Sony has said that it needs to revitalise the development community and educate studios that making PSP games is a profitable business.
Speaking to consumer site Pocket Gamer, the company admitted it has "probably suffered" due to a high reliance on third-party content which is no longer appearing on the PSP as regularly as previous years.
The PSP is a great little platform with a good few years left in it still thanks to its versatility says Rebellion CTO Chris Kingsley.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Kingsley noted that his company has probably done more games on the PSP than most publishers.
Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced today that the next version of their PlayStation Portable firmware (4.00) will add Google search directly into to XrossMediaBar interface.
@apujanata, The average customer won't know anything about a Madden bundle coming & the Madden bundle movie is geared exclusively to huge football fans. That is why I do not think it will lower GoW bundle sales before August. Once the Madden bundle is released in August I expect it to damper GoW bundle sales quite a bit.
1gb stick is less appealing than it was a year ago with the older PSP bundles. I don't think it will sway a consumer too much if they are debating between the two bundles. I think it will have a small effect and persuade a smaller share of people to pick up the Madden bundle instead.
@Joe80, I think you underestimated the power of 1 GB memory stick included in the Madden bundle. I do believe that GoW bundle sales will be lowered by Madden bundle, since I believe (haven't done any analysis yet) Madden are much more popular in US than God of War (I know Madden are much more popular on console, but didn't know whether it was also popular on handheld).
I need to analyze things before deciding whether to short PSP June or not. :)
Forgot, both bundles seem very well thought out because they showcase aspects of the PSP based on what is included, highlighting its game, movie, and integration with the PSN store abilities. Should help spur some PSN sales, something overlooked in past bundles.
The 'limited-edition' God of War Entertainment Pack will include a "Deep Red" PSP with Kratos 'silk-screened' on the back, a copy of the game, Superbad UMD, and a PSN voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from the PC PlayStation Store. The bundle will be available in June for $199.99.
VERSUS
On AUG 12, a special PSP bundle will be released for $200. It will include 1) Madden 09, 2) "NFL: In Just One Play" on UMD, 3) a voucher to download Beats from the PlayStation Store, 4) a 1GB memory stick and, 5) most importantly, a new "Metallic Blue" PSP. ---------------- Each includes -game (same price) -movie (~equivalent) -free PSN game (Syphon Filter: Combat Ops is worth more $, I believe its $10 versus $5 for Beats) -but Madden bundle has 1 gb stick while GoW does not. ----------------- I think both are equally attractive. GoW bundle is more geared to the average user as well as previous owners a bit because of SF Combat Ops. Madden seems more geared to true football fans based on the movie included.
I do not expect the Madden bundle to dampen GoW bundle sales (before August) to any significant extent based on this analysis.
@Joe80, Which one is more attractive to new users ? GoW one or this one ? I didn't short PSP June future since I was taking GoW bundle into account. But if this new bundle was more attractive (compared to GoW bundle), I think it is time for me to start shorting PSP June 08.
@apujanata, I think its just an additional bundle. I have heard nothing about GoW bundle being canceled and I don't think that will happen. PSP has had 2 simultaneous bundles in the past.
@Joe80, Is the God of War bundle that was planned for June release still on - track to be released, or is this new bundle in August cause them (GoW bundle) to be cancelled ?
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