Gran Turismo PSP stuck in gravel trap

[wraggster]

More info on the Gran Turismo Delay from CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=145494)


Famitsu has reported -- after an interview with Polyphony Digital -- that the release date for the PSP version of Gran Turismo 4 has been put back indefinitely.

Originally mooted to appear in Japan in Spring 2005, it sems that gran Turismo: Mobile Edition has fallen victim to the curse of the PSP, which has recently been dogged by reports of low sales for UMD movies and has been spectacularly outsold in most territories by Nintendo's DS.

Gran Turismo: Mobile edition is, of course, one of those games that could single-handedly boost sales of Sony's handheld -- the prospect of head-to-head battles around the world's finest racing circuits via WiFi is an enticing one indeed. But it seems we'll have to be patient. Perhaps the launch delay is a function of Polyphony Digital diverting resources to the first PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo? We can but wait and see.

[elamar]

There is nothing wrong with the PSP it's sony.
Sales would increase if sony would stop holding back.
Ad better flash,pdf support, start ps1 emulator now,
not in the future. Every thing is wait wait. Why not
let developers make aftermarket upgrades and hardware. Maybe when sony gets off its high horse
and let the people play watch an see sales increase.

[benn]

what a crock of sh*t.
that game would single handedly be responsible for PSP sales outstripping DS (for 1 week at least).
but WTF do Sony care. if you are a PSP owner like me then you need to face a grim reality. that pretty much nothing is going to happen on time over the next six months and there will not be any BIG games either. EVERYTHING is focused on the PS3 launch. the sad thing is that if they actually made this fecking game when they were supposed to (over a year ago) then they would not have this overlap and we would be racing the crap out of it today!
it is the same with finaly fantasy series. the total backbone of Sony Hardware sales for the last 2 generations. EVERYONE is screaming out for a PSP version - even a remake of FF7 would keep us happy. what do they do? nothing.
Sony are crazy. they could sell out overnight if they marketed it right and launched the right games but they are just so n00b in the way they are handling this!

[philage]

Would Sony even release the game if it was ready with all the recent firmware hacking ? If they release it when thier is a newer firmware, without any known exploits, they will sell more. It will also be another reason for people to upgrade thier firmwares just to play this game.

Sony have a lot on thier plate right now so it comes as no suprise to me that it is delayed.

[MaxSMoke]

Is there any shortage of PSP racing games? I don't understand what the big deal is. I never cared for Gran Turismo on the PS1 or the PS2. It would hardly make PSP's fly off the shelves in any greater quantity then they are now.

And what's this BS about the DS outselling the PSP in all territories. Last time I checked, the PSP is still selling pretty darned well in the US and selling HUGE in Europe.

In fact, there's only *ONE* place on Earth that the DS is selling really well, and that's Japan. And you want to know what one of the top selling games for the DS is? Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop! Which is, perhaps, one of the LAMEST games on the planet!

Well a few noob Blogger twits seem to like casting dispersions on the PSP, clearly they aren't grasping the big picture.

The PSP is a new system making headway into an established market, and it's doing quite well. It's certainly making better headway then the PS1, back when it was only a year old. Back when the PS1 was new, Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64 seemed to dominate the market, and the PS1 struggled to find new games. The Nintendo 64, just like with the DS now, only got by with 1st person development and a tiny handful of 3rd party titles. The Saturn flat-out died. And the PS1 not only rose to dominance, but spawned the massive success of it's sequel, the PS2.

So, pardon me for saying this, but pull your heads out of your butts. The PSP is doing very well. And a word to all of these Naysayers of the PSP, looking for a bit of publicity by jumping on the PSP Doomsday bandwagon; BLOW ME. The PSP's shark has yet to jump, and in the long run, there isn't enough 1st party Nintendo games on earth to keep the DS's head above water forever.

[felonyr301]

maybe to you gran turismo is not your cup of tea but there is a big group who would run to the store to get this game on the go its like the best thing customizing cars that mimics reality and not some fake ass shit like need for speed and you can do it anywhere.

[mcvader]

Gran turismo 4 mobile was supposed to be the showcase for the PSP, the only game that requires 333mhz (I could think of a bunch tho), it was supposed to push the PSP to the limit and really show the world how the DS is a piece of scmidt in comparison.

