RPGWatch Feature: The Whole Game in My Hand #8

Yeah, confusing - the PC game is 1701 A.D. and the DS game is Anno 1701 ... go figure!

It is hard to describe something that has sold over 30 million units in just under 3 years as 'just turning the corner'

But your point is valid - the PSP has only 16 'million sellers' after 3 years, and only 7 of those have sold more than a million in a single region (the others are based on combined sales). The DS has over 40 million sellers, and most of those have sold over a million in at least one region. The top selling PSP game (GTA: LCS) wouldn't make the Top 10 of DS sales ... and the total of all million sellers for the PSP is just slightly more than the #1 DS game (Nintendogs) and about the same as the #3 and #4 put together (New Super Mario Bros and Brain Training).

That said, I love the PSP. It is an easy target for those who are responding to early articles that forecast the 'doom of Nintendo' based on the PSP being so technically ahead ... but the PSP is still a great system and has a load of good games. I'd hate to have to choose only one handheld.

txa1265 said:

It is hard to describe something that has sold over 30 million units in just under 3 years as 'just turning the corner'

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30 million? You sure on that? I read recently the installed base in North America for the PSP was just north of 8 million. Installed base for the DS in North America was 30 million and climbing rapidly.

[EDIT: Did a quick search and the number bandied about is north of 20 millions for PSP. I'm not sure it's yet at 30 million. I suppose it may be getting close.]

The problem has been, the PSP has been selling to hardcore gamers. And hardcore gamers... play their games on the PC and the 360 or PS3. They don't play on handhelds. Attach rate is abysmal.

So the units themselves have been selling as a high tech novelty - but the games have not been selling. Add in the problem of piracy on the PSP (yeah, that topic again) and that the market they are pitching to has the savvy to mod the PSP so that it can pirate ... and it's been a real problem for game sales.

But yes - it does look like they have turned that corner.

I'm fairly confident ... those numbers are for all regions, and come from NPD / MediaCreate / others ...

But remember that while the PSP is at ~30+ million, the DS is fast approaching 70 million!

That is a very good point about the piracy issue - it dovetails nicely with the 'Twenty-Sided' articles about piracy and especially the one that quotes Brad from Stardock as he talked about the 'demographics of piracy'. The PSP attracts an audience that is disproportionately more likely to pirate than any other hendheld ever.

txa1265 said:

That is a very good point about the piracy issue - it dovetails nicely with the 'Twenty-Sided' articles about piracy and especially the one that quotes Brad from Stardock as he talked about the 'demographics of piracy'. The PSP attracts an audience that is disproportionately more likely to pirate than any other hendheld ever.

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Well, the R4DS/M3 have certainly brought the problem to the fore on the DS lately as well. I would not be surprised to see Nintendo bring its release schedule forward for a new handheld as a result. I guess we'll see if it starts to effect game sales measurably as compared to number of units shipped.

I do know that while the PSP dev kits are a lot cheaper now and while the gatekeepers have eased the barriers into developing for the PSP, we remain pretty spooked about it given the attach rate to date. Still, never say never.

Thanks SteelW for the reply, Im an old adventure game fan but I havent played them much in quite a while (Last adventure games I really played would probably be Longest Journey and Gabriel Knight...) So that Prof Layton game sounds interesting...Although I'll probably wait a few weeks, so I can actually play the games I've already purchased .

By the way, if you (Or anyone else) are aware of any other good Adventure games, I'd love to hear about it....! Actually it doesnt have to be Adventure , I like turn based, rpgs and such just as much...So to those of you who do have DS, feel free to let me know your favorites...Be it here or through PM.

G.

My fave adventures (in the classic point & click style) are Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory. I know there are more coming ... and I can't wait.

Well, as promised, I picked up Anno 1701 today.

It's a surprisingly deep and complex colony game. Some RTS Age of Empires III elements to it, without the madness of rushes at this juncture (the thing about the RTS genre I don't like). Feels like a fusion of a RTS/Turn based game so far. I have never played the PC version, but Anno 1701's roots are clearly showing. Target age level on this game is definitely skewing high teens/adult.

Interface wise, it's a stylus/radial driven game with a really satisfying ability to move about the map with the stylus - including a swishy thing where you can move with the stylus so that the screen is moving a little even after the stylus has stopped contacting the touchscreen. Sort of screen moving-through-momentum kind of thing. I really like this aspect of the stylus interface (I'm all about stylus GUIs and DS games right now in terms of game design).

So far - I'm enjoying it a lot. More than I enjoyed Panzer Tactics DS, tbh.

I would never presume to "review" something on a few hours play, but my first impressions are very favorable. I'd say the game is most relevant to RPGWarch readers because this is one of the new DS titles aimed at an older age group. It says "E" on the box; don't you believe it. It's a game for grown-ups.

Happily, there are more of those on the way for the NDS platform.

Steel_Wind said:

Target age level on this game is definitely skewing high teens/adult.

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I don't necessarily agree - my kids (now 10 & 11.5) loved the PC Anno 1701, and they got to see some this weekend (I started a new job in a new state, they are still at home until we close on buying & selling houses) ... and tried to get me to let them take it with them for the ride!

... didn't happen.

Anno 1701, from what I read seems very interesting as well.. It reminds me of an old favorite of mine although I guess it never had the success or the fame of some of his other games.. Sid Meier's Colonization. I better not stop by a futureshop or whatever other gamestore for the next few days , either I wont be able to do as I said I would and I'll buy another game before I even finished the ones I have heh.

hehe ... definitely worth getting! Resistance is futile!