Ever since the PSP was announced, gamers have been excited to hear about the prospects of playing some of their favourite Sony franchises on the go. However, sometime after the PSP came out, the DS began to rampantly outsell it and people began to wonder why the PSP failed (at least in their eyes). There have been many different opinions on why the DS outsold the PSP, but one of the key issues pointed out is that the PSP games were always seen as second string or B team titles. Sony have also continued with their PSP game development strategy with the PSV and have called doom on the device because of it too. In this post, I will attempt to address these issues and help find a solution to this problem for Sony.


Where Sony is going totally Wrong
With all of the following franchises listed, Sony has done at least 2 out of 3 things:

• Used the IP and given the game to a different Studio that makes the console version 
• Has made the title a non-essential part of the series (so in other words, console version has numbers for sequels, handheld version does not or has the subtitle: portable).
• Changed the genre/style of the series from the console to the portable games.

Uncharted
Console Developer(s): Naughty Dog                       Portable Developer(s): Sony Bend
All the sequels to Drake’s fortune have a number in the title, which is totally unnecessary as Uncharted has no over arcing plot at all between the games. Games play the same style though.
God Of War
Console Developer(s): Sony Santa Monica           Portable Developer(s): Ready at Dawn
While there is an over arcing plot between the God Of War games, they all tell a part of Kratos’ story. Having a number in the titles merely makes it easy for consumers to choose which parts are most important. All God Of War games play the same style though.
Jak & Daxter
Console Developer(s): Naughty Dog                       Portable Developer(s): Ready At Dawn & High Impact Games
Although each title does affect the overall universe, the Jak & Daxter games don’t have that much to do with each other. Ready At Dawn’s Daxter though played quite differently compared to the other Jak & Daxter games though.
Killzone
Console Developer(s): Guerrilla Games                 Portable Developer(s):  Guerrilla Games  & Sony Cambridge
All console titles have an over arcing story, portable title Killzone Liberation isn’t well integrated into the story by Guerrilla’s later Killzone titles and Liberation also played very differently featuring a top down perspective compared to the FPS origins of the first title. Future title Killzone for PSV is being developed outside of Guerrilla Games sadly but is returning to the FPS genre.
Resistance
Console Developer(s): Insomniac                             Portable Developer(s): Sony Bend & Nihilistic Software
The console Resistance series has sequels and is the area were all key events take place in the universe. Where-as the portable titles Resistance Retribution and Resistance Burning Skies are very detached from the console games. Resistance Retribution also changes the games genre from first to third person shooter.
Motorstorm
Console Developer(s):   Evolution Studios             Portable Developer(s): Evolution & BigBig Studios
The PSP version of the Motorstorm series wasn’t produced by the console developer, but kept to the original games style. Whereas the PSV version of the game was produced by the console developer but changed the game genre/style to a top down perspective.
LittleBigPlanet
Console Developer(s): Media Molecule                 Portable Developer(s): Sony Cambridge, Double Eleven, Tarsier Studios and XDev
Different developers between the games and the PS3 versions numbered sequels.
Ratchet and Clank
Console Developer(s): Insomniac Games                              Portable Developer(s):BigBig Studios
The developers are different but none of the games have any proper over arcing story. Spin off game Secret Agent Clank was developed fort the PSP though.


Where Sony is moving in the right direction
With the following series’, Sony only did one of the three issues highlighted above.
Everybody’s Golf/Tennis
Console Developer(s): Clap Hanz                              Portable Developer(s): Clap Hanz
Everybody’s Golf and Tennis only miss out on getting it ‘Bang On’ by having a numbered sequel in the title and the PSP versions having portable in the titles! They don’t need to be there!
Gran Turismo
Console Developer(s):Polyphony Digital                                Portable Developer(s): Polyphony Digital
Same developers but the console versions have numbers in the title.


Where Sony got it bang on! :D
Now with these games, Sony didn’t do any of the three issues!
Wipeout
Console Developer(s): Sony Liverpool                    Portable Developer(s): Sony Liverpool!
Same developers, no sequels and no change of genre/style :D
Twisted Metal
Console Developer(s): Various, but mostly David Jaffe.                  Portable Developer(s): Various, but mostly David Jaffe again.
Although the original titles were numbered, that stopped in the jump to PS2. No issues :D

Now as you can quite clearly tell, Sony’s more popular franchises do appear have at least 2 of my highlighted issues. These aren’t hard problems to rectify. Stop using numbers in game titles and don’t change the games genre/style. The developer issues are hard to rectify, but people aren’t too fused about a change in developer if a game keeps to the same style as the previous games and is of good quality (although Uncharted has 2 of the issues I highlighted, people love Golden Abyss).

Make it happen Sony J

2 problems here.

You say that the Jak n' Daxter games aren't really connected but that's not true. 2 was a direct sequal to Jak n' Daxter. 3 was a direct sequal to 2.

Killzone Liberation was friggin' amazing. I want more. It doesn't have to be Killzone but I want SONY Cambridge on a top down shooter for the Vita NOW!

Some of these studios are fantastic studios. Sony bend makes some awesome portable games, and I'd rather they focus on the Portable Uncharted series while ND focuses on PS3/Orbis games. Same with LBP.

The problem isn't necessarily that Sony doesn't give the IPs to their original creators on portables, but it's that often times they'll give it to a B-team studio (Burning Skies is a perfect example).

