Last time I spoke of the fallen, those heroes of portable gaming that challenged the industry and moved it forward even as they died. We looked at many of them and talked about the "good" and "bad" within each. Most importantly we discussed the lessons to be learned from them about portability, believability, the user experience, and how these combine or conspire to make or break each and every portable released.
So with these concepts firmly in mind I'm going to lay out the current systems just as I did the past and then explain some of the bullet points which I think say a lot about them and what their position in gaming history will be when this war is all over. To come up with these I used the systems exclusively for a week each putting them through their paces. My conclusions:
Nokia's N-Gage QD
In 2003 Nokia launched their N-Gage. Almost universally panned by an unforgiving gaming press it was a failed attempt, but even worse for Nokia, most gamers took up and propagated the lynch mob like attitude towards it and Nokia that many members of the press started. Their rhythmic like chant often included favorite phrases like "side-talking" or "removing the battery". Lemons to lemonade style Nokia turned side-talking into marketing and rebuilt their N-Gage. The QD was released in quick order and sagging sales started to turn.
Pros
- Excellent Battery Life
- Excellent Portability
- Extremely Versatile Device
- Superior Connectivity
- Inexpensive
- Killer Apps
- Swappable Battery
Cons
- Weak Brand Name
- Poor Third Party Support
To date the N-Gage line, now carried forward by the QD, has moved between 1.7 million and 2 million units depending on who you believe (no official reports). It has also, after a short early 2004 drought, maintained a pretty steady stream of games including some very crucial killer apps like Pathway To Glory and Pocket Kingdom. The critics are steadily being silenced one by one and more importantly are changing their view of Nokia's gaming device. With them come the mindless masses and quite possibly the biggest upset in gaming history.
Nintendo's Nintendo DS
The undisputed king of portable gaming for more than a decade and a half with their Game Boy line, Nintendo watched their stock drop several points in a single day when their modern day rival Sony announced an intention to make a portable gaming device. Common rumor is that Nintendo was caught off guard. One day they're slapping each other on the back for the success of their unchallenged Game Boy Advance and the next they're going to war to save their cash cow market dominance. Whether the DS was a rushed response or a device long in the making, it is here and sits ready to not just take portable gaming to the next level but possibly to a new place.
Pros
- First Implementation Of Dual Screens (I don't count the G&W stuff, sorry)
- Backwards Compatibility With Massive Game Boy Catalogue
- Strong Brand Name
- A Touch Screen
Cons
- Too Big
- No Killer Apps
- Easily Damaged
- Internal Battery Not Easily Replaced On The Go
Released in both Japan and the US in November of 2004 and just recently in Europe, the DS as expected carried on Nintendo's standard and quickly rushed to its current sales numbers of between 3.5 million and 4.5 million units. On top of the good sales numbers for the system Nintendo is seeing those hardware sales convert into software sales at a very acceptable rate of about 1.67 games to each unit sold. Since games are where the money is really made in this industry Nintendo is likely very pleased with the performance of their latest portable.
Sony's PlayStation Portable
In the early 90's Nintendo for fear of the coming of the CD medium and how it might damage their market leading Super Nintendo (aka Super Famicom) approached Sony, CDs co-creator, with the hope of developing a CD add-on for it code named PlayStation. After the market failure of the Sega CD and the relative unimportance of NECs CD gaming offerings it became clear that the add-on approach to extending console life was a bad idea and risky for brand name. The PlayStation project was killed immediately. Sony, however, now realizing the potential of the gaming market after working with one of its greats decided in fact that the PlayStation was not dead, it just needed to be reworked. They went on to launch the stand alone PlayStation and become a market dominating force even greater than Nintendo in home gaming. Their follow up PlayStation 2 forever cemented their name in the minds of gamers. Great though these were it is their latest offering that concerns us, the PlayStation Portable.