I am totaly convinced that GT4 is finished and has been for some time and that they are waiting for the whole exploit side of things to dry up before releasing it, damn lazy gits if you ask me, there has got to be a way of protecting the game from piracy without bloody fw updates.

All consoles rely on their franchises, imagine how badly the DS would have done if there was no Mariokart on it.

Releasing this game should have been their top priority at launch, what the PSP needs are games that are only availible on the PSP, look at GTA:LCS $75 dollars on PSP, and a month or 2 later you could get it on PS2 for nearly half the price, they may as well have not bothered with the PSP version at all as it wouldnt have helped sales much.

Are $ony getting advice from George Bush or something? sometimes I think that they just don't care about the PSP anymore :(

[Veskgar]

Something is fishy about this.....

Sony is either worried about something or waiting for something. Either way, I don't like it. Owell, PLENTY of awesome titles on the PSP now. No more slim pickings.

[havoc_012]

Is there any shortage of PSP racing games? I don't understand what the big deal is. I never cared for Gran Turismo on the PS1 or the PS2. It would hardly make PSP's fly off the shelves in any greater quantity then they are now.

And what's this BS about the DS outselling the PSP in all territories. Last time I checked, the PSP is still selling pretty darned well in the US and selling HUGE in Europe.

In fact, there's only *ONE* place on Earth that the DS is selling really well, and that's Japan. And you want to know what one of the top selling games for the DS is? Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop! Which is, perhaps, one of the LAMEST games on the planet!

Well a few noob Blogger twits seem to like casting dispersions on the PSP, clearly they aren't grasping the big picture.

The PSP is a new system making headway into an established market, and it's doing quite well. It's certainly making better headway then the PS1, back when it was only a year old. Back when the PS1 was new, Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64 seemed to dominate the market, and the PS1 struggled to find new games. The Nintendo 64, just like with the DS now, only got by with 1st person development and a tiny handful of 3rd party titles. The Saturn flat-out died. And the PS1 not only rose to dominance, but spawned the massive success of it's sequel, the PS2.

So, pardon me for saying this, but pull your heads out of your butts. The PSP is doing very well. And a word to all of these Naysayers of the PSP, looking for a bit of publicity by jumping on the PSP Doomsday bandwagon; BLOW ME. The PSP's shark has yet to jump, and in the long run, there isn't enough 1st party Nintendo games on earth to keep the DS's head above water forever.

Actually retailers are giving up on the PSP too. Walmart and Target both abandoned UMD movies.
Gamers seem to have a while ago too. DS outsells PSP 5 to 1 in Japan. Both the DS and the DS Lite seperately have outsold the PSP. And the DS lite has only been out for 4 months. PSP has been out for a year and a half.

You do realize that the DS is the best selling system in EVERY country right? Not just Japan. And it reguarly out sells all systems (PS2 and PSP included) combined!! Did you see the top 10 selling games list last week in Japan? ALL DS GAMES.

And the DS has the best 3rd party support that Nintendo has gotten since the SNES. Pheonix Wright, Castlevania, Final Fantasy III, Trauma Center, Osu Tatake Ouendan. (And these are exclusives too.)

Why does the DS have great 3rd part support? Its becuase the games are realatively inexpensive to make. And the prohibitably expensive nature of PSP games keeps 3rd party original IP's to a minimum.

I'd bet that the PSP has MORE games than the DS. But the DS has more games that consumers want to play. A dozen GTA clones doesn't make a great system. The DS is filled with many great games. GTA:LCS is decent, but will you play it 10 years from now? Hell, is anyone still playing it 1 year later? DS titles like Mario Kart and New Super Mario Bros will still be fun 10 years from now, and they are games that we can show to the new generation of gamers.

As far as Nintendo not being able to keep the DS alive with first party games, I'd argue that nintendo has the best first party of any company. PSP just doesn't have games as good as Mario Kart and New Super Mario Bros.

Almost every game that comes out on the PSP is available elsewhere, and 9 times out of 10 its better than the PSP version.

I could talk about crappy games on the PSP like 50 Cent: Bulletproof, but systems are remembered for their good games, not their bad ones. Too bad PSP seems like it will be forgotten rather soon.

