Sony Considering Music Downloads for PSP to Compete with iPhone?

[DotComCTO]

I've had a PSP since day one. I bought a second PSP for my son. On no occasion have we used our PSPs for music, photos or browsing the web (though I have put movies on there). The PSP is a portable game console. It's good stuff (we have a DS as well). My son and I enjoy the games that are on both devices.

But the bottom line is that the DS and PSP do not compare to an iPhone. The iPhone is a great overall device. The web browsing is well done, and movies and music are spot on. The addition of apps and games just puts it over the top. The iPhone is the one device I carry with me for all my work and entertainment.

Sony and Nintendo aren't late to the table...they're sitting at a different table altogether...way in the back. Apple got it right. They figured out the market, put all the right tools out there, and they're pulling away from the pack.

Good luck to Sony trying to sell in a music store for the PSP.



--DotComCTO

 

[aygie]

From that article:
Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage medium designed by Sony to supersede the standard DVD format.

I understand there's a separate association developing the standard (which includes Apple), but my point was that Sony is still capable of coming up with good ideas.

Sorry, i can't tell if your being sarcastic or not, do you like Blu-ray?

 

[Fitty Cent]

I don't see how the iPhone and the PSP really compete anyway -- the games on iPhone are pretty good, but they're nowhere near the level of PSP games, so the iPhone isn't being purchased by people as a gaming device, that's just sort of a bonus. The PSP has a niche market of more "hardcore" gamers who will have one in addition to a standard phone.

I am positive Nintendo does not give one crap about the iPhone. They'd be like "The i-what??? I'm sorry, we were too busy selling our billionth DS."

 

[Popeye206]

Ahhh... who cares! It's a different customer! Can you imagine walking around town listening to your PSP? Be real!

 

[gianly1985]

The competition is iPod Touch VS PSP, not iPhone.

WHY IPOD TOUCH IS WAY BETTER:
- way smaller, thinner, ligther
- steel + unscratchable glass VS plastic+scracthable_plastic
- app store and cheap games perfect for casual gamers
- multitouch is way better in controlling 99% of the activities except some genre of gaming where psp is better
- psp is useless as a browser or IM (ridicolous text input)
- app store app store app store
- itunes store, itunes program
- you can put it in the pocket of your jeans
- bluetooth ad2p with 3.0 firwmare ---> bluetooth stereo headphones
- nike+
- app store app store app store
- you can do thousands of things thank to apps
- etcetera

So I don't see ANY "COMPETION". And this news ("mp3 downloads on psp") doesn't change the situation very much. Or not at all.

PSP is better only for people interested in SOME kind of gaming....(and has more graphic brute power)
For CASUAL gamers I advice iPod Touch...

 

[Blue Fox]

I don't see the PSP as a threat, really. Nor the Nintendo DS. They don't have that wow factor, they're bulky, and ALL they do is play games and some music (videos for the PSP via UMD). iPod touch along with the App store does so much more, for right about the same price.

 

[nagromme]

The PSP has one key feature that makes it a great music player: it's smaller than carrying an accordion.

 

[Mousse]

IMO, Sony's had their chance, but they kept killing off "homebrews" with each firmware update. I played StarCraft on my PSP a few years back, but then had to update the firmware to play MSGortable Ops. Hear that Kojima, I gave up "homebrew" for Metal Gear.
The PSP is a great gaming system, but it's closed tighter than Queen Victoria's chastity belt. Fat chance of it gaining traction against the iPhone/Touch now.

 

[HiRez]

Yeah, that's why no one is clamoring for Apple to add support for Sony's new-fangled Blu-Ray technology.

What may seem to you to be "hordes of people" clamoring for Blu-Ray, probably from reading tech forums such as MacRumors, ArsTechica, etc., is probably a pittance to Apple, who is now a consumer-oriented company. And the average consumer is not clamoring for Blu-Ray in their Mac, neither for the data (with the competition of cheap, fast hard drives and rising flash-based storage), nor for video (with competition from many highly convenient direct download services and the fact that most people are still happy with standard DVD quality anyway). In fact, I bet if you took a survey of 100 random people on the street, at least 50 of them still probably wouldn't even be able to describe what Blu-Ray is.

 

[designgeek]

This is eerily reminiscent of NBC saying "we want to do our own thing" and then iTunes pulled all of their shows and they didn't sell on the NBC site and now they're back... If Sony did this they would loose out on all the revenue from Sony music on iTunes.

 

[0098386]

I'm an avid handheld gamer but really now, the PSP is a good little games console and the video playback is quite snazzy too. But music? It's terrible. The headphone socket jets out the bottom of the unit, the interface is poor and well... it's just no good at all.

However if they make some new store interface like the iPhone/iPods and stick it on a new brand of MP3 player and have it accessible for the PSP too - that might work. But locking it to the PSP is a big mistake.

*all that said I used to listen to the PSP radio thing when I couldn't run iTunes on my older system due to heavy workload.

 

[grantrobarts]

I can't imagine that being very successful. The PSP is outrageously large in size, and not as convenient as an iPhone.