Pros
- Biggest Portable Screen Ever
- Powerful
- Strong Brand Name
- Swappable Battery
Cons
- Too Big
- Poor Battery Life
- Design Issues
- Expensive
Released in Japan and quickly spreading to cover the globe, Sony's first portable has already racked up nearly 2 million unit sales in its native Japan and continues to gain on the Nintendo DS's significant lead. Despite some serious over-hyping, some manufacturing issues, and a few design flaws Sony's sexy entry into the portable market has tremendous momentum and might just dethrone portable gaming's great N if it can start converting those system sales into software sales to pay for the losses of, by some estimates, as much as 200 USD per unit.
"Conclusions!?! Where are the conclusions!?!?!"
All things in time, my friends. I don't want this article to end up another piece of zealot cheerleading fluff like most of the comparisons out there so I'm taking my time here to try and slowly building conclusions we can all agree are fair. Let's first agree on the facts of what is stated above before we get ahead of the game and start crowning a "winner". Goal now clear, let's talk QD.
QD = Quality Device ??
Much to the irritation of the screaming fan boys everywhere the N-Gage QD is clearly the most portable system in this generation. It is less than half the size and weight of the competitors and trounces them for battery life. Observe:
N-Gage QD
- Weight: 143 grams
- Dimensions: 118 x 68 x 22 millimeters
- Real Battery Life: 5-8 hours (i.e. 7-9 hours on a 1-2 hour charge)
Nintendo DS
- Weight: 275 grams
- Dimensions (closed): 149 x 85 x 29 millimeters
- Dimensions (opened/usable): 149 x 164 x 61 millimeters
- Real Battery Life: 2-5 hours (i.e. 5-7 hours on a 2-3 hour charge)
PlayStation Portable
- Weight: 280 grams
- Dimensions: 170 x 74 x 23 millimeters
- Real Battery Life: 0-3 hours (2-4 hours on a 1-2 hour charge)
For the record those sizes are based on the manuals and official websites for each device checked against my at home measurements with the real systems in hand. The "Real Battery Life" is my reflection on the change of gaming devices from standard store bought batteries to internal rechargeable batteries. In my mind these new batteries require an investment of time from the user to provide power and this should directly effect the value of the power they provide with respect to time. To prevent argument I also posted the raw battery data in parenthesis for clarity. This battery data is based on three full charge up/use up cycles from after several weeks of use so that they are not polluted by new batteries or other factors and also was based around numerous different system settings for each device to reflect different possible situations of use (wireless on/off, brightness low/high, volume off/max, etc.). I also tried to use roughly equivalent softs for the compares so as not to be doing an apples to oranges comparison. On the QD I used Asphalt Urban GT. On the DS I used Asphalt Urban GT and Ridge Racer DS. On the PSP I used Ridge Racer.
Now beyond it's excellent battery life and portability the QD also is very versatile, much more so than the competition at this point. The heart of this is the open development platform of the QD's Symbian OS. For any desire you could have from the N-Gage there tends to be software to allow it. Right out of the box it can watch movies, handle appointments and address book work, sync to your Mac or Windows PC, capture screenshots, view images, send and receive e-mail, go on the web, and so on, but with a very modest investment of time and money it can read and write Microsoft Office files (I'm writing this on my QD as proof of concept), view pdfs, act as an MP3 player, allow chat (iChat/AOLIM, ICQ, MSN, YahooIM), and so much more. Run a search for S60 or Series 60 software and you will be stunned at the options. To be fair the PSP can also put movies, pictures and MP3s to use but it lacks a delivery method for them. Sony just recycled their old PDA conversion utilities and oddly didn't retrofit them well for the new PSP (their video conversion tool doesn't even support the PSPs screen size). The DS could as well call on some older GBA tools for viewing video or listening to music but the options hardly compare.
Connectivity is also a plus for the QD as it can not only do wireless multiplayer and passthrough online play on a shared internet connection but it can also do online play from anywhere you can get a GSM/GPRS signal anywhere on the planet. I currently play Pocket Kingdom online from Taipei, Taiwan despite using a European QD and do that both at home on a shared ADSL connection and when I zip around town in the local subway system. By contrast neither competing device currently has any online abilities outside of specially designated hot spots where in all likelihood users will have to pay for access. In essence the online play of the QD is as mobile as the device where the online play of the DS and PSP are anchored to locations.
