Mailbag- The Future of the PSP


Ok everybody, gather round- it’s time to open the old mailbag. Today’s letter is from “GRNDPNDR”

While deployed to Afghanistan, I bought a PSP off a fellow soldier. I loved it and it sure helped to pass some time. Now, I get back to the U.S., and see that many stores barely have any PSP software. When I left, the systems seemed healthy. What the hell happened?

Well, Ground Pounder, if some sources are to be believed, the Playstation Portable is in a state of transition.  Sure, 42 million PSPs have been sold worldwide, including 15 million sold here in the United States. But a trip to six major retailers in Southern California confirmed that shelf space for the system is on the decline. At two Target stores, the glass cases that house PSP software were half-filled with older titles, while clearance areas were filled with PSP software. The amount of space devoted to games and UMDs at a local Best Buy was depressingly undersized, compared to the Nintendo DS section.

Yet, holiday sales of PSP hardware are brisk at local stores. John, a district manager for Gamestop stated that “people have been coming in buying one, two, [and] even three PSPs at a time. We pretty much sell them as soon as we get them in.” His assessment proved accurate- no local Gamestop had more than two systems in stock. So with all the hardware moving, there should be plenty of new software for gamers to chose from, right?

Wrong. For the months of October and November, typically the busiest months for software releases, five games were released: Tom Clancy’s EndWar, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Shawn White Snowboarding, and Need for Speed Undercover. With the exception of EndWar, all of the titles are console ports; quick and dirty translations designed to capitalize on home console ad campaigns. The immediate future looks equally bleak, with Gamestop listing a scant eleven titles in the PSP’s foreseeable future.

The problem, according to a software engineer who wished to remain anonymous, is piracy. “When you spend a year developing a game for the PSP, and then see it on [a torrent site] the day it comes out, it’s completely frustrating. I saw that 97,000 people downloaded the ISO. If a quarter of those people actually bought the software instead of stealing it, the PSP would be in better shape.” He later explained, “Sony really dropped the ball with the PSP. They fact that the systems are still being hacked with custom firmware is just crazy.”

Despite the pessimism, Sony seems to be taking PSP software in a different direction- online. Last week, a record four PSP titles were available for download through the Playstation StoreEveryday Shooter, Super Stardust Portable, Brain Challenge and Archer Maclean’s Mercury. With the ability to wrap DRM around these downloadable titles, Sony may have found a partial solution to the Playstation Portable’s software shortage. Recently, the high-profile title, Loco Roco 2 was made available for download on the Hong Kong Playstation store. Here in the U.S. the title hasn’t been released yet, but we’d be surprised if the title wasn’t distributed digitally here.

Check your mailbox, Ground Pounder. In appreciation of your letter we’ll be sending you a copy of Yggdra Union. That should keep you PSP happy for at least a week weeks.  For others with a burning game-related question, please email us.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

34 comments

  1. I bought a PSP in 2006, and have noticed a complete drop off in software. Its a shame the system is much more powerful than the DS.

  2. PSP is dead, love live the Iphone. It’s way of getting apps instantly in the way of the future, guys.

  3. But the iphone has a limited control scheme. Only certain games will work on it.

  4. Just buy a DS, there’s plenty of games there, GP.

  5. Please answer my letter!

  6. Dude, there’s plenty of cheap PSP games to be found. Most of it’s less than $20. Enjoy the older stuff.

  7. Does anyone know how many different PSP games were made in the U.S.

  8. Pirates still traffic the the DLC; I saw Loco Roco 2 all over the torrent sites.

  9. About 375.

  10. I also like my PSP more than my DS.

  11. Piracy can’t be the reason…

    Look at the DS: It’s way easier to hack and run roms than hacking the psp. U can get every DS game in no time.

  12. True, but also the DS has outsold the PSP by a 2-1 ratio.

  13. Wow, that many. I thought there was 200 tops.

  14. 5 games in two months, that’s just crazy-sad.

  15. Whats your explanation?

    Mine’s that Sony charges too much for every UMD made my third parties.

  16. I’m sure it’s game over for the system. So long PSP.

  17. I don’t understand this whole situation. Hardware is selling with no new software. It’s gotta be the friggin pirates.

  18. Letter send. Free game expected.

  19. Man, I like the PSP so much more than the DS, even tho I have both.

  20. Both handhelds are great in their own ways

  21. The PSP is a great system, but as the article states, piracy is far too widespread. Either way, I’ll be looking forward to Patapon 2, Loco Roco 2, and Star Ocean next year. Hopefully the system will continue to get great games.

  22. Every PSP owner I know uses custom firmware. PSP piracy is killing the system.

  23. Sad, but true.

    After Christmas, I bet the PSP sales will slow dramatically.

  24. Question sent. Its a good one.

  25. How the hell does Stardust Portbale work without a second stick?

  26. i like ds better than psp

  27. I understand the frustration with CFW and pirating. Though I am a user of CFW, I would never use it to pirate psp games. It does, however, add so much functionality to the system.

  28. Nice article, Piracy is a problem but some poeple just dont have enough moiney

  29. I left a random comment! My PSP isn’t collecting dust yet, but I think the days may be upcoming soon.

  30. You move the ship with the analog stick and the fire direction is mapped to the buttons. To be clearer to fire up press triangle, to fire left press square, to fire right press circle and to fire down press x

  31. I had no idea Loco Roco 2 was high profile =/

    Patapon 2 is going to be great though.

  32. The lack of games isn’t limited to the PSP. The PS3 has its own lack of quality games, and piracy can’t be blamed. I think the problem lies with Sony and their focus on Blu-ray.

    Instead of putting out two viable gaming systems, Sony would rather have you use them as Blu-ray box and Blu-ray digital copy Jr.

  33. i see a lot of people using the psp as a music player, so maybe they just buy one game and listen to music.

  34. I have to admit that while the PSP is an interesting system I find that the games available for it are not as diverse as with the Nintendo DS. As you stated in the article a lot of the games are already console ports. What is the point in owning the same game for both the PSP and another console if you have both? I like my PSP, but the game selection is very weak and a reason why I think the system is failing. I only own three games for my PSP and two of them I already have on another console, I just bought them because they were cheap.