[goofsterstud]

So

Daxter doesn't count? Cause I sure found it better then New Super Mario Bros.

I also Enjoy Ridge Racers more than I enjoyed Mario Kart.

But I really like Guilty Gear Judgment/Slash and Tekken. What does the DS have?

[ali_g_84uk]

With regards to the ds completely outselling the psp everywhere...that’s bs. Figures were recently released that the ds has shipped 25 million units and the psp 22 million units world wide, which gives you an idea of sales. Considering the nintendo ds was out for a long time before the psp, id say its selling 1:1 worldwide, and yes the ds is selling stupidly well in Japan as they love their gimmicks.

There’s barely any great games on the ds (mario kart, kirby, nintendogs and wario being the exceptions). The rest are shit like paper scissors rock with insects, and just sell well to a gullible audience because its quirky and nintendo /:) Everyone just loves to be a nintendo fan boy and hate sony right now, its the popular thing. Nintendo have lost all my trust as a games developer...for a start they haven't made a classic mario for decade...1996 when mario 64 came out!! The NES, SNES and N64 showed the world how to make timeless classics, and since they have just adopted gimmick after gimmick.

No company is giving up on the psp, they’re giving up on umd movies. Why, because you'd have to be a complete idiot to pay £20 for a film that you can only watch on a psp at a low resolution...particularly when there are 2-4gb sticks and isohunt. UMD movies are a good idea but they are ridiculously overpriced considering that your are stuck to viewing them on a psp.

Havoc half the games you mentioned are just rehashes or direct ports of old games. FF3, Mario Brothers (how many consoles has that been on now, nes, gba, ds etc...MILK IT) and another 2d castlevania game...sorry but i've played far too many of those to death for it to interest me.

From a portable point of view the psp has:

-The best fighting game - Tekken dark resurrection
-The best puzzle game - Lumines/LocoRoco
-The best non cartoon racing game - wipeout, ridge racer, burnout etc take your pic
-The best sports games - V tennis, hot shots, pro evo, ssx etc
-Arguably the best platform game (this would have been a gimme to m64 if it controlled well) – Daxter/LocoRoco
-Best GTA style game….GTA.

I have always loved Nintendo, but they completely let everyone down with the gamecube with about 4 decent games and no real classics (Zelda, Pikmin, Mario Kart and Wario…someone would say metroid prime too). Now you have a touch screen ds with a stylus (that they must incorporate into every game in genius ways like slashing a zombie in resident evil once an hour when you walk through a door, or touching the screen to eat a mushroom in mario brothers…:P ) and the wii where every game must use its motion sensor and quirky controller. If they dropped the gimmicks and concentrated on making classic games like Mario 64, Lylat wars, Diddy kong racing, goldeneye, Mario world 1+2, Donkey kong country 1-3 etc they would have my vote. Ill still buy a wii as it’s cheap as chips and Wario/Zelda look good but they look like they’ll never be the company they were. I’m glad that the ps3’s motion sensor is understated so it can be used as a proper controller for standard games and just used sparingly on games that it actually benefits (warhawk for example_ rather than becoming some cheap gimmick. I think being an old Nintendo fan…I’d rather they went down segas route and just made games for consoles…that way there would be no gimmicks just classic games that they can spend all their time concentrating on.

[ali_g_84uk]

Lol P.S - Sorry i digressed...GT4 not being released soon on the PSP is a HUGE blow for any gt fan and for the psp franchise. This game is a huge seller and there would be hundreds of thousands that would buy a psp alone for this game if they haven't already in preperation.

[Juanton3790]

wat gayness I dont even like GT but I was gon give it a try on PSP Complete and TOTAL Gayness:mad: :mad: :mad:

[elamar]

I am a GT FAN, I have all 4 GT and I know it is a
great game. But greatly increasing sales, I don't
think so. Personally I think Tourist Trophy would
be better for the PSP because u never see any
bike games on the psp and to many car racers.:rolleyes:

[havoc_012]

With regards to the ds completely outselling the psp everywhere...that’s bs. Figures were recently released that the ds has shipped 25 million units and the psp 22 million units world wide, which gives you an idea of sales. Considering the nintendo ds was out for a long time before the psp, id say its selling 1:1 worldwide, and yes the ds is selling stupidly well in Japan as they love their gimmicks.