I'm not going to put a lot of value into the killer apps at this point because they are very much opinion based, but I will say that while the N-Gage appears to have a few I haven't seen any on either competing device to date (I don't count rehashes, ports and sports games, sorry). What I will however put value in is the cost comparison that makes the N-Gage and it's games very cheap. The system retails for 99.99 currently in the US with games ranging from 15-25 USD in price. When compared to the prices of the DS and PSP which average at twice as high for games and systems it is a very true statement that the N-Gage is less expensive without even having to point out that one bought on a cell contract could net the buyer 75 dollars cash to do with what he or she pleases (how about a net expenditure of zero dollars for a new QD with 3 new games?).
Now for all the above it's not all roses and sunshine in QD land. Right now the QD is seriously behind in third party support with, by any reasonable estimate, only perhaps 1/10th the number of rich content developers signing on to make MMC games. They are also seriously outgunned on distribution. I would guarantee you that any video game retailer anywhere in the world that the DS and PSP are currently in release has as many of each on hand as they could get with plenty of games for each. The same cannot be said of the QD which seems to be struggling for shelf space even in stores that officially carry the product line like EB Games and Gamestop.
Are We All Still Together?
A quick little breather for all those panting and trying to keep up. Did you know that I like words and use a lot of them? I figured you did. On to the DS!
Nintendo Anyone?
When one looks at last time's history write up it seems pretty obvious that one name dominated the winner's circle and that was Nintendo. This kind of name recognition and brand power is stunning in its vastness and is one of the major plusses one must give to the DS especially when their system allows backwards compatibility with the Game Boy library Nintendo have been building for 16 years. Beyond that it is very clear from the battery life mentioned above that Nintendo has as always kept battery life of utmost importance in their portable system's design. While I don't think it compares to the QD, it truly dwarfs the PSP which is no small feat considering its dual screens and processors.
Perhaps the most talked about and hotly debated advantages I'm giving to the DS are it's dual screens and touch screen. In and of itself the technologies are not impressive or new, but when combined the implications are vast and fascinating. Together they allow a developer to create new types of content that were never possible before and to enhance interaction in standard genres. Play selection and team layout on the field within sports games for example could be so much more than before in terms of options and speed. Managing data in RPGs and strategy games can now be completely intuitive and easy with no more messy, bloated interfaces. Fighting games could show live status of the entire fighters' bodies throughout the fight allowing you potentially to pick and choose your moves in a more strategic manner to play to both your own and your opponent's developing weaknesses and strengths, much like in a real fight (This is theory. I'm a lover, not a fighter). If embraced by developers these technologies also by definition make each DS game which uses them unique in much the same way as Arena options make each N-Gage title that uses them a unique title. Such titles end up functioning as exclusives because of features that can't be replicated on other systems even if the game is ported.
The dual screens and touch screens also have a dark side though in that if they are not embraced by developers they seem pointless and gimmicky. Case and point, my test games. In Asphalt Urban GT information about the race is moved off your main screen and onto the lower screen to try and utilize both, but ends up lessoning the value of the game because it is impossible to spend any time examining the lower screen during an intense race and you end up with less available information. Ridge Racer DS faired better with its odd touch screen steering wheel, but what's the point? Also Nintendo may have made a blunder with the touch screen because of the inevitability of it becoming seriously damaged in the hands of their stated target audience of younger gamers.
The Home Stretch
Still with me? Hate me yet? Have I stirred up some fan boy underpinnings in anyone out there? I hope not because that is not my intention. I want this fair and agreeable. I want this to be a conversation not a playground pissing contest. That said it's time to march into that most dangerous of hype laden fan boy laced arenas, the dreamland of the PSP. Onward into the breach!
PSP Is Not For Me?
