How PSP-2 could save the PSP console

The mock PSP Go! design that 1Up created  would be very uncomfortable to play with. At least my hands are too big for it. Maybe if it's targeted at little girls then it could work.

What the "gamers" want:

Why there won't be a 2nd analog nub is that it would mean more work for developers as they would need to figure out two control schemes for games that take advantage of the new stick because the game needs to work on the current PSP.

More games would be great, but for developers it means that people need to buy the games. Personally I think developers took the wrong approach from the start. They started making "serious" games for people that do a lot of gaming. This meant some games had long learning curves and a lot of dark colour palates. I can't recall any launch titles off the top of my head but it seemed like they were trying to show that the PSP could look as "good" as the PS2. What they forgot to add was the "charm". In my opinion what made a lot of the really good PS2 games so good was they belonged on that system and that gave those really great games (Final Fantasy X, Wipeout, Burnout, Devil May Cry, Bully, GTA - of those that I played) a charm of their own. I'm going to take the risk of sounding like a fan boy, but even platform exclusivity gives a game a certain something. I don't have a word for it, I just call it charm, even with a game like God Of War.

The error of the PSP game development is that they were trying to cash in on the PS2 success. I will admit that it was the most logical move and at the time of it's release I thought that having a portable PS2 would be awesome, but I was wrong and this is something that I think Nintendo has always known. Or maybe they haven't because to some extent Nintendo games have worked superbly as portable games. These days it's a different story that I won't go into.

What the "masses" want:

Personally I would be happy if they added a camera and built in microphone, it would make the skype function easy to use and a genuine reason to consider the platform. Maybe do two SKUs, one with built in camera and the other with built in GPS, because putting all of it into the console would cost way to much. Or at least make those options available as bundles. The "kids" want the camera and the "adults" want the GPS!?

Although I am wondering how complicated it would be to stick the most basic mobile phone hardware into a PSP? Just so it has the most basic dial function and an address book, nothing fancy. Simply dial number and talk. Would it be too much of a competition with SonyEricsson? Or is the Sony Ericsson partnership the perfect setup for a PSP phone. Think about it, it would compete with almost every handheld device out there, MP3 player - check, phone - check, internet - check. Admittedly none of these work as well as they would on a designated device but it might be a nice option for "average Joe". Would that not at least make a few people rethink their planned iPod Touch / Iphone purchase. Imagine if you could plug in one of those projected keyboards so you could write on the go, or if your PS3 keypad could plug into your PSP.
OK, enough with the daydreaming.

Here is a simple way to make sure that at least some people pick up the new PSP (and maybe prevents them from trading in the older models). It does NOT come in black. Only make fruit coloured PSP-2s and name them after the fruit. Or perhaps do a full range of Patapon 2 coloured PSPs. If you're unfamilier with the new Patapon then there is a tech tree where you level patapons up into different classes. Each class comes in a different colour inside the ring on their head/torso ranging from yellow, brown, blue, green, red, purple, lots of colours in other words. Patapon 2 is by far my favourite PSP game, it has it all and everyone needs to play that - period.

As for the problem with PSP games or lack thereof. I mentioned above why current games have been mostly on the wrong platform. As with any handheld people want games that are short and sweet. Give me a nicely designed game with FUN graphics (ie Patapon) and online scoreboards or some other grind-factor and I'm sold. Look at the success of Monster Hunter in Japan, lots of grinding (I bet - haven't played it) and co-op. The DS has the right graphics (I haven't played DS much so I don't want to make any statements about gameplay). I would love to see Atlus make PSP games (maybe they have?).

I bought GTA vice city stories and metal gear: portable ops when I picked up my PSP and still haven't touched either. Instead I've put 40-50 hours into games like Lumines 2, Patapon, Puzzle Quest and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Even Crisis Core that was the reason I bought the PSP has proven to be too much of a "Big" game for me to get hooked on. I would have liked FFVII: Crisis Core better if they would have stuck with the original FFVII character designs, kept them more Japanese instead of the western 3D reaslistic.

So to sum up the PSP needs "lighter" games instead of the "heavy", serious PS2 clones. I didn't address the control limitations or differences compared to the DS but it feels irrelevant as you can do so much with 6 buttons, a D-pad and analog stick. Developers just need to start thinking outside the box.

