Pandora On Wired.com

[neko]

Actually, the article explicitly states that "it would be difficult to ever call the Pandora a failure." However, it does say that "it will be confined forever to its niche fan base," which is 100% true. This is not a bad thing! And the article never said it was! So please do not feel offended!

The article is fine. I think EvilDragon overreacted a bit.

Besides, the iPhone is also confined to its niche fan base. The vast majority of people who use cell phones will never buy one.

As far as I'm aware, we're on track to receive a review unit once they go out. That's what I was told by Jacquelyn at least!

They're waiting for delivery of some parts, so it'll be a few weeks at least.

 

[EvilDragon]

Actually, the article explicitly states that "it would be difficult to ever call the Pandora a failure." However, it does say that "it will be confined forever to its niche fan base," which is 100% true. This is not a bad thing! And the article never said it was! So please do not feel offended!

The article is fine. I think EvilDragon overreacted a bit.

Well, it was probably because I first only saw the first link which didn't show anything else than the GP32 and the Pandora there.
Didn't realize it was multiple pages

As far as I'm aware, we're on track to receive a review unit once they go out. That's what I was told by Jacquelyn at least!

They're waiting for delivery of some parts, so it'll be a few weeks at least.
[/quote]

I couldn't reply much more than "I don't have one", so asking multiple times wouldn't have helped :/
And if you get a lot of such eMails...

Don't worry, I'm not mad or angry or pissed off or anything like that.

 

[benji_stein]

Hi guys! I didn't write this article but I do write for the Wired.com game blog. I wanted to clear some things up.

As I understand it, this article is not a straight list of failed handhelds. It's a history article. In fact, the headline explicitly states so.

Actually, the article explicitly states that "it would be difficult to ever call the Pandora a failure." However, it does say that "it will be confined forever to its niche fan base," which is 100% true. This is not a bad thing! And the article never said it was! So please do not feel offended!

Nice try, but sorry, no. The Headline also explicitly includes the word "Failure" (right before the "in my pocket").

From the article (stress added by me):

It's a gaming system! It's a handheld productivity device! It's a huge flop.

As it turns out, no. The videogame industry is actually littered with the corpses of failed handheld convergence devices. Many of them had some good ideas, most of them have just ended up being the punchline to a joke.

You're right that the second half of the article appears more of a timeline/history.
Starting with:

... iphone ... And next on this list of miserable failures is .. wait, what?

and then, of course:

Jungle could just be bound for the convergence graveyard.

It's quite clear where the author thinks all of these should be put. (Hint: the sun doesn't shine there).

That said, I agree it's still a niche product, and will always be that way.

Edit - some typos.

 

[CPUnltd]

let's play nice, kids... no need for violence...

 

[Pleng]

Yep, that "failure" is what annoys me.

A failure is something that didn't work... and while we had a lot of troubles on our way (and still are ironing out the last issues), it's no failure for me.

On a personal level you may not consider it a failure. But it's very easy to see why people from the outside might.

We managed to create the product and we'll manage to deliver them...

You managed to create the product, yes. But so far you've got anywhere in the region of 3-7500 (depending on exactly how many have been shipped and how many batch 2 pre-orders have been taken) undelivered units. The reasons aren't important. The hard fact is that so far, a tiny amount of units have been produced and currently no more are being produced. If I was a journalist I'd be assuming the device was a failure.

 

[Azure]

You managed to create the product, yes. But so far you've got anywhere in the region of 3-7500 (depending on exactly how many have been shipped and how many batch 2 pre-orders have been taken) undelivered units. The reasons aren't important. The hard fact is that so far, a tiny amount of units have been produced and currently no more are being produced. If I was a journalist I'd be assuming the device was a failure.

And of those delivered units, not all of them are without problem. I'm on my second unit here and my nubs are impossible to properly calibrate, and my shoulder buttons are still not right (I haven't bothered sending it in yet because it looks like production has stalled again). And of course my order is still not complete since there is no TV-Out cable. It also doesn't help that the current state of software on the Pandora is not the most ideal (my main beef is with the stability & speed of the internet browsers currently available, and I guess PSX emulation isn't where I expected it to be at this point*).

So, taking this into consideration, I personally have a hard time defining this whole thing as a "success" (well, maybe I'm not even in a position to do so since my order is still incomplete as I don't have the TV-Out cable...). To people on the outside that haven't been following this whole process as closely as us, it is most definitely a failure (and I'm not talking about people who would consider "success" to be competitive with mainstream handhelds).

My friends teased me for nearly 2 years for not receiving what I paid for. And now that it is physically in my hands (well, not the TV-Out cable...), they continue to tease, saying I still don't have what I paid for due to faulty hardware and lackluster software :/

*I know a common response might be that this is where I should come in as a user of a community-driven device. Unfortunately, I'm very much pre-occupied as a university EE student, and my lackluster coding experience is limited to what little I learned from taking data structures (Java) and machine structures courses (C & MIPS).

 

[-Tj-]

Besides, the iPhone is also confined to its niche fan base. The vast majority of people who use cell phones will never buy one.

That's like saying most people who own game consoles will never buy an NDS.

Just because the 'vast majority' don't use one doesn't mean it's a niche. The iPhone has millions (perhaps tens or hundreds of millions) of installed users, out of the billions of phones out there. And if companies like id and Epic are taking notice, I'm sure they recognize that iPhone has more than niche potential. Besides, most people can't afford to have more than one phone (so they go buy iPod Touches instead).

Having said all that, I still wouldn't buy one. I like freedom. And buttons. And games that will hold more than 5 minutes of my attention. Pandora ftw!

And on this:

Actually, the article explicitly states that "it would be difficult to ever call the Pandora a failure." However, it does say that "it will be confined forever to its niche fan base," which is 100% true. This is not a bad thing! And the article never said it was! So please do not feel offended!

