Why can't the PSP live on.

[Olivier]

Because, sadly, the system is on the edge of life as it is. I don't see anyone selling the PSP, and Gamestop's really the only place where I can find PSP games other than the Final Fantasy titles, LittleBigPlanet, and Peace Walker outside of, if fortunate, the clearance bin (which, perhaps most depressingly of all, is where I found Trails). I'd give my left leg for a physical release of Trails SC, but you have to understand that eventually it's just not feasible to continue with a system in that manner and I worry we might've already past that point.

[321jassman]

And I wonder why many voices are complaining about 'not enough games' coming over...when it comes over at all but in a form they don't want (DD only), but is the only way, they go up in arms and refuse to buy it and stuff (not everyone though).

[GeekyJuuu]

In addition to being orphaned by Sony, I think the system just got off to a bad start over here. It seemed like it was touting internet browsing and UMD movies just as much, if not MORE, than games out of thee starting gate, and several launch titles were ports. Some people couldn't really tell if it wanted to be a multimedia device, a literal portable PS2, or something in its own right. Plus, around this time the DS REALLY caught on as support picked up and titles like Nintendogs widened the userbase. So it was weird-the system wasn't really making money, so people pulled developer support, yet that means less games coming out, so less consumer support! A vicious cycle.

Sony didn't seem to know what to do or how to fix it, so the poor dear sputtered along. Then they were [obviously] more concerned with helping the PS3 out of its initial stumbling blocks, and didn't have time to help the PSP. It caught on in Japan, so I guess that was good enough for them.


On that note, is it just me, or does it seem Sony has issues with coexisting platforms..? That's why I worry for the Vita-it got very little time compared to the PS3, time which it deserved, at E3! :c

[rpgfan]

I'm getting the impression people think I want physical releases for PSP games.
No, I know it might not be possible, future titles can be all digital.

[321jassman]

Yeah, that's what I said before, XSEED should continue releasing PSP titles even if they're DD only and not let the haters stop them.

[rpgfan]

Yeah, especially since the Vita doesn't seem to be doing well.

I hope Tom will post in this thread to give his view.

[AweOfShe]

That's part of it.

I mean, you have to look at it realistically. PSP games just don't sell well. There's a reason why bigger companies like Sega and Square Enix have pretty much dropped PSP support, and it's not just because there are bigger and better things out there. Different companies have different expectations and needs, and XSEED's are low enough that some PSP releases might still be viable.

Every platform is EOL eventually, and a platform that's as generally unpopular (referring to western markets here) and piracy-ridden as the PSP is going to go sooner rather than later once a successor hits.

On top of that, aren't handhelds generally just unpopular here nowadays? (DS being the exception because it grabbed a wider variety audience than PSP, or any other before it did).
I'm only making the assumption because the PS2 lasted way after its intended lifespan, even here in the west, releasing games 2 or 3 years into the PS3's life. And even that was piracy ridden last I remember.

[Wyrdwad]

I hope Tom will post in this thread to give his view.

I can do that.

Personally, I don't think the PSP is dead at all. Especially in Japan, I'd guess the PSP still has *years* left -- it's a real heavy-hitter over there, and has become *the* go-to system for smaller developers and start-ups looking to create really cool, innovative new games or classically-styled JRPGs (due in part to what I've heard is a really simple and easy-to-learn programming structure, making it far less problematic for people without prior console or handheld programming experience to develop games for it).

In North America, there are a few more things working against it -- specifically, the fact that so many game stores have stopped carrying PSP games, as well as the general cultural tendency toward "out with the old, in with the new." Now that the Vita exists, a lot of people are trading in their old PSPs and games, completely embracing Sony's new handheld without a second thought. BUT... for the very first time, digital distribution is a major part of gaming. PSN is huge, even in North America... and the Vita is (more or less) backwards compatible with digitally-distributed PSP titles. As a result, the PSP still has life left here IMHO, even without physical PSPs or UMDs being readily available. I believe it can easily keep going as a digital medium for at least another year or two, and may even last longer than that if the right games come along.

I think rumors of the PSP's death are greatly exaggerated... and while the situation is certainly a lot better for it in Japan than it is here, smaller publishers will undoubtedly continue supporting the PSP for quite a while yet, and we'll be happy to do so. Because the PSP is awesome!

-Tom

[commodorewheeler]

I don't expect the big companies to continue supporting it. Its just that I want Xseed to support it. Im afraid such negative attitudes will discourage them. So far they want to support it, so I hope they will.

I'm sure that game companies pay much more attention to stuff like the recent NPD survey saying that a third of gamers polled actually prefer DD to physical than they do the repeated rants of a vocal few malcontents.

[flavi0]

And I wonder why many voices are complaining about 'not enough games' coming over...when it comes over at all but in a form they don't want (DD only), but is the only way, they go up in arms and refuse to buy it and stuff (not everyone though).

This is the truth, and ultimately whether or not xseed (or any other company, for that matter) continues to release psp games rest on our shoulders. It doesn't matter if xseed releases the best psp games, if no one buys them (for whatever reason) they will stop localizing psp games sooner or later. At the end of the day, if you like a game, you should buy it, why deprive yourself of an experience you said you wanted if it it not in the right format; its still the same game