Game Reviews Index
If you are to believe Rob Cooper, UK Managing Director of Ubisoft, then the PSP is in big trouble. Mr. Cooper believes that the handheld is too expensive and too technical for most people, and that Sony simply doesn’t know what direction to take with its mini PlayStation. Cooper claims that:
"I supose it’s almost too technical for the casual person, those that are buying the DS at the moment, who want a few buttons and not a lot more. It’s so simple what Nintendo has done. That’s where I think Sony has gone a little bit too complicated, they’ve over-specced it, the price is too high and they need to go back to the drawing board and start again."
Certainly some harsh words and Cooper had more criticisms to heap on as well.
"Certainly we still see it as a viable format. But we’re not developing too many games on it until we get some direction. They’ve got to decide what they want to do with it, and come out clearly and say, ’this is our strategy, this is our process and this is how publishers can get behind it.’"
As a final slap, Cooper stated that the PSP is "in no man’s land," and that Sony doesn’t even know who their consumers are for the handheld.
I’m a bit skeptical of Cooper’s denouncements, largely because he works for a company that thrives on casual gaming and knows that the people who own a PSP aren’t likely to buy that style of game, even if they are made available. While one must suppose that there is at least an indirect competition between the PSP and DS by virtue of them both being handhelds, it seems like God of War and Ratchet and Clank are a far cry from Phoenix Wright and Brain Age. Perhaps Sony does have direction with the PSP, but that direction leads it towards an audience away from the style of games Cooper’s company makes and more towards hardcore gamers who want something to play while on the go. I know I’ve had no complaints since I bought my PSP, anyone else feel differently? Anybody out there believe that the PSP is adrift in a sea of despair and that Sony best get on the ball before it’s lost forever?
"I supose it’s almost too technical for the casual person, those that are buying the DS at the moment, who want a few buttons and not a lot more. It’s so simple what Nintendo has done. That’s where I think Sony has gone a little bit too complicated, they’ve over-specced it, the price is too high and they need to go back to the drawing board and start again."
Certainly some harsh words and Cooper had more criticisms to heap on as well.
"Certainly we still see it as a viable format. But we’re not developing too many games on it until we get some direction. They’ve got to decide what they want to do with it, and come out clearly and say, ’this is our strategy, this is our process and this is how publishers can get behind it.’"
As a final slap, Cooper stated that the PSP is "in no man’s land," and that Sony doesn’t even know who their consumers are for the handheld.
I’m a bit skeptical of Cooper’s denouncements, largely because he works for a company that thrives on casual gaming and knows that the people who own a PSP aren’t likely to buy that style of game, even if they are made available. While one must suppose that there is at least an indirect competition between the PSP and DS by virtue of them both being handhelds, it seems like God of War and Ratchet and Clank are a far cry from Phoenix Wright and Brain Age. Perhaps Sony does have direction with the PSP, but that direction leads it towards an audience away from the style of games Cooper’s company makes and more towards hardcore gamers who want something to play while on the go. I know I’ve had no complaints since I bought my PSP, anyone else feel differently? Anybody out there believe that the PSP is adrift in a sea of despair and that Sony best get on the ball before it’s lost forever?
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