There’s barely any great games on the ds (mario kart, kirby, nintendogs and wario being the exceptions). The rest are shit like paper scissors rock with insects, and just sell well to a gullible audience because its quirky and nintendo /:) Everyone just loves to be a nintendo fan boy and hate sony right now, its the popular thing. Nintendo have lost all my trust as a games developer...for a start they haven't made a classic mario for decade...1996 when mario 64 came out!! The NES, SNES and N64 showed the world how to make timeless classics, and since they have just adopted gimmick after gimmick.

No company is giving up on the psp, they’re giving up on umd movies. Why, because you'd have to be a complete idiot to pay £20 for a film that you can only watch on a psp at a low resolution...particularly when there are 2-4gb sticks and isohunt. UMD movies are a good idea but they are ridiculously overpriced considering that your are stuck to viewing them on a psp.

Havoc half the games you mentioned are just rehashes or direct ports of old games. FF3, Mario Brothers (how many consoles has that been on now, nes, gba, ds etc...MILK IT) and another 2d castlevania game...sorry but i've played far too many of those to death for it to interest me.

From a portable point of view the psp has:

-The best fighting game - Tekken dark resurrection
-The best puzzle game - Lumines/LocoRoco
-The best non cartoon racing game - wipeout, ridge racer, burnout etc take your pic
-The best sports games - V tennis, hot shots, pro evo, ssx etc
-Arguably the best platform game (this would have been a gimme to m64 if it controlled well) – Daxter/LocoRoco
-Best GTA style game….GTA.

I have always loved Nintendo, but they completely let everyone down with the gamecube with about 4 decent games and no real classics (Zelda, Pikmin, Mario Kart and Wario…someone would say metroid prime too). Now you have a touch screen ds with a stylus (that they must incorporate into every game in genius ways like slashing a zombie in resident evil once an hour when you walk through a door, or touching the screen to eat a mushroom in mario brothers…:P ) and the wii where every game must use its motion sensor and quirky controller. If they dropped the gimmicks and concentrated on making classic games like Mario 64, Lylat wars, Diddy kong racing, goldeneye, Mario world 1+2, Donkey kong country 1-3 etc they would have my vote. Ill still buy a wii as it’s cheap as chips and Wario/Zelda look good but they look like they’ll never be the company they were. I’m glad that the ps3’s motion sensor is understated so it can be used as a proper controller for standard games and just used sparingly on games that it actually benefits (warhawk for example_ rather than becoming some cheap gimmick. I think being an old Nintendo fan…I’d rather they went down segas route and just made games for consoles…that way there would be no gimmicks just classic games that they can spend all their time concentrating on.


Ninty really did half ass the gamecube. Aside from Smash Bros Melee and RE4, it really wasn't anything special. It just seemed like they really weren't interested. But I have a feeling that theyre coming back in a big way soon. It takes alot of balls to sell something like the Wii, but so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

22 million shipped versus 25 million shipped? That will give you an idea of how many are shipped, not sold. Sony loves to give out vague numbers. And why shouldn't they? They have nothing to gain by releasing information about how many consoles are sold. Media Crate, and independant third party company, notes that PSP has only sold about 13 million PSP's (roughly half shipped) where as ninty has sold well over 20 million.

Best fighting game - tekken? Not much of a tekken person. Soul Calibur on the other hand... Have you heard of Bleach DS? Its way better than 99.9% of all the anime licensed stuff. Plus it has up to 4 player online fighting. (I don't even watch the anime) Its from Treasure. They were the best of Konami in the early 90's (contra and castlvania series) and later created such indie classics like gunstar heroes, radiant silvergun, and ikaruga. (Personally, I don't like tekken, but its really popular. Bleach DS is japan only so, I'll give tekken the edge here.)

Best puzzle game - Lumines. Maybe... I hold Lumnies pretty high. Lumines is fun, but I've gotten to the point where all the skins loop over after 90 minutes or so, and the game doesn't really offer too much for me after that. The DS has Tetris DS really does manage to keep tetris fresh with all of its original gameplay modes, 10 player single cart multiplayer, and online play. But, its tetris, you've played it to death, so i'll call that one even.

