Europe Getting New, Slightly Crippled, Wii & PSP Units

[DoctorFinger]

Gamescom is the premiere game show for the European continent, so maybe it's time for some Euro-centric news?

Both Nintendo and Sony announced new hardware models for old systems which are - for now - Europe only.

First is Nintendo, which announced a new Wii model. The new Wii includes copies of Wii Sports & Wii Party but ditches backwards compatibility for Gamecube software and hardware, as well as the "Classic" controllers needed for some Virtual Console titles (correction, the Classic controllers connect through the WiiMote's rear port). Nintendo will be discontinuing the old, backwards-compatible Wii hardware in Europe.

While Nintendo puts out a new Wii, Sony releases one last gasp for the PSP with the E-1000 model.

This revamped until will sell for €99, but that lesser cost comes at a price: no Wi-Fi capabilities. If you want to buy content from the Playstation Store you'll have to connect it to your PC via USB (Mac fans are apparently out of luck). The PSP E-1000 will launch this fall in Europe.

So far neither Sony nor Nintendo have announced plans to bring either of these units to North America or Asia.

[JayVe]

The new Wii model makes sense. Pulling out GameCube support will help reduce Nintendo's cost and there hasn't been any new GameCube software for years and years now.

The new PSP is a bit more baffling. Pulling out WiFi sounds a bit silly IMHO. I would have rather seen a $99 version of the GO which fully supports PSN.

If Sony gets more people using PSN, buying games and checking it on a regular basis, they can put long-term 'hooks' into customers. Customers buying PSN games can then play those games on future Sony devices like the Vita and PS3.

Yet this new PSP abandons PSN... it abandons the future. Why? To make a little money off of the remaining UMDs out there?

Poor idea.

[Widgetcraft]

To clear up something you said: Classic Controllers work, Gamecube controllers do not. Classic Controllers plug into the Wiimote, while Gamecube controllers (obviously) plugged into the Wii itself in the Gamecube controller ports.

[MagGnome]

Why can't you use the "Classic" controller with the new Wii? Doesn't it plug into the Wiimote?

Edit - Damn you, Heretic!

[Abyssion]

I imagine you can also plug in the new PSP into a PS3 to bring content purchased from the PSN over to it.

[Mike Kelehan]

Gamecube games haven't been relevant for quite some time. Anyone who is interested in GC games already has a Wii or a GC. I'd be very surprised if 1% of the people who bought a Wii in 2011 ever put a GC game in it. The only problems, I think, will be Dance Dance Revolution and Smash Bros. The best way to play Smash Bros., IMO, was with a GC controller, and DDR flat-out requires a mat that plugs into the GC port.

Since the Wii and GC are so similar, technologically, the only savings Nintendo is getting is in removing the GC ports and memory card ports, I'd imagine. They should release a USB adapter with those ports, and make it compatible with the Wii U as well.

Originally Posted by Abyssion

I imagine you can also plug in the new PSP into a PS3 to bring content purchased from the PSN over to it.

Try getting your casual gamer friends to do THAT. I was just out with friends last night who own a 3DS and didn't know there was an eShop.

[Chris_D]

I also use my PS3 to get PSP content. Having said that, do you really save that much money by not including a wifi chip? Seems like a strange decision.

I agree most people probably don't care about GC games anymore but I do wish my PS3 had BC still.

[JayVe]

Originally Posted by Chris_D

I also use my PS3 to get PSP content.

So, is the market audience for this new PSP folks who own a PS3 but don't own a PSP? Is that market significant?

What does the PSP's release schedule look like for the next year? Not to be rude, but I thought most developers were working on the Vita and 3DS... not on the PSP.

[DoctorFinger]

Originally Posted by JayVe

So, is the market audience for this new PSP folks who own a PS3 but don't own a PSP? Is that market significant?

What does the PSP's release schedule look like for the next year? Not to be rude, but I thought most developers were working on the Vita and 3DS... not on the PSP.

The PSP schedule is pretty much non-existent. I'm sure there will be more PSP content added to PSN, but regular PSP retail releases are even now tailing off in advance of Vita, which is probably going to launch here in February-March.

[Chris_D]

I don't know who the market is. You'd have to ask Sony, apparently they know better than us.

For the PSP, I imagine you'll continue to get a trickle of niche Japanese games, but otherwise it's about as dead as the DS.

[Gorvi]

PSP releases are pretty much dead at this point outside of Japan, where it's still the dominant platform. No WiFi is weird, but that doesn't stop anyone from using their PC or PS3 to get PSN content on their PSP. In the vast majority of cases it's significantly faster, anyway.

[Vanthar]

Originally Posted by Chris_D

I don't know who the market is. You'd have to ask Sony, apparently they know better than us.

For the PSP, I imagine you'll continue to get a trickle of niche Japanese games, but otherwise it's about as dead as the DS.

It's gotta be for kids. They really don't need the wifi that much. I could see a mom and dad grabbing one of these for a young kid that they want occupied during road trips and the like.

[OldJadedGamer]

I have owned a PSP for years and cannot even remember the last time I even turned the wifi switch on.

[Chris_D]

I usually do firmware updates over wifi just for convenience.

[JayVe]

Th the new PSP is hackable, I can see it being a huge success.

[Cactaur]

Like the matt finish. Too bad with vita on the horizon most might be giving it a pass.

[JayVe]

Yanno, I bet some of the most expensive parts of the PSP are the mechanical parts. The PSP's innards include a whole host of tiny moving parts, machined to precision, in order to mount, spin and read UMDs.

Making a UMD-less version of this same PSP that only plays content off of PSN and Memory Sticks would probably reduce the price even further than pulling out the WiFi chip.

[MagGnome]

The Go was a flop. Why would Sony release a "mini-Go"?

[JayVe]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

The Go was a flop. Why would Sony release a "mini-Go"?

The Go wasn't a flop from a hardware standpoint. It was a commercial flop. It was more expensive than something that would play UMDs.

Making something like the Go as a LESS expensive alternative will hook people on PSN... which is honestly the future of gaming. All of these online services are going to be bigger than selling games at retail.

The ONLY thing I can see being positive about this new PSP is alternative markets. Places like India will love a lower-cost entry point...

...but again. What about the games? UMDs are gone. There is very little coming in the way of new content for the PSP.

This new PSP is completely baffling.

Personally, I'd rather see resources being put into making the Vita a 100% success, rather than trying to figure out a way to squeeze $99 out of someone who doesn't know any better and buys into a dying platform. At least if it had PSN access it would be a stepping-stone for future Sony purchases.

As it stands now, the new PSP is a dead-end on a dying platform and has no room for future growth.

Hell, even the GameBoy Advance Micro made more sense... as it was a full-featured GBA but fucking tiny.

[MagGnome]

I guess I just don't understand why you seem to care so much. If the platform is dying, then who cares what Sony does with it?

This isn't any worse than the GBA Micro.