While the Nintendo DS has its share of outlandish titles, the PlayStation Portable arguably offers greater room to experiment thanks to its comprehensive suite of functions. Sony Online Entertainment President, John Smedley, seems to think so – he’s considering developing an MMO for the platform.
“I think PSP is something that we’re definitely looking at," Smedley told MTV Multiplayer at the New York Games Conference. "34 million [sold] worldwide really opens your eyes, and they’re all connected.”
“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.”
Don’t expect The Agency to leap effortlessly into the handheld’s narrow confines, though – Smedley reckons the PSP will integrate with home format MMOs before it starts to see MMOs of its own.
“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 speculated.
“Another way to do it might be to give [players] mini-games that they can do when sitting at a bus stop." Smedley went on. "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.”
We think the PSP would need a longer battery life before it could sustain a full-on MMO experience. Your thoughts?