DarkWater's PSP News Update 23/10/08
Well let's start shall we....this is my first news update so I'll try and get the best snippest I possibly can. I'll also try and post one of these everyday
Well here goes...happy reading
Do you want Galaxy's End?
Remember Galaxy's End? The PSP-exclusive RTS game from Tiki Games was never finished, but the advent of the PSP-direct PlayStation Store has created an opportunity for the developers to continue work and release it to the masses. "When we started Galaxy's End we absolutely needed a publisher at some point - not just for the financial aspect but to get it into stores. Now that the PLAYSTATION Store has been added for the PSP we have the opportunity to finish the game and release it as a digital download (like NOVASTRIKE)."
But, there's still a year's worth of work left for the team before they can prepare the RTS for release. And, there's the question of money. "Quite frankly we don't have the finances to finish Galaxy's End right now. So we'll likely have to look for another loan. And I'll need to convince my family (who are presently self-funding Tiki Games) that there's a large enough audience that would be willing to purchase a downloadable real-time strategy game for the PSP."
PSP-3000 sold over 140K in first four days
PSP Brite is now out worldwide, so how's it doing everywhere else? In Japan (where the PSP is the sacred deity of 4-player co-op), it seems that not too many are catching on to the new hardware; only 141,270 units were sold in the first four days of sale (Oct. 16-19).
As PSPHyper points out, these numbers are not that impressive when compared to the PSP Slim's initial sales numbers which were 250,702 for the first week with 130K of that from the first day alone. With relatively slow sales figures and seemingly disastrous performance issues, it looks like the PSP Brite is getting off to a very rough start.
SOE 'looking at' possible PSP MMO
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has revealed to MTV Multiplayer that the company is considering massively multiplayer online games for the PSP.
“I think PSP is something that we’re definitely looking at; 34 million [sold] worldwide really opens your eyes, and they’re all connected,” Smedley told me in an interview following his keynote and panel appearance about the future of MMOGs at the New York Games Conference on Friday.
“We started to get very interested in [the PSP] when we switched over from Sony Pictures to Sony Computer Entertainment back in April,” he explained. “And as we’ve kind of got our heads up looking around the world within Sony Computer Entertainment, we’re really starting to see a big push for PSP. We think it’s a world-class device… In the future, we see full MMOs that are designed for the PSP.”
However, before full-fledged MMOs, Smedley sees integration of existing online games with the handheld device, though the company hasn’t finalized any decisions. “Maybe one way to do it: In ‘Free Realms,’ you could have a pet-training system that literally connects to our online gaming where you can mess around with your pet,” he said of SOE’s younger-skewing MMO due out next year.
“Another way to do it might be to give them mini-games that they can do [on the PSP] when sitting at a bus stop,” he offered. “You’re sitting there leveling up your character, you log in at home when you’re on wi-fi, and all of sudden your character has leveled up. We think those kinds of experiences are very possible.”
Tom Clancy's EndWar coming to PSP this November
Ubisoft is bringing yet another Tom Clancy game to the handhelds. This time, EndWar is getting the PSP treatment. The upcoming game takes place during World War III. Players take control of the U.S. Joint Strike Force, European Enforcers Corps or Russian Spetsnaz Guards Brigade in three separate (but intertwined) campaigns. Each campaign includes over 30 battle scenarios taking place on real-world battlefields including Paris and London.
EndWar also features two-player versus multiplayer mode, including additional missions specifically designed for multiplayer battles. There's also a mission editor, which allows players to share and create custom battlefields and scenarios. Expect EndWar on November 4th.
Resident Evil 2 Playstation Classic US release a priority
Resident Evil 2 was released on the PlayStation Store in Japan on December 26, 2007 as a Playstation Classic. Capcom have now said that they are planning to release the game on the US PSN and that they "hope to bump that up the priority list of "things to do" after HD Remix is out the door." "There's a lot of internal issues to work out to get that rolling properly." added the rep.
Sony might be recalling the 3000 due to interlacing issues