Developer Says PSP Offers "Huge Opportunity"

Kris Erickson • Jan 5, 2009 • Comments (0)

Slitherine Software is a tiny development studio from Britain, but the owner of the company told gaming journalists recently that the PSP is actually the most profitable platform for their games. There is a good chance that you have never played one of Slitherine’s educational titles, but they have sold enough copies of their software on the handheld platform to make it a viable business model. What’s more, we are told that we can expect future PSP strategy/simulation titles from Slitherine, as they seek to capitalize on their experience developing for the system.

Slitherine’s recent title Great Battles of Rome, sold more units on the PSP than on any other game platform including the PC. The title as effectively marketed in conjunction with the History Channel and appealed to a core segment of gamers.

“To be honest, the PC version of the History Channel game was the least-performing one, because we already had our core audience from previous games, and if I look now at the success of the game itself, the PSP version gave us the best results. That's why we really keep pushing the PSP now, it's perfect for us, for our strategy of history and strategy... Nobody's looking at the PSP as a huge opportunity at the moment, and I really think there is a huge opportunity there. I've seen sales charts for some territories now and a top ten PSP game sells more than a top ten Nintendo DS game. “

Marketing manager Marco Minoli doesn’t want to call his company’s games “edutainment”. Instead, he said that Slitherine’s goal is to make gamers “learn by stealth” while delivering an entertaining package.

He also said that the company is working on a tactical WWII game for the PSP which will launch later in 2009. We look forward to seeing what Slitherine has cooking for the PSP, as it remains one of the few Western development houses still actively promoting that platform.