In 2003 Sony announced their PSP to the world. Later they started showing prototypes of it off and oh did the world spin (are you catching the double entendre?). While there could certainly be argument about which system is the coolest looking or sexiest or whatever there can really be no argument about who is the most powerful nowadays. The PSP musters leviathan strength and throws it out on a behemoth 16x9 screen that must been seen to be believed. When I first sat down and played the system I truly was amazed that something so small could deliver such a big experience. While more Dreamcast than PS2, the system is still truly remarkable in its power in a way that exceeds my memories of both the Nomad and the Turbo Express in their times. And when one thinks that this is a device being put forth by the much beloved Sony it just makes your head spin (another double entendre? You decide.).
For all this power the good of the PSP ends here. While small for it's power level it is not a small device by any means and it has some very fundamental design issues. First, in order to get that huge screen on the device without making the device absurdly large Sony had to make some sacrifices. Most immediately obvious is the location of the analog nub. This nub, while ingenious in its design and perfect in its feel while playing, has been rendered useless with its location. The nub has been placed near the bottom of the unit directly below the center of the digital control pad on the PSP's left side, which makes it a near physical impossibility to reach while supporting the unit's weight across your palms (imagine trying to touch the palm of your hand with that hand's thumb and you get the idea). As a result the only comfortable use position for the unit that won't risk you dropping it on the floor is to sit up straight and hold its weight across your supporting fingers while staring down on it from above. No laying on your stomach, no laying on your back, no holding it eye-level. None of that. You must assume the position if you desire analog control.
Bad to worse they also had to engineer a new solution to the mechanics of the square button because it is too close to the edge of the unit's screen. Their solution is an odd button underpinning that leans in from the right of the button trying to mimic the old directly underneath functionality but ultimately leaving your square button feeling very mushy. Throw six months of heavy use on that and you may be buying a new PSP just to get a working square button (Ouch!).
For the importance of these design flaws the most obvious problem is the biggest. From day one a lot of people were asking Sony "what about battery life?" and from day one right until its actual Japanese release date they ducked the question each and every time. What this meant was obvious: the answer would kill our hype and positive momentum so we're not giving it. The first big clues as to the state of the unit came at the Tokyo Game Show when the PSP girls who walked the floors giving PSP demos kept running into the back every two and a half hours to swap spent units for charged ones and the confirmation came from developers who finally got their test units and said that everyone's fears were well founded. The PSP for all that it does right failed to become truly portable because of it's battery life. In the figures above I listed it's "Real Battery Life" at 0-3 hours and it's no joke. After spending a good two hours charging you will typically get at best four and a half hours gaming single player and typically not nearly that. In the end you are spending as much time charging as playing and this means you are attached to some outlet somewhere and not truly free to roam. In a week of daily use I ran out of battery life while out and about 4 out of 7 days and never ran out of battery with either the QD or the DS once, not even once. I had to charge the PSP daily, sometimes twice a day or more and often wouldn't charge the DS or QD but once every other day despite equal usage.
When you tack on a price nearly twice or three times that of the competition and that it comes without a game, the future for Sony's portable hardly looks bright and as an investment for mobile entertainment it just doesn't seem wise. Oddly this failing seems to be well supported by the relative inability of the PSP to generate significant game sales in Japan. The systems are selling better than the DS there and it's slowly gaining ground in total system sales within Japan but the games are barely selling at all compared to the DS. It makes one wonder if the sales numbers aren't artificially inflated by the under the table exports supplying import gaming shops, online stores and auctions all over the globe. This would certainly go along way to explaining the overseas PSP availability and the odd lack of game sales to go along with the system sales in Japan, but does it mean the PSP is actually tanking hard? I don't think so, but it's hard to say.
Things That Make You Go Hmm
So there we are. I hope that despite some nerves I may have touched everyone is still with me on the state of this year's contenders. A lot of this article is conjecture based on experience and available information but I think that my simple pros/cons layout for each system is at least something we can all agree upon even if the reasons for each bullet I might have are disputable. Believing this to be the case I'm ready for part 3 of this wild and crazy ride and I hope you are too because it's fast approaching.