Sony: "PSP needs more new games"

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 12th May 2008
Comments (17) Stumble
Sony: "PSP needs more new games"

Though the PSP has proven successful in Japan, publisher support is lacking in the west.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves has admitted in a recent interview that the Sony PlayStation Portable really needs some new games to prove attractive to customers when, especially when compared to the Nintendo DS.

Sony has continued to expand on the functionality of the PSP lately with Go! Explore and video chat software, but this seems only to have given the handheld a bit of an identity crisis. As a games console the PSP is definitely lacking appeal.

At the PlayStation Day press confrence recently only two new PSP games were introduced in an hour and a half presentation - and one of those was Buzz! Quiz Master.

"Hand on heart, would we like more PSP games? Yes, we would. We really would," said Reeves in an interview with GI.biz..

Although publisher support for the PSP platform is diminishing somewhat as developers crowd around the hugely successful Nintendo DS system, Japanese sales for the PSP have rocketed recently - there are now over 1.5 million sold. Unfortunately for western gamers this also means that many games are only being released in Japan, or having huge delays between different regions as happened with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.

"We've seen in the last six months that because of the success of the PSP in Japan many Japanese developers have got some absolutely phenomenal games. They're not Monster Hunter 2G or things like that, but they are in development and we'll see them over here," said Reeves.

What's your handheld of choice and what games do you play? Let us know in the forums.
Quote Krikkit 12th May 2008, 13:04
They need to stop porting normal console games over and start using the PSP's features to make decent games. That's one of the reasons why homebrew has skyrocketed imho - without any big games people are turning to making their own/running emulators of other consoles just for something to use.
Quote sotu1 12th May 2008, 13:43
ummm...PSP's features? what features? it's a PS2 in disguise.
Quote Thacrudd 12th May 2008, 14:47
Quote:
Originally Posted by sotu1
ummm...PSP's features? what features? it's a PS2 in disguise.
MP3 player, Mobile video, mobile browser, picture viewer, wireless access, etc. I love my psp. I love my DS though. I had the feeling that devs were spending too much time on the DS and not enough on the PSP. They're cranking out crappy games on the DS quicker than you can say "overkill"
Quote badders 12th May 2008, 15:30
Who needs more games? ScummVM Cheesecake!
Quote steveo_mcg 12th May 2008, 15:33
Not more, new, is the important word in that sentence.
Quote M4RTIN 12th May 2008, 15:43
if only they'd actually released gran turismo on it, GT sells consoles. theres no doubt about that. or a mtal gear solid that didnt involve weird cards
Quote eddtox 12th May 2008, 18:33
What they should do is provide an official emulator for the psp so you can play psone and PS2 games on it.. that would be a start.. it would also be nice if it had a proper digital distribution model.. it might also be nice if they acknowledged some of the better homebrew games and feature them (kinda like steam does with indie games). my 2cents.

P.s: would also like to see msn/yahoo messenger and youtube, and winamp remote compatibility :)
Quote HourBeforeDawn 12th May 2008, 18:43
ya I havent really played with either of my PSPs, lol I should turn both in and upgrade to the Slims so I can hook it up to my TV but ya I havent touched them in a while should go out and see whats out that might interest me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eddtox
What they should do is provide an official emulator for the psp so you can play psone and PS2 games on it..

well you can if you have a PS3, not sure about PS2 games but I know you can do that with the PS1 games.
Quote koola 12th May 2008, 19:11
Not missing any 'lack of games' as I've been playing homebrew games an awful lot :D
Quote Cthippo 12th May 2008, 19:25
Seems like it would make a nice PDA
Quote Goty 12th May 2008, 19:53
I love my PSP, but unfortunately I only have three games that I still play (Namely Crisis Core, Harvey Birdman, and Patapon). There's enough geek potential on the homebrew scene to keep me hooked for a long while more, but more games would definitely be welcome.
Quote modgodtanvir 12th May 2008, 20:14
OMG Sony! You've got it! Thats not to say goods games are unavailable. They are just being released infrequently. We need a better GTA, Gran Turismo, a proper MGS release (something to complement MGS4 or a remake of originals) and maybe even a playable Crash Bandicoot...
Quote themax 12th May 2008, 21:19
I am happy with the direction the PSP has gone. It has allowed me to enjoy alot of what the PSOne and PS2 has and have had to offer in the past. Final Fantasy Tactics, and Disgaea:Afternoon of Darkness are great remakes/ports, along with games like Generations of Chaos, and Monster Hunter Freedom. Having the "portable" version of a full scale game on PSP no longer means you get a heavily scaled back game graphically and content wise, and when it comes to a spin-off title based on a main series it can be fully presented on the PSP Platform without "feeling" like a handheld title. Dunno if that last sentence made any sense but games like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops are what I'm referring to.
Quote Echo 12th May 2008, 22:16
The best games for the PSP have been games developed for the psp, accepting its limitations and creating a game play specifically for a small screen.

Patapon and LocoRoco are in my mind good examples of this. God of war: Chains of Olympus (correct me if i'm wrong here) is also a good example of a game specifically developed for the psp, but at the same time taking a genre/story from an existing game on the ps2.

Porting games helps to keep a good number of titles on the shelves, and is fine for the likes of Tiger Woods 08 etc... But the psp simply isn't made for handling content rich games such as the Need for Speed franchise, where heavily cut down versions are produced to enable them to run on the low powered machines.


It's one of only 2 key handheld game systems, and I'd like to see more money going into the development of titles specifially planned for the psp.
Quote Tyinsar 13th May 2008, 06:30
Quote:
Originally Posted by koola
Not missing any 'lack of games' as I've been playing homebrew games an awful lot :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthippo
Seems like it would make a nice PDA
If only Sony would embrace the homebrew community (instead of frustrating it) I bet the number of great easily available, free, add-ons and increased functionality would be amazing. That would sell these way faster than Sony's proprietary approach (how can the "U" in "UMD" mean universial when only the PSP uses it?)
Quote eddtox 13th May 2008, 09:41
Quote:
Originally Posted by HourBeforeDawn
well you can if you have a PS3, not sure about PS2 games but I know you can do that with the PS1 games.

Yea.. but who in their right mind would buy a PS3 to play pd1 and ps2 games on it? The reason i suggested it for the psp is because it basically IS a ps2. And it would be great to be able to take all your favorite games from the full size consoles with you wherever you go. As Tyinsar said, Sony should really embrace the homebrew community. Not only would that revitalise the PSP but it would also provide a much needed reputation boost for Sony. I have the PSP slim. I've had it since it came out. I've bought about 10 games, 5 of them were playable but only 2 were good enough to make me complete them. IMO this is a very sorry state of affairs. I've gotten to the point now that I'm really considering buying a service battery, downgrading and getting homebrew. If that happens Sony would probably never get another penny from me. :(
Quote CanadianViking 20th May 2008, 09:15
What they need is to convince Capcom to release Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in English.

That would make my day.
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.