I don't particularly have a problem with the article, but having looked over it after reading this thread this article, by title alone, makes the Pandora (and Jungle) look bad. I didn't even have to read the article to feel like everything listed was deemed a 'failure' by the author. I think forces/before had the right idea, but didn't quite get it right:

They have to be kidding... They think, that GP32, Zodiac, Pandora, and call iPhone a gaming failure too... I think, that gaming failure means, when the company bancrupts, and there's no one, who develops something for the console at least every year...

A company doesn't have to bankrupt to have a failure. For example: Microsoft Kin, Nintendo VirtualBoy, Nokia N-Gage, etc. Those companies all took hits, but not necessarily at the bankruptcy level. The Pandora has barely released at this point. Thousands of orders are still open with people still waiting for their units (myself included). Till OP's goals are no longer being met, they give up, and the ship is abandoned, I find it hard to see why Pandora's even in the list (iPhone, too... wtf).

 

[neko]

Besides, the iPhone is also confined to its niche fan base. The vast majority of people who use cell phones will never buy one.

That's like saying most people who own game consoles will never buy an NDS.

Um... what? The Nintendo DS is currently the best selling handheld game system. Most consumers looking to buy a handheld game system end up buying an NDS.

 

[CPUnltd]

I think that's the point that was being sarcastically made, Neko. iPhone has such the same level of recognition that non-iphone owners will likely buy one due to their iphone owning friends as well as the general popularity of Apple. Not exactly the same, but that was the general sarcasm being made... BUT, it was being noted as a "GAMING" device failure, which it is... it will VERY rarely be purchased due to it's rich gaming experience, retro, emu, or otherwise... the chances are so slim that it's rediculous to attempt to validate. On the flip-side, how many people will buy the NDS for the purpose of making "wifi phone" one of it's primary functions? they don't fit in each other's areas, and the point being made against the iphone was simply that it is a failure as a gaming device (being the primary reason for purchase). At least, that's MY interpretation of the article's statement as well as what -Tj- said...

 

[brophog]

Yep, that "failure" is what annoys me.

A failure is something that didn't work... and while we had a lot of troubles on our way (and still are ironing out the last issues), it's no failure for me.
We managed to create the product and we'll manage to deliver them...

A failure for me is if something doesn't work as it should, i.e. if a device was planned to be sold in millions but never reaches that goal... we never HAD that goal, how could we fail there?

The day you put together your first working prototype you guaranteed this project wasn't a failure. That's a monumental accomplishment in and of itself, and the perseverance that has been shown, despite the difficulty of such an endeavor should be commended.

 

[Pleng]

we never HAD that goal, how could we fail there?

The day you put together your first working prototype you guaranteed this project wasn't a failure. That's a monumental accomplishment in and of itself, and the perseverance that has been shown, despite the difficulty of such an endeavor should be commended.

So if, for example, OPT went into administration tomorrow, leaving circa 6000 units undelivered, then you still wouldn't consider the project a failure? Because they managed to put a prototype together?

 

[brophog]

we never HAD that goal, how could we fail there?

The day you put together your first working prototype you guaranteed this project wasn't a failure. That's a monumental accomplishment in and of itself, and the perseverance that has been shown, despite the difficulty of such an endeavor should be commended.

So if, for example, OPT went into administration tomorrow, leaving circa 6000 units undelivered, then you still wouldn't consider the project a failure? Because they managed to put a prototype together?

It depends entirely on what you consider "the project" to be. Delivering 4,000? 12,000? 1 million? All of those qualifiers could be both right and wrong, depending on whom one asks. The definition of 'failure' at that point becomes an arbitrary matter of scale, and such a scalar argument becomes trivial given enough time.

They designed, built, and began production of something that didn't exist. They took that bold step that few others are willing to take, and showed the perseverance to fight through the adversity. That's quite an accomplishment.

 

[Iorgy77]

Indeed, I dont consider the project a failure, but I dont consider it a success until they have at least delivered to the customers who entrusted them with their money all those years ago.

 

[WizardStan]

They designed, built, and began production of something that didn't exist. They took that bold step that few others are willing to take, and showed the perseverance to fight through the adversity. That's quite an accomplishment.

Climbing halfway up Everest is also an accomplishment, but if your goal was to reach the top, you still failed. If "not lose any money" was not on the list of goals OPT set out to accomplish, then what they have so far would indeed be a success. However, I'm almost positive that none of them are so insane as to have started the project intending to not make any money at all, so until they break even, that goal at least is unfulfilled. Thus, if OPT were to go into arbitration, the project could logically be considered a failure. A great accomplishment no doubt, but still a failure.

 

[emcee]

It depends entirely on what you consider "the project" to be. Delivering 4,000? 12,000? 1 million? All of those qualifiers could be both right and wrong, depending on whom one asks. The definition of 'failure' at that point becomes an arbitrary matter of scale, and such a scalar argument becomes trivial given enough time.

In this specific case, there's at least a definite minimum number that need to shipped before this project can be considered a success. At the end of batch 2 preordering it will be 8000. If the Pandora goes out of production before that number is reached, then yeah, it's a failure.

 

[j.pickens]

There's nothing better than sitting here writing a response about this "failure" on my pandora.

Everyone should know that the author of the article probably didn't write the headline.
Copy editors usually compose headlines, and "Failure in My Pocket" is the sort of snappy headline editors like to come up with.

 

[-Tj-]

Um... what? The Nintendo DS is currently the best selling handheld game system. Most consumers looking to buy a handheld game system end up buying an NDS.

That's why I said "that's like saying..." Custom Processing Unlimite nailed it on the head.