Are PSP Games not living up to high expectations ?

[Zeus]

The president of startup studio Ready At Dawn has told GamesIndustry.biz that developers must stop making excuses for producing handheld games that aren't up to the same standard as their console counterparts.


In an exclusive interview, Didier Malenfant conceded that consumers are becoming disgruntled with the choice of games available for the PSP, stating: "There's obviously not as many titles as people would want on the platform, but at the same time, up until now there hasn't been any title that really gives you the same kind of experience you could find on the PS2."

"Everything is compromised, and it bugs the hell out of me when you hear a lot of developers saying, 'Well, we can't do this that way because it's a handheld game,' or 'We can't do this because it doesn't have a second analog stick.'"

"Those are all excuses," Malenfant continued - observing that the original PSone controller didn't have any analog sticks, "And there were great games on that."

Malenfant, who formerly worked for Jak and Daxter developer Naughty Dog, co-founded Ready At Dawn in September 2003 together with former Blizzard employees Ru Weerasuriya and Andrea Pessino.

The studio's first game is simply titled Daxter, and is based around the character of the same name. Malenfant believes that Daxter "Is not only a really good game, but really something that shows that for the first time, this is a handheld that can give you the same experience you'd find on a home console."

"For me that's terribly exciting, because I tend to play my PSP a lot more than any other console, simply because it's portable. I don't want to end up playing sub-par games just because I'm on a handheld, which up to [the arrival of the PSP] has been what we've had to do."

"We really set out to prove that you can do a game that is as good, if not better, than a PS2 game and really show off the platform. If we do end up becoming the game that opens the floodgates, I'd be really really proud, because it's such an awesome handheld."

Daxter will be published this spring by Sony - a company with whom RAD has an excellent relationship, according to Malenfant.


Read More: <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=15264" target="_blank">Gamesindustry.biz</a>

How do you feel about the state of PSP Games, are they satisfying or exceeding your requirements or are they just plain bad, let us know in the forum thread below!

[RottenFox]

GTA:liberty city stories,and Daxter would be the benchmarks id say,by which all games(for content) would/should be judged on.
it should sort out lazy developers,and improve quality overall.

[mksoftware]

GTA was the first game to bring Console entertainment to a handheld, now Ready At Dawn is doing it again, and I am really proud on that.

The stupid part is, that simply all PSP games weren't very special,they didn't use the capabilities of the handheld (Excuse me I mean small console)....

A few months ago I posted if I should keep my psp or sell it, the awnser was to sell it, but some people sad that I would be good to wait, hopefully Daxter brings this to reality, and for sure I hope that if I buy the game I can play it on my 1.5, but knowing Sony, they will be pulling out some tricks to prevent piracy (which I understand completely). However, I hope I can play the title soon. (I made the decision to stop upgrading from now on knowing there is a dude called MPH who has shown us that if we wait.. we can play LEGAL ISO's (Not not illegal, **** piracy) and UMD's...

[cory149]

I have to say I am impressed by the psp but not with what developers have done with it since it came out (same for the Nintendo DS...)

My thought on it: many of the people who are developing commercial software for these systems had either grew up with LCD handheld only games (GB micro or game and watch type handhelds) and have some stereotype as to what a handheld game should be wrather than what it can be. I think they need to get it into their heads that the next generation handhelds are indeed consoles wrather than game and watch LCD screens.

It is a time where games are rarely limited to small sized, expensive ROM chips, I mean, 1.8Gigs is a tonne of space (PS1 games had what, 800MB?) - and what do they do with this great hardware? Port more crap badly... (it would seem to me that the homebrew community around PSP are better at porting than any of the $50-$70 titles out there, and if it wasnt for sony's update program... well.)

