There's always a whole lot of forward-thinking going on in the video game media and amongst the gaming public, so it's surprisingly easy to overlook the here and now.
While everyone is wondering if Sony will announce a newly revamped PSP for the end of the year, we're not concentrating enough on the scheduled software for 2009. According to a recent Eurogamer interview with SCEA marketing boss John Koller, there are a whole lot of big-name releases on tap for the year, and handheld fans ought to be excited. In fact, Koller believes 2009 will be the best year yet for the PSP:
"There's a lot of software coming. We're really focused on software, and I don't think that's a big surprise given that it's going to be the best software year the PSP has ever had, there's no doubt. You can think of some of the major franchises on console that would come over to PSP and people are going to be very excited."
We've already seen the likes of MotorStorm: Arctic Edge , LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed , but more is on the way. Koller reminds everyone that they've only revealed "the first half of the lineup," with a whole lot more lying in wait for E3. Koller also said we'd definitely recognize the names, as apparently, there are "a lot of big franchises to come." The good news is that Koller describes last year as having a "limited software lineup" and the PSP still had its best year ever in terms of overall unit sales. So how much better will the handheld perform this year with all the great games slated for 2009? Finished Koller:
"Last year was the best sales year for PSP, and that was with a limited software line-up. How high is high when we have a much better software line-up for this year?"
Yeah more games for the PSP!!!
I've been putting off investing in a PSP for a couple years now. No matter how good the lineup is, I won't spend money on a current PSP if the new one is going to be such a strong upgrade.
I'll get to that awesome software eventually, heh.
That's good for the "little homie" (The PSP).
Yeah, I want a psp too, but I'm not spending the money on the current version knowing a new version will probably be available around the end of the year, and not even then if Sony keeps coming out with a new version every year.
If Sony was to release an upgrade it would not mean that if you bought a PSP now it wouldn't work with future games or features. Its not like how Nintendo is added features and games to the DSi tht won't work for the DS, forcing current DS owners to get the DSi for the DSware and camera compatible games. Nintendo have only done this to sell DSi consoles to millios of current DS owners, the manipulating gits.
Totally doubt it. For one, I don't even thiknk there's going to be s psp2 for a couple more years, and I don't think Sony will go UMD-less. They said they like UMD and that it's one of the greatest formats that they could use for handheld. I don't see where people are getting HDD PSP's from. Think of it, you'd have to have a fan in it to keep it cool due to HDD getting hot. It'll have a shorter battery time due to the HDD+Fan. But then again maybe the loss of a disk drive will make way for more battery power. Honestly I don't know, this is all just my opinion. But I truly doubt they'd go all digital, and even more-so doubt that they'd lose the ability to play PSP games on the 'PSP2'. I mean look at Nintendo, all their handhelds have been b/c for all their games, besides the DSi. But whatever, lol I don't really know much about it anywayz.
aw the post I replied to is gone, haha
You're mostly correct and the DSi is backward compatible in that you can play existing or legacy DS games on the unit with the exception of those games that require special hardware requirements that only the DS Lite can support due to the exclusion of the GBA port on the DSi.
I had the very first PSP and i love it but their was never enough stuff for it, so i sold it to my brother and got a few Ps3 games, we'll see what the line is and what or if the new psp is like then i'll decide, for now i'll just play my PS3.
Hehe awesome avatar.
I saw a couple commercials for the DSi's "games" yesterday, jeez was that pathetic. How could that thing outsell the PSP? Nintendo is really good at rope-a-dope.
Its all about the price and marketing, heck some friends of mine went and bought the dsi just because they saw Beyonce using it.
I bet if Sony got Jay Z or Lil Wayne to do an ad for the ps3 then sales would be off the charts
I don't think I have ever seen a PSP TV commercial, goes to show that it isn't the marketing or price that sell the PSP, maybe its the games and how its a great peice of kit.
