Sony PSP2 Dead On Arrival, Says Analyst
The mobile gaming market may not be as intense as the home console market, but there's obviously still a lot of money to be made within its reach. So there's no surprise that analysts would want to get their opinion out there about what's coming, and how they think it will affect the market as a whole. When it comes to Sony's PlayStation Portable 2, there's a lot of discussion about whether or not it will be a waste of time for Sony, or be a smash-hit. Obviously, Sony believes that they've got a hit on their hand, and even some developers out there who have managed to get some hands-on time with the portable gaming console think it's nice. But, for analyst Michael Pachter, none of that matters, because the PSP2 is already DOA.
Pachter is an analyst from Wedbush Morgan, and during a "Pach Attack" webcast, he outlined in brief why he believes the PSP2 won't be worth the attention it will receive when it launches, and even went on to say why he believes the mobile market as a whole is over-saturated, but that Apple's iPod Touch will thin the market soon enough.
According to Pachter, "I think the PSP was dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival." He went on to add that, "We're approaching saturation in the handheld market. We're starting to see DS hardware sales crack, the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market."
While some may say that Pachter is right, he points out that when Nintendo's upcoming 3DS portable gaming console launches, it will spike interset in the market one more time, before it inevitably flat-lines again, and people realize that they're paying too much money to play Tetris on their portable gaming unit.
Pricing does obviously play a big part in the video game industry, just as it does in any industry. However, with the technology that the 3DS is bringing to the table, and with whatever Sony has up their sleeve for the next generation PSP2, it would seem, at least remotely possible, that the video game enthusiasts out there would still prefer to have the power, and technology (plus game selection) on their particular portable game consoles.
[via MCV UK]