Having said that, PSP and NDS titles are seriously suffering overall (IMHO); its like the GBA developers stepped up to the DS and said "oh gee, another gameboy" and really didnt improve their content except wedging in touchscreen support. Its like the PSP developers stepped up and said "Groovy dudes, we can now badly port our contend from the oldest PS1 and N64 titles to this new handheld, rake in some dough and keep on looking at the PS3/360 instead of actively developing on the PSP"

While there have been some excellent exceptions (GTALCS/Daxter PSP, Mario and Luigi/The New S.Mario NDS) most of the content that is being brought to these systems is seriously disappointing. :(\

Long and short: If you are an adult gamer like myself with an interest in homebrew, skip the PSP and NDS totally and find youself one of the new GamePark offerings - you wont be so disappointed. If you have a kid and want to pick up a handheld to keep 'em quite in the back of the minivan on a long trip - go with the NDS, it is cheaper and more durable and has the bonus of a big list of backtitles with its GBA support.

[Mr Doctor]

Its an understatement in that article. In its first year the PSP has 2 good titles.... 2! Now its up to what, 3? 4? DS is raping the PSP so much that its actually quite funny - especially with the DS clones for the PSP (Nintendogs clone and that advance wars with 3D graphics for example.... I forget their names). The main reason I kept my PSP is Bookr, which is one an amazing program, as is the NeoCD emulator, infact, homebrew has probably taken up over 90% of my time on PSP.

Its a console full of potential, but released in a shoddy untested mess (dpad goosed? square button hitting off screen? umds launching out the bay? and on top of that a screen with a response time that makes you understand what people with cataracts are going through). Yeah they are fixing it now, but early adopters are fucked, and for a company with sonys resourses its inexcusable.

PSP is a joke. I really hope it can live up to its capabilities real soon, especially the online aspects. Doubt it will ever match the DS as a pure unadulterated fun games console, but in its own right, it should be standing on its own two feet instead of leaning on bad console ports and ripoffs.

[BloodShed]

Frankly, the problem is that the handheld market has been underrated and held-back by Nintendo. They've been freezing the handheld market technology ever since the creation of the original Gameboy in 1989. They've offered only minor upgrades every few years (OMGZWTFpOCkETSIZ0r). They did it because they could. They were the biggest company on the market with the most software. It's sad because there were a lot better [technology] handhelds out there (GamePark for example).

Then Sony proclaimed they were going to challenge the market. Suddenly, Nintendo jumps from creating the GBA to a DS. Huge improvement in capibilities. It's so obvious that Nintendo realized, "Oh hell... we actually have to develop a modern handheld now!"

Anyway, I remember showing off the PSP to people and they were surprised at the look of some games. They expected PSX style graphics but were instead shown nearly PS2 quality. Even though some of the games looked nice, most PSP gameplay have little content. I agree that developers are thinking too much into a market that Nintendo hindered. Currently, I too dedicate as much as 95-98% of my PSP time to homebrew emulation. Lame.

I think the other half of the problem is that there is too much focus on the next generation consoles and software. It kind of reminds me of when Nintendo released the VirtualBoy at the same time that they were so aggressive with their N64 development.

Personally, I want to see some good RPGs released for the PSP. Character rich stories... not "Untold Legends". =P For now I've been enjoying the latest Lunar on DS.

[Mr Doctor]

I dont really see how the GBA hindered the market. Games arent about power (XBox and XBox360 are the most powerful consoles out at the moment and they have the worst lineup of games Ive ever seen, even worse than the Saturn or N64) its about fun, and personally, I dont see any need for 3D graphics in a handheld, if anything it makes them less portable/immediate fun. Hell, I probably spent more time on my GBA than on my PS2 just because there were a ton of quality games out for it.

Also, I'm pretty sure the DS was in development before the PSP -_-

[MadonnaProject]

I tink the psp games have offered at least a little solid improvement, in terms of what we have come to expect from handhelds that have come before. Which quite frankly is sheer COMPROMISE, in gameplay, graphics and imagination. how many titles on the gameboy advance can you call revolutionary? and how many titles for even the ds can you claim are causing their own revolution?

frankly i am in utter shock as to who these people are who are buying the nintendo ds, and its constantly selling out. i have one, and to be honest the 23 games i have for it all SUCK. with the exception fo mario 64 of course.

