A PSP, DS, and a Whole Lot of Bias
A true story
March 24th, 2005,
This day will stand out to many people as the day that launched the Playstation Portable (PSP), but for me this day will stand out as a story that crosses barriers between comedy, drama, and tragedy. Well maybe not drama or tragedy, but either way, comical at least.
I was thrilled to hear that my younger sibling wanted a DS of his own, and he asked me to pick one up for him. How could I say no? I promised to pick up his DS this week, and I do keep my word. So this very morning before Electronics Boutique opened I drove down because I thought there would be a crowd for the PSP (as I remember line ups for the DS). Either way I got there 30 minutes before the store opened and to my surprise no one had showed up yet. Perhaps I over estimated this new handheld. I decided to stay in the car and play my DS until a line formed.
20 minutes till store opens
One person slowly walks to the front door and begins to wait. I figure I better get in line so that I do not have to wait longer.
15 minutes till store opens
The line has now begun to grow, and there are four people behind me, although I think one of them is just lost. I wait patiently for the store to open as the kid behind me turns to me.
‘Hey man! I am so pumped for this, I saved my money since E3. I have $450 for a PSP and one game,’ says this kid to me in an excited voice
‘Well that is a lot of money,’ I reply trying to avoid conversation
‘Yeah when I heard about it during May, that’s when E3 is, I knew that I wanted it! I pre-ordered it awhile ago, but I told my mom to make sure I get here early to make sure they won’t sell mine.’ says the child who is now beginning to look like he should be getting ready to go to school.
‘Great....’ I reply monosyllabically again trying more or less just to shut this kid up.
10 minutes till store opens
I begin to get bored and decide to whip out my own DS and play it. The line behind me has not grown to more than 4 people and it seems that this will be the only crowd. Just as I whip out my DS and the start up sound begins to play three of the people around me notice the DS. Not realizing that I was in prime Sony fanboy area, I quickly realized that I was about to be flamed. I ignored their stares of disgust as I chuckled to myself and began to play Yoshi Touch & Go with the music loud just to spite them a little. It was less then a minute before one of them spoke up though. The one to speak up was a teenager who looked liked he was the spoiled only child in a rich family.
‘Hey man, what are you doing with a DS? Nintendo sucks, Sony is the way to go.’ Says the brat in a spoiled voice
‘Well I wanted to have a portable system that was used for playing games, so I bought a DS.’ I quickly replied to the teen who looked quite stubborn at this point. Now after watching the rich kid get shut down it was time for that young kid to have a go at trying to flame the DS.
‘Either way, Nintendo has Pokemon and Pokemon suck,’ said the child with a sickening look on his face.
‘Hey guys, it is launch for the PSP and I am second in line. Do you think I’m here to buy a DS?’ I said with the biggest smirk on my face that I thought would show what I was really there for, but they all bought it and shut-up. I figure I didn’t lie to any of them so it was all good.
5 minutes until store opens
Again, the line has not moved and I am now at 4095yds on Yoshi Touch & Go as the store manager walks to the store and unlocks the door and closes it behind him. It is still apparent that we are not allowed into the store. I decide to pause Yoshi and put it into sleep mode.
Zero Hour
As I walk into the store, the manager has 6 PSP’s lined up on the counter for everyone in this line. The store manager begins to ring up the first kids PSP as he picks out some game to go with it. My smirk begins to grow into a full-fledged ear to ear smile. As the kid walks away the manager asks me
‘So what game would you like with your PSP?’ in such a way that you know he is sick of his job.
‘None I reply, but I’m not buying a PSP. Although, I wouldn’t mind a DS.’ I say to the manager
‘*chuckling* Well, that made my day. Sure I can give you a DS. At least you made the smart choice.’ says the now pleasant clerk
After having the DS rung up and I paid the bill and extended warranty, I turn to see the rest of the line giving me the dirtiest look in the world. I laugh to myself and turn to the kid behind me
‘I hope you spend that $450 well,’ as I chuckle to myself and walk out the door.
This is my story from the launch day of the PSP
-Ultimate Zelda Guru
March 24th, 2005,
This day will stand out to many people as the day that launched the Playstation Portable (PSP), but for me this day will stand out as a story that crosses barriers between comedy, drama, and tragedy. Well maybe not drama or tragedy, but either way, comical at least.
I was thrilled to hear that my younger sibling wanted a DS of his own, and he asked me to pick one up for him. How could I say no? I promised to pick up his DS this week, and I do keep my word. So this very morning before Electronics Boutique opened I drove down because I thought there would be a crowd for the PSP (as I remember line ups for the DS). Either way I got there 30 minutes before the store opened and to my surprise no one had showed up yet. Perhaps I over estimated this new handheld. I decided to stay in the car and play my DS until a line formed.
20 minutes till store opens
One person slowly walks to the front door and begins to wait. I figure I better get in line so that I do not have to wait longer.
15 minutes till store opens
The line has now begun to grow, and there are four people behind me, although I think one of them is just lost. I wait patiently for the store to open as the kid behind me turns to me.
