TORONTO (Digital Journal) — What is this, the opening of a club? I wondered as I stepped into the York Theatre hall for Sony’s launch of the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Techno music thumped softly, while LCD screens displayed the letters “PSP” in a freaky alien font. White leather couches huddled in the middle of the floor, and the crowd was mainly well-dressed and attractive (I blame PR’s propensity to hire snazzy guys and girls).
The extravagance of the PSP launch acted a parallel to the unit itself: for all the marketing hype poured into this multimedia mobile device, the result is merely a product perfect for one application — gaming. The PSP displays impressive graphics with its four-inch wide screen on hot titles like NBA Street Showdown and Tony Hawk’s Underground Remix (along with two dozen more). The coolest add-on is the Wi-Fi factor: PSPs can link to each other for peer-to-peer wireless gaming or, within the range of a Wi-Fi access point, competition across the Net.
But PSP aims to be jack of all trades, master of some — by bundling an MP3 player, movie player, photo viewer and Wi-Fi handler into one unit, Sony makes gaming only one of many applications. In my opinion, that’s forgetting what made the PlayStation a world leader it is today.
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The PSP uses the same button configuration as the PlayStation controller, but it also plays movies and MP3s, displays photos and connects wirelessly via Wi-Fi. – Photo courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. |
At the launch, Ian Jackson, director of Sony Computer Entertainment Canada, repeatedly mentioned how unique the PSP is, dropping the phrase “absolutely awesome” at least five times. He instructed us to watch a video montage of the various games on the PSP platform, which indeed featured eye-popping graphics and fluid gameplay (especially for the sports titles). He then pulled the PSP out of his inside jacket pocket, saying, “And hey, it’s small enough to fit anywhere.”
Myth: The PSP, shaped like a paperback and weighing just over half a pound, is an ideal portable unit to take to the gym, the subway or the park.
Fact: The PSP, shaped like a paperback and weighing just over half a pound, is too large to use as a mobile MP3 player and is too clunky to fit in your suit breast pocket.
Jackson said the PSP sells for $299 (all prices Canadian) as a bundle with a battery pack, charger, headphones and the Spider-Man 2 film on Sony’s proprietary storage medium, the Universal Media Disc (UMD). For $350, consumers receive the aforementioned value-pack with Gretzky NHL instead of the Spidey film.
And guess who Sony hired to be the celebrity face of Toronto’s PSP launch? Not Tobey Maguire, of course, but Wayne Gretzky, the flesh-and-blood hockey great known for his nice-guy smile and soft touch. Gretzky walked on stage in a suit and tie, looking awkward and out of place, but Jackson warmed him up with a few softball questions: “So what do you think of your hockey game for the PSP?” Not missing a beat, the Great One replied, “Well, it’s the only game in the country.” Cue laugh track.
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Joining the Sony stage at the Toronto PSP launch were presidents of partner retailers, such as Best Buy, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. |
“So which team would you pick to play, since you were involved with so many teams?” Jackson asked, smiling.
“Team Canada, of course,” Gretzky said, returning his smile.
Back to the PSP features: Jackson called on his marketing manager to demonstrate the non-gaming apps, such as MP3-playing and photo-viewing. Since the unit’s Memory Stick Duo holds 32MB, the average consumer can only download four songs and around three photos to peruse. To display expansive vacation slideshows or full-length movies, additional memory costs between $50 and $100.
Sony remained optimistic that the PSP, as it stands, will attract the tired gamers and huddled masses yearning to break free from the usual offerings. “The PSP is the ultimate all-in-one system, and it will deliver great value to customers,” Jackson gushed.
Game Over or Game Rover?
The Sony execs were also excited to announce the movies available for the PSP. They said Walt Disney and Lion’s Gate agreed to release films in the coming year.
Myth: Sony is releasing popular films in UMD format, which can hold 1.8GB each.
Fact: Sony is releasing mediocre films such as such as XXX and Once Upon a Time in Mexico in UMD format, which hold a lot of data but can’t be played or viewed on other devices.
Sony would be wise to learn the lesson of the lame Nokia N-Gage, which tried to do too much as a gaming platform, a phone and an MP3 player. Using the N-Gage as a phone was awkward, but will the PSP’s other media apps suffer the same fate?
Not according to Canadian indie rockers Alexisonfire, who joined Jackson on stage to extol the MP3-player function on the PSP. Dressed in scruffy clothes perfect for listening to Zeppelin in a buddy’s basement, three of the band members explained why the PSP will be their roadie of choice: “It’s so easy to use, even a musician can figure it out,” one quipped.
Celebrity testimonials aside, the Sony launch featured numbers with many zeros — Jackson said one million units have been shipped to North America, with 100,000 heading to Canada. More than 800,000 PSPs have shipped in Japan since the device debuted there in December.
Sony is also partnering with several big-time retailers to better make the PSP available: Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, Rogers Video, Toys R Us, Best Buy were all properly represented at the launch by their respective presidents or CEOs.
Major game publishers have also jumped aboard the PSP ship. Konami, Electronic Arts, Capcom and Activision join Sony’s game-publishing arm with 100 games in development, said Jackson.
These maneuvers amount to a direct attack on the leading portable platform leader, Nintendo. To date, Nintendo has already shipped six million of its DS handhelds since they were launched in November, and its GameBoy franchise has captured the attention of ADD-afflicted youth worldwide. How does old man Mario respond to a relative newcomer to this market?
“Portable gaming is a huge business,” Pierre Paul Trepanier, Nintendo of Canada’s marketing director, told The Globe and Mail recently. “It has attracted the interest of nine competitors over the years who have all tried and failed. It is now Sony’s turn.”
Sony’s turn to succeed? Or fail? That fate is now, literally, in the hands of gadget-lovers across North America, who can decide where the PSP will eventually rest. It could crowd shelves of almost every electronics outlet or, if a consumer backlash mounts, it could lie quietly in the remainder bin at Ronny’s Games Emporium.