HOWEVER, what shocks me even more is the fact that these people, and ill make no shyness of even blaming the people of this very website, that nintendo is getting away with someting that if sony or microsoft would do theyd probably be burnt at the stake.

I mean, consider for yourself, the nintendo ds mostly has games like what? WHAC A MOLE, and other gimmickly touch screen type stuff like trace memory, apart from a re-has of a re-hash like mario 64. and to be honest you cant even control most games properly with that D-pad. how many times has mario fallen in a pit to his death (one would hope) when you desperately have yearned for there to be an analogue stick, allowing for better control in a platform game such as mario 64. ALSO, hwo many times must you play through the same games before saying "ok screw this, i am ready for something more"....i have played mario 64 on the nintendo 64, then on the pc, then on the xbox, through emulators. however when nintendo says its coming out with its entire library of gaming over the last 20 years people are acting as if its something which is incredibly stellar. maybe they would be done good to know that the ENTIRE nintendo 20 years of library is available to be played on the pc, through emulators, and even on the xbox, ps2 and psp to some extent, be it their 64 sysrem ot nes, snes, or handhelds.

yet when the psp comes out with media capabilities, people have their arms flailing about complaining about the battery power, which to be honest is not very bad at all. and the games for the psp are honestly better than ANYTHING, and i mean ANYTHING youll find on a handheld console that has come before it, or even its contemporary the ds (given a few exceptions). just compare any of the current racers such as burnout legends, ridge racer, on the psp and the ds and you would realise what a magnificent piece of hardware the psp is. especially if you realise the boxy 16 bit graphics, and slideshow speed of the nintendo ds is not very inspired.

so can the games for the psp be any better? of course....

is the psp such a disappointment when it comes to games NOT REALLY....unless youre a crummy loser who cannot afford one.

PLUS, you can play the psp on the loo, or watch a movie on it. ayone whose lost a ds stylus down the bowl knows what i am speaking of. and you know youre out there....even tho you might not admit it.:rolleyes:

[Souzar]

The fact is that the psp was not very well thought out, they gave it a big screen, a beefy cpu and media that needs a motor to spin it. 3 things that do not go well with a handheld. That blatantly says "I dont know what the hell I'm doing but I want a piece of the action". psp games do take about 15 seconds to load up and thats not even going into options etc., why did they include the umd disc when you have have a memory stick slot? talk about redundancy! the psp was a way for sony to make more money from the umd "standard" thats all and it shows, the lack of decent games(i dont want a sub standard ps2 game port on the psp with worse graphics and controls) is more proof and the 'please dont use the cpu at full speed or else the battery life will shorten' make the 300mhz cpu a bit useless is just a handful of the reasons for the psp not doing well. These are its own issues and when you add in the success of the DS it just gets worse.

Sony need to rethink their whole psp and maybe try again if its not too late.

[Mr Doctor]

is the psp such a disappointment when it comes to games NOT REALLY....unless youre a crummy loser who cannot afford one.
You know you were almost forming a cohesive argument, one smelling of blatent fanboyism, but still. Then you say that and I point and laugh at you for being a silly 14 year old with daddy syndrome :D If youre not, then you have no excuse and are just a retard....

[MadonnaProject]

You know you were almost forming a cohesive argument, one smelling of blatent fanboyism, but still. Then you say that and I point and laugh at you for being a silly 14 year old with daddy syndrome :D If youre not, then you have no excuse and are just a retard....

And you sound like a rather judgemental idiot, jumping off the gun and making false assumptions about someone you dont even know. But then again i wouldnt fall prey to the same disease of the mind as yourself and assume anything about you, because first of all youre not really worth my time. Secondly the fact you seem to have shamelessly lashed out at me, instead of my argument, i realise you must be an american idiot. (which incidentally also doesnt happen to be worth my time).

but if my whole argument, which you claim was building up to be cohesive, seems to have lost all its credibility with you because of one line that was supposed to be tongue in cheek. then well, im not going to change it. so dont let it inflict emotional damage on yourself.