‘Hey man! I am so pumped for this, I saved my money since E3. I have $450 for a PSP and one game,’ says this kid to me in an excited voice
‘Well that is a lot of money,’ I reply trying to avoid conversation
‘Yeah when I heard about it during May, that’s when E3 is, I knew that I wanted it! I pre-ordered it awhile ago, but I told my mom to make sure I get here early to make sure they won’t sell mine.’ says the child who is now beginning to look like he should be getting ready to go to school.
‘Great....’ I reply monosyllabically again trying more or less just to shut this kid up.
10 minutes till store opens
I begin to get bored and decide to whip out my own DS and play it. The line behind me has not grown to more than 4 people and it seems that this will be the only crowd. Just as I whip out my DS and the start up sound begins to play three of the people around me notice the DS. Not realizing that I was in prime Sony fanboy area, I quickly realized that I was about to be flamed. I ignored their stares of disgust as I chuckled to myself and began to play Yoshi Touch & Go with the music loud just to spite them a little. It was less then a minute before one of them spoke up though. The one to speak up was a teenager who looked liked he was the spoiled only child in a rich family.
‘Hey man, what are you doing with a DS? Nintendo sucks, Sony is the way to go.’ Says the brat in a spoiled voice
‘Well I wanted to have a portable system that was used for playing games, so I bought a DS.’ I quickly replied to the teen who looked quite stubborn at this point. Now after watching the rich kid get shut down it was time for that young kid to have a go at trying to flame the DS.
‘Either way, Nintendo has Pokemon and Pokemon suck,’ said the child with a sickening look on his face.
‘Hey guys, it is launch for the PSP and I am second in line. Do you think I’m here to buy a DS?’ I said with the biggest smirk on my face that I thought would show what I was really there for, but they all bought it and shut-up. I figure I didn’t lie to any of them so it was all good.
5 minutes until store opens
Again, the line has not moved and I am now at 4095yds on Yoshi Touch & Go as the store manager walks to the store and unlocks the door and closes it behind him. It is still apparent that we are not allowed into the store. I decide to pause Yoshi and put it into sleep mode.
Zero Hour
As I walk into the store, the manager has 6 PSP’s lined up on the counter for everyone in this line. The store manager begins to ring up the first kids PSP as he picks out some game to go with it. My smirk begins to grow into a full-fledged ear to ear smile. As the kid walks away the manager asks me
‘So what game would you like with your PSP?’ in such a way that you know he is sick of his job.
‘None I reply, but I’m not buying a PSP. Although, I wouldn’t mind a DS.’ I say to the manager
‘*chuckling* Well, that made my day. Sure I can give you a DS. At least you made the smart choice.’ says the now pleasant clerk
After having the DS rung up and I paid the bill and extended warranty, I turn to see the rest of the line giving me the dirtiest look in the world. I laugh to myself and turn to the kid behind me
‘I hope you spend that $450 well,’ as I chuckle to myself and walk out the door.
This is my story from the launch day of the PSP
-Ultimate Zelda Guru
22 Comments:
Haha, That just made my day, and it's already 6:00
I admit, the PSP costs alot. But the truth is the PSP is a good system. Once you see the screen it changes you. Its very beautiful. Anyway, competition is good for Nintendo anyway, it makes them do their best. Good games on both systems. I think both can thrive together in harmony. The market is big enough and they are two completely different systems with different games. Let there be peace.
This is an opinion of someone who has been playing Nintendo games exclusively for over 20 years and has been a big fan throughout...
THIS IS FOR SURE THE BEGGINING OF THE END FOR NINTENDO.Anybody who would like to e-mail me their thoughts may do so @estrada7366@sbcglobal.net
But remember, I'm on your side.
Not a great day for me but that definately made it better. Great story Matt.
I'm glad I don't have to work the PSP Launch ^_^
UZG, why do you get to have all the interesting experiences, and i get stuck with the dull moments.... I see you had a little fun with the Sony Fanboys, good job.
Ha, that was great! And based on that one thread, the kid wouldn't even be able to buy a DS with $450!
And to the second anonymous person: You really don't seem to have much hope in them. The DS has only been out about 4-5 months, and PSP just came out. I doubt Nintendo is about to die. Heck, they are nowhere near going out of business!
Jimmie
Im surprised that Futureshop Canada, sold only 7 PSP's. Leaving them with 93.
Im surprised that Futureshop Canada, sold only 7 PSP's. Leaving them with 93.
Im surprised that Futureshop Canada, sold only 7 PSP's. Leaving them with 93.
Man, you rock. :) I was at Target today, a Target within walking distance of Ohio State, one of the country's biggest colleges, and when I walked through Electronics out of curiosity I overheard the clerk telling another guy they had gotten in 80 PSPs and had about 60 left. The same Target was solid out of DSes halfway through that system's launch day.
I can totally see the DS burning up once they get some good games out and have the network - the free online network - running. There's a disgusting amount of bias in the online gaming media, but that's only going to sell so many $250 handhelds. The market already has an overpriced handheld system that does a lot of other things. It's called the N-Gage and it's a laughing stock.
And screw that brat. Pokemon's an amazingly good RPG.
Haha, that's hilarious.
