PSP World

The PSP Renaissance: Risks and Opportunities

With rumors of a PSP successor looming ever closer, Sony has one more chance to revive the fortunes of its first handheld game system in Western markets. While the PSP has arguably been successful, it suffered from a sharp decline in the number of game releases during 2008. At its recent Destination: Playstation event in (aptly chosen) Phoenix, the company laid out a bold plan to reinvigorate interest in the console and show gamers that the company means business when it comes to producing software on the handheld.

One advantage that Sony has is that the PSP hardware continues to sell in large numbers despite the disappointing lineup of games. A focused and concerted push could do a lot to reverse the fortunes of the device in North America and Europe. In Japan, the PSP is already a massive success, with many software titles boasting sales in excess of 1 million copies. Buffered between piracy and consumer apathy, the software sales of the PSP in North America have not been as strong. Sony’s newest strategy has been to focus on high-quality, trusted franchises to entice gamers to pick up the handheld instead of a console game. The upcoming spinoff Resistance: Retribution is a good example of this new strategy, and Sony is continuing in the same direction with more handheld spinoffs announced for 2009.

The biggest news was the long-awaited confirmation that LittleBigPlanet will indeed be getting a PSP version. The title is in development by Media Molecule and Studio Liverpool, who have prior experience working on the handheld. According to the publisher, LittleBigPlanet PSP is an all new game that includes the same “play, create, and share” experience that players are used to on the home console. Little is known about the actual gameplay mechanics of this title, but there is a lot riding on its quality. The PS3 version of Little Big Planet has sold in impressive numbers, but it failed to become the system-seller that many predicted it would be. Sony and Media Molecule need to knock one out of the park with this game in order to draw new customers to the PSP platform.

Another big surprise was the announcement of Motorstorm: Arctic Edge. The off-road racing franchise has garnered a large fanbase on the PS3 since it launched with the console in 2007. There will likely be a lot of demand among the core Sony user base for a handheld version, especially if it delivers a compelling experience. The decision to place the game in a different environment from the console titles was a good one, we believe. The risk here is that gamers may choose to pick up the title for the PS2 rather than for the handheld. BigBig studios definitely needs to make sure that the PSP version outshines the console title.

Screenshot from Motorstorm: Arctic Edge for the PSP.

First-party announcements are all well and good, but perhaps the biggest victory scored by Sony was the announcement by Ubisoft that it will bring Assassin’s Creed to the PSP. By attracting such a big-name publisher and a well-established console franchise to the handheld, Sony has shown that there is still life left in the device. Assassin’s Creed needs to sell well on the PSP in order to prove to other developers that the platform can be profitable. It will also be interesting to see how well Rock Band: Unplugged performs on the PSP when it ships later this year. By then, it will probably be too late for any major third-party titles to start the development process, but it could get publishers excited about creating launch titles for the inevitable PSP 2.

It is also worth noting that Sony has expressed interest in targeting a new customer demographic: young girls. The web is littered with the hulking remains of companies tat have tried – and failed – to capture the attention of fickle young girls, but Sony has a new Hannah Montana bundle and a Lilac colored PSP to tempt them this year. Ubisoft also announced that in addition to Assassin’s Creed, it will also bring its casual line of Petz games to the handheld. Both of these ventures have a high risk of failure, in our opinion. The already-entrenched Nintendo DS seems to perform much better with younger females, and it will take more than a new color option to get them excited about the $199 Hannah Montana bundle.

The announcement of brand new, high quality game titles has allayed a lot of fears that Sony was neglecting the PSP platform. We may well find that 2009 delivers the best content the PSP has seen since launch. After all, some of the most beloved games from the PS2 era such as Shadow of the Colossus and GTA: San Andreas came near the end of the console’s lifespan. By going out with a bang, Sony can hopefully drum up third party support for a potential successor to the PSP in 2010.