Why third parties are abandoning PSP

There's been much talk in recent months about the PSP's supposedly declining software releases and third-party support. Publishers noticeably seem to be backing away from the console - the most recent of which is Eidos with Tomb Raider: Underworld, a game that's in development for every games console known to man (including PS2) but not the Sony handheld - and Sony has called their output 'disappointing'.

Sony has also called for third-parties to "look at what the PSP can do for their titles". But what is that exactly? Edge magazine has looked at exactly that, and come up with some interesting answers.

Going on the current release schedule, it notes that PSP releases this year drop off a significant 40 per cent on 2007, that year having already seen a 17 per cent drop off from 2006 (the PSP's best year for game releases yet).

Sony itself is the exception having consistently supported its console throughout its nearly four-year lifespan, with the exception of 2007 where output halved (presumably because the release of PS3 meant attention was diverted there).

But why the drop off in releases? Especially considering PSP hardware sales look healthy.

(While sales data is a bit sketchy, it's known that 6.65 million PSPs were sold in the US from launch until the end of 2006, and 3.82 million in 2007 and - as of the end of August this year - 1.8 million - which compares favourably to the 1.6 million sold in the same period in 2007. Basically, it seems there's nothing much to worry about in terms of sales.)

The answer - according to Edge - is one well illustrated by Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

The first GTA game released on PSP, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, stands as the console's best-selling non-bundled game to date in the US, having notched up over 1.7 million sales as of the end of 2007. Its follow-up, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, however has only sold around 700,000 copies in its first year on sale.

Which, considering that's the opposite to how the top selling franchise has performed on the home consoles (Vice City outsold Grand Theft Auto III, San Andreas outsold Vice City and so on) is pretty disastrous, as well as a potential reason for publishers would fear bringing their games to the handheld.

As noted by Edge, a publisher looking at that information could well ask themselves "If Grand Theft Auto can't maintain its momentum in this market, what chance does my game have of keeping pace?"

Of course, there are likely other causes as well. Including the fear games piracy on the console is widespread - which would explain the popularity of the hardware but not its software. As the magazine concludes, PSP needs a killer app in the west on the level of Monster Hunter in Japan or it may be crowded out of a competitive marketplace.

Whatever the reason for PSP's games drought, it's clear it's something Sony needs to address - and soon - if PSP software releases are going to regain momentum.