What does Sony hope to accomplish with Patapon 2 being Download only?

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

Jodan77

[QUOTE="Jodan77"]

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

flowersjf

I'm guessing they wanna see if it's a viable measure against used-games sales (which publishers get no money off of). Seems like a good idea for the future, I don't know anything about the PSP's anti-piracy measures for downloads though. The thing is, if people wanna pirate a game, they're gonna do it whether the game is on a UMD or distributed digitally.

It's just a trial run for a DD-only in the US market. I don't think it will take. I personally would rather have the UMD.

Hold the phone, how is it more convinient. I personally was incredibly excited for patapon too but no I dont want to buy it. Firstly you need a memory card with large space. That in no way is convinient then you need a playstation 3 or anouther way of downloading. It is far from convinient my friend

Hold the phone, how is it more convinient. I personally was incredibly excited for patapon too but no I dont want to buy it. Firstly you need a memory card with large space. That in no way is convinient then you need a playstation 3 or anouther way of downloading. It is far from convinient my friend

soulpiper

Hold the phone, how is it more convinient. I personally was incredibly excited for patapon too but no I dont want to buy it. Firstly you need a memory card with large space. That in no way is convinient then you need a playstation 3 or anouther way of downloading. It is far from convinient my friend

soulpiper

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

Jodan77

Newsflash: UMDs are pirated more easily than titles from PSN store.

It looks like a marketing practice to me. Sony testing the waters to see how many will purchase it directly, vs. retail copy, and use the results for future decisions. It's also a niche title, so they save a bit on manufacturing for all copies purchased directly from the PSN store.

It's a proof of concept; they're testing the waters of a proper online download release, to see how it sells, and what critical response it achieves. iPod Touch and iPhone's App Store digital distribution has possibly shown the way forward, and certainly shown it can be done. Sony are stepping up to the game ^_^NextGenAdam

Yeah, the App Store has been hugely successful with digital distribution. But Apple had the iTunes music store to help jump start the App Store. Not to mention the 35,000 softare titles available to iPhone/iPod Touch users. Compare this to Sony's 30ish PSOne Classics, and 30ish UMD legacy games? =S

I don't know how big the Patapon game size is, but I'm gonna go out on a limb to say its abut 250MB - a relatively small amount considering the UMD's capacity. It appears that Sony is trying out the download only option with a smaller size title first, and gradually bump it up the GBs. I know I for sure would scoff at Sony if they did this for a 1.8GB game, because that would takes hours for the average gamer/consumer, myself included.

Main difference between PSN and the AppStore, is that the AppStore is 95% crap since pretty much anyone and everyone can develop for it and toss something up for a buck or two.

(which makes for some nice practical software, but horrendous for gaming)

I'm hoping the NA/EU PSN store will catch up to JPs some day. The Japanese PSN already has over 200 PSX Classics (seriously) and a fair amount of UMDs for download.

Seems like this is indeed an experiment to get rid of used game sales. It'll help piracy a little, but not as much as it will put a stop to second hand gaming.

I'm a bit apprehensive about needing larger memory sticks as well. I have an 8 gig so I'm not concerned about myself, but more DL only games will force others to ramp up their expenses on memory. Patapon 2 is alright, it's around 400 mb I think (which is admittedly, almost half a 1g and a fifth of a 2g), but what about future games, larger games? It would upset alot of people if larger games like Crisis Core or the upcoming Dissidia were DL only.

PSP memory sticks just don't come in large enough quantities for good prices when compared to the size of games. Sony should just hold off on DL only for the time being.

Idk with all the talk with the "UMDless PSP" rumors, my guess is they are trying to see how successful game sales will be if a game is only available for download just like the possible new format will only support. That's my best guess, not sure though. hockey73

I agree with that... just checkin' how viable is..

[QUOTE="Jodan77"]

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

Genexi2

Newsflash: UMDs are pirated more easily than titles from PSN store.

It looks like a marketing practice to me. Sony testing the waters to see how many will purchase it directly, vs. retail copy, and use the results for future decisions. It's also a niche title, so they save a bit on manufacturing for all copies purchased directly from the PSN store.

