PSP Launch May Be Hurt By Lack Of Games?

Thanks to Bloomberg for its article discussing a seeming lack of development kits for Sony's forthcoming PSP handheld, and the logical possibility the system "may be hampered by a lack of new games" when the handheld "goes on sale in Japan before yearend." According to the news article: "Sony has yet to send the final development kits for PlayStation Portable to any of its outside game publishers, said Yoshiko Furusawa, a spokeswoman with Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo. Sony had already sent the final kits to publishers for its best-selling PlayStation 2 home video-game console at a similar stage before its debut in March 2000, Furusawa said." Hirofumi Otsuki of Sega added: "We don't know if we'll meet Sony's schedule... PlayStation Portable details still seem to be in development."

Comments

Same as it ever was...

[schild]

Every single new system that is to be released has at least one article accompanying it that says 'may be hurt by lack of games at launch.' Even if 2 of 5 games are killer apps. When Gamecube was launched we saw the articles that said, "BUT NINTENDO HAS NO THIRD PARTY DEVELOPERS. OH NOES!" When Playstation was released we saw the articles that said, "Will the playstation be able to hold it's own against Nintendo and Sega? Will the lackluster release be enough?" When Dreamcast was launched...bad example. When XBox was launched we saw this same article (albeit for different reasons). But then Halo was released, all was forgiven. Seriously, this isn't news. This is just typical speculation of the cutthroat industry that is gaming.

Ironically enough, I don't remember seeing these articles for the Virtual Boy.

--
schild
editor, f13.net

Re:Same as it ever was...

[cgenman]

Ironically enough, I don't remember seeing these articles for the Virtual Boy.

I don't think there was any controversy about the likelyhood for success of the Virtual Boy.

You're right, in a way, most systems do ship with too few killer games. The N64 was an oddity in this regard: it shipped with Mario 64, Waverace, and Pilot Wings, three truly killer games. Sadly, that's all it had for a very long time, leading to 2nd tier status. But the Playstation, Saturn, XBox, 'Cube, PS2, 3DO, Jaguar, Sega CD, TG16, Genesis... all shipped with weak lineups, especially in Japan.

However, the difference between those systems and the PSP's situation, is that the PSP looks to ship before ANY 3rd party developers get development hardware. At least Halo was in production... That really great must-have PSP game that is going to come out someday hasn't even been started yet. In two years when it is ready to ship, will the PSP even still be there? That the system is shipping before the great games are ready is no surprise. That the system is shipping before the great games have been started is a first for the industry, and doesn't look good for Sony. They're going to need all the help they can get in unseating the Game Boy, and going in without even giving your posse a map to the fight seems a little rash.

Re:Same as it ever was...

[DarkZero]

However, the difference between those systems and the PSP's situation, is that the PSP looks to ship before ANY 3rd party developers get development hardware. At least Halo was in production... That really great must-have PSP game that is going to come out someday hasn't even been started yet. In two years when it is ready to ship, will the PSP even still be there?

Wait a second, here. We're talking about "FINAL dev kits", not "dev kits". Lots of games are definitely in production for the PSP, such as Metal Gear Acid, Gran Turismo Mobile, and Death Jr. They're just not producing games that are ready for release right now. This isn't like trying to make a movie without a camera. It's like not having any equipment to edit its final cut on once you have all dailies shot.

Eh? Where are the facts coming from?

[Thedalek]

"Konami Corp... said they won't offer new games for the device."

"Konami... has said it will release three repackaged games for the PlayStation Portable."

How is it that Metal Gear Acid is not new? What is it a repackaging of? What is the Game Trailer showing, if not footage from a development build?

I've played the previous Metal Gear games, and the footage from MGA is clearly a new game.

Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember how dismally the PS2 performed, after it was launched with a mediocre set of release titles? Remember how it never got any good games, the public turned away from it in droves and Sony ended up selling three units, one of which turned out to be a catalogue error whether the buyer had really ordered a dishwasher? Remember how the PS2 ended up getting completely buried by the mighty Gamecube?

Yeah, right...

The importance of having big launch titles is over-stated. They only matter to very early adopters, while most shrewd consumers will wait for the prices to drop from their early silly-point to something more reasonable. Putting out a console, be it traditional or handheld, isn't just a short-term effort. You could have amazing release titles, but unless these are followed up consistently throughout your product's life-span, you aren't going to succeed. The PS2's sales have only really started diminishing in the last few months. If Sony can bring the range of quality 3rd party titles to the PSP as they have to the PS2, they'll succeed.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[Scott Robinson]

Funny, I remember the PS2 being backwards compatible with PS1 and capable of playing DVDs.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[Babbster]

Funny, I remember the PS2 costing more than a DVD player and PS1 put together.

Re:Repeating Sony's earlier mistake

[bugbread]

Funny, I remember the PS2 costing less than a plain ole DVD player in Japan when it came out.

Old PS1 games

[cL0h]

Of course they are probably just slow in putting the SDK together and my paranoid ideas are totally wrong but if sony did put out old playstation one games for sale (ported to new handheld of course) then they stand to gain if there are fewer new games by independent developers!