Studios like Sony Bend, Sony Cambridge or Ready at Dawn are proven, talented studios. They can make great games, and they are totally worth using for existing IPs as long as they get input from the original developers.

Studios like Nihilistic (Burning Skies)? Unproven, bad track record. The average meta score for their games in the 60s.

Dgc1808 said: 2 problems here. You say that the Jak n' Daxter games aren't really connected but that's not true. 2 was a direct sequal to Jak n' Daxter. 3 was a direct sequal to 2. Killzone Liberation was friggin' amazing. I want more. It doesn't have to be Killzone but I want SONY Cambridge on a top down shooter for the Vita NOW!

1). I mean there isn't a big over arcing story between the games, Jak 2 required no knowledge at all of Jak 1. Same goes for Jak 3.
2). I do know people like the top down perspective of Killzone Liberation, but that did alienate the fans of the original game and the change in gameplay style makes it more akin to a spin off title in the Killzone universe.

Andrespetmonkey said: Some of these studios are fantastic studios. Sony bend makes some awesome portable games, and I'd rather they focus on the Portable Uncharted series while ND focuses on PS3/Orbis games. Same with LBP.  The problem isn't necessarily that Sony doesn't give the IPs to their original creators on portables, but it's that often times they'll give it to a B-team studio (Burning Skies is a perfect example). Studios like Sony Bend, Sony Cambridge or Ready at Dawn are proven, talented studios. They can make great games, and they are totally worth using for existing IPs as long as they get input from the original developers. Studios like Nihilistic (Burning Skies)? Unproven, bad track record. The average meta score for their games in the 60s.

I'm not going to argue that some of these studios are talented, because I completly agree with you :P But you still see people group good studios like Sony bend with Nihilistic because they still aren't the original creators of the series and anything ultimately made by them appears second string or less important.

Sony seems to be learning, but only bit-by-bit and piecemeal. Sony Japan seems better-suited to the idea, but Western developers have never really liked making handheld games.

That's why you can't trust from 3rd parties in the west, save some exceptions. They never bring their A-game to portables.

Ass Creed and COD will both be developed by side-teams. I believe the latter will be BO1  port (like Declassified edition) with some upgrades, TBH. It was pretty strange for a game like this to have only a logo at e3.

Mr Khan said: Sony seems to be learning, but only bit-by-bit and piecemeal. Sony Japan seems better-suited to the idea, but Western developers have never really liked making handheld games.

Before I made this list, I agreed with your Japan point, but afterwards, I noticed Sony's Japan Studios tend to make new IP's insted of using their existing ones.

VicViper said: That's why you can't trust from 3rd parties in the west, save some exceptions. They never bring their A-game to portables. Ass Creed and COD will both be developed by side-teams. I believe the latter will be BO1  port (like Declassified edition) with some upgrades, TBH. It was pretty strange for a game like this to have only a logo at e3.

Although I only covered Sony's internal studios, I suspect what you say is very true. I do know Assassin's Creed Liberation isn't being made by the same studio who's making Assassin's Creed 3.

I kind of agree and disagree with your points. I understand where you're coming from when you say that it shouldn't be obvious what is a 'main' game and what is a portable version, but it hasn't always led to bad situations. 

I mean, example: Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP) is the best-selling R&C game out there (even more than the heavily-bundled-in-Japan-original-game). Daxter is the highest selling Jak & Daxter game. I also think God of War: Chains of Olympus pulled really respectable numbers.

Even though all of these were spin-offs, they were handled by incredibly talented "B-Team" devs (Ready at Dawn and High Impact Games), and I have no problem with that. In fact, I think it's a really good idea, because it's the kind of thing that will make fans of those series (like me) buy a PSP/Vita to play these games, and it will let new players (with no knowledge of the IP's) jump right in because they are spin-offs. Clearly Nihilistic are less talented devs than those other two studios, and it's causing a bit of a problem.

Maybe the solution is simply to make spin-off series for the Sony portables, but not so that it seems like it's a spin off. Say for example - Uncharted. If Golden Abyss 2 came along next, that makes it seem like it's simply a parallel series to the PS3 games, and that's probably a good move.

I think the future looks bright for releases too. Sony Cambridge handling Killzone Vita with help from Guerilla seems like it will be good, and LBP Vita have xDev on board, who should keep the quality up. I'm sure Sony Bend are working on something good now as well. I hope High Impact Games get hired again to make new Ratchet/Jak games, because I genuinely believe they did a stand-up job with the PSP versions.

Was interesting to read your thoughts on this though, so thanks for that :P

I'd have to fully agree. Even though Uncharted GA is amazing and deserves to sit among its console brothers the general public will never believe it if Sony doesn't treat it as such. With the PSP and even more with the PS Vita Sony is promising home gaming on the go. If this is the way they want to go, I better see God of War 4 exclusive to the PS Vita. If the system is as good as they say it is (which it is), why do they treat its games as the inferior versions?

If Sony announced new IP people say why it isn't in PS3
If Sony announced port or remake or spin off people camplaint
If Sony announced game for ps3 series that is different than ps3 version people say it isn't a real game in the series exemple Metal Gear Peace Walker and Silent Hill Book of memory

 So Sony will never resolve this problem.

And for LBP Vita Tarsiers made better effort then Media Molicule.