Another late night of Burnout Paradise! Sigh...Here are my final thoughts of the day...
I had written this a few days ago. However, my son managed to get a hold of my laptop and somehow deleted the notepad I wrote it in (mind you, he’s only a one year old boy)! So, I’ve attempted to rack my brain again and hopefully recover everything I wanted. Enjoy.
Guitar Hero. We’ve seen it on every other system out there. They are even considering making a movie about it. But, where has Guitar Hero not been? The PlayStation Portable. But why?
It’s a no brainer: The Nintendo DS is kicking ass and taking names in Europe, as well as North America. Sometime around Nintendogs, Brain Age Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, and Animal Crossing, it seems the DS came out of its shell and into the hands of everyone on the face of the earth. Oh, and let’s not even mention how sharply sales rose once Nintendo blatantly copied took inspiration from the iPod’s design. Before that though, it seems Sony had a viable system, on which every developer was bandwagon jumping. If it was on PS2, it was on PSP. Sadly, that’s not exactly the case anymore. Games are being given new legs on the PS2, a system that came out years before the PSP.
So of course, Activision isn’t going to burn money trying to sell a game on a “dead” system. PSP owners that have always bought Sony products, don’t think your system was the first to suffer from this. As a longtime Nintendo fan and customer I stood by Nintendo as the N64, the GameCube, and
(for a good year) the Nintendo DS sputtered their way through the generation. Now it’s your turn to do the same. But, look at the DS as an example of how one game, or a series of games, can change the outlook. Notice I only mentioned Europe and North America. They are the key markets for this game, but they are also the two major territories that the PSP is gimping along in. The other one? That oh-so-special Japan? The PSP is killing, and has done so thanks to some titles that Japan owners want.
Solution: I’ll just tackle an advantage right here: Bundle pack. If Sony and Activision get together and bundle Guitar Hero with a PSP, I could see a big sales spike, especially if they do it for the holiday season. This would be more effective in North America than Europe, with the way the economy is right now. Your kid is asking for a new system, with Guitar Hero. Are you going to spend $300+ on World Tour, or would you be more inclined to spend 200-250 on a “bundle” pack, where you get everything you need to get started? Oh, and this game wouldn’t just be a “portable Guitar Hero” like the NDS version, it’d (have to) be an all out original game. It would look just as good as the Wii version of GHIII, perhaps even the new World Tour. A release on the system would also give current PSP owners something to look forward to, and if there’s a snazzy “PS3-PSP” connectivity option, I for one wouldn’t mind taking some songs for World Tour with me on the road. Speaking of “road”, this leads to another “disadvantage”.
- System setup that seems dysfunctional for gameplay
Yeah, we know FPS fans. One joystick. I suggest you get over it, because Sony won’t add a new one until PSP-2 most likely. Guitar Hero fans, you’ve already put up with hand cramps from the NDS version. Don’t let the reviewers fool you by calling you “babies” for complaining, it’s a pain in the butt to play like that. So how would the PSP, a system that doesn’t have a touch-screen, compete with this “superior” technology? There’s no way it could work…right? I mean, you’d need a mini guitar, or something!
Solution: I got two of them for ya. First, there is a “mini-guitar” out there…
Click Here
Get rid of the tiny screen, put a USB port on it, you get the idea. You could hold the guitar in your hands, and prop the PSP on a stand. The cord wouldn’t need to be too long, but long enough to play from a comfortable distance. With the new “PSP-Brite” that’s out, this is even easier to imagine, as the screen could be seen from a good distance (not to mention, it is a widescreen). You could play this thing at lunch, on a bus ride, heck, easy on an airplane, and rock out like you would at home. Activision could even bundle the system and game with a “GH Stand” that’s a generic stand but perfect for play the game. Or, if they don’t, there are dozens of other stand options.
Ok, but let’s say you HATE that idea, but loved what they did to the Nintendo DS. Here’s something else I thought of:
Click Here
That’s the back, and the front controls could be the single joystick as the strummer, and the right shoulder button to whammy. I think the image says it all. Oh, it’d still plug in via USB (that’s what the top is supposed to be). Sorry, I’m no super photoshopper, but I hope you get the general idea. The new slimmer PSPs mean this add-on wouldn’t make it heavier than the original PSP.
From here, the sky is the limit for good reasons the game should be on the PSP. Downloadable content would keep the game alive, and of course the key factor in this game: The music. It would sound crystal clear on the PSP speakers, much better than the DS version. Plus, you could convert your own songs into tracks and possibly share them with others via the Memory card. With the PSNetwork, compete with friends online for scores, play co-op.
So what do you think? Would you want the game on your PSP? Share with me your opinions and any ideas you might have!
