In anticipation of the release of Sony PSP, Joel drops by for a chat with Game Rush's Frederick Jones about the response thus far for the handheld, and the future outlook for gaming.

Hi could you please begin by introducing yourself and explain your job at Blockbuster/Game Rush?

My name is Frederick Jones and I'm the Buyer in charge of Retail Games Hardware, Accessories and Literature for Blockbuster/ Game Rush stores nationwide. I analyze new product for our stores and determine what hardware, accessories and other products that will bring added value to our gaming customers. With the addition of Game Rush, the business has grown dramatically in the past several years. I have a team of people assisting me, and we review anything in the industry including Trading Card games, industry trends, inventories, budgets and new technologies. I joined Blockbuster from the video game industry proper at a company called Gathering of Developers.

And for the benefit of our visitors, can you tell us a bit about Game Rush, and how it differs from other retailers?

At Game Rush, we give gamers the ability to rent, buy or trade any game they want, new or used. We feel we have the unique ability to offer all gamers, from the hardcore to the avid to the casual, the ability game how they want and when they want. With the best trade-in prices and promotions in the industry, our customers can trade in games they've played for new ones. Our used product selection is one of the best and most diverse gamers will find, and we sell all of the consoles and accessories gamers need to play the way they want. Finally, we hire true gamers as our in-store Game Advisors to answer questions and assist customers in finding everything they want.

While Sony is gearing up for the launch, can you give us your take on the handheld war between the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP?

It's definitely one of the most interesting challenges to come along in Consumer Electronics in a long time. Nintendo has ruled the portable market for the last ten plus years. For a competitor like Sony to come aboard makes it a contest that I believe will benefit the customers by offering new innovation in game design and pushing game technology to a new level.

Which launch title(s) for the PSP do you think would be considered "must haves"?

I don't necessarily have a 'must have' list. Sony has delivered an unprecedented lineup of 24 titles at launch, which offers a wide variety of gaming options to customers. However, to try and experience all titles and a requisite memory card, a gamer would have to spend over $1,000. At Game Rush, our customer can purchase their "must haves" and rent games, buy used product, or trade to experience any other item for less than the full cost. That's a value that allows gamers to experiment with all types of games determine their own "must haves."

I'm sure a lot of gamers would agree with that. And how has the response been thus far on the preorder initiative for the PSP?

Wildly popular! We have been amazed at the reaction of customers since we started in late January 2005 pre-selling the hardware. Many of our competitors were pre-ordering the unit in fourth quarter of last year and stopped taking pre-orders long before we did. Demand for the hardware has exceeded our expectations, and we're sending a bigger portion of the initial allocation to stores than we had initially planned.

That's great! And judging by the wonderful response, what do you think are some of the biggest selling points for the Sony PSP?

First and foremost, the PSP is a beautiful piece of equipment. When you have form and function in one unit you've created more than just a gaming device. It's really a fashion piece. We've heard Andrew House at Sony discuss this, and completely agree with his thinking; it is the right track for portable entertainment. More importantly, convergent devices are, hands down, the hottest thing in consumer products right now. When you look at iPod and the new smart phones, you can see this revolution has been growing for some time. A game system that offer movies, wi-fi and music capabilities, all in one device has great potential for consumer interaction.

And what aspects of the PSP that you think could have been better?

While I have no experience in telling an electronics company how to make better hardware, I will say that PSP's download strategy for game content and music will need to be defined sooner than later. Entertainment doesn't wait and neither do customers. If they find the additional features of the PSP like downloading music and watching movies difficult to use, they will quickly move on to a product that will satisfy their preferences. TiVo, iPod or any other gaming portable can easily slide into the need customers have for ways to spend their time. Time will tell, but Sony is determined to make this product very dynamic and it will be interesting to watch.

If you had to predict the outlook on the gaming industry a year from now what would it look like to you?

This has been one of the most exciting quarters for the video game industry that I have ever seen. With the successor to Xbox around the corner, as well as the mounting awareness of PS3 and Nintendo's Gamecube successor-this is a time of true innovation and excitement. I think that we will see a maturing of the Internet and online gaming with all consoles, the integration of better storage capacities, the obvious advancement of graphics, and inevitably some phenomenal games. I think we'll have a much better idea of this time next year, after we see what E3 has in store.

Do you think that the gaming public is ready for a PS3 or an Xbox 2?

Definitely. The PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation was not the quantum leap that the original PlayStation was to Sega Genesis, if you will. With the PlayStation, we got dramatic new aspects of gaming. Whether it was 3D graphics offering new cinematic possibilities like Resident Evil or the rumble feature in controllers that produced emotional responses like the heart attack scene in Metal Gear Solid, all were excellent representations of the possibilities of moving to 32 bit and 3D gaming. The PS2 generation certainly offered expansive worlds like Grand Theft Auto, but I think the next generation of technology will expand on all of these elements more efficiently to create a virtual world that is exciting and new.

What sort of features or concepts are you looking forward to most in the next generation of consoles?

That's hard to say. Wireless controllers have reached such a point now with the advances of some of our partners like Logitech and Pelican that it's hard to imagine a world where we have wired controllers for simple game play.

Lastly, what games are you most excited about for any platform for the year 2005?

All of the buyers at Blockbuster and Game Rush are looking forward to different titles, which is what's great about our buying team. We all have different interests, whether it is sports, or FPS, or unique titles like Katamari Damacy. We are very excited about E3 this year. Personally, I think this will be one of the freshest and most surprising e3's in the last 6 years.