Devastating wars have come and gone, empires have collapsed and blood has been spilt in a course of less than 30 years. But possibly the biggest fight in video game history could be upon us -- the battle of the handhelds (also known as Video Game War II: Expansion Pack IV). Pick your side, and fight for your countr... er, company, and lead your empire to victory! But if you're on the wrong side... Wait a minute, why don't we just embrace them both?
Undoubtedly you know all about the DS vs. PSP war which is just on the horizon. Today you probably heard about the DS' new online capabilities (complete with online Animal Crossing), but the PSP (along with the very hyped Lumines) will be readily available in a matter of days. The battle shall begin, and many have chosen their side and are ready to fight! Go anywhere and you'll have threads about why one system will be better, why the PSP's battery life will deteriorate from the experience, why the DS' launch was so terrible, etc. No, these aren't your typical bickerings at the release of a console -- this is an all-out war. Not just between Nintendo and Sony, but between every owner of one or the other. I mean, you can't simply like them both... can you?
Never have I ever seen as many topics about a new console as I have between this upcoming war. People are ever-more resistant to embrace both handhelds, and every-which-way there are new flaws pointed out on one, and issues that need to be resolved. Arguments spew out of control, and for some reason nearly nobody can like both of them! Why not? Who knows. Maybe it's because they're so evenly matched, with so many of their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Maybe because Sony is charting into the previously (nearly) un-challenged handheld market, or maybe because some of the games look so darn good. But maybe, just maybe, it's because out of the starting gate people seem to have this need to buy the "winning" console at launch. Their's has to be the best, and if you shove the right one aside, you'll earn brownie points. Place your bets, people, no turning back.
People everywhere can embrace all the consoles very easily (Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube). People happily talk about owning all 3 of the current leaders, and discuss games for all of the systems. Sure, it was more aggressive in 2001 when all of the consoles were fresh, but finding a multi-console owner, or someone aspiring to be a multi-console owner wasn't difficult at all. But when either of these new handhelds are mentioned, it's suddenly only one that has to be important -- you must own one. Could it be a financial issue? Whenever I contemplate this I hear about how someone re-purchased a console for the sixth time after seeing Resident Evil 4 or Tekken 5. And even if money was a problem, you can still embrace both of these handhelds with open arms. Recognize the benefits of owning each and glare in envy at those who have both, along with every new game for each. Know that both will provide you with a positive experience in gaming, and know that it is all right to like them both. Even though you may not be able to own both.
Just last week the DS was the hot-topic of issue. Everyone said it had such a terrible release. People were boycotting Nintendo left-and-right, and forever casting the DS into the shadows. Nobody looked towards the DS' future. Maybe they didn't want to accept the possibility that despite their pre-purchase and hype of the PSP, it could end up being as good as or *gasp* worse than the DS? Heaven forbid. Perhaps all because of the one glowing review of Lumines and the realization that the DS had a limited hardware release, it was suddenly the next WonderSwan. But now, with online on the DS, and Animal Crossing online, a whole barrage of people are praising Nintendo. They have the experience and franchises to make the DS not only survive, but conquer. The PSP shall fail, and the "casuals" will be owned.
All right, maybe all those points were stupid. Maybe it's just about the games. Obviously each probably favors a particular genre, but the two really aren't that different. The PSP has Lumines. Then again the DS has Meteos, also developed by Q Entertainment. The PSP has a boat-load of driving and racing games. Oh, right, the DS has tons of party/mini-game games. But, the PSP has some unique games like Metal Gear Ac!d, and Rengoku: Tower of Pergatory. That's right, the DS has Lost in Blue and Another Code. Both of the lineups are looking pretty awesome, and while the PSP has a lot of immediate games, the DS has quite a few coming out in the next few months while the PSP's future line-up is in question. Obviously some will prefer games on one over the other, but that really shouldn't lead to such a massive boycott of a product or even company; such a sudden abandonment of something with literally years of potential.
It's time to accept both. More people should be saying, "Hallelujah we have two new consoles to play," as opposed to, "Crap. Time to pick which one is better, and hope this decision follows through." Love them both for their amazing possibilities. Hate them both for their hardware glitches or gimmicks. But, most importantly, accept them both for what they are, and don't start or contribute to this unnecessary war. In simple terms: DS + PSP = More games. More games = More fun. 'Nuff said.
Comments
Oh, and if there is enough of a reason for you to purchase a DS, you may as well since it also plays GBA games. That is if you're interested, because that'd be one helluva waste of money if you weren't.