The mock PSP Go! design that 1Up created  would be very uncomfortable to play with. At least my hands are too big for it. Maybe if it's targeted at little girls then it could work.

What the "gamers" want:

Why there won't be a 2nd analog nub is that it would mean more work for developers as they would need to figure out two control schemes for games that take advantage of the new stick because the game needs to work on the current PSP.

More games would be great, but for developers it means that people need to buy the games. Personally I think developers took the wrong approach from the start. They started making "serious" games for people that do a lot of gaming. This meant some games had long learning curves and a lot of dark colour palates. I can't recall any launch titles off the top of my head but it seemed like they were trying to show that the PSP could look as "good" as the PS2. What they forgot to add was the "charm". In my opinion what made a lot of the really good PS2 games so good was they belonged on that system and that gave those really great games (Final Fantasy X, Wipeout, Burnout, Devil May Cry, Bully, GTA - of those that I played) a charm of their own. I'm going to take the risk of sounding like a fan boy, but even platform exclusivity gives a game a certain something. I don't have a word for it, I just call it charm, even with a game like God Of War.

The error of the PSP game development is that they were trying to cash in on the PS2 success. I will admit that it was the most logical move and at the time of it's release I thought that having a portable PS2 would be awesome, but I was wrong and this is something that I think Nintendo has always known. Or maybe they haven't because to some extent Nintendo games have worked superbly as portable games. These days it's a different story that I won't go into.

What the "masses" want:

Personally I would be happy if they added a camera and built in microphone, it would make the skype function easy to use and a genuine reason to consider the platform. Maybe do two SKUs, one with built in camera and the other with built in GPS, because putting all of it into the console would cost way to much. Or at least make those options available as bundles. The "kids" want the camera and the "adults" want the GPS!?

Although I am wondering how complicated it would be to stick the most basic mobile phone hardware into a PSP? Just so it has the most basic dial function and an address book, nothing fancy. Simply dial number and talk. Would it be too much of a competition with SonyEricsson? Or is the Sony Ericsson partnership the perfect setup for a PSP phone. Think about it, it would compete with almost every handheld device out there, MP3 player - check, phone - check, internet - check. Admittedly none of these work as well as they would on a designated device but it might be a nice option for "average Joe". Would that not at least make a few people rethink their planned iPod Touch / Iphone purchase. Imagine if you could plug in one of those projected keyboards so you could write on the go, or if your PS3 keypad could plug into your PSP.
OK, enough with the daydreaming.

Here is a simple way to make sure that at least some people pick up the new PSP (and maybe prevents them from trading in the older models). It does NOT come in black. Only make fruit coloured PSP-2s and name them after the fruit. Or perhaps do a full range of Patapon 2 coloured PSPs. If you're unfamilier with the new Patapon then there is a tech tree where you level patapons up into different classes. Each class comes in a different colour inside the ring on their head/torso ranging from yellow, brown, blue, green, red, purple, lots of colours in other words. Patapon 2 is by far my favourite PSP game, it has it all and everyone needs to play that - period.

As for the problem with PSP games or lack thereof. I mentioned above why current games have been mostly on the wrong platform. As with any handheld people want games that are short and sweet. Give me a nicely designed game with FUN graphics (ie Patapon) and online scoreboards or some other grind-factor and I'm sold. Look at the success of Monster Hunter in Japan, lots of grinding (I bet - haven't played it) and co-op. The DS has the right graphics (I haven't played DS much so I don't want to make any statements about gameplay). I would love to see Atlus make PSP games (maybe they have?).

I bought GTA vice city stories and metal gear: portable ops when I picked up my PSP and still haven't touched either. Instead I've put 40-50 hours into games like Lumines 2, Patapon, Puzzle Quest and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Even Crisis Core that was the reason I bought the PSP has proven to be too much of a "Big" game for me to get hooked on. I would have liked FFVII: Crisis Core better if they would have stuck with the original FFVII character designs, kept them more Japanese instead of the western 3D reaslistic.

So to sum up the PSP needs "lighter" games instead of the "heavy", serious PS2 clones. I didn't address the control limitations or differences compared to the DS but it feels irrelevant as you can do so much with 6 buttons, a D-pad and analog stick. Developers just need to start thinking outside the box.