The Nintendo and Sony fanboy camps have been at each others’ throats for a decade now. While Sony obliterated Nintendo in the home console market for the past two generations, the handheld market has always been Nintendo’s strong point, as they’ve fought off many competitors in the past with ease. However, with the upcoming Sony PSP, there is a very serious threat to their dominance, and Nintendo has no one to blame but themselves.
Personal preferences aside, one thing is fact: Nintendo is screwing up royally with the DS. I bought one on launch day, and I love it, but a simple fact remains: where are the games? Not only did the DS have a lackluster launch, but three months down the line, the game lineup is still incredibly weak. I’ve always said the the DS was a kneejerk reaction to the announcement of the PSP, and this only solidifies my point. Some anticipated titles have been “announced,” but the soonest we’d see them is winter of 2005!
The PSP is launching with quite a few bestselling Playstation franchises, like Metal Gear, Need for Speed, Ape Escape, Wipeout, Tony Hawk, and plenty of sports titles. Not only that, at least five titles will be Internet-enabled from the start. Nintendo may think online gaming is only a “fad,” but it’s something that’s attracted a monstrous chunk of the gaming community. Microsoft and Sony are both succeeding in the online realm, and Nintendo is once again falling behind. Finally, the PSP has an impressive roster of scheduled titles coming up over the next few months and into the foreseeable future. The DS has a few good titles coming out…this fall. That doesn’t cut it, kids.
It’s simple, really; if Nintendo doesn’t change their tack (and soon), the GBA and DS are going to be crushed by the PSP. As much as we may not like it, we need to face facts here. It’s not even about money; the PSP may cost $100 more, but you know damn well gamers will still snap it up, just as they’ve done for the PS1 and PS2. Nintendophiles may shout about how “innovative” the DS is, but anyone who’s been around video games for a while knows that innovation doesn’t generally mean squat when it comes to selling games to the masses. If that were the case, Katamari Damacy would’ve outsold Halo 2 by a landslide.