Best non cartoon racing game - well thats REALLY SPECIFIC so I'd give you that, but only on the technicality that your basically calling it "the best racing game thats not called Mario Kart." :)

Best sports game - Mario Basketball. Its a damn fine game. (Square's trying to get some diginity back after the recent FF7 whoring.)

Best platform game - In the case of Daxter, immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So a mario clone is better than the real deal? This is the one catagory that the DS definately has in the bag. I'd take New Super Mario Bros over Daxter any day.

Best GTA - Well, DS doesn't have GTA so..:p

Ninty has a new mario world 2 sequel coming out in november called "Yoshi's Island 2" in America and a lylat wars game just came out called "Star Fox Command" in America. And ninty just released a classic mario this year. :p

The touch screen may be a gimmick. I totally agree that it is put in some games where it doesn't belong. cough **Resident Evil DS** But the "gimmicky" nature of the DS allows developers to take a chance and create games that were never possible before. The DS has scene an incredible amount of games that push the envelope. Games like Pheonix Wright, Trauma Center, Brain Age, Ouendan, and Meteos, would really suffer if the touch screen was removed, probably to the point where they would be unplayable.

The PSP is just as guilty as the DS is when it comes to rehashing old games. The PSP basically made the word "port" a dirty word. Your pick for a fighting game was the 5th possibly 6th entry in a series that has been out for roughly 10 years. As consumers, we love sequels. (Thats why both companies still exist.) Its always good to go with a familar game. You'd have a better idea about what your getting. But at the same time its also good to have original IP's and push games in new directions (ICO, Shadow of the Colosus)

[Video_freak]

I bet we're going to be seeing Gran Turismo on PS4 before PSP... :rolleyes:

[havoc_012]

Not trying to flame here so I'm going to get back on topic about GT4. The PSP isn't on Sony's radar right now. Sony's been struggling financially recently. (Hmm, maybe its that proprietary format fetish) The entire company is riding on PS3 and more specifically, getting consumers to buy blu-ray. So I'd say that sony might focus on PS3/blu-ray first, and launch the PSP gran turismo when they launch the PS3 one.

[Junior]

There might be about 30 different racing games on the PSP right now, but none of them are as full featured as Gran Tourismo 4. Not even close. My bargain copy of Midnight Club 3 DUB (in the EU version with less loading time strain) might be a blast, but I only bought that game because I eventually got tired of waiting for Gran Tourismo.

Mind you, I'm not even very much into racing games at all. But there was the promise/premise of the PSP getting that fat piece of a racer for sure! And soon. And nothing's happening! In that regard I feel stunningly cheated. Gran Tourismo 4 was supposed the be the only racing game I would ever need to buy for the PSP. I knew if I had that one, all the others would be literally "out of the race". It's way out of their league. I will sell Midnight Club 3 once I get Gran Tourismo. If ever.

[scarph]

wah i want my gt

[Psyberjock]

HAHA, I totally told you guys that this was going to happen in the last post about GT4P. It was all a big lie to get people excited about PSP. I fell for it too, buy like I said before, I didn't buy a PSP (or two for that matter) for the sole purpose of playing GT4P. So while I'm disappointed, I'm not devastated or regretful. Monster Hunter Portable kicks serious ass.

I have to say that I think GT4P would be a huge seller on the PSP. I think it would sell many PSP units that have so far gone unsold. Personally, I don't even like GT that much because it's a little too realistic to be fun. However, I wanted to buy if for PSP and give it a fresh chance with a new system.

You people saying that GT4P wouldn't make a difference are thinking that because you don't like the game, or if you do, you don't like it nearly as much as the fans who would buy a PSP just because GT4P is on it. Try to be objective.

Who here bought a PS or PS2 because some kickass game came out on it? Personally I bought an original Xbox for the sole reason of DOA3. Hell, I bought a DC for DOA2. Sure I bought other games after I had the system, but that is the kind of dedication to franchises that sells PSPs based on GT4P. GT4P is a straw that would break a hell of a lot of camel backs.

[hksrb25s14]

:( poor game, I saw something funny but don't know if it's true, but the UK version is suppose to come out September 7, 06. I saw this on IGN's Website for relase dates, and also checking out UK video game websites, they are also claming that the game is out in Sept.