The PlayStation Portable is not in the best position in the world right now. Sales are going down, even in Japan, where
the platform has been on top of the hardware chart this year, and Sony has acknowledged that the gaming handheld is not supported by independent developers. But it's clear that the company has not given up on the game, with the new variant, the PSP-3000, being close to launch.
And Sony Online Entertainment, which is now part of Sony Computer Entertainment, is thinking of bringing the most addictive type of games, the MMO, to the PSP. John Smedley, who is the head of SOE, said that this is a definite possibility. Here is what he revealed, “I think PSP is something that we're definitely looking at; 34 million worldwide really opens your eyes, and they're all connected”. He went on to provide some context, stating that “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”.
The first step would be to add some offline elements that are linked to the MMOs Sony is publishing. You could train a new pet on the PlayStation Portable or you could play a solo adventure which is designed to increase the skills of your character. There's also an option of porting card trading games tied to MMOs to the PSP.
If this first step is successful, then Sony should be thinking about creating fully fledged MMOs, like a version of Everquest, for the handheld. Sony is already planning to bring The Agency and Free Realms on the PlayStation 3 and they would also be prime candidates for the PSP.
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