Say what you want about Nintendo, it doesn't matter. I'll play there systems whether or not they are the most popular. Just because something is more popular doesn't mean it is right. Look at politics for example.
The DS is going to do so much better than the PSP. Especially when the price drops. It will sell like mad. The biggest problem right now is lack of games for the DS. I am also exited about the DS's free online serives...it just sucks that I don't have wireless internet at my house :(
Well, Nintendo is VERY lucky that Sony has the PSP priced so high. If it was lower than 200 for everything it has, there would be some serious hits to the DS that would be hard to recover. I always say that the DS and the PSP aren't meant to compete, but that doesn't mean that they won't.
The point is, the PSP will do very well and my even become the next ipod fad because it's not just video gaming so a lot of music/movie freaks can get into it.
Sony and Nintendo have to approaches. Sony's is to either branch their Playstation brand off into Movies and Music even further which will gain a "different" market, while Nintendo's is to change the way they create video games to make this "different" market play video games. Both ways are very good, but it's obvious that Nintendo's is going to take a little bit more time.
And as far as the wireless approach through Nintendo's online protocol, don't expect that you'll need the service. From the high hope sounds of Iwata, it seems like the WiFi hotspots will be available more than we are expecting. Does this mean people in rural areas can play? We don't know yet, but I do expect something, as it shouldn't take that long for a large company like Nintendo to develop a protocol unless it's going to be something big.
Hey. I totally thought the PSP was going to be more popular than this.. I guess the high $$ is the reason more aren't selling. I work at a Target, and we had 80 and only sold 5. They had this big thing planned to hand out credit card apps and little pieces of paper to guarantee you a PSP at 6am. The store opens at 8am. Our first PSP wasn't bought until 11am. A previous poster was right about the DS.. They sold like crazy.. we were constantly out of stock and they were popular and being asked for.. even without what i considered killer apps at launch... although it did have the advantage of launching in time to be a Xmas gift.. so that may have something to do with it too. I can't wait to see the sales numbers of the PSP.. and hopefully a price drop. :D Our Nintendo Rep. had hinted at a DS price drop around PSP launch.. but what is the point if no one is buying the PSP?
Hey,
Found your comments about the PSP quite amusing as well. I'm a huge Nintendo Fanboy myself, and I was up at 12midnight to get a PSP, not for me, but because I'm an Ebay dealer(Boo, Hiss, Tomatoes thrown at me). Hey I'm just a college student w/ no money trying to fund an EXPENSIVE habit. So I go to walmart to buy 5 PSPs. They have 60 that night, and they sold about 30 from midnight till the line for them at midnight was gone leaving 30. Well, I go back tomorrow at 8PM, so it's been selling for about 20 hours to see how they're doing, and they have 29 left. Gamestop at the mall still had 5 non reserved ones that weren't sold at all. Target was left with a ton as well. It's like a flood. As a dealer, trying to peddle these things on ebay, the only people interested are the Britains. I've never returned systems in my life on a launch date b/c they always sell well, but this might be a first as the PSP is not doing so hot at least from a dealer standpoint.
For the record, I did not buy up DS's as I wanted as many little kiddies to have them in their hands as possible for Christmas, primarily so they could show their friends further pushing the DS, so I am not heartless. Just a student trying to fund a habit. =)
I must say I opened one, and IT IS GORGEOUS. I've been so tempted to keep one, but I can't justify the 300 dollars total for the system and the game. That's the price of the PS2 when it launched.
Hey anyone who collects stamps like me and wanna trade?
Woehahhahah just messing around,
It was either that first msg or this one :
Gentle man, loves to cook, 26y old, jobless wants to meet rich woman who could afford me both handhelds, becoz then I dont have to listen to those freakin war comments for their handhelds.
I went looking around in Best Buy on the PSP launch day to see if they had any PSP demos, didn't plan getting one though, Im a DS kind of person. Well when I arrived there was no demos. No people crowding around to get one. What was all the hype about? I thought this was gonna be a revolutionary system, and they don't even have a demo to try. Well anyways Im not putting down the PSP, I think its quite cool but a DS is good enough for me. And thats my advice to anyone wanting to pay a big $250 for this PSP.
Hey i just went to three stores today Eb games, Futureshop and the Sony store and all of them had tons of psp's laying around.I did not see one person buying one. Hah!
HAHAHAHA!
Yes, like all, that did make my day.
That is, that and Yoshi Touch and go.
:) Tim
I was at EB today and I asked a rep if they had an open PSP to test out. I wasnt planning on buying one (have a DS and love it) but I still wanted to see it. He told me that they arent planning to have demo for a couple of months. Smart move Sony.
I work at a Best Buy. We received 210 of the things, and sold 70 on our first day. And they really are gorgeous. We had no demo model either, so we opened one up and I was picked to play Vanna White. As a result of handling and looking at that wonderful LCD for most of the day, I bought one today. I love my DS, but in all honesty the PSP IS better suited to play some games--for instance, I'd much rather buy Ridge Racer for the PSP than the DS, and there will always be room for games like that in my portable library. They really are two different systems, and unless it fails to deliver innovative games (and it's been fun stuff so far), my PSP will not supplant my DS.
But yeah. $250: Ouch.
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