Jubenhimer
Member
When Sony Computer Entertainment threw their hat into the handheld gaming arena that up to that point had largely been dominated by Nintendo, they designed a handheld that was so powerful, it could create PS2-like graphics in the palm of your hand. Sony's marketing shtick with the PlayStation Portable was that it delivered console quality games anywhere you go. Meaning the same types of games you find on PS2 will be found on PSP. Years later, Sony used this selling point again with the PlayStation Vita, PSP's successor. Once again promising console quality gameplay wherever you go.
That sounds and looks neat at first glance. It's when you dig a little deeper that you start to find fallacies in that claim. The PSP promised PS2 quality games in your pocket, and in some ways it delivered. But it wasn't quite the full console experience Sony hyped it up. For starters the PSP is much weaker and has a lower resolution than the PS2 did, so games would've needed to be downgraded a fair amount in order to function properly on the system. Second, the PSP notoriously lacks the full DualShock controller layout, that being the lack of dual analog, and the lack of L2, R2, L3, and R3 buttons. That meant games had to somehow work around the limitations of the control scheme. And the vast majority of those "console quality games" were simply spin-offs and side games of existing console franchises designed with the limitations of the PSP in mind. Sure they played vaguely similar to their console counterparts, but they also tended to be shorter and less complex than the console games. Then once the PlayStation 3 arrived, the PSP was already a generation behind what was then considered console gaming. Let's face it the PSP didn't have Blu-Ray, so its games couldn't be nearly as big in scope. It didn't have full console controls. It didn't have HD graphics. And It didn't have the processing power for games found on the PS3. The PSP is a great system, but it's "console quality gaming" in many ways, came off as more of a marketing gimmick.
Then there's the PS Vita, which is arguably much closer to the console quality experience the PSP was, just by the virtue of having dual analog controls, and more powerful hardware. Still no L2/R2 or L3/R3 buttons though, instead those would be substituted by the Rear touchpad. Even then, it was still less powerful than the PS3, so it couldn't get a lot of actual PS3 games, just rough approximations of them. And the PS4 would launch a year later, once again, putting the PS Vita a generation behind what was now considered console gaming. The PSP and Vita did get a lot of ports from older consoles though, but did most other handhelds. I think what Sony didn't really seem to get was that what's considered console quality now, won't be in the next year or so, and that left their systems is this weird state where it's more powerful than the competition, but not powerful enough to handle an actual current console game.
So what it pure bullshit? Not really, Like I said in some ways, these systems actually delivered. Metal Gear Solid Piece Walker was as close to a console Metal Gear as you could get on the PSP for example. But I think Sony really oversold the capabilities of their handheld platforms when their actual libraries say otherwise. It's not just Sony either, I find the idea of "Console Quality gaming" a very flawed concept, because not only does that ignore the fact that mobile technology is always 2 steps behind console tech, but that phrase can also apply to a ton of games on any handheld. Even with the Nintendo Switch, which Nintendo initially marketed as a "Home Console on the go". In reality, it's more a glorified tablet with a Game Boy Player. Same with the PSP. When you boil it down to its basics, the PSP was a Fancier GBA with multi-media features. A damn good one, but at the end of the day, it was a handheld at its core.
That sounds and looks neat at first glance. It's when you dig a little deeper that you start to find fallacies in that claim. The PSP promised PS2 quality games in your pocket, and in some ways it delivered. But it wasn't quite the full console experience Sony hyped it up. For starters the PSP is much weaker and has a lower resolution than the PS2 did, so games would've needed to be downgraded a fair amount in order to function properly on the system. Second, the PSP notoriously lacks the full DualShock controller layout, that being the lack of dual analog, and the lack of L2, R2, L3, and R3 buttons. That meant games had to somehow work around the limitations of the control scheme. And the vast majority of those "console quality games" were simply spin-offs and side games of existing console franchises designed with the limitations of the PSP in mind. Sure they played vaguely similar to their console counterparts, but they also tended to be shorter and less complex than the console games. Then once the PlayStation 3 arrived, the PSP was already a generation behind what was then considered console gaming. Let's face it the PSP didn't have Blu-Ray, so its games couldn't be nearly as big in scope. It didn't have full console controls. It didn't have HD graphics. And It didn't have the processing power for games found on the PS3. The PSP is a great system, but it's "console quality gaming" in many ways, came off as more of a marketing gimmick.
Then there's the PS Vita, which is arguably much closer to the console quality experience the PSP was, just by the virtue of having dual analog controls, and more powerful hardware. Still no L2/R2 or L3/R3 buttons though, instead those would be substituted by the Rear touchpad. Even then, it was still less powerful than the PS3, so it couldn't get a lot of actual PS3 games, just rough approximations of them. And the PS4 would launch a year later, once again, putting the PS Vita a generation behind what was now considered console gaming. The PSP and Vita did get a lot of ports from older consoles though, but did most other handhelds. I think what Sony didn't really seem to get was that what's considered console quality now, won't be in the next year or so, and that left their systems is this weird state where it's more powerful than the competition, but not powerful enough to handle an actual current console game.
So what it pure bullshit? Not really, Like I said in some ways, these systems actually delivered. Metal Gear Solid Piece Walker was as close to a console Metal Gear as you could get on the PSP for example. But I think Sony really oversold the capabilities of their handheld platforms when their actual libraries say otherwise. It's not just Sony either, I find the idea of "Console Quality gaming" a very flawed concept, because not only does that ignore the fact that mobile technology is always 2 steps behind console tech, but that phrase can also apply to a ton of games on any handheld. Even with the Nintendo Switch, which Nintendo initially marketed as a "Home Console on the go". In reality, it's more a glorified tablet with a Game Boy Player. Same with the PSP. When you boil it down to its basics, the PSP was a Fancier GBA with multi-media features. A damn good one, but at the end of the day, it was a handheld at its core.
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