Sony: PSP to See 'Big, Big Titles' This Year

[xtop]

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/p...promises-sony/

The PSP business has certainly seen its ups and downs over the years, and the introduction of the PSPgo hardware last year seemed like a complete misfire, confusing consumers with a higher price point and no compatibility with the existing UMD discs (or a way to transfer them onto the PSPgo). In our recent conversation with SCEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer, we asked the executive about the state of the PSP business and how Sony's addressing it. While Sony's first-party support has been pretty solid, third-party support could be better. Dyer's aware of this and promised that some big games will be coming this year. The biggest issue, however, remains piracy, and he believes Sony will have an answer to that problem soon.

“I think we had a great lineup last year. The biggest problem that plagued PSP was piracy; we have not been able to slow that down. We think we have some answers going forward, but we're not ready to talk about that publicly at this point. So we're working on fixing that, because that's been a big problem. Publishers, when they put out good games, are not getting the same sales results that they got a few years back. So piracy's been a big issue and we're working on that very diligently to bring about some solutions," he said.

Dyer continued, "That said, we still have a very robust lineup this year from third parties on the PSP, starting with Metal Gear Peace Walker. I won't go through the whole lineup because I want our third-party partners to make those announcements, but there are some big, big titles coming out this year and you'll see those announcements at GDC, DPS (Destination PlayStation) or E3. We're into the sixth year now on the platform, and that's a long time for a handheld. I think given where we're at right now, we're doing very, very well. But yes, the business has had problems and I think it all stems, candidly, from the piracy.”

We asked Dyer if the somewhat perplexing PSPgo launch was a way for Sony to address the piracy issue, and he said it was certainly a part of the strategy at the time. “We wanted to find a way to give the consumers what they want, so if they didn't want to go to a retailer they could stay at home and download [games and content]. And we were hoping really to eliminate the piracy issue. Did the PSPgo confuse [consumers]? Yeah, I think the higher price point didn't help matters any either," he admitted. "So we're going back and re-communicating, and I'm sitting here looking at multiple decks on what we're going to do this year. You'll see a lot of things coming out from us to better educate and inform the consumer. All I can say is watch this space, because we'll have answers to those questions.”

IndustryGamers then pressed Dyer on whether one of those answers might be all-new PSP hardware, considering the PSP2 rumors that are flying around. Naturally, Dyer could not really comment, but we'd expect Sony to announce something major at one of the upcoming shows.

[MOONPHASE]

Probably nothing i'm interested in but i'm sure there will be plenty of others who will look forward to those titles.

[Shin-Ra]

Resident Evil Portable and The Third Birthday turning out well would be nice!

[recS-12]

meh...

[DaleDark]

Before I get s^%thammered by post talking about how easy it is to pirate games on the PSP, I'm well aware. That said, the average gamer isn't a hacker, and hasn't the foggiest clue on how to go about getting pirated games on their PSP. Seems to me that piracy is the favorite boggyman of companies when they don't wanna look at their own shortcomings.

In other words, get us a PSP w/ 2 analog sticks and maybe ppl will buy it/developers will make games for it.

[aygie]

Originally Posted by recS-12

meh...

meh.. to your post...

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by DaleDark

Before I get s^%thammered by post talking about how easy it is to pirate games on the PSP, I'm well aware. That said, the average gamer isn't a hacker, and hasn't the foggiest clue on how to go about getting pirated games on their PSP. Seems to me that piracy is the favorite boggyman of companies when they don't wanna look at their own shortcomings.

In other words, get us a PSP w/ 2 analog sticks and maybe ppl will buy it/developers will make games for it.

I highly doubt the analog sticks have anything to do with people hacking PSPs. Hackers are cheap people (who maybe intelligent in some areas but are dumb in the areas where they should be smart) so they don't want to dish out money to get the games they want but to still have it in their posession. I think also people in general are quite cheap now in days with the economy the way it is so a lot of people try and find ways of getting the stuff they want as cheap as possible just some people do it in ways that shouldn't be done.

[DaleDark]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

I highly doubt the analog sticks have anything to do with people hacking PSPs. Hackers are cheap people (who maybe intelligent in some areas but are dumb in the areas where they should be smart) so they don't want to dish out money to get the games they want but to still have it in their posession. I think also people in general are quite cheap now in days with the economy the way it is so a lot of people try and find ways of getting the stuff they want as cheap as possible just some people do it in ways that shouldn't be done.

