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State of the Handheld Industry: Journalists Unite!

Make Money Online Sony obviously doesn't have the franchises and familiar characters that Nintendo has and Tapwave and Nokia are new to the gaming industry. Do you think Sony will have to rely on 3rd party publishers like Square-Enix to release popular franchises such as Final Fantasy to sell units? Much like they already do with PS2?

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James Lippitt - GBA Central:
Well, yes. How else are they going to sell it?

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Steven Kent - MSNBC/GameSpy:
Sony does not need to rely on companies like Square-Enix, it is fortunate enough -- or was smart enough, to be able to set up that situation. Give the guys at Sony credit. They have played the industry brilliantly.

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The handheld industry has become a money maker for franchises to expand to, but not be created on.

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Craig Harris - IGN Game Boy:
They'd have to. Original titles sell terribly on the Game Boy Advance...and that habit will continue on other handhelds, as well as the console. But don't count out Sony's properties, they've got Ratchet & Clank, Jak, Sly Cooper, and a recognizable sports franchise with 989 Sports. Sports titles have always sold terribly on the GBA regardless of brand, but Sony might actually attack and succeed in this market because of the Gameday, Face-off, and MLB series.

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Dean Bergmann - N-Sider:
If things keep going the way they are, Sony might not have the Final Fantasy series to rely on much longer, they might be available on the GBA (considering that FF1 & 2 are getting ported). I do believe Sony has its tricks, it's got enough money to have someone make some mascots. Crash was really cool, now he's with Nintendo, only time can tell that one.

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Jonathan Metts - Planet GameCube:
Yes, obviously. Sony can't rely on their own games, and I can't imagine that they will be stupid enough to try. The question is whether enough publishers are disgruntled enough with GBA to switch systems, or large enough to support both. Even those publishers supporting both systems are not going to be spending much money or effort on PSP titles until the system is a proven success. Think about how few development resources are already devoted to most GBA titles, with its enormous installed base. PSP will have that problem to an even greater degree, because developing titles for it will be much more expensive than for GBA. Many publishers will not be willing to take the plunge initially, because unlike the situation at the end of each console cycle, there is no indication that consumers are tired of the current hardware and are eager to move on to the next step up.

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Seth Walker - GCA:
Sony will once again rely on 3rd Party Publishers. Whether or not it will prove to be successful on the PSP is up in the air right now.

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Nate Gleaves - GCA:
I think we will see much of the same think on the PSP. While the PS2 has released a few unique franchises such as Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank, I think the PSP will rely heavily on 3rd party support just like the PS2 has.

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Give the guys at Sony credit...They have played the industry brilliantly.

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Michael Quiroz - N-Philes:
I really don't know. I was rather surprised the first game shown to the public was the completely original Death Jr. Whilst I am sure Sony will make sure to have some key franchises on the system, I also think they know that some of their bigger 3rd party games might not transfer well to a portable. Sony also has to consider if companies want to take their big games, to a new handheld. Does Konami want to spend the resources to bring a Metal Gear over to the PSP when it is still unproven in the market place? Because of this, I think Sony is striving for original content better suited for the handheld market. While new content will fill out the PSP software, the big boys will be licensed titles such as Final Fantasy and Gran Tourismo and other games of that caliber. I mean can we as gamers really expect Sony's plan to differ too much from Nintendo's? So while there will be original content on it, mainly tech demos. I think you'll see an over abundance of licensed titles on the system just like the GBA does. It is sad to say, but the handheld industry has become a money maker for franchises to expand to, but not be created on.

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Stephen Smith - GCA:
Sony does have some first party support that will likely be moved to a portable form for the PSP. Like Jak & Dexter, and Ratchet & Clank. But I feel that the support circle will definitely mimic what we see with the PS2.

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