Sony doesn't know games PROOF

[Crash]

http://www.cubed3.com/viewnews.php?storyid=4069

A recent analysis on Nintendo's DS and PSP conducted over internet discussion groups by an independent company have resulted in the DS being the favoured system of choice for consumers.

The WaveMetrix Company is a leading provider of online consumer intelligence. Through polls, surveys, Q&A sessions and first hand research from users. The company researched the opinions of a variety of consumers into different important factors of portable machines. These include - the range of games available, quality of the unit, costing, screen quality etc, giving a score (adjusted slightly taking bias into consideration) to illustrate the differences. The end result certainly suggests that the majority of consumers generally prefer Nintendo’s handheld option to Sony’s, complementing other reports previously conducted in specific regions – e.g. Japan.

Although, of course, there is the element of bias depending on the sites visited and questioned, age and exposure factors, the report suggests the data had been collected over a vast range of sources. The PSP, however, does surpass the DS in terms of the amount of discussion and hype surrounding it, with a 64% lead on how much it had been brought up. That said, unfortunately for the unit, the majority of discussion was somewhat negative.

The survey highlighted interesting factors for both consoles on what should be improved and could be taken on board by the two respective companies.

The feedback includes:

Nintendo DS
# Expand the available selection of games, reducing the number of GameBoy adaptations and puzzle titles.
# More scratch resistant durable material should be used for both screens, screens, in particular the touch area, is far too easy to damage without additional protection.
# Address what Nintendo defines as the number of dead pixels on the screens.
# Device is possibly to slow and could do with an upgraded specification according to consumers.

Sony PSP
# Range of games too narrow, may look good but not enjoyable to play.
# Frequent problems with product quality, including dead pixels.
# Thumb stick too uncomfortable and inaccurate to use according to the majority.
# Battery life is a severe issue when playing on the move most suggest.

The DS completely dominated the game category. Although the PSP seemingly has perhaps a larger quantity in comparison, the types of games have appealed to the majority because of the originality and ease of execution. In this area, the DS received a score of 0.6 out of 1, with the PSP slipping to –0.1. Both devices scored fairly poorly in quality, with issues on the DS covering the machine quality, casing along with the occasional problems with the screens. PSP, however, had a larger range of issues players expressed, including poor battery lifetime, misaligned pixels, excessive heat generation, and malfunctioning lights among other issues.

Finally, it comes down to cost and consumer incentive the DS again came out tops with special offers and a cheaper, proving more cost effective in the immediate and long term. However, this isn’t a definitive look at the overall views of consumers toward the DS and PSP but is an interesting view on a global perspective on different aspects of both consoles. Unfortunately for Sony though, Nintendo’s dual screen machine did come out tops inevitably proving that gameplay and innovation do surpass graphical aesthetics.

-.1 out of 1 for the PSP