PSP Minis Developer Guidelines

Kris Erickson • Aug 22, 2009 • Comments (1)

A few days ago, we posted some general advice for people who might be interested in developing games for Sony's PSP Minis platform (you can read about the process here). Today, we have some updated and official information straight from the source: Sony's PSP Minis developer guidelines. This information is taken directly from Sony Computer Entertainment third party relations website, where interested developers can sign up for more information by following the link below. Judging by the wording of the document, it seems as though Sony is pretty open about small developers creating content for the service (as long as they follow the guidelines and avoid offensive material). However, judging from the detailed sign-up form on their website, Sony will still be looking for teams that have more than one employee and several published games under their belts.

1. What are minis?

minis are small games and applications for the PSP™(PlayStation®Portable).
They are:
• Fun
• Affordable
• Creative
• Easy to play
• Different
• 100MB maximum per game, making minis easy to store and quick to download and play
• minis require no additional peripherals
• minis can be any type or genre of game, the possibilities are endless!
• minis will appear in a new category coming to PlayStation®Store and will be available to PSP and PSPgo users.

Who can make minis?

Anyone! SCEE is committed to creating opportunities for existing developers and publishers whilst also welcoming new publishers into the family
• There is no requirement for content approval
• SCEE is 'open for business' and looking for minis developers right now
• Non-registered developers should sign up at www.tpr.scee.net

The QA process

All minis are subject to a QA process to ensure they function on PSP™ systems. SCEE aims to make this process as quick and simple as possible for developers, whilst at the same time ensuring PlayStation® consumers benefit from quality, fully functional games.
• minis benefit from a shortened QA cycle
• QA is transparent, trackable and predictable

PlayStation Store
The store process for minis will be based on the solid, existing PlayStation®Store process that has proven popular with consumers.

Business terms
SCEE offers favourable business terms to minis publishers and developers.
• Competitive business model
• Revenue realised on a monthly basis
• No penalties for minimum sales
• No quota on number of games released on PlayStation®Store
• Publisher retains control of release dates
• No bandwidth charges

Step By Step Process:

1. Sign Up
Complete the minis sign-up form located at www.tpr.scee.net.
You will be asked to include the following information. Company proposal, Company Contact Details and Legal Signatory information. You will also be asked to provide a Company Static IP address or IP range.

2. Develop Title
Once you have completed the signup process you will be able to order any required development hardware and develop your minis titles. The current price for a PSP Development Tool is €1200.

3. Submit Title
Submit your completed code and descriptive Store Metadata to SCEE. Store Metadata is basic descriptive text and images for your title. Metadata will need to be localised for certain Store countries. Code will be assessed by SCEE Format QA.

4. Publish Title
Your title is published on the minis section of the PlayStation Store.

[Source: Official SCE Third Party Relations Website]