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Sony to PSP devs: make games with bigger names, shorter play time |
Listed in: Interviews, Games Tags: interviews, John Koller, Ready At Dawn, Sony
Sony has started changing their gameplan for the PSP by giving some
advice to third-party devs. They're asking devs to make more games from
big franchises, but make them shorter. Think Chains of Olympus. It's a pretty short game, but it's one of the best PSP titles out there.
The idea is to encourage developers to not be hesitant about making games for the PSP because of the high costs of development. John Koller, head of marketing for the PSP, explains that PSP games outsell DS games in terms of unit sales, but
DS games require much less development investment, because the graphics arenÂ’t as good, the gameplay isnÂ’t as deep. In general itÂ’s just not created for a more sophisticated, mature gamer, but usually [someone who is] under 12.
And so devs would still rather prefer developing for the DS. However, their new plan should get devs back on the Sony track: "The number one request we had was: look at franchise games, and donÂ’t port them."
We did get into quality, and we did get into size. So quality is very important, obviously… Size is another thing. Many of the publishers had gotten caught up in the idea that ‘We have to make a console-sized game’ and it’s just not true. We launched ‘God of War‘ last year in March with eight hours of gameplay.
When we launched it there was an immediate reaction [against that]. But when you realize how a PSP is used, you use it for 10 minutes, put it down for an hour, pick it up for 15 minutes — eight hours was a very deep game. If you look at that size, that translates into development investment.
Now let's hope developers don't hear this and translate it as "so let's make DS-quality games for the PSP." That'd just suck. They're also looking to promote more PSP-PS3 interconnectivity:
If you have a big franchise, think about ways you can connect it to the PSP. Of PSP owners, 30% own a PS3, so that cross-ownership rate is growing. It’s a very strong loyalty. And there’s a really good opportunity for a publisher — or even us on the worldwide studios side — to have two sales, plus the consumer loving the interaction between both of them.
Related Articles:
- Sony UK promises to 'reinvigorate' PSP with unannounced franchise titles
- Sony restructures, PS Network to be integrated into other Sony products
- Koller: Recently announced PSP lineup just "half the story", more coming
- Sony wants Ready At Dawn back for new PSP game
Via MTV
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Comments
Sure, big names help sell games, but the size is also important. I don't want dozens of God of War or Final Fantasies that are just 5 hours of playtime. I'd rather wait longer for a great game than fanserved with serveral mediocre games....
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Also, I personally dont see ANYTHING wrong with ports, as long as they are done well. I would be very willing to re-buy many of my PS2 games for PSP.
These things aside, odds are Im not going to buy many 8 hour long games. But then again, I mostly play Monster Hunter, so that may explain the differences in playing time.
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If you want to make a game less than 16h you must sell it at 1/2 price or I won't even consider buying it. If Sony wants to encourage developers they should decrease there dev prices and royalties ...
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I REALLY wouldn't mind a short game if it were aimed at multiplayer, like Left4Dead or Halo 2&3. I would love a game I could spend ages playing online because it is fun to constantly play.
I would love a good FPS with a 5-10 hour story, as long as the multiplayer kept me interested(Also mindlessly killing zombies for hours would make me very happy on my PSP.). I love killing zombies so much, I wish I could do it on the go. LISTEN TO ME SONY!!!!
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God of War on PSP is stunning, and I've replayed it enough that it's lasted me much longer than a lot of supposed lengthier titles where I couldn't even bother to finish them even once because they just weren't that interesting.
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I am not in favor of shorter game play, for example God of War was a 5 hour game the first time I played it, and I want it even longer. Ah well, I should just be happy more games are at least coming out. Maybe different devs will prefer different things.
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I think it should be judged by TITLE how "long" a game should be. Like any Final Fantasy title should last you quite awhile while as a LocoRoco type can last you very little but give you more of a time killer aspect.
I would love to see a decent Tetris clone or more puzzle games. I wanna see some ports of vintage games a la Midway Classics, EA Replay, Sega Collections, etc, etc...
Heck some 3DO ports would go a long way, get some classic Gex action on the PSP, that was a great platformer (in fact the only great platformer) on the 3DO, The Horde, Starfighter, Slayer, Star Control 2 (Homebrew port there already), and the only decent version of Road Rash.
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Let's take any of the Devil May Cry series. Did they honestly take you that long? I can tell you they didn't take me that long to finish. The reason the games are so good is because of the replay value though. On any difficulty, all the stages are the exact same, but enemies are harder, bosses have different attacks, more health, and take off more damage. I've put a ton of time into all the DMC games.
Let's look at games like Dracula X Chronicles. You can add DXC, Rondo, and SotN altogether and the time to finish would be under 10 hours. The reason the game itself is so good is because the amazing gameplay and quite a bit of replay value. Any platformer will have great replay value, making it shorter has no short comings.
Also "smaller games" could also mean just not so much in development time, and not necessarily a shorter game. Games like the Gundam Battle series(Tactics/Royale/Chronicles/Universe) go through the Gundam 0079 story all the way up to 0093 in which a majority of the missions are the same places as others, just with different objectives(thou gh it all follows the anime.) The games are still long and actually the content is all in the multiple mobile suits and the way they react and the weapons.
Fighters are also small games, but they have good replay value. I still have fun with Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Dissidia, and Powerstone. Soon to get Gulity Gear Accent Core Plus and the PSP Hokuto no Ken.
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but because the story is that long, and doesn't get you bored. or because the game is so big and doesn't bore you.
today games are getting shorter and shorter. and sometimes, in order to keep you playing longer - more difficult, so that you get stuck more often and take more time to finish it.
"I think shorter game length is a good idea for cheap, $5-$20 PSN games. The reason why is because they have to be downloaded, so the smaller the memory used and the quicker they can be downloaded."
actually i think you can stil make a small sized game and make it long and enjoyable. think about echochrome, for instance - it takes a lot of time to beat this game. and it's not a big game.
short game + ripoff. that's why i tend to play rpg and logical games, as they are most likely to be long (which is not always the case, though).
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