A PSP Software Revival?

[-chw42-]

With the release of the PSP Go! in October and Sony pledging many new releases in the year of 2009, the PSP could see a revival in terms of software quality and sales. The PSP Go! itself has interested numerous 3rd party publishers to re-invest into the PSP causing the announcements of titles like Rock Band Unplugged, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, and many other titles. In addition, if the PSP Go! does well in terms of sales, it will force many owners to actually buy the games instead of pirate them since hacking the device may take a while, if ever. The public has just gotten a whiff of the PSP Go! and yet both Sony and many third party developers have announced a lineup that is incredibly impressive. Bare in mind, it's still June and we could see many more releases sooner or later. Here's the list that I have compiled.

1. Gran Turismo Mobile - 2009 (Sony)
2. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - 2010 (Konami)
3. Resident Evil Portable - TBA [most likely 2010] (Capcom)
4. Final Fantasy: Dissidia - 2009 (Square Enix)
5. LittleBigPlanet Portable - 2009 (Sony)
6. MotorStorm: Arctic Ridge - 2009 (Sony)
7. Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier - 2009 (Sony)
8. SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo 3 - 2009 (Sony)
9. Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines - 2009 (Ubisoft)
10. Dante's Inferno - 2010 (Electronic Arts)
11. Final Fantasy XIII Agito - TBA [most likely late 2010] (Square Enix)
12. Tekken 6 - 2009 (Bandai Namco)
13. Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny - 2009 (Namco)
14. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - 2010 (Square Enix)
15. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - 2009 (Konami)
16. Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite - 2009 (Capcom)
17. Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron - 2009 (LucasArts)
18. Castlevania Bloodlines - 2009 (Konami)
19. Army of Two: The 40th Day - 2009 (Electronic Arts)
20. Duke Nukem: Chain Reaction - 2009 (Apogee)
21. Duke Nukem: Critical Mass - 2010 (Apogee)
22. Duke Nukem: Proving Grounds - TBA (Apogee)

And this doesn't include sports games. Plus, it's still June, so there could be even more titles to come. So can the PSP make a comeback somehow in terms of software? Or has the reputation of the PSP been too shattered to come back?

 

[Nero]

I think that's a good lineup, Sony has a chance.

 

[Sinfulfate]

Well 18 games isn't much especially in the year or so it will take for all those games to be released.

The biggest problem imo with PSP games is that the good ones are usually just spin offs of popular franchises or watered down ports of home console games and I personally have no interest in playing assassins creed or LBP on the go. And every game on the list you complied consists of these same type of games. The PSP really needs more original games that work well with its handheld style of gaming like patapon and loco roco.

 

[Ragnarok]

Well 18 games isn't much especially in the year or so it will take for all those games to be released.

The biggest problem imo with PSP games is that the good ones are usually just spin offs of popular franchises or watered down ports of home console games and I personally have no interest in playing assassins creed or LBP on the go. And every game on the list you complied consists of these same type of games. The PSP really needs more original games that work well with its handheld style of gaming like patapon and loco roco.

Well said.

 

[-chw42-]

Well 18 games isn't much especially in the year or so it will take for all those games to be released.

The biggest problem imo with PSP games is that the good ones are usually just spin offs of popular franchises or watered down ports of home console games and I personally have no interest in playing assassins creed or LBP on the go. And every game on the list you complied consists of these same type of games. The PSP really needs more original games that work well with its handheld style of gaming like patapon and loco roco.

There's way more than just 18 games coming out in these next two years, these are just the highlights.

You have a point to a certain extent, but the thing is, some people are just more "on the go" and they don't have time to sit down and play a game at home. I like that the PSP might be getting quality ports instead of watered down crap. That's the problem with the PSP. It's not really the style of game, it's the quality of it.

 

[Sinfulfate]

There's way more than just 18 games coming out in these next two years, these are just the highlights.

You have a point to a certain extent, but the thing is, some people are just more "on the go" and they don't have time to sit down and play a game at home. I like that the PSP might be getting quality ports instead of watered down crap. That's the problem with the PSP. It's not really the style of game, it's the quality of it.

Ya but the problem is that home console style games like God of war or Assassins Creed don't work too well on the go. Most people play their handheld devices at like 15-30mins at a time and trying to play a game like Assassins Creed for only 15-30mins doesn't really work since you cant get much done. Of course for long road trips or plane rides you have much longer to play but then the PSPs crappy battery life problem comes into play.

The PSP needs more games like Henry Hatsworth and the puzzling adventure, Puzzle Quest, Planet Puzzle League, Ninja Town, Professor Layton, Peggle, etc, or games tailored to the system so something more akin to GTA Chinatown Wars instead of a GTA Vice City Stories where they just tried to cram a PS2 style game into a PSP. The PSP also needs good games to be released on a regular basis. I cant even think of a single good game on the PSP that was released between God of War chains of Olympus and Resistance retribution.

 

[-chw42-]

Ya but the problem is that home console style games like God of war or Assassins Creed don't work too well on the go. Most people play their handheld devices at like 15-30mins at a time and trying to play a game like Assassins Creed for only 15-30mins doesn't really work since you cant get much done. Of course for long road trips or plane rides you have much longer to play but then the PSPs crappy battery life problem comes into play.

The PSP needs more games like Henry Hatsworth and the puzzling adventure, Puzzle Quest, Planet Puzzle League, Ninja Town, Professor Layton, Peggle, etc, or games tailored to the system so something more akin to GTA Chinatown Wars instead of a GTA Vice City Stories where they just tried to cram a PS2 style game into a PSP. The PSP also needs good games to be released on a regular basis. I cant even think of a single good game on the PSP that was released between God of War chains of Olympus and Resistance retribution.

The PSP had a horrible time in between GoW and Resistance, worst of its lifespan IMO. I think the PSP targets more of the hardcore gaming crowd than the casual gaming crowd. Hopefully, the PSP Go! will change this a bit as they're going after more casual consumers.

 

[afteralter]

What PSP needs, like what Sinfulfate said are original games. Like Patapon 1/2, which is a good one. Final Fantasy VII : Crisis Core, yes it is a revival of FFVII, but it has a different gameplay, which makes it first for the FF series to have a "hack and slash" game play (Correct me if I'm wrong bout this).

@-chw42-
GoW and Resistance had good reviews, but, yes, it was a bit horrible for the GoW and Resistance. In addition, Manhunt 2 was also made for the HC crowd. I didn't buy these because I was more of a casual RPG-gamer.
Just one question, are there more HC gamers than Casual gamers? From what you've seen on the releases?

Or do the PSP devs go with the flow of game popularity?

I hope game devs release games which more of would attract the "casual" crowds (Using -chw42-'s term).

 

[eldiablov]

When you're going for the casual crowd you have to be careful not to go the way of the Wii.

 

[afteralter]

When you're going for the casual crowd you have to be careful not to go the way of the Wii.

I'm noob with Wii. The only game I know for Wii is the bowling and tennis game ( I don't even know the name XD).
I hope PSP won't suck. D:
It's the only handheld console I play now. Spent thousands (PHP) for UMD's.