Besides, if people are buying a console like the ds, which is inept when it comes to so many genres, like racing (as so many racing titles have proven so far) then so be it. you people deserve whac a mole ds. quite frankly i believe the psp with its media capabilities and watered down games from the ps2 are quite an attractive offer, when it comes to mobile entertainment devices. plus not everyone has the pockets to carry an mp3 player, a movie player and a game system in their pants or backpacks. and a psp comes up in trumps when given all of the above functionalities.

and most people ***** about it being a second fiddle to the ps2 games. while EVERY game thats been made for the psp and the ds, has fared far better on the psp. ever read any reviews for games from films for both the handhelds? my case in point: KING KONG. its a ridiculous embarassment on the ds. but then again most people have probably become used to getting slapped in the face by nintendo when buying their consoles....like carts which lost saved games for the n64 to games which automatically reboot the ds due to a glitch.

but hey its a masochistic world.

[Souzar]

Besides, if people are buying a console like the ds, which is inept when it comes to so many genres, like racing (as so many racing titles have proven so far) then so be it. you people deserve whac a mole ds. quite frankly i believe the psp with its media capabilities and watered down games from the ps2 are quite an attractive offer, when it comes to mobile entertainment devices. plus not everyone has the pockets to carry an mp3 player, a movie player and a game system in their pants or backpacks. and a psp comes up in trumps when given all of the above functionalities.

and most people ***** about it being a second fiddle to the ps2 games. while EVERY game thats been made for the psp and the ds, has fared far better on the psp. ever read any reviews for games from films for both the handhelds? my case in point: KING KONG. its a ridiculous embarassment on the ds. but then again most people have probably become used to getting slapped in the face by nintendo when buying their consoles....like carts which lost saved games for the n64 to games which automatically reboot the ds due to a glitch.

but hey its a masochistic world.

Riiiiight, inept so many genres? -racing games you mention then what is mariokart DS all about then?, yes its true there are some shitty development teams, but its no fault of the DS when their peers can produce something wonderful on the same system. Even need for speed 2 underground was a decent racer made from a 3rd party. Burnout legends was a steamy pile of **** on the DS and the development team have let them selves down, but its not all that on the psp either. That is a typical example of a sub standard port from an otherwise excellent game on the ps2. The problem with the psp is it thinks its a ps2 and can handle those games but it obviously cant. It needs games developed for its capabilities. Like tony hawks skateland on the DS, its a decent game, re-done for the DS's capabilities, meaning it uses a cel shaded 3d engine compared to a fully textured engin, but still plays as good and looks unique. A good compromise.

As for king kong I wouldnt even play that game on the ps2 when I have the PC version, similarly I wouldnt play the DS version, but if you are implying that the DS can't handle first person shooters then you will need rethink your position when Metroid hunters is released.

What is this glitch you are on about? I have about 20 original carts for the DS and they all work perfectly, but then again I do take care of my stuff.

[MadonnaProject]

Riiiiight, inept so many genres? -racing games you mention then what is mariokart DS all about then?, yes its true there are some shitty development teams, but its no fault of the DS when their peers can produce something wonderful on the same system. Even need for speed 2 underground was a decent racer made from a 3rd party. Burnout legends was a steamy pile of **** on the DS and the development team have let them selves down, but its not all that on the psp either. That is a typical example of a sub standard port from an otherwise excellent game on the ps2. The problem with the psp is it thinks its a ps2 and can handle those games but it obviously cant. It needs games developed for its capabilities. Like tony hawks skateland on the DS, its a decent game, re-done for the DS's capabilities, meaning it uses a cel shaded 3d engine compared to a fully textured engin, but still plays as good and looks unique. A good compromise.

As for king kong I wouldnt even play that game on the ps2 when I have the PC version, similarly I wouldnt play the DS version, but if you are implying that the DS can't handle first person shooters then you will need rethink your position when Metroid hunters is released.