 

[Nero3000]

The competition is iPod Touch VS PSP, not iPhone.

WHY IPOD TOUCH IS WAY BETTER:
- way smaller, thinner, ligther
- steel + unscratchable glass VS plastic+scracthable_plastic
- app store and cheap games perfect for casual gamers
- multitouch is way better in controlling 99% of the activities except some genre of gaming where psp is better
- psp is useless as a browser or IM (ridicolous text input)
- app store app store app store
- itunes store, itunes program
- you can put it in the pocket of your jeans
- bluetooth ad2p with 3.0 firwmare ---> bluetooth stereo headphones
- nike+
- app store app store app store
- you can do thousands of things thank to apps
- etcetera

So I don't see ANY "COMPETION". And this news ("mp3 downloads on psp") doesn't change the situation very much. Or not at all.

PSP is better only for people interested in SOME kind of gaming....(and has more graphic brute power)
For CASUAL gamers I advice iPod Touch...

and reasons the psp is better for gaming
- Bigger screen
- Buttons for tactile feed back and trying to do more than two things at once
- the Playstation Store, and access to a back library of PS1 Games
- itunes program (the fact you dont have to use that peice of **** program)
- expandable storage
- downloadable demos from the Playstation Store
- Support for the whole playstation family
- Video Skype
- PLaystation store, playstation store playstation store
- playstation network for online things
- a strong following of big game developers
- freedom to do whatever they can with the hardware, with no stupid limitations (demos, adhoc gaming, game sharing)
oh and
- PLaystation store, playstation store playstation store

With things like the web browser, remember the PSP did come out 3 years before the iPhone.

 

[kshat28]

i don't understand how the two are related, i cant buy a $40 game for the ipod on play a 15 hour campaign. I can't buy a 99cent game on the psp and be addicted to it for 15 hours. There are in two different markets and another way to buy music for psp wont change that. This seems more about itunes and "sony store" than ipod and psp

 

[Westside guy]

More competition is a good thing.

However Sony will probably end up shooting itself in the foot, as usual.

 

[GoodWatch]

The adagium still continues I see: "if it ain't Apple, it's crapple". Apple invented The Universe!

 

[instaxgirl]

People still buy PSPs?

Ahhh... who cares! It's a different customer! Can you imagine walking around town listening to your PSP? Be real!

My sister did for years. She only just got a shuffle at christmas. Don't be so condescending, the PSP is a good device.

With things like the web browser, remember the PSP did come out 3 years before the iPhone.

Exactly, it looks out of date now, but it still works. My sister uses it instead of a laptop for IMing her friends and when we were on holiday last year it was the PSP we used to upload photos, keep in touch with people and check email.

And you've got the fact that it is actually a gaming device instead of an iPod . . .

 

[vipergts2207]

I don't see the PSP as a threat, really. Nor the Nintendo DS. They don't have that wow factor, they're bulky, and ALL they do is play games and some music (videos for the PSP via UMD). iPod touch along with the App store does so much more, for right about the same price.

I don't think you gave the PSP enough credit. It can also play videos from the mem stick and also has a web browser to run on wifi, like the itouch.

What may seem to you to be "hordes of people" clamoring for Blu-Ray, probably from reading tech forums such as MacRumors, ArsTechica, etc., is probably a pittance to Apple, who is now a consumer-oriented company. And the average consumer is not clamoring for Blu-Ray in their Mac, neither for the data (with the competition of cheap, fast hard drives and rising flash-based storage), nor for video (with competition from many highly convenient direct download services and the fact that most people are still happy with standard DVD quality anyway). In fact, I bet if you took a survey of 100 random people on the street, at least 50 of them still probably wouldn't even be able to describe what Blu-Ray is.

Yeah, I bet you came to that conclusion scientifically huh? Got any sources for those outrageous statements?

 

[BTW]

They have to at least try. The should make an alliance with Nintendo and create a service both will support. Of course the DS might not be the optimal system for playing music.

 

[gianly1985]

and reasons the psp is better for gaming

iPod Touch is better than PSP in this genres of gaming:
- adventures (input)
- enigmas (input)
- casual gaming (free or unexpensive games)
- games which involve inputting text
- card games (input)
- "other games where touching is faster than selecting"

PSP is way better than iPod Touch in this genres:
- every other genre of gaming
- graphic power
- ps1 games as you said

AS YOU CAN SEE, I DIDN'T SAY "PSP is useless crap". OK?

But I think that for MOST PEOPLE, iPod Touch is simply better and more versatile. So I don't SEE any COMPETITION, becouse they are TOO DIFFERENT. PSP is more "specific", iPod Touch is good for a lot of things. (it would take ages to write them, just think about all the programs in App Store....)

- itunes program (the fact you dont have to use that peice of **** program)

Ok, so you are one of "those people". Ok.
Try iTunes before speaking...
It's crazy to sync music without itunes, after you get used to what you can do with iTunes..

