Did Sony Just Admit The PSP Is A Failure?

We just finished a piece on the Playstation Vita that is actually mostly about the decline of the PSP. You should totally read it in its entirety, if only to get a history of how we got here. More importantly, in the segment we mention a certain interview that Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida did with IndustryGamers. In it, he inadvertently admits that Sony knew the PSP was a bust or at least saw it coming.

 

The man of the hour.
 

The full link is in our article, but we’ll play nice and give you the info relevant to this subject.  When on the matter of where the PSP had issues, Yoshida stated: “At the launch of PSP we were very excited about the large, beautiful screen, and a powerful processor […], but not much more.”

He argued that the coming of new consoles and the lack of portable content cornered their handheld by saying: “Because of the type of platform PSP is, it was hard for us and the software industry to come up with content that cannot be played on a console.” His sorrow reached completion when he said: “We couldn't find something new and exciting.”

Is that the fault of the gaming industry or the focus of the company? Do you want to play console versions of games on portable platforms or do you prefer something different?

 

This is probably new and exciting?
 

 

Yoshida also mentioned that due to resource shifting, the PSP came into a shaky position. “I was hoping at the time that third parties might help fill in the gaps,” Yoshida pleaded: “But they were facing the same situation, shifting to the new generation of consoles.”

He vows not to make the same error for the PS Vita: “Those features that we designed into PS Vita, I believe developers will find a way to create some unique or enhanced experience compared to console games.”  The focus remains a comparison, but at least they won’t waver like they had to do for the PSP. “From a worldwide studios standpoint, we will not make the same mistake by shifting resources away from PS Vita,” Yoshida said: “We will make sure to continue putting resources into new Vita games."

This info coexists perfectly with their previous statements not to work on a PS3 successor just yet. That’s great news for anyone with a PS Vita, right?

 

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)