What is this glitch you are on about? I have about 20 original carts for the DS and they all work perfectly, but then again I do take care of my stuff.


I knew, as soon as i hit the "submit" button on my last post, that MARIO KART DS, would be mentioned. I have 23 games for the ds, and EVERY other game released yet on the touchscreen haldheld on my hard drive (playable through a certain gadget i decline to mention). And to be honest, i dont really consider MARIO KART DS, as a genuine racing game. Its a cart racer, starring a platform character, which is a re-hash of all the previous games in the series, which appears to be the theme for nintendo every other time around. However, i am in no way saying mario kart is not a good racing game, it is very good, but i will say need for speed underground is done MUCH better on the psp.

And TWO racing games a great handheld does not make. This reflects, once again, my previous claim that people are much too eager to let nintendo get away with what they would burn sony and microsoft's asses at the stake for. When psp gets a re-done prince of persia game, its "oh lord, a remake", when the psp gets burnout legends it gets panned. and the psp doesnt have original games. but when the ds gets its own prince of persia, and one singular good kart racer, its the system fo choice for people of faith everywhere.

im not asking you people hate your nintendo ds, i dont really care in fact. all i am saying is, for F*cks sake give the psp a chance. by cutting it some slack. your nintendo might be the new nerds best friend, but the psp is breaking new ground. its just sad nintendorks are too threatened to give it any respect.

[Souzar]

Guilty as charged ;) When the DS first came out a friend of mine bough an import version and ridge racer DS and I was thinking at the time that it was a big step up from the GBASP which I had, ie. n64 level games in a handheld and I thought of all the games on the n64 which i liked (such as winback, perfect dark, mario 64) could be ported and improved via wireless multiplayer etc. Then the same same friend bought a psp with ridge racer and we compared the two machines and declared the psp as the winner. (its interesting that namco chose to release the worse n64 port of ridge racer on the ds instead of the playstation ridge racer type 4, easily the better game)
This also made me think that the psp would get nice quality ports redone for the console, and the DS would get straight ports from the n64 with nothign new or thought out for the capabilites ( a steering wheel in the bottom screen does not cut it)

I had my mind set on a psp, but i wasnt gonna get an import model so i waited for the uk release. That was the crucial time when the DS started to pull ahead in terms of its games, i think castlevania was released, and the psp had nothing to answer for and instead it concentrated on other things such as mp3 and video playback and whatnot. I was only interested in games and the psp did not have any (decent games that is), so I went for the DS. two of them infact, for about the price of a single psp and havent looked back since.

Apart from being overpriced, there was no 'must have' games for it. GTA was nice but i played it do death on the ps2 and pc, and GTA a great handheld does not make ;)

The psp is hyped up as a portable ps2, and as so when the games dont match the ps2 counterparts then there will be people who say that the psp is lame, (like me ;) ). It is different for the ds as no one ever said it was for anything else but playing games and no one expected it to be as good as a ps2. Personally I think games such as MGS need to be released for the DS as it is much better suited to it then the psp but then that would add to the psp's misery and it might so depressed that it might commit suicide or something. A similar problem for sony is with their ps3, its touted as being the most powerful console but if it isn't any better than the xbox360 then it will be deja vu for sony, where an 'inferior' model outsells it.

Nintendorks? is it like nintendogs but with a dork? sounds like a game that only the powerful psp could handle!:p

[MadonnaProject]

MGS on the ds? will it be such a horrible piece of slideshow mess as splinter cell chaos theory on the ds? Games, as they progress shall become more and more raw power demanding, and a time will come when simply a handheld with hardware capabilities slightly less than a ps1 (which the ds actually is) just wouldnt cut it. With the ds i am still in the 2d game era....and i am sorrt i grew up, graduated and got a job.