LOL!

It may be a fraction of a bit harder to crack for the hackers, still just as easy as downloading a torrent for the pirates.

Unless Sony can build up the memory card stock holdings it has, tell me how they're gonna make more money off us gamers having to buy more cards, instead of staying with a proprietary format like UMD? What I mean is, say they make this transition, where we all go to the PSN with our PSPs and we decide "OK, I want 'WFC vs. Raw 2015', so I'll pop on my PSP and go to the convenient - oh dang, gotta DL the most recent version of the op system, hang on... - ok, so THEN you go to the PSN and you DL the game. But in order to save the game you bought a Fuji 8G card. Is Sony getting a kickback from Fuji for the memory card being bought by the consumer? Otherwise, it looks like Fuji has cut into Sony's game system profits, and without actually trying to do so."

Sony and it's developers can't possibly be worried about UMD production costs by now... the factories for construction of the materials are done, and this can't be an answer to piracy or second-hand sales (because what's to stop anyone from eBay-ing a memory card?)... the sick thought is that by Sony distributing games in this way cuts a worker out of assembly of the UMD (and please let's not get into a world economics discussion about how that worker is being taken advantage of in the first place, and stay on topic here), it cuts the cost of shipping which usually takes at least oneguy to ship it, one to carry it, and one to receive it on the other end... so there's three other pay checks Sony won't haveto directly or indirectly sign, and then Sony won't have to split a little money with a retailer in order to display and sell the UMD to the end-user.

Could it be that Sony is trying to figure out how to generate more profit from the end-user by eliminating pesky "cost" such as a worker and his family, the shipping, and the split with the dealer? Hey... wouldn't it be neat-o if we could figure a way for heroin to get directly into the bloodstream without having to grow the plant, refine the compound, get it overseas to the mafia for distribution to the dealers and THEN into the junkie's quivering hands?

Perhaps I sound like a Communist, but it looks like more and more corporations have been eliminating the human element lately (Cyberdyne Systems, here we come) as an answer to dipping profits. Where does it end? Because eventually, if none of us peons have jobs, we won't be buying game systems OR software...

I'll buy my games in a physical form... one which I can put on my shelf and admire or re-play. If I'm paying money for something it's going to support the system of worker ants who make it happen, not make it more cyclopean and disturbingly inhuman. And who knows, ifI keep one more person employed through my love of this art form, then there's one more thing to feel good about in an increasingly depressing existence which I call my life.

When St. Peter meets me at the gates and asks me if I've done anything to warrant entry to Heaven, I will be able to say that I didn't buy into Sony's ********.

They did say it was a test, and that the UMD format isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but somehow I doubt that. I think it is what Sony has in mind for the next generation of portable gaming.

Games from the PSN store can be pirated (unless Patapon 2 somehow turns out to be an exception). Seems like they don't want to make money.

Jodan77

I reckon they aretesting for thier new portable console. It would be quicker loading times, more portable, quieter. Until they put a large amount of internal memory i cant see it working. Plus i like the box in my hand, with the UMD and manual.

Unless Sony can build up the memory card stock holdings it has, tell me how they're gonna make more money off us gamers having to buy more cards, instead of staying with a proprietary format like UMD? What I mean is, say they make this transition, where we all go to the PSN with our PSPs and we decide "OK, I want 'WFC vs. Raw 2015', so I'll pop on my PSP and go to the convenient - oh dang, gotta DL the most recent version of the op system, hang on... - ok, so THEN you go to the PSN and you DL the game. But in order to save the game you bought a Fuji 8G card. Is Sony getting a kickback from Fuji for the memory card being bought by the consumer? Otherwise, it looks like Fuji has cut into Sony's game system profits, and without actually trying to do so."

Sony and it's developers can't possibly be worried about UMD production costs by now... the factories for construction of the materials are done, and this can't be an answer to piracy or second-hand sales (because what's to stop anyone from eBay-ing a memory card?)... the sick thought is that by Sony distributing games in this way cuts a worker out of assembly of the UMD (and please let's not get into a world economics discussion about how that worker is being taken advantage of in the first place, and stay on topic here), it cuts the cost of shipping which usually takes at least oneguy to ship it, one to carry it, and one to receive it on the other end... so there's three other pay checks Sony won't haveto directly or indirectly sign, and then Sony won't have to split a little money with a retailer in order to display and sell the UMD to the end-user.

