In The Crosshairs: One Year With the PSP @ Gaming Target

Written by Adam Woolcott on March 24, 2006

Specials: Where nobody is pleading for Death Jr. 2

What Went Wrong?

Unfortunately for Sony, there's been almost as many blunders with PSP in this year as successes. Right from the start, there were hardware issues. As is common with LCD screens, the PSP had a ton of hardware featuring dead pixels, an issue Sony sidestepped with nervous vigor despite complaints from numerous owners. As manufacturing improves the issue is less prevalent, but it created a ton of controversy in those initial hours after the birth of PSP. Even if a PSP was pixel-perfect, those without screen protectors are susceptible to scratches and dust under the screen which is difficult to fix unless you physically remove the top of the unit and hope more dust doesn't get underneath in the process. If it wasn't a screen issue, it was a battery issue; though naturally it will improve in time, and has since Sony has released a new high capacity battery, many games could barely muster 4 or 5 hours before the battery needed to be recharged, meaning if you're going to do a PSP marathon, you had to be plugged in. And if it wasn't a battery issue, it was loading times; in an attempt to preserve battery life, many games 'feature' horribly slow loads, wasting precious moments listening to the disc spin. By now I'm sure you've seen the infamous video where it takes WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 some 4 minutes to go from menu to match.

All game hardware gets cracked in time, as hackers usually figure out how to get by security measures. But PSP was hacked almost as soon as the thing hit, and though mostly the system has avoided the piracy plague, it's been used as a powerful platform for homebrew and emulation programs. It's one thing to see people playing NES, SNES, Genesis, even GBA titles on PSP via the memory stick, but another thing viewing someone fiddling with a horde of programs that can be actually useful or entertaining but also not really a piece of game code. While anyone can understand Sony's need to protect their hardware, their approach to the homebrew scene has been dubious at best, and have relied on transparent firmware updates that barely did anything useful aside from patching up the holes that led to this user-made phenomenon.

In time, indie developers have made software that could downgrade your firmware, but also this software was fixed up to 'brick' your PSP, slang for pretty much killing the system permanently, and became the first 'virus' for PSP recognized by Symantec and other Anti-Virus software companies. Sony's counter to the scene has been pretty single-minded; by forcing a user to upgrade their firmware in order to play the game they just spent $40-50 on. It's a touchy thing but despite the potential of 'legal' independent PSP design, Sony has gone all out to make sure PSP owners aren't doing anything that goes against the original Sony vision. The irony is easy to spot though; thanks to a hole in Grand Theft Auto: LCS's save files, you can actually bypass the firmware and run unauthorized programs, which likely chaps Sony's hide, even if it's deliciously funny that GTA is harboring such an issue. However seeing what Sony is planning with nurturing independent design on PS3, perhaps Sony will make amends soon.

It's really hard to sympathize with Sony though, seeing many people turned to emulation and homebrew because PSP software was almost non-existent after launch. Shortly after the PSP hit, the 'launch window' titles that missed the 1st day, like NBA Street, MVP Baseball, and ATV Offroad Fury found their way into stores, an all three of them had one common denominator Ц all of them were mediocre to decent ports of games already out on home consoles, none of which offered anything compelling enough to encourage a double-dip unless they were a hardcore fan of the series. Really, the best 'post-launch' title was May's Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee, which pulled off a rare feat Ц it was in many ways a superior title to the most recent PS2 version, and served as a legitimate sequel rather than a hastily-arranged conversion to make a quick buck off PSP owners desperate for some entertainment on their $250 hardware.

But aside from these sorts of games, the PSP gaming side of things suddenly died as quick as it rose, a far cry from the promise of those first moments of life. After the last gasp of delayed launch games, there was barely anything, and what did come out was pretty half-baked stuff. Smart Bomb was indeed a bomb. Coded Arms, an interesting original FPS from Konami, was decent but without a 2nd analog stick, the game was a bit clunky even if the game used the same scheme as classic Goldeneye and Perfect Dark did on the Nintendo 64. The first PSP game ever announced, Death, Jr. kept the streak alive twofold Ц not only did it keep up the tradition of 'first announced' games being mediocre at best, but also joining Smart Bomb and Coded Arms in the 'disappointing original title' trifecta. The sad thing is, these sorts of games were all PSP could offer at the time. Not exactly the sort of games that sold systems, kids. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the budding homebrew/emulation scene and the excitement over a web browser, or even the ability to use your own wallpaper as the background theme, the entire summer of 2005 would have been a complete joke for PSP.

Its first holiday season was better, as the system finally saw some important core franchises, though it wasn't as good as what you could get on DS or the major home systems. There were games like Burnout Legends and a special version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, both of which were excellent racing titles from EA. Sony's online centerpiece, SOCOM, appeared in an original adventure. EA Sports shipped a version of Madden, but took a severe PR hit thanks to some horrible crashing bugs and other hassles which took the company months to finally do something about, long after most had already traded the game in or sold it off. There were even a few role-playing games that couldn't be had anywhere else, in Kingdom of Paradise, PoPoLoCrois, and Legend of Heroes. None will mistake themselves for Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, or any other popular RPG franchise, but they provided another wing of variety to the lineup.

