis game that runs across the whole spectrum of devices. And most minis will take that path.

    Posted 1 year ago #
18. 

    Ofaliss
    Member

    I also wonder if mini sales will suffer a bit due to the release of a new handheld. I mean after all, a new system means new software, on top of new PSP titles that will still be launched, minis are great, but they just can't replace a full retail game experience. Yeah, not every PSP owner will go out and buy a PSP2 day one, but a good chunk of them will, new system + new software = expensive. I don't know about anybody else, but when I drop the cash on a new system and games, even a dollar seems pricey to me.

    I'd like it if a developer could tell me about how long it takes now to actually see a profit, and if a drop in sales could do some of you damage.

    Posted 1 year ago #
19. 

    onmode-ky
    Member

    I believe that after a PSP2 is released (or even PS4), it won't have any impact on minis and they will remain to be the same as today (plus a natural evolution caused by the passing years).

    Jakub read my mind, which is a little disturbing since I haven't taken off my tin foil hat in weeks. Maybe it's leaky. Anyway, Minis are intended to be small both in footprint and in required developer resource commitment. More powerful hardware does not suddenly mean Minis have to be bigger or take longer/more money to make (consider that there are plenty of Minis out there that are hardly taxing the existing PSP hardware, to say nothing of the Cell). If you want to make something that's bigger than the scope of Minis, you can just make a non-Minis title.

    Regarding the possibility of online features in Minis, if Sony decided to allow that, I don't think it would have anything to do with the launch of new hardware. That limitation is for simplification of the submission/release process; it's unrelated to hardware capabilities.

    As for whether a new handheld launch would affect Minis sales, I don't believe launches of new, more capable iPods/iPhones affect sales of apps that don't take advantage of the newer technology much more than simple passage of time. And if you're arguing that spending the cash on a new system makes even a dollar pricey, then shouldn't that also mean that the new system's full-priced games come off as waaaaay more pricey?

    Posted 1 year ago #
20. 

    sp3c
    Member

    I don't think anything needs to change tbh, just bite sized games @ bite sized prices
    would be great if Sony provided better tools like engines and editors to go with the extra hardware so that smaller companies wouldn't have to develop them on their own but that seems obvious

    what I would like to see added is psp/ps3 functionality where you would buy something like Killzone 3 for your PS3 and then you could have a mini for your PSP that does ... something cool along with it

    I dunno what but think of it as sort of a dual screen

    or maybe the player on the psp could influance what happens on the PS3, like enemy's spawning or stuff exploding ... like a dungeonmaster but it needs a less geeky term
    I think it'd be fun to spawn a million hellghast and watch your buddy freak out next to you :D

    Posted 1 year ago #
21. 

    Lord_Rushton
    Member

    i think the psp2 will be able to play current minis and minis will keep coming out, prices will be lower i believe, almost like creating a "app store" market,
    perhaps later on in the psp2 life cycle, they'll introduce the ability for minis to have online and leaderboards who knpows

    Posted 1 year ago #

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