Ngmoco Boss: Sony's NGP is "Dead On Arrival"

[Andy Chalk]

Ngmoco Boss: Sony's NGP is "Dead On Arrival"

Ngmoco [http://blog.ngmoco.com/] CEO Neil Young says the "PSP is done and the NGP is dead on arrival" and he places the blame squarely at the feet of the iPhone.

The portable gaming arena is an interesting place these days. The Android [http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-3DS-Aqua-Blue/dp/B002I090AG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299095584&sr=8-1]-based cousins, and more to the point their app stores, which are overflowing with literally hundreds of thousands of apps, many free or very close to it. If you've played around with an iPhone in recent months, you know it brings some pretty serious gaming power to the party and Young, who founded ngmoco in 2008, thinks there's big trouble ahead for conventional handheld makers.

"I think they are hurt; I think they're clearly hurt. I think IndustryGamers [http://www.amazon.com/PSP-3000-Core-Pack-Black-Sony/dp/B001KMRN0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299095756&sr=8-1]. "It's really difficult to compete with an app store that has hundreds of thousands of applications and a wide range of options where the average price paid is around $1.20 and there are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of free applications that are really high quality. So I just don't think Sony's going to be able to compete with that."

He denied that the PSP or its successor recreate a "PS3 quality experience" and said the broad range of functionality available on the iPod Touch and iPhone trumps the pure processing power of Sony's devices. Nintendo is a little better off, he added, thanks to its library of hugely popular games and characters.

"I think Nintendo will likely be competitive," he said. "Nintendo has great franchises and there are tens of millions of people who want to participate in those franchises, so that always helps... But the real question is the degree to which there's a third-party community."

As a publisher of iPhone and Android games, it's fair to assume that Young is a little biased in this matter, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong. Calling the NGP "dead on arrival" may be a bit extreme but handheld gaming has an inherently greater appeal to the mass market simply because of its reach. You buy a DS or a PSP because you want to play certain games on it; you buy an iPhone because, hey, you need a phone. Once that happens, and the floodgates of the app store open up on you, I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that the odds of picking up a dedicated handheld are significantly reduced.


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[Worgen]

ehh the problem with phone and pad stuff is that its really hard to get past simple flash games, most of which you can play for free on a site like newgrounds or kongregate

 

[manythings]

I'm calling soundbyte, press release bullshit on this. He would be saying the exact same thing if the NGP gave blowjobs.

 

[Eri]

Analog sticks would like a word with you.

 

[gigastar]

I call red-hot flaming bullshit.

I dont want to go the rest of my portable gaming life playing adapted flash games where theres a risk of being interupted by some douche friend who wants to chat for 5 mins. I want to play at least decent full games that will keep me interested during my time on the train and bus or when I have time to kill and cannot access or dont feel like using my consoles or laptop.

And no i dont care about what way north is, if theres something shiny underneath the ground or where someone might have stashed something. The only utility a handheld absolutely needs is the ability to tell the time.

 

[AngelicSven]

Well, for the Flash games. HTML5 is gaining ground fast, I personally know many coders who are messing with it.

Though, the PSP2, NGP, whateverthefuck it's called is most definitely not dead on arrival, it has many versatile ways to play games and will play 'Actual' games, not Angry Birds.
If it fails, I will blame Sony's extremely weak entrance with it.

 

[mjc0961]

Until he shows me a cell phone that doesn't cost me a crazy amount of money each month for the calling plan and the data plan that you HAVE to have because it's a smart phone, he can take his app store and shove it.

 

[ChillShark]

I agree with the NGP being doa. The first thing I thought when I bought my PSP back in 2005 was: "This thing really needs a touch screen."

Sony has this weird thing they do where they believe there product can't fail because it says Sony on it and fanboys will buy it just because of that. So now they decided that a 3D screen isn't necessary, just like the thought the rumble feature in their first PS3 controller wasn't necessary. Then a couple of years later, they make a Wii clone remote.

When are they going to make it so that the PS# can play flv. vids?

 

[Ayjona]

Good analysis/conclusion, Andy. Certainly not done for, but the conventional handhel market is in for the toughest ride yet. Especially since they vehemently refuse to implement support for mobile broadbands, and the prospect of online multiplayer is one of the major appeals of Android and iPhone.

I dont want to go the rest of my portable gaming life playing adapted flash games where theres a risk of being interupted by some douche friend who wants to chat for 5 mins. I want to play at least decent full games that will keep me interested during my time on the train and bus or when I have time to kill and cannot access or dont feel like using my consoles or laptop.

ehh the problem with phone and pad stuff is that its really hard to get past simple flash games, most of which you can play for free on a site like newgrounds or kongregate

This. The main problem with mobile gaming is that it's all basically flash-based games similar to those lame ones on Facebook.

Ok, then, let's do this

We have...