But most importantly, Sony's 3rd party juggernaut, Grand Theft Auto, made a debut and pretty much shamed everyone, with Liberty City Stories. Sure it used the same city as GTA III, but LCS was a whole new game in a vastly different universe. It had multiplayer. It had zippy loads even though it was a battery leech. It had this monstrous, beloved city and a large soundtrack compressed onto UMD. Like Grand Theft Auto III 4 years prior, it was a legitimate killer app to woo people into buying the system. But, and oh yes, this is a big but Ц now the game is coming out for PS2. For, rumor has it, 30 bucks. In many ways, Rockstar castrated the PSP with one quick slice for the sake of a wider audience, apparently because the game didn't quite sell like originally hoped. So the story goes; even if LCS finally gave PSP a defining title that showed the potential of the system and shamed those lazy developers who half-assed their PSP releases, it was almost just as quickly taken away from it. Talk about damaging the reputation of a console. Think about it; would you buy a PSP for an exclusive title now, seeing that you never know if it will wind up on PS2? This is where the DS holds a true edge Ц while you could port a DS game over, it would be severely crippled without the dual screen and touch capabilities.

Though the PSP software drought ended, it was masked by a larger problem; Sony's focus. Not even 2 months after the PSP shipped in America, Sony did not even mention PSP one single time during their E3 conference. It's understandable as to why, as they wanted to push the PS3, but it wasn't a real reassuring thing to see them ignore their newest system. Even worse, the booths at E3 were virtually PSP devoid, but that was expected seeing the console hadn't been out long at the time. Aside from that, Sony really seemed to struggle to 'define' PSP. Was it a game machine? It was hard to believe it seeing how little software we saw, especially when it was mediocre at best. Was it a movie machine? Seeing all the UMD movies on shelves, it seemed so. Is it an iPod competitor? Not with the clumsy method of transferring music files to a memory stick. Is it some sort of portable Internet device? It seemed that way in the summer or 2005. While the whole convergence thing is in reality a fine thing, Sony's disinterest in defining the hardware couldn't be helping it against DS or other portable devices. In recent times they've finally decided to push gaming and have these other features as 'secondary', but for almost a whole year the promotion for PSP was a complete mess.

What Does the Future Hold?

In the immediate future, it seems that there's finally some really good 2nd generation software coming out, mostly from Sony themselves. Imported from Europe, Pursuit Force is a unique take on action games and driving games alike. Capcom has thrown their weight behind the system, with two Mega Man remakes and a solid port of Street Fighter Alpha 3. Sure they're not original games, but they're popular franchises and give the system some more identity. Last week alone, Sony shipped 2 games that have been very well received; there's Daxter, starring Jak's orange buddy in a throwback platform game, and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, which combines a solid single player game with a host of online multiplayer options, redeeming a once-promising franchise from the late PlayStation 1 days. Let's just hope these 'new' defining titles don't wind up on PS2 later like GTA. This week, Metal Gear Acid 2 and Me and My Katamari find their way to shelves. Next week Untold Legends: Warriors Code will release. Even Lara Croft will appear in Tomb Raider Legend when the calendar changes to April, making it two sequels to original PSP franchises. Finally, it appears that software is here again, and the promise is finally being fulfilled 1 year after the potential was displayed, only for it to be buried behind mediocrity. It's a matter of keeping the momentum high; hopefully E3 will be much better than last year's disappointment.

The hardware itself seems due for some changes and refinements, much of which has been rumored about ever since PSP released. After a year on the market, Sony is finally shipping a non-Value Pack, hosting just the system and the power for it, for $199, which likely will woo new owners who found spending $50 more to be a bit too much. Personally I would rather see them cut the price by 50 bucks; a $149 PSP base pack versus the likely $149 DS Lite would be quite an interesting battle. Even if DS Lite ships for the same price as the old DS, the $20 difference isn't much to worry about when you compare pure horsepower and PSP's diverse capabilities. And a $200 value pack is a pretty decent value seeing what's in the package (though bumping the default memory stick from 32 to 256 MB at least would be a sound plan). It'd also be nice to see that very attractive white PSP released here instead of dealing with it through import channels.

Of course, there's also the rumors of a PSP redesign, complete with 4 GB of internal memory and possibly a revamped interface to make movie and music files easier to transfer to and from (without having to buy Sony's special media software). While it would be a bit too Nintendo-like to redesign the system not even 2 years after its been out, I wouldn't put it past Sony to do it. Most exciting for many, Sony is working on a download service where you can pick up some PS1 classics and save them to a memory stick; though it might require a 2 GB stick or even more than that, it lends some validity to the rumors about a redesign. But man, playing Metal Gear Solid on the go might cause people to pee their pants in joy. All this, and we've not even mentioned the PS3 and the plans Sony has for PSP/PS3 connectivity. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the GameCube/GBA connectivity.

Though the PlayStation Portable has gone through some rough growing pains after a smooth and prosperous birth, things really do look good for PSP, but it all comes down on Sony making sure the machine succeeds. Don't be surprised to see the system get more than its fare share of ports, sure, as game developers look for some extra cash to finance expensive next-generation projects, but I'd also expect smaller, talented development teams bypass the next-gen consoles and use PSP as an exclusive platform as game development cost drops over time, knowing that the world is becoming too busy to sit behind a TV every night and need their gaming in bursts. Moving away from gaming, it seems UMD is here to stay, even if it won't be as popular as it was once destined, and if Sony can get the Connect service going, it will trump iPod in one way; that being able to download music directly to your portable device. And if things keep going in the right direction, using the Internet will become less of a chore and something you can do instead of hopping on a PC. In short, Sony has found convergence with PSP and hopefully it'll work out for them. Sony has finally found its niche in the portable market, but now their job is to keep it going and work that PlayStation magic like they have in the past. That way, a 2nd anniversary PSP article could be a bit more celebratory than the one you just read.