However the DS doesn't play old GBC and GB games, which I also want to be able to play. Hence thinking about the GBA SP. That's okay, I don't mind owning both a DS and an SP eventually.
Actually, after reading about Iwata and Reggie at GDC talking about the DS online and the Play Yan coming stateside, I'm finding myself suddenly interested in the DS where I wasn't before. They could do something totally badarse if they made the Revolution operable AS a hotspot for the DS. That would be SO cool. I don't know that it would happen though, but if it supports WiFi internet connectivity and WiFi DS connectivity, wouldn't it be simple to make it usable as a hotspot for the DS? Yes it would, so they should do it.
So for the first time I'm really quite interested in the DS. I've played the PSP, and I'm concerned about the controls being awkward in my hands. It was a bit uncomfortable -- ironically smaller than I expected. I'll wait until there are demo units in stores and see if I can adjust to it. I don't really care about the multimedia features except for the ability to play back MPEG4 video off the memory stick, which the DS and SP will also support (granted on a FAR inferior screen, but still). I'm not about to start re-buying my DVD collection on UMD with little or no bonus content because it won't fit on a UMD (and at a reduced bitrate).
I dunno, I was a kid once and then I grew up. I really have a hard time believing how many adults still do the whole brand loyalty / console wars garbage. I mean I know they do it, but it doesn't make sense to me coming from an adult. They're just machines, all that matters is if they can deliver what you want. For me, so far, neither the DS nor the PSP has sealed the deal so I will wait. I think the reason why this gets a little heated is that Nintendo has owned the handheld market for so long. I think that many people hate that kind of corporate dominance and would love to see them dethroned. People also love an underdog which is Sony in this case since NO ONE has ever taken down Nintendo in this market.
As for the next generation of console systems, note that I haven't expressed any interest in the PS3 as of yet. The truth is that I know I'll wind up getting one some day just as I knew this of the current generation XBOX -- but nothing that Sony has said thus far has made me remotely interested. Granted that is largely because all they've said was that the Cell will be beefy and that is primarily meaningless since all they've done is quote ambiguous numbers that have no real meaning. On the other hand Microsoft and Nintendo have been dropping feature anouncements that sound great. That's the stuff that matters. Not that I'm not eager to hear the same information on the PS3, but Sony isn't saying squat so they aren't getting my attention.
-X
The PS3 will not necessarily sell very well by name. Now in North America, Microsoft has made quite a name for itself in the console business with the Xbox. This will attract many consumers, and if the Revolution really delivers, I wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo get a surge in market share. But with Sony lallygagging and promising next-to-nothing, people just don't have much to look forward to, especially with Square-Enix's tentative multi-platform development.
And I'm loving that idea about the Revolution being a hotspot. That's so cool! Actually, I heard some chatter the other day, with people saying that maybe, just maybe, Nintendo could bring downloadable content even to GameCube games through the Revolution. I know this is doubtful, but playing some online F-Zero GX, or Monkey Ball would rock! Though I would imagine that if there's any downloadable content, it will be solely for Revolution hardware. Actually, I still have a hope inside me that Nintendo will allow the extra two unfinished dungeons of Wind Waker to be downloaded via the Revolution. Now that would be cool!
Xanthio
I think that time tends to make the previous years seem ever fonder than they were. The truth is that people were like this when the current generation was shiny and new. Many people still are like this over the current generation consoles. You can't just go by what you see on the forums. If you hear people in the stores chatting you'll always hear them bashing one thing or another. I've said it before and I'll say it again, system wars is about one thing and one thing only, feeling good about dropping a lot of money on a system.
The bitterness fades with time as the systems become cheaper and cheaper and people start to be more open to spending that money. When the consoles hit the market they are marked up quite high and no one wants to be told they wasted their money. That's all this is about -- feeling like you've got the most. Heaven forbid someone else have more than you.
The simple truth is that at $400 to get both few people ever will. I can't lie and say I disagree with people that say the DS had and still has a weak software lineup. That isn't to say that I think the DS itself is useless -- just that I want to see Nintendo do more with it. Sony waited to get the PSP to market but they are getting it out with a fairly sizable lot of titles right away. The DS is still light on software.
To me that doesn't matter, I don't buy anything at release anyway. I'm starting to contemplate breaking that policy for the Revolution and/or the Xenon -- Allard and Iwata have me drooling. The PSP and the DS though I can wait on. Personally my interest in handhelds is limited anyway. I'm considering buying an SP though.
-X