PSP Pitched Against iPod Video
With the release chart for Sony's UMD format movies in October out, it's no surprise that many gamers are complaining again about the lack of decent games releases on the PSP.
The PSP's release table has been far more filled with movies than games. This leads many to ask, "Why not just by a portable media player?" And that's the crux of it. The PSP can have all the potential it likes as a games console but seems underused at present. With scheduled releases looking more and more original but We Love Katmari, Loco Roco and Every Extend Extra still distant, it looks like Sony may lose out to Apple in the portable video department.
Apple is one of the companies most responsible for the proliferation of hard drive MP3 players. Without the cute fashionability of the iPod it's hard to see how these players would have become popular outside relatively tech savvy circles. Now, Apple seems set to bring the world of the i-Pod into competition with Sony's PSP by releasing the iPod video.
While this remains to be confirmed it was let slip by BBC 6 that video bundles would also be available from iTunes stores.
While this is no surprise it could spell some trouble for Sony, whose current firmware doesn’t allow users to view digital videos at full screen unless they're coming from a UMD. Sony may have been asleep at the wheel until now but with the marketing power of the iLogo there will be a fight for the number one spot.
What remain to be seen are the formats in which content for the i-Video will be delivered and the prices charged for digital video. Content may be more expensive for Apple to procure but there'll be no problems with physical marketing or packaging.
Hopefully Sony will take the hint and try to develop the PSP more heavily as a gaming platform and if we're lucky this will mean more games as soon as possible