Could it be that Sony is trying to figure out how to generate more profit from the end-user by eliminating pesky "cost" such as a worker and his family, the shipping, and the split with the dealer? Hey... wouldn't it be neat-o if we could figure a way for heroin to get directly into the bloodstream without having to grow the plant, refine the compound, get it overseas to the mafia for distribution to the dealers and THEN into the junkie's quivering hands?

Perhaps I sound like a Communist, but it looks like more and more corporations have been eliminating the human element lately (Cyberdyne Systems, here we come) as an answer to dipping profits. Where does it end? Because eventually, if none of us peons have jobs, we won't be buying game systems OR software...

I'll buy my games in a physical form... one which I can put on my shelf and admire or re-play. If I'm paying money for something it's going to support the system of worker ants who make it happen, not make it more cyclopean and disturbingly inhuman. And who knows, ifI keep one more person employed through my love of this art form, then there's one more thing to feel good about in an increasingly depressing existence which I call my life.

When St. Peter meets me at the gates and asks me if I've done anything to warrant entry to Heaven, I will be able to say that I didn't buy into Sony's ********.

ston3henge

Lol, wow you looked at this in a much different perspective than I did. But overall I agree. Down with the cyclopeans! :P

Digital downloads are here to stay guys get use to it. Just like anything else distribution has to evolve with the times. Formats change with each advance. The was a time when people thought floppies would stay. Then came tapes,cd's,dvd's,dl dvd's,etc. I know a lot of people would still love to be able to hold a umd and a manual in their hands, but sooner or later that will be obsolete.

Personally, I think it's a bad idea. First off, that requires people to buy bigger memory sticks, especially those who use their PSP's just for save games. Second, not everyone has internet. Even if a lot of people do have internet, some have dial-up or slow internet in general, so that's not good. Third, I just don't like digital distribution in general. I like owning a physical copy, and with a physical copy, I don't have to worry about accidentally deleting the file or something like that. Instead of helping a niche title, this new approach is going to kill Patapon sales. Instead of someone becoming interested in a game they've never heard of and buying it to try it out, they won't want to try it now because then they'd have to go through the entire hassle of buying a new memory stick, making a PSN account, and downloading it and waiting for it. Instead of making it all digital distribution, they should have allowed both types of sales, with maybe the digital one a bit cheaper. That way, people can still get a physical copy, and those who want to save money and don't mind the wait to download can get the digital version. Also, they should probably make the stores where it's sold a Wi-fi hotspot or something. For example, putting wireless internet at Gamestop allows people to download it there, or maybe have a transfer station where they can just copy the files over to the memory stick or something. raver_zaktan

This was an awesome post for your first post and I think I agree with all your aspects. Not all people have a large memory stick and where are the dial up people going to download. I sell more than half my games so I also like a physical copy especially if I don't like the game.

Used games are a big part of the game market. raver_zaktan

That just might be the problem...

1. Free advertising and a lot more exposure for this game by being put on sale on the PlayStation Store.

2. Cuts down on piracy and used game sales. Developers get the money. Hence, the developers can make more games!

3. By killing UMD, which was a terrible idea in the first place, Sony can redesign the PSP without moving parts, and ultimately cut down on load times and increase battery life. These are all great things for a portable device.

I hope that all the PSP games in the future are available for download on the PS Store. I don't want to carry around a stack of UMD's if I go on a trip or something. I'd be more than happy to stick everything onto my PSP. I'm hoping that these rumors of a newly designed PSP are true.

Give me a higher resolution screen, more RAM, Bluetooth for a headset, a touch screen, Skype, AIM, and Gmail apps built in, GSM compatibility (for true online gaming, anywhere), 8-32 GB of space, a web browser that is on the same level as most smart phones, and a price tag that maxes out at $300. Sony has an opportunity to revitalize the PSP. Here's to hoping they don't go screw it up.