PSP World

Sony Prepping Pinball Heroes for PSP Minis

What do you do when you own the rights to a hit franchise and you want to make some quick cash without developing a full game? Simple, you make a spinoff which incorporates some of the characters and imagery from the hit game in a simpler, lower-budget package. Square Enix have become masters of the spinoff game over the years, with a recent example being their Crystal Chronicles games. Sony Computer Entertainment America has now got a similar idea with its upcoming Pinball Heroes games for the PSP. These downloadable mini games will each be sold separately on the PSN, and will feature designs lifted from popular Sony console games like High Velocity Bowling, PAIN, Uncharted and Hot Shots Golf. Presumably this means we can expect lots of fan service as well as cameo appearances from some of our favorite characters. Right now, only the four games are listed, but if Sony plans on making more of these we wouldn't mid seeing some pinball tables based on the Killzone, Motorstorm, Ratchet & Clank, and Loco Roco franchises.

We are cautiously optimistic that these games won't end up simply being shovelware. After all, Nintendo did something similar with its Metroid Prime pinball game on the DS, and it turned out exceptionally well.

The ESRB entry for Pinball Heroes on the PSP reveals what Sony has planned:

[Source: PSN Stores, ESRB]