Would like to see some TV commercials showing some top names playing the PSP and showing how bad ass the PSP is. In the UK Nintendo TV ads sometimes show nobodies still playing brain training.
Dissidia is coming out, but we would have to wait until september. Sad.
Last edited by Andysw on 4/16/2009 12:55:17 PM
I bought a PSP for GOW: CoO, and I loved it. FF Crisis Core started great, got worse, ended terribly. Beyond that, I just haven't felt motivated to play the thing at all. To be fair, I'm not huge into portable gaming (I walk to work, and when I'm home I want my consoles and my kickass TV!)but short of another God of War I doubt I'll get too psyched for anything on PSP from hereon.
Wait software you mean trash named Hanna Montana and a two exclusive's that would not on PSP? what a joke I'm more interested in the hardware and great software like Littlebigplanet & the new Guilty Gear on PSP
I'm always up for more games! I hope if they do announce the PSP2, that it wont be out for a few years.
Plus all this talk about a UMDless PSP2… Never going to happen. That would kill there sales by alienating there existing user base by not being able to play there old Games.
You are totally correct. As Sony has announced as recently as the end of March, the UMD is going anywhere anytime soon.
On the upside, the PSP hardware is still way better than the horrid DSi which begs the bloody question, "What's up with the lack of quality game titles on the PSP?"
For every good title for the PSP there is at least 5 really bad releases. The PSP was initially release in December of 2004 (Japan). In five years the PSP has managed to garner 65 out of 423 games with a Metacritic Rating of 80 percent or higher and Sony has managed to sell 50 million PSP units worldwide.
If we look at the Nintendo DS unit, Nintendo has 76 out of 621 games rated at 80 percent or above on Metacritic and Nintendo has managed to sell 100 Million DS units since the original was released in November of 2004 (North America).
Based on the stats, it leaves one wondering why Sony has sold only half as many portable game units as Nintendo. I don't think the lack of sales has anything to do with games and I don't think that the lack of sales has anything to do with hardware deficiencies – I think the lack of sales has to do with a lack of commitment on the part of Sony and their all engrossing focus on there core gaming product; the PS3 platform.
Let's face it, Sony couldn't market free beer and quite frankly, living in Canada, I was exposed to my first PSP commercial in 2008 – that is 4 YEARS after it's North American release. I could put 50 blind, drunk monkeys in a windowless room filled with typewriters and I guarantee that those intoxicated primates could write a better marketing campaign for the Play Station Portable than Sony has.
Sony recently announced that it is recommitted to making the PSP platform the success it could and should be. Time will tell.
Last edited by HamsterBoy on 4/16/2009 9:29:55 PM
True! Sony's poor sales are a reflection of there poor advertisement. I haven't seen a Sony commercial in such a long time. The only game commercials I ever nowadays are for the 360, Wii, and multiplatform games.
And we all share your pain with the horrible PSP commercials from a few years ago… Just show us the system, a few good games being played for it, and the price… That is all we want to see. That is all we need to see. Not two stupidly drawn squirrels talking about eating nuts outside… I hope the guy that came up with that got fired.
Needs some more good ole Syphon Filter too.
I heard that!
I personally love the PSP the way it is right now. I mean sure more games wouldn't hurt and stuff, but I just love the online capabilities you can perform with it. You can go Infrastructure with other people on games like SOCOM, use a PSP headset, have fun and stuff. You can play music, view photos, watch anime (me) / videos, browse the internet (to some extent), and download games directly to your PSP.
Games I like are FF Tactics, FF Crisis Core, MGS Portable Ops, GTA: Liberty City Stories, and SOCOM FTB 1. They're all fun. I can never stop playing them…SOCOM – is mainly for the online.
But hey NEW GAMES…wouldn't hurt at all.
I really like the ratchet and clank game online 😛 and also the resistance game and I cant wait for the littlebigplanet game. Ooooo and also the motorstorm game 😛