PSP World

PSP Minis Will Lack Online Features

Sony has started to reveal its vision for the PSP Minis program, which will allow independent developers to make smaller downloadable apps for the PSP handheld. The goal is to make it easy to publish on the platform, by reducing many licensing requirements and shortening the quality control process for faster turnover. Unfortunately one of the casualties of this shorter QA testing period is multiplayer, which Sony says is not allowed in PSP Minis games, at least to start with.

Recently at a Game Developers Conference event in Austin Texas, as Sony spokesperson said that the company wants to encourage developers to "target single player standalone content".

In fact, Sony does not want these pint-sized games to interact online in any way. That means no DLC, no network connectivity, and no integration with other titles. Developers are also being told to steer clear of third-party peripherals. On the other hand, developers will not be required to worry about localization (presumably all games will be region-free).

While Sony is placing the emphasis on smaller, single-player games, they have so far not made any mention of ad-hoc multiplayer. Certain arcade titles would be better with a friend, we recon.

What do you think about Sony's plans with the PSP Minis service? Are you excited about any upcoming PSP Mini games, and if so, which ones?