Ray Maguire claims Sony to put more focus on PSP

It's no secret that we've been increasingly concerned about the PSP's fate at Pocket Gamer. And after a brief post-GDC spate of rumours and speculation owing to its conspicuous absence from the event, the PSP's profile has died down again.

But according to recent comments made by Sony UK boss Ray Maguire to trade site GI.biz, that's all about to change.

"From a PSP situation we have a wider split of third-party versus first-party than our competitors do, who are very much first-party developers," admits Maguire. "We've been putting quite a lot of energy behind PS3 – now we'll be able to split some of those resources and go back to the PSP to make sure we've got some compelling games coming. As a criticism, yes, perhaps part of that is true. But we have a solution in place."

Commendably candid stuff from a man in a suit, and certainly worth crossing our fingers. Yet empty phrases like 'compelling games' have been attached to the PSP by Sony officials time and time again, with little to show for it beyond regular less-than-surprising announcements of yet another PS2 megaseller making its way over to the system.

Franchises like God of War and Gran Turismo will likely maintain the high bar of quality they've achieved on the PS2 when the handheld versions arrive, just as previous PSP ports have. But are these really the sorts of titles that can help to raise the buzz around PSP?

The console desperately needs more made-for-PSP classics. There are original third-party titles coming to the system: Cube and Crush are both shaping up nicely. But it's first-party (that is, manufacturer published) games that are chiefly responsible for defining a platform, and so far the quality Sony PSP games have almost exclusively been PlayStation 2 hand-me-downs.

Every previous Sony console has had at least one blockbuster first-party title to call its own. If Sony is genuinely committed to rebuilding faith in PSP, then a couple of original blockbuster first-party titles might not be a bad place to start.

Would DS' Nintendogs be as popular on a home system? Are home console hand-me-downs such as Mario 64 the most popular games on Nintendo's handheld? We think you know the answer: hopefully Sony is working it out, too.

Check out our recent analysis of the difference Nintendo-made games makes to DS to see what first-party titles can achieve.