- expandable storage

Un-portable console.
I'm good with 8gb/16gb/32gb iPod Touch, at least I can put it in the pocket....

- downloadable demos from the Playstation Store

Downloadable full games or lite free versions from App Store.

PLaystation store, playstation store playstation store

I hope you are not seriously comparing App Store (mr. "40000 apps in 10 months, you find every kind of stuff, 1 billion downloads in 10 months") to Playstation Store....
Look at the programs on App Store and the amazing things you can do with them and iPod Touch before speaking....

- a strong following of big game developers

A super-following of big and small games AND PROGRAMS developers, which lead to an EXPLOSION of apps in few months.

- freedom to do whatever they can with the hardware, with no stupid limitations (demos, adhoc gaming, game sharing)

Freedom to do nothing for NORMAL-NON-GEEK people...
Freedom of using 40000 apps on iPod Touch....

You can say whatever you want, but iPod Touch is WAY MORE A COMPLETE AND VERSATILE DEVICE than Sony PSP...and you can put it in your pocket...
So, if you're not interested in PSP GAMES, iPod Touch is a NO-BRAINER. The multimedia capabilities of PSP cannot be of any help to PSP in this comparison, that's why I said that "this news doesn't change the situation".


DISCLAIMER: I repeat, I didn't say that psp isn't better at gaming. PSP is better at gaming (except some genres where the multitouch input method is TREMENDOUSLY BETTER).But PSP is SO SO SO WORSE in everything else if compared to iPod Touch. And it's a heavy COFFIN you will simply leave in a drawer and don't carry around....

With things like the web browser, remember the PSP did come out 3 years before the iPhone.

I wasn't referring to the browser itself, I said that it's useless as a browser or for Instant Messenging because of the text inputting method, which is indipendent from the "age", it's simply inadequate. It's shame that sony TV ads PROMISE to SURF and do MESSENGER...a real SHAME.....

 

[Cleverboy]

I just set up my nephews PSP to get on our WiFi network. Yeah, until they REDO that entire interface and completely overhaul their browser, any notion of PSP "competing" with iPhone/iPod Touch's "strengths" is sadly laughable. I have to give it to Sony. I didn't even know it had WiFi, but I'd NEVER want to take it out and get a "quick" web site update. "Infrastructure" or "Ad Hoc"? What WEP version is it? Are you kidding? Unrelenting, unconscionable, inconceivable, insufferable PAIN.

~ CB

 

[twoodcc]

i really hope that they do try and compete with the iPhone. i mean, they are both great devices, and i'll probably own both, but competition is good

 

[overanalyzer]

Sorry, i can't tell if your being sarcastic or not, do you like Blu-ray?

What may seem to you to be "hordes of people" clamoring for Blu-Ray, probably from reading tech forums such as MacRumors, ArsTechica, etc., is probably a pittance to Apple, who is now a consumer-oriented company. And the average consumer is not clamoring for Blu-Ray in their Mac, neither for the data (with the competition of cheap, fast hard drives and rising flash-based storage), nor for video (with competition from many highly convenient direct download services and the fact that most people are still happy with standard DVD quality anyway). In fact, I bet if you took a survey of 100 random people on the street, at least 50 of them still probably wouldn't even be able to describe what Blu-Ray is.

My points were really in response to this original statement:

Sony is a "has been". They are irrelevant.

I completely agree with you, HiRez, that the average consumer doesn't known enough about Blu-Ray to care, and certainly isn't clamoring to Apple to integrate support into products. You are correct that I'm referring to the "hordes" of MacRumors forums users (and other tech sites, to a lesser extent).

What I was really trying to say is that I find it amusing that every time MR posts a story that some other company is competing with Apple, many forum posters resort to bashing the competitor as a whole, often in complete ignorance to good things about that company (the most common example being Microsoft). My only point was that though this particular aspect of Sony's business (namely electronic music players/music sales) might have so far been a failure doesn't mean the company is entirely worthless and incapable of new ideas and innovative products (as Goona seemed to be stating). I just chose Blu-Ray as an example, because plenty of MR forum users want Blu-Ray support in Macs, and Blu-Ray wouldn't exist if not for Sony's contributions. So I figured Blu-Ray was a relevant reminder to at least some MR posters that Sony isn't worthless.


EDIT:
GoodWatch made essentially my same point, probably much more elegantly:

The adagium still continues I see: "if it ain't Apple, it's crapple". Apple invented The Universe!

 

[joshellis625]

My PSP is literally collecting over an inch of dust in my room somewhere. Sony, seriously, don't waste your time.

 

[spaceballl]

I think this could be a good move by Sony. I think there's two ways they can do it.

Approach one - walled garden - Music bought on the PSP will play on the PSP. It will transfer back to your desktop and play in our Sony music player. If you want to load it to your iPod, you'll have to figure that out on your own. And oh yeah - windows only.

Approach two - Mac / Windows compatible - easy to pull music off PSP and put it back on. There will be an easy way to get music bought on the PSP into iTunes, etc.

If they take approach two, then great! I'd love a new PSP