Take note, Sony
With Natal, Move and the 3DS all guaranteed centrepieces for the upcoming E3 expo, hardware news is going to be at the heart of the summer months. Rumours are flying that Sony will announce a successor to the PSP, and
despite some fairly convincing arguments that Sony are going to play it pig-headed as usual, they can hardly afford not to; the PSP has sold well, with as many units sold as the Wii and far more than its big brother, but software sales are poor. If Sony don't at least mention the PSP2 then they might as well throw in the towel now; announcing it later in the year will make it seem like a hasty block against Nintendo, and locking horns with their rival will be the best exposure they can get. As someone who loves his PSP like you would a well-meaning yet oafishly clumsy child, I'd like to think that Sony will try their best not to shoot themselves in the foot by being caught unawares, as impossible as that might seem since Nintendo have given them months of warning.
The PSP is a good console, but there are some hard lessons to be learned from it, and it isn't inconceivable that Sony could take a bite from the DS fanbase with a smart new console (not to mention a few iPhone/iPad users). But to stop the PSP2 from playing catch-up from day one, Sony need to take care of the following:
1) A multitouch screen
Four hardware iterations, a bold download-only model and a raft of new Store features, including a comic book reader and online video rentals - all have played their part in the PSP's brief resurgence. But while the iPhone hasn't entirely proven its gaming credentials just yet, Apple's device has established touchscreen hardware as the only real way to sort and consume your media on the go. Touchscreen is the least Sony need to include if they want the PSP to be recognised as an all-purpose media hub, but to really cement the image they need to match their competitors, and for portable media that rival is Apple.
2) A Cell-powered processor
This is probably a no-brainer, since Sony invested a lot of capital into the technology and still need to see returns from it. A quad-core processor would give developers a slightly stripped-down version of the PS3 to play with, ensuring good use of the tech right from launch, and is probably the most cost-effective hardware Sony can use right now. But there's something even more important that Cell would allow the PSP2 to do:
3) Better connectivity with the PS3
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Remote Play was a shot in the arm that Sony never gave the PSP. Taking current, cutting-edge console tech on the move, with every improvement and feature that hardware gains over time, is something that no-one else is doing, and best of all is that it could be linked to a Cell-powered PS4 as well, making the handheld future-proof. The Cell processor was designed to communicate with other Cells with incredible ease (hence the
staggering performance of the Folding@Home project), and its inclusion could be the key to making the PSP2 a true extension of the PS3, and an essential one at that. Of course, to make that work they'd need to:
4) Sort out the buttons
Without beating around the bush, the PSP's analogue stick is terrible. It's badly placed, awkward to move and easy to lose grip of. But that isn't the only issue; the PSP is just one stick and two buttons shy of the DualShock's layout, but that difference was enough to forever marr Remote Play's credibility by crippling Lair. A second, more well designed stick shouldn't be hard to implement, and two discrete triggers placed below the current L/R shoulder buttons on the handheld's rear would clear up all existing control issues a treat. How far the PSP needs these additions is up for debate, but if Sony want the PSP to emulate the bigger consoles then it may as well have the control scheme to match.
And once Sony have made these improvements, there's just two more matters left to clear up:
5) Backwards compatibility with PSP games
Outrun 2006 is one of my favourite PSP games, so its complete absence from the Playstation Store hasn't sat all that well with me. A secure, encrypted UMD converter that lets you transfer games via USB is going to be an essential purchase, much like the PS2 memory card adaptor when the PS3 first hit the stores. That is, until Sony give us:
6) More essentials, faster
God of War. Resistance. Motorstorm. Final Fantasy. Metal Gear. LittleBigPlanet. All these and more took great, even essential, series' and gave them fully-fledged installments that stand tall with their console brethren. But there need to be more, and they need to come thick and fast on launch day before gamers forget to even bother checking the console's release schedule.
PSP exclusives like Crisis Core and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker have started to erode the notion that handheld titles can't be as essential as console games, but that line of thinking needs a serious push, if Sony's typically costly hardware is going to be seen as justifiably expensive rather than unnecessarily overpowered. The upcoming E3 will hopefully prove whether Sony can produce a better future for the PSP, or if history is doomed to repeat.