...online [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/archetype/id364504952?mt=8] shooters [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/modern-combat-2-black-pegasus/id394443824?mt=8] for the iPhone. Street Fighter IV [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/street-fighter-iv/id354655665?mt=8]. 3D space simulators, such as Galaxy on Fire 2 [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/galaxy-on-fire-2/id397127539?mt=8], with great demands on exact controls and screen size. Friggin' Prince of Persia: Warrior Within [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prince-persia-warrior-within/id360182980?mt=8], a part of one of the game franchises deemed most impossible (since impossible clearly is a relative term) to port to handheld devices, let alone touchscreen devices. The Unreal Engine 3 [http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/epic-citadel/id388888815?mt=8] has been ported to iOS, giving rise to advanced sword fighting games with graphics similar to Oblivion, at the very least, and an online co-operative RPG-tower defense hybrid. There's X-Plane [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/x-plane-9/id290619945?mt=8]. RTS [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/land-air-sea-warfare/id370559102?mt=8] games. Twitch-action games [http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/gun-bros/id393404730?mt=8], brawlers [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/corporate-fury/id387785566?mt=8], advanced [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gt-racing-motor-academy/id347349895?mt=8] and realistic [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/real-racing-2/id386568787?mt=8] racing games, GTA [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grand-theft-auto-chinatown/id344186162?mt=8] clones [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gangstar-miami-vindication/id392609455?mt=8], MMA games [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mma-by-ea-sports/id386453888?mt=8], deep, hardcore games, high production [http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/chaos-rings/id365678365?mt=8] value [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/madden-nfl-11-by-ea-sports/id365985808?mt=8] games, games with massive amounts [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-quest/id305553708?mt=8] of content, open world RPGs [http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/aralon-sword-and-shadow-hd/id399045373?mt=8], cooperative multiplayer space ship combat games [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-battalion/id382240347?mt=8], full-featured MMORPGs [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yslandia/id383610358?mt=8], and top-down space [http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/space-miner-space-ore-bust/id353853276?mt=8] shooters [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ultraviolet-dawn/id369814099?mt=8].

On Android, there is even a real-time, twitch-based, cockpit view space simulation MMO, that is also available for Mac, Linux and Windows. And just about every other genre at one point deemed "impossible to port to or develop for mobile devices". In fact, there is not a single game genre that is not present and working very well on iOS/Android/Windows Mobile 7 devices. And all above-mentioned games play GREAT, without being hampered by control or screen issues.

You had better point me in the direction of these flash games of similar quality, for I will never have to purchase another game again ;-)

Seeing as almost every argument against Android, Windows Mobile and iOS as gaming platforms is either irrational ("Android games are ported flash games") or based on a lack of experience ("it is impossible to play beat em ups on a touch screen"), I'm starting to believe that the true fuel for the anti-touch screen gaming crowd is the age-old fanboy my console versus your console sentiment.

 

[Bakuryukun]

Meh, I'm personally looking forward to the NGP, and I'm not going to let some guy from a company I've honestly never heard of, change my mind. Aside from that, of course he thinks the Iphone and Ipad are the way of the future, his company makes games for those platforms so of course, he's going to say that the other platforms suck and are going to fail.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I think that's a little extreme. He does have a point. Most people who want a portable console don't really want to be playing a 'proper' game when they're out and about, casual games are much more popular to just pass the time on the bus. For that, an iTouch or something is a lot better than what Sony is offering. But I think if there are enough people who want 'proper' portable gaming then it could do well.

That said, as a recent recipient of an iPhone, you can't beat Worms Armageddon 2.

 

[Something Amyss]

ehh the problem with phone and pad stuff is that its really hard to get past simple flash games, most of which you can play for free on a site like newgrounds or kongregate

Yeah, but it still will eat into the market. DOA? Probably not, but certainly somewhat threatened.

 

[Bakuryukun]

I agree with the NGP being doa. The first thing I thought when I bought my PSP back in 2005 was: "This thing really needs a touch screen."

Sony has this weird thing they do where they believe there product can't fail because it says Sony on it and fanboys will buy it just because of that. So now they decided that a 3D screen isn't necessary, just like the thought the rumble feature in their first PS3 controller wasn't necessary. Then a couple of years later, they make a Wii clone remote.

When are they going to make it so that the PS# can play flv. vids?

lol @ implying that the only people buying NGP must be Sony fanboys, you sir must be a unique individual for being free of Sony's wicked mind control powers.

 

[Braedan]

Ok, I've tried to play emulators on my Android, and the controls are messy as all hell. The touch screen controls not only block a third of the screen (the most important parts too, the left and right....) but the physical keyboard on my phone is much to awkward to use unless you buy a third party add-on that you have to stick in your pocket as well.
I've found action games difficult, and fighters physically impossible to play. The only type that works are games like Pokemon, which are great fun, but I still find times when I bumble around with the controls because with the huge number of buttons on my slide out keyboard I accidentally hit the wrong one.

What I think is that phone based touch screen games will be is what the already are. Mostly more casual simple games. We have 3 different types of platforms. Consoles/Pc, Hand helds, and Mobile phones.

The only games that Iphone/Android phones (except the new Sony phone with dedicated buttons) can play well are either simple things like angry birds (which I admit I loved as a mindless time waster) Or very slow, possibly turn based games like rpgs.

TLDR: Touch screen smart phones have infuriating controls and will never beat traditional hand helds at the games currently being released for them (except possibly the Xperia Play)