Ten amazing games you'll never play on PSP

The PSP has had its fair share of terrific titles, but Sony's handheld has also been responsible for a lot of agonising decision-making on the part of game publishers.

Once hailed as the most promising and vibrant gadget of all time, these days it can at times come across as something of an ailing punch drunk boxer. And while Nintendo's DS continues to perform so well globally, there have been a considerable number of high-profile PSP cancellations – some of them regrettable, others absolute tragedies.

In a gone-but-not-forgotten moment of reflection, then, we profile ten of the best games that never made (or in some cases may never make) it to the PSP.

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion Developer: Climax Canned: 2007 There was much excitement when this port was announced by Bethseda, with fans excited about the prospect of exploring Cyrodiil and connecting with other users over the PSPs infrastructure mode. But when more details emerged it appeared this was to be a more linear dungeon crawl with missions unlocking one after the other. Coded by Climax, the game was due in spring 2007 but hit the buffers and then totally derailed later in the year. Many rumours have circulated about why the game was canned; the most likely explanation being that it simply wasn't meeting expectations.
Devil May Cry Developer: Capcom Canned: n/a Back in September of 2006, news hit the net that Capcom was busily working on a PSP version of Devil May Cry. There was little firm information except that it would stick to the series' blend of 'stylish action' and balletic combat. But nothing has emerged since, suggesting that the company preferred to concentrate on Devil May Cry for home consoles. It's a pity because, as God of War has highlighted, it's the kind of action game that can suit the PSP perfectly.
Resident Evil Developer: Capcom Canned: n/a Capcom's other all-conquering franchise, Resident Evil, was also rumoured to have been in production on PSP since early 2005 but there's been barely a putrid whiff of it since. Interestingly, Capcom responded to an online petition for a Resi game to make it onto the system, stating that if 10,000 signatures could be collected then it would seriously consider the proposition. To date over 34,000 names have been collected but Capcom shows no signs of giving in to the pressure.
Traxion Developer: Kuju Canned: 2007 This interesting Kuju-developed rhythm-action title was all steam ahead until publisher LucasArts decided to give it the kibosh in January 2007. A crying shame because Traxion was the kind of game that gave purpose to the PSP's multimedia capabilities, allowing players to play a number of mini-games to their own imported songs. This cross between PSone's cult classic Vib Ribbon and the manic WarioWare needs to be resurrected, if not on PSP then some future handheld console.
Cannon Fodder Developer: Codemasters Canned: 2007 For those who never played this Amiga classic we should point out that its darkly humorous tone was an antidote to practically every other po-faced war game ever released. But it was a cracking title in its own right, its top-down view enabling you to control and strategise from a god-like perspective. In terms of gameplay it had a wonderful blend of quick reflex action and genuine head-scratching puzzling. It would have worked brilliantly on the PSP and had great scope for multiplayer mayhem.
Civilization Revolution Developer: Firaxis Canned: 2007 We all love a bit of Civ, but your luck's out if the only console you own is a PSP. It was announced for practically every format but Firaxis (now owned by Take-Two) realised that if it wanted to complete a new Wii version then it would have to free up manpower elsewhere. The PSP version was duly dropped. Historical strategy titles have already proven to be a great asset to PSP – see Pirates! and Field Commander – but this could have trumped them all.
Heartland Developer: Incognito Canned: 2007 When God of War (pictured) designer, David Jaffe, decides to make a game on PSP it's going to be one worth watching. But Heartland hit the rocks when Jaffe began complaining about the emotional involvement he needed to put into the project, not to mention the fact he felt his team was understaffed. The game was to be an FPS depicting a Chinese invasion of America and was described by Jaffe himself as 'the most emotional videogame ever made'. Do you get the impression all that praise for God of War went to his head somewhat?
Sticky Balls Developer: Zed Two Canned: 2003 Sticky Balls was developed by UK coding veterans John and Ste Pickford originally for Pocket PC and later the Gizmondo. This incredibly simple but addictive (always the best combination for puzzle titles we find) title required you to aim and connect coloured balls together until they all disappeared. The formula was so refreshing and morish that a PSP version was greenlit. Unfortunately for gamers everywhere, Zed Two closed down during this period and the project never reached completion.
Earthworm Jim Developer: Shiny Entertainment Canned: 2003 Okay, so this may not be the most amazing PSP prospect in the world but we've always had a soft spot for the likeable space-suited earthworm who first appeared on SNES and Mega Drive back in 1994. Atari held the rights to the PSP game and in August 2006 it was said to be 80 per cent complete and contained many new features and gameplay elements. However, later that year Atari went through the financial mill and this was an early casualty, with Shiny Entertainment getting unloaded in a fire sale. It's unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon.
Gran Turismo Mobile Developer: Polyphony Digital Canned: n/a We're as confused about the status of this near-mythical title as anyone else. Ironically it was one of the first PSP titles ever showcased (back at E3 2004) but only as a video demonstration. Although Sony made all the right noises, even producing a box and disc for journalists to furiously reproduce in magazines and online, it appears that Polyphony Digital hadn't even started on the game at the time. Two years passed and it had dropped off the radar completely. The game has been mentioned by series producer Kazunori Yamauchi on several occasions but more recently, and worryingly, he only had this to say about it: "We don't have a release date, of course. A question for you is do people out there really have high hopes for a GT version on PSP?" If that doesn't sound like vapourware, we don't know what does…