PSP will need bigger budgets

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Archived from groups: alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

Behind Sony's PSP

By Dennis Day, News Editor
Published April 6, 2004 -- 07:18 pm CDT

Sony recently held a briefing at Game Developers Conference 2004 regarding
their eagerly anticipated "PSP" handheld game platform. Scheduled for
release this winter in Japan and next spring in America, the system will
differ from traditional handheld platforms in several ways.

Speaking at the briefing, Sony Computer Entertainment America representative
Peter Young shed new light on the platform. According to Mr. Young, PSP
software developers can expect production times and budgets to be bigger
than games produced for existing platforms such as Nintendo's GameBoy
Advance. Much of the cost is associated with harnessing the power of the
PSP, whose 3D graphical capabilities are said to exceed the PSone but fall
short of the PlayStation 2. The finished version of the PSP will be capable
of unique graphical techniques including graphic morphing and vortex skin
mapping.

Mr. Young suggested developers share resources among PlayStation 2 and PSP
game development teams to bring down costs. However, Sony has warned
developers against merely translating existing PSone and PlayStation 2
titles to the PSP unless they're "significantly improved or changed."

The first prototype of Sony's PSP is scheduled to debut at this year's E3
Expo in May. The first games for the system are expected to appear at Tokyo
Game Show 2004 in September. Expect continuing coverage here at Polygon
Magazine.

Of course they will need bigger budgets and more time for this handheld,
seeing as we are talking about Sony here. And I think Sony needs a reality
check as companies should have the right to port any game they like.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

"Ice Wipe Inc." <birdworm12@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Lwddc.488$ED.237@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Behind Sony's PSP
>
> By Dennis Day, News Editor
> Published April 6, 2004 -- 07:18 pm CDT
>
> Sony recently held a briefing at Game Developers Conference 2004 regarding
> their eagerly anticipated "PSP" handheld game platform. Scheduled for
> release this winter in Japan and next spring in America, the system will
> differ from traditional handheld platforms in several ways.
>
> Speaking at the briefing, Sony Computer Entertainment America
representative
> Peter Young shed new light on the platform. According to Mr. Young, PSP
> software developers can expect production times and budgets to be bigger
> than games produced for existing platforms such as Nintendo's GameBoy
> Advance. Much of the cost is associated with harnessing the power of the
> PSP, whose 3D graphical capabilities are said to exceed the PSone but fall
> short of the PlayStation 2. The finished version of the PSP will be
capable
> of unique graphical techniques including graphic morphing and vortex skin
> mapping.
>
> Mr. Young suggested developers share resources among PlayStation 2 and PSP
> game development teams to bring down costs. However, Sony has warned
> developers against merely translating existing PSone and PlayStation 2
> titles to the PSP unless they're "significantly improved or changed."
>
> The first prototype of Sony's PSP is scheduled to debut at this year's E3
> Expo in May. The first games for the system are expected to appear at
Tokyo
> Game Show 2004 in September. Expect continuing coverage here at Polygon
> Magazine.
>
> Of course they will need bigger budgets and more time for this
handheld,
> seeing as we are talking about Sony here. And I think Sony needs a
reality
> check as companies should have the right to port any game they like.

Sony, just like any other platform company, has always reserved the
right to approve or reject any submitted game. This is mostly taken care of
in advance by detailing those things that are unacceptable, such as explicit
sexual content. I doubt they've had many conversations like this:

"Your game is looking quite good and should very well, particularly with
the 8 and under market, except for one thing we need you to change."

"Where is the problem?"

"In this level you have the player obtaining power-ups by ripping the
heads off toy puppies and kittens.

"No, those are supposed to be live puppies and kittens. See how the tail
is wagging? Hear the little meows?"

"You're not making this better for yourself, you know."

Obviously all of the platform companies are guilty of allowing some
truly awful titles to be published. Those royalties fees are very compelling
reasons to overlook a mediocre game so long as it operates as intended.

Part of the responsibility Sony has to its platform is to focus
development on products that will help make that platform a success. An
important aspect of this for the PSP and its high price for a portable is to
make it attractive on the basis of its own library rather than letting it be
viewed as merely a portable version of what has already been seen on Sony
consoles.

These decisions don't always work out favorably. Microsoft made it their
policy to discourage porting PC games to the Xbox in the believe it was
critical to treat it solely as a console and to concentrate on those genres
most at home on consoles. Not supporting keyboards and mice was part of this
policy. I strongly believe this was a bad choice since there is a
substantial number of people are interested in many of the games found only
on Windows but greatly prefer the convenience of consoles. Since the Xbox
has had difficulty winning support in some major genres such as FF-style
RPGS it would have been a good supplement to be the console venue for many
PC hits.

Some will point to the Nintendo GBA and its lucrative revival of SNES
hits and suggest the PSP should do the same for the PS1 library. While the
time frame between the launch of console and later handheld is about the
same for both Sony and Nintendo other major factors are different. At the
time the GBA was launched the SNES had been discontinued for several years.
The major PS1 hits are still available to be played on the PS2. A PS2 owning
parent who remembers playing Spyro and thinks it would be good for his kid
who wasn't yet born when the first in the series appeared can still easily
obtain a new copy at retail.

Which isn't to say old classics won't be revived for the PSP. It would
be insane to disallow everything that had a previous incarnation on another
platform. There won't be a straight port of the PS1 Tekken games but you can
bet there will be a new Tekken game with unlockable nostalgia features. At
one time Square was looking at doing a sort of remake of FF7 (and later PS1
FF titles) for the PS2 that would be the same game with better visuals
throughout. They later decided it was too soon for such an investment.
Perhaps it could appear as a PSP title instead in time for its 10th
anniversary.

As for the budget issue, this is pretty accurate. The PSP is much closer
in capabilities to the console with which it will coexist than has been the
case for past handhelds except for those that were not a separate platform
ala the TurboExpress. Thus original projects for the PSP will be comparable
in terms of personnel and time invested to fully exploit the system.