Disclaimer: The below article is an editorial. The opinions expressed are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Examiner.com.
The debut of Sony's Next Generation Portable at their PlayStation Meeting event in Japan was very successful in terms of grabbing the attention of gamers everywhere. The NGP itself is a stunning piece of hardware that: corrects a number of issues with the original PSP, packs enough power to pull off visuals that seem comparable to current generation, and possesses a software line-up headlined by some of the PS3's biggest franchises (namely Uncharted, Killzone, and LittleBigPlanet). Sony has the introductory moves lined up quite well for them, but with the 3DS on the horizon, Sony still has some key announcements yet to be revealed that may ultimately decide the fate of the handheld.
Sony's competition, the Nintendo 3DS, is the latest console in a lineage of handhelds that have never lost a console war, ever. Nintendo not only has a victory-filled history on their side, but a stellar record of bringing must-have software to their portable consoles as well. Nintendo has already announced a new installment in perhaps the most notable video game franchise of all time, Super Mario, is eventually coming to the 3DS. Some are already convinced that Nintendo will win this handheld console war just as they've done in years past.
The war is not yet won, though, and while Nintendo's line-up is promising, many of those promising titles don't have release dates yet. Two of the most anticipated titles for the 3DS are new versions of classic Nintendo 64 titles, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and Star Fox 64. Ocarina is coming out in June and Star Fox 64 has no release date as of this writing, leaving most parts of the remaining year open thus far, with few announced 3DS release dates to be found. Now, Nintendo doesn't typically reveal much until E3, but with a potential competitor perhaps launching this year and the 3DS having a launch line-up with few standout titles, the Kyoto-based giant is being surprisingly quiet.
An opportunity is here for Sony to enter this handheld console war aggressively, but again, key announcements still remain that will decide the NGP's ability to pose a threat to Nintendo. One of those key announcements is, of course, the release date. As mentioned above, Nintendo still has plenty of 3DS software to announce release dates for. With the 3DS' calendar fairly open until Ocarina's June release and seemingly wide open for the rest of 2011 for now, Nintendo might not be able to release some of those remaining titles before the end of the year, making a hypothetical NGP Fall/Winter 2011 launch one that could pose some problems for Nintendo.
On the other hand, if the NGP launches in 2012 -- even in Q1 2012 -- Nintendo will have a fair bit of breathing room for software releases before Sony's new handheld arrives. Even worse than that, Sony will be releasing launch software as Nintendo enters its first full year with the 3DS on the market, leaving the potential for killer apps to drop for the 3DS even greater for Nintendo. As these killer apps could be in the works or scheduled for release in 2012, NGP would arrive on the scene with launch software, which has a tendency to not always be the most flattering for showing off a handheld's strong suits.
Price is another issue that will most definitely affect the NGP's performance in the handheld war and one that is at the forefront of the minds of gamers, especially with the Nintendo 3DS launching at $250. Sony must strive to keep the NGP's price as close to this mark as possible. Many gamers have said $250 to $300 would constitute a must-buy for them. However, $350 or $400 could be an instant knockout blow to Sony, leaving them too far out of reach to be as affordable as the 3DS and leaving them last in price drops, as has been the case with the PlayStation3. $199 is the true beginning mass market price for all video game hardware and getting as close to that price as possible is key to commercial success.
The final remaining key announcement is quality software, which is the underpinning of any successful video game platform. The NGP actually has already had a bit of success in this area already, with announced support for the widely popular Unreal Engine 3. UE3 powers a number of titles in the industry, including the Mass Effect and Batman: Arkham franchises, so that alone should draw the interest of a number of developers. The NGP also has an announced Call of Duty title from Activision in the works. In order to succeed against Nintendo, though, Sony will need to discourage ports and encourage new installments of existing franchises and the creation of new titles and intellectual properties as well.
The NGP must carry more than just the highlights of the PlayStation library and successfully expand to include new titles like Little Deviants. Gaining new versions of GTA and Red Dead could help Sony combat some of Nintendo's first party heavy hitters, but the DS library also includes new franchises such as Scribblenauts, Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright and more. Sony will need to draw on the creators of Patapon and Loco Roco, in addition to maybe getting Team ICO and thatgamecompany involved in original game creation to have their own standout titles for NGP.
Many variables remain in determining the outcome for the NGP in this handheld console war. The war is not yet won or lost and how the NGP will fare could ultimately be determined by the remainder of the key announcements left to be made by Sony. Sony seems to have an ideal handheld hardware-wise, but hardware alone does not make for a successful console, let alone one that can beat Nintendo. If Sony can obtain an opportune release date, a good price, and a great software line-up for NGP, they may have a real chance at winning. All that remains now is to see if the announcements yet to be made will have the same positive impact for the NGP as its debut did.
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