The PSP hasn’t exactly been the most steady platform in the industry, especially with the outright miserable launch the PSPgo experienced. Industry Gamers recently spoke with SCEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations, Rob Dyer, about the current state of the PSP and what Sony is planning to do about it. Dyer explains how piracy has really hurt the PSP but says that they are addressing it. He also promises that “big” games will be coming to the platform this year.
“I think we had a great lineup last year. The biggest problem that plagued PSP was piracy; we have not been able to slow that down,” said Dyer. “We think we have some answers going forward, but we’re not ready to talk about that publicly at this point. So we’re working on fixing that, because that’s been a big problem. Publishers, when they put out good games, are not getting the same sales results that they got a few years back. So piracy’s been a big issue and we’re working on that very diligently to bring about some solutions.
“That said, we still have a very robust lineup this year from third parties on the PSP, starting with Metal Gear Peace Walker,” he continued. “I won’t go through the whole lineup because I want our third-party partners to make those announcements, but there are some big, big titles coming out this year and you’ll see those announcements at GDC, DPS (Destination PlayStation) or E3. We’re into the sixth year now on the platform, and that’s a long time for a handheld. I think given where we’re at right now, we’re doing very, very well. But yes, the business has had problems and I think it all stems, candidly, from the piracy.”