Once again you just have made one reason as to why you think the ds is better: PRICE point.

plus its amazing how you automitically EXPECTED to get ports of popular nintendo 64 games on the ds. Yet when the psp got a new megagamn game recently, people started bitching about how it might be a port of the original megaman with cutesy graphics.

I honestly, STILL believe that if half you guys could afford the psp, it wouldnt be such a problem to you. I hope sony realises this, because a lower priced psp would be great, i already have two, id get a third one. The ds is just a mediocre, third class cheap handheld and its attracts the same people. Mediocre and third class cheap.

[Souzar]

Sad. So you include yourself in that category of people what with your 23 games you play on what? a DS? Mediocre and third class - like your arguments for all to see.

[Demrok]

I hate flame wars and smack talk back and forth about who's game system of choice is better.. yadda yadda yadda.. my dad can beat up your dad..

but in the market for a handheld gaming system as I was, I wasn't sure which way to go.. until I actually checked out a DS and a PSP for myself..

For starters, DS being as small as it was (buttons are so close together) was an immediate CON.. playing on one for more then 1 hour straight and my hands become a cramped mess.. it was obviously created for a younger (or smaller people) audience.. and I can't imagine myself playing many of the DS games either.. maybe Metroid.. or Mario Kart and the Mario 64 port are about all that interest me in the least..

Where as the PSP had a wide variation of RPG, racing and even a few action games. Those games are more my type then the kiddie stuff Nintendo usually deals out. PSP has a much larger screen.. oh, but DS has TOUCH!? woop dee doo.. I'm sure some games are fun using the stylus, but myself.. it's not enough to warrant me to buy a DS based on touch sensitivity and the use of a stylus. I'd rather play more grown up games on a slicker system. One that allows for Games, Music AND movies. PSP just ended up being more versatile a system with room for more expansion as my tastes changed. DS.. has a stylus..

Simple as that, PSP is my choice because it is versatile and eventually will have even more good titles on it. (not saying DS won't have good titles..) cuz I mean.. everyone wants to play monkeyball on the go right? :D

[Souzar]

The whole point was that the psp is not getting the games it deserves what with it being the most powerful handheld. Thats the point that the developer (about which this thread is about) was stating. The point is that until the psp gets games that shine on it, nobody is going to take it serioulsy as a gaming device. Sony themselves seemed to be happy with selling umds of their movie stock compared to pushing developers to produce quality games, worthy of a psp. They seem to be relying on the other features of the psp such as mp3 playback and movies and neglecting the games, which is the numebr one reason that differntiates it from the rest of the portable media players out there.

Then theres the escuse that nintendo with its low powered handhelds have been holding back developers and as a result making them release low quality games on the psp which is utter bollocks. Another thing to understand is that portable gaming was always made for quick blasts of gameplay, games like tetris on the original gameboy were proof of that, simple design pick up and play etc. and has continued until now. In the past there were resons why 3D games and direct console ports were not possible due to battery life and cpu power but now those things are not so much of an issue and developers have to realise this, but then again they also have to decide if its suitable or not.

Personally, I'm only intersted in games, as i have other things for mp3s and movies (my mobile) so for now im sticking with the ds. If things change and better games are released for the psp then i will consider them. The psp has lot to learn when it comes to handheld gaming, its not all about 3d power, and when i see games like 2d side scrollers, 2d beat em ups along with 2d puzzlers relased for the psp you tend to think who got it right, sony or nintendo, and releasing games like family dog (nintendogs clone) for the psp doesn't help.

If you like the psp then good for you. I hope more games are released that suit your taste. If not the ds lite is coming (if you are into slick systems) and plays movies, mp3s and games.;)

[Demrok]

lol I don't even know what extra goodies are on the DS lite.. it seems smaller.. and the DS is already too small for me :D I'll have to go read up on the lite ;)

and the only reason I bought my PSP was because I saw Monster Hunter Freedom in an ad.. went to gamespot and checked it out and was amazed.. I SO can't wait till the NA version hits the damn shelves ><
ALl the homebrew is just an added bonus ;)