Matt Martin
13:45 (BST)
09/05/2008
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Reeves admits PSP needs more new games
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves has admitted that the PlayStation Portable is suffering from a lack of new games titles in the region.
Although the company has its Go! Explore sat-nav application, and cross-platform functions with the PlayStation 3, at its recent PlayStation Day the only new PSP games mentioned during the hour and a half presentation were Echocrome and Buzz! Quiz Master.
"Hand on heart, would we like more PSP games? Yes, we would. We really would," said Reeves speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.
Publisher support for Sony's handheld appears to be diminishing in Europe. A recent showcase of forthcoming titles from Sierra did not reveal any new PSP titles, despite the company still developing games for the 8 year-old PlayStation 2.
And release schedules from major publishers show only a handful of big licences such as Lego Indiana Jones and WWE Smackdown! Vs RAW in 2008, with PSP exclusives all but absent.
Although support for the handheld may appear thin in the West, sales of the PSP in Japan have rocketed this year, with over 1.6 million units sold.
Sony continues to introduce different coloured models to the market with its Blume series, while titles such as Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G are dominating the market.
"It's phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal," said Reeves of the Japanese performance.
As more Japanese developers look to follow the success of Capcom on the system, Reeves promised that locally developed titles are also likely to make it over to the West.
"We've seen in the last six months that because of the success of the PSP in Japan many Japanese developers have got some absolutely phenomenal games. They're not Monster Hunter 2G or things like that, but they are in development and we'll see them over here," he added.
