Sony to beef up PlayStation Store downloads

Sony plans to support its PlayStation Store for PC in a variety of ways in the future, which will include offering "bite-size" new downloadable games and old PSP titles no longer stocked in retailers.

John Koller, senior product manager for PSP, revealed these plans to Kotaku at this week's CES. Talking firstly of Sony's hopes to expand PSP's demographic by offering new short games, he told them: "We have an opportunity to bring bite-size experiences to the system - ten minute, pick-up-and-play content that can be downloaded from the store".

In addition to these mini-gaming sessions, he spoke of increasing numbers of older PSP games being re-released as digital downloads to add to PlayStation Store's existing catalogue, which already includes B-Boy and Fired Up. Games which "retailers aren't interested in carrying at this stage, games that we hear a lot of demand from PSP owners - titles like Wipeout, Twisted Metal - gamers who say 'I want to play this' but can't find it at retail any more".

He even spoke briefly about the UMD movie market, admitting some full price UMDs didn't appeal to most of the PSP demographic. Of the possibility that Sony's recently announced plan to bring films to PSP via Blu-Ray discs and streaming could bite into the UMD video market, Koller said: "Any way we can help get that multimedia content onto the PSP, we're going to take it."

With several PSP announcements coming out of this year's CES, including Skype compatibility, a keyboard, Blu-ray downloads and now increased downloadable content via the PlayStation Store, it seems Sony is now cementing the PSP's position as a true multimedia device. PSP sales figures are going to be interesting viewing for 2008.