It seems to be doomed by the same malady that afflicted the Dreamcast: Pirates.

Pirated games means you can't sell software which usually means you stop selling hardware.


Mike from Morgantown

Another related thought.

One of the virtues of the PSP is multi-functionality.
That has never been a good thing for the long-term success of a handheld as a gaming platform.
Apple -- are you listening?

Mike from Morgantown

Actually, what you call shovelware are some of the biggest money makers and would be best for the PSP.  They don't get pirated nearly as much as other PSP games (though I'm only assuming that part) and they just about always make money.

@mike_intellivision

What are you smoking? The PSone and PS2 were billed as multifunctional CD and DVD players respectively. They were huge selling points early in their lives, particularly for the PS2. It was one of the big things that killed the Dreamcast actually: the PS2's DVD player was the reason a lot of people waited for it.

The reason this didn't work for the PSP was that it wasn't a particularly good multifuctional device. UMD was a terrible idea from the beginning. Being able to play digital media was aslo bsically useles without either an online store or any built in storage (particularly that last bit). On launch, 2gb memory sticks cost upward of $50; another proprietary format that bit Sony in the ass.

The point is that it is rediculously stupid to say that being multi-functional is somehow a handicap. As long as all those functions work well and work well together, it is a huge boon. Many times they can actually be synergetic, as in the case of Monster Rancher, or the location-based functionality of many iphone games, or simply the abilty to play your own music on the same device when the soundtrack sucks. What killed the PSP was poor execution of its non-gaming functionality (especially UMD), as well as rampant piracy.

We also have Disgaea people making a psp game, Ubisoft, Konami, EA, THQ, SNK Playmore, R* with EA and Ubi having at least two titles out before the end of this year. Sounds like support to me. Just because the DS is a software juggernaut doesn't mean it's all doom and gloom for PSP.

The GTA games were early in the life of the PSP and nowhere near it's 30mil userbase.

Later revisions of the PSP-2000 are atm immune to CFW as well as the new 3000 model.

This. Why would Sony abandon PSP if hardware makes profit. (and some games)

Since PSP appeals primarily to young tech-savvy people it has to deal with the fact that those are also the most likely to pirate software, especially when it's so easy to do.

DS is also easy to pirate games on but since a lot of it's users are older, female or simply less tech-savvy they are not nearly as likely to pirate games. If they were no one were ever buy a Petz game again.

PSP sells a decent amount of hardware. It's the attach rate that's pathetic and that's purely piracy at work.

It is very probable. But it is not enough. With no onboard storage, as well as the expensive proprietary memory stick, the PSP has no good storage solution. No matter how good their online store is, it is only as good as their storage allows it to be.

What a lot of people don't understand is that if Sony had released the exact same PSP except with no media functionality at all, it would have sold better. While well executed media functionalty can help sell a platform, bad functionality can stop it from selling, even if it doesn't hurt the gaming aspect of it. It hurts the reputation of the platform when a function that was billed as system selling ends up beinga dud. And that failure takes the focus away from what really matters: the games.

I'm planning on getting a PSP for it's multimedia functionality and the fact that games seem to be fairly cheap - £15-£20 - in the shops. It would be sad to see developers abandon this system though.

Off topic - whats the maximum memory stick size you can put in a PSP?