Joystiq recently reported on an article by Overclocking Projects that discussed the PSP's first year of existence. Among the good points the article brings up, the one that stands out argues the PSP's lack of built-from-the-ground-up game titles.It really did seem like a colossal mistake on Sony's part to challenge Nintendo's reign over handheld gaming without providing stellar support with its game library. While there are a handful of "worth it" original titles on the portable, the roster is nonetheless packed with straight console ports of games people have already played before.
Most gamers buy into new consoles because of the games first, not the functionality. There's something about game exclusivity that makes the initial investment so much more worth it, but if all we're going to be offered is a bunch of been-there games we've already enjoyed on another platform, then why would we even bother to jump into a new console in the first place?
So please, Sony, for the love of all that's fun and entertaining, give us more original games!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-06-2005 @ 11:35PM
Hunter said...
I don't see why this is such a negative, some of the best selling games on the home consoles are iterations of older games. From Grand Theft Auto to Halo to Tekken people like familiar franchises when they're gaming. The first game I ever bought for my XBOX was Thief 3, a port from the PC and loved it. The first game I bought for my DS was Mario 64 and that just straight up sucked. At least the Sony has the where-with-all to release ported games that fit the control scheme on their console (well, except for the shitty drive-by controls in GTA:LCS).
From a licensing stand point both Sony and Nintendo have a lot to gain by associating their portable consoles with familiar names. People are going to see Burnout or Grand Theft Auto and say to themselves "I love that game on my PS2; it would be awesome to play that on the bus." I'm sure that it's considerably cheaper for developers to build a game on existing framework and there's less incentive to create original games since the target audience is smaller than it is for the regular home consoles or PC.
For now, when there is hardly a PSP in every pair of hands, I see little reason for developers to make games that aren't either iterations of console games or straight up ports, except for in the case of Nintendo where they're both the manufacturer and developer.
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12-07-2005 @ 12:26AM
Mike said...
I do want more original games, and Field Commander, Loco Roco, Exit, Blade Dancer, Pursuit Force, Jewel Summoner, Bounty Hounds, Every Extend Extra, Daxter, and FF7 Crisis Core are a good step in that direction, however, i wouldn't want PSP to have NO ports.
Part of the reason i bought PSP is to play games i like on the go. I'm thrilled with Burnout Legends, GTA LCS, Socom, SSX, Virtua Tennis, and the other familiar games brought over to PSP.
In short, yes, by all means, give us original titles. But that doesn't mean some tastefully done "ports" aren't welcome too.
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12-07-2005 @ 6:19AM
Chad Garrett said...
I agree with Hunter. I do not have a console, so, what do I care if there are ports from them? It is the only way I will get to play them so I say bring'em on! Seriously though, I understand everyone's issue, it just does not affect me.
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12-07-2005 @ 9:46AM
MacBandit said...
The ports would be fine if they would work in a mult-platform game save compatibility. So I could play my PS2 when I'm home and then when I have to leave I could start where I left off in the game on the PSP. If they were to do this I think they should ship PS2 and PSP versions of the same game simultaneously and give you a discount if you buy both.
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12-07-2005 @ 12:22PM
Bob S. said...
I've got no problem with ports -- for quite a while, the only GBA games worth buying were ports of SNES games. And I still have a metric ton of emulators on my memory stick, so that saves me the trouble of buying the Namco and Midway ports. But we're definitely going to need some decent original games, and the sooner the better. Infected is OK, but pretty repetitive.
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12-07-2005 @ 12:40PM
scarfist said...
The ports they've done so far have been great. Would love to see a lot of older school games ported with updated graphics (I'm looking at you Square-Enix). Imagine playing the original Dragon Warrior series with PSP quality graphics.
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12-07-2005 @ 2:05PM
++good said...
Doesn't anyone remember when the original GameBoy came out? For three years all we had were ports, (the carts even had smaller versions of the original labels) and nobody complained then. That's the whole idea of a portable system. To take your console and games with you. I wouldn't care if the entire PS2 library was available for the PSP. In fact, I'd rather like that, and 'PSP only' titles just sweeten the deal.
Hunter has it right with the whole need-to-port vs demand-by-consumer. Which is too bad, because I really like my PSP. Tekken, GT, and Devil May Cry ports wouldn't hurt my feelings at all.
Is it just me or do the Joystiq posts really have a hate-on for the PSP?
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12-07-2005 @ 3:38PM
Mike said...
RE Joystiq Psp hate
Joystiq.com, the supposed "news aggregator" has way too many instances of PSP hate. They take a clear-cut news entry (new PSP commercial out), and give it a horribly negative twist (commerical focuses on multimedia because PSP has no games). Or, they'll just fabricate a story for no reason to hate on the PSP (GTA fan angry about LCS multiplayer).
its shameless.
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12-07-2005 @ 8:28PM
drsilverworm said...
dude... gtalcs is the best game on the system
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