You misread/misunderstood my post. The lack of a left analog stick is one of the biggest complaints about the PSP, and may have more to do w/ sales/lack of 3rd party support, than game piracy. Sony, like most companies are slow to admit that they screwed up and will always look for external factors to explain why things aren't going the way they'd hoped. I'm sure we'll see Nintendo crying any day now that they can't get 3rd party support for the Wii cuz its been hacked, because it sounds better than admitting that they abandoned gamers in favor of housewives looking to lose weight w/ cute animated characters.

[Terjyn]

You make it sound like PSP sales are poor. They aren't. Not comparing to the DS is a far cry from an utter failure, because if the DS is your target no console compares.

[DaleDark]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

You make it sound like PSP sales are poor. They aren't. Not comparing to the DS is a far cry from an utter failure, because if the DS is your target no console compares.

I didn't say PSP sales were poor, merely that Sony, is blaming piracy for the problems the platform had/is having instead of looking at what they didn't/coulda/shoulda done to make their system more enticing to consumers/developers. And saying that its not a failure if not compared to the DS is kinda like saying the Falcons had a wonderful season if not compared to how the Saints did. Sony's goal for the PSP wasn't to come in a distant second to the DS (or the GBA for that matter),

PS: Full disclosure, I do own a PSP (my 3rd as I traded one in to replace a dead PS2 and had another one stolen), My comments are strictly a response to the use of piracy to explain away shortcomings w/ Sony's handheld.

[Xerios]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

I highly doubt the analog sticks have anything to do with people hacking PSPs. Hackers are cheap people (who maybe intelligent in some areas but are dumb in the areas where they should be smart) so they don't want to dish out money to get the games they want but to still have it in their posession. I think also people in general are quite cheap now in days with the economy the way it is so a lot of people try and find ways of getting the stuff they want as cheap as possible just some people do it in ways that shouldn't be done.

even people who dont pirate software/music/movies are dumb in some way, no one is perfect... so what exactly are you getting at?

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

You make it sound like PSP sales are poor. They aren't. Not comparing to the DS is a far cry from an utter failure, because if the DS is your target no console compares.

The problem doesn't lie in hardware sales, it never has. When it comes to hardware PSP is an absolute beast. The problem is software, outside of Japan PSP doesn't cut it at all. Especially given that the installed base is so high.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by DaleDark

I didn't say PSP sales were poor, merely that Sony, is blaming piracy for the problems the platform had/is having instead of looking at what they didn't/coulda/shoulda done to make their system more enticing to consumers/developers.

There are a lot of reasons out there...how can you possible know that Piracy isn't the biggest? I know entire gaming message boards where nobody but me has ever purchased a PSP game. All they use it for is custom firmware and free downloads. Are you saying those don't count?

I don't know if Piracy is the #1 reason or not. But there is no way I'd flippantly say it's not either.

And saying that its not a failure if not compared to the DS is kinda like saying the Falcons had a wonderful season if not compared to how the Saints did. Sony's goal for the PSP wasn't to come in a distant second to the DS (or the GBA for that matter),

It's not at all like that. There can be more than one winner in sales. There can't be more than one in the NFL.

[AranhaHunter]

When is Destination Playstation?

[mewantyblu]

Resident Evil Portable would be nice. Maybe Monster Hunter tri port as well...

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by AranhaHunter

When is Destination Playstation?

Next week supposedly...

Don't expect any big announcements though, I think they will use it to drum up retailer support for 3D more than anything else.

[PA_Kid]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

There are a lot of reasons out there...how can you possible know that Piracy isn't the biggest? I know entire gaming message boards where nobody but me has ever purchased a PSP game. All they use it for is custom firmware and free downloads. Are you saying those don't count?

I don't know if Piracy is the #1 reason or not. But there is no way I'd flippantly say it's not either.

I think the point that the common user isn't a skilled hacker is still a good one. Most DS, iPhone, android smartphone, or PSP owners probably have neither the skill nor the inclination to hack a rom and or try to load piarated games.

Personally I think there is some strange combination of factors that come together - like the PSP's draw as a hackable system, the chilling effect the known hacking issues have on new game development, the existing portfolio of games, and the fact that the system is more of the "hardcore gamer's" handheld compared to the kid-friendly DS.

I won't claim to know any hard facts one was or another, but I will say that my personal gut opinion is that the piracy thing does get a bit overblown. I'm sure it's an issue, but if the PSP had the install base and core games the DS did, I'd wager that software would still be very profitable even with the same levels of piracy. Though I guess you could make the case that you need a good staple of "at least a bit profitable" games to spur future design and I'm sure the ones with the narrow margins are the ones that get seriously hurt with the Piracy.

[ZX_VRT]

Another God of War game on the psp.. That would be big