PSP Line-Up Impresses at CES

Following the disappointing lack of a date and price announcement, Sony at least showed off a strong selection of new titles.

Although the North American and European prices and release dates for the PSP weren't announced at CES (see our earlier report), Sony did bring with it something just as important - new, playable PSP games.

Multiplayer looks like being a massive selling point;
most every title on show at GDC had some kind of WiFi support

The company hosted an event off-site at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino where the murky "March" release date for the PSP was reiterated, after which attendees tasted dozens of forthcoming games.

Some, such as card-based action game Metal Gear Acid and first-person shooter Coded Arms, were nothing new, having already been shown at TGS 2004. But it was the new games that most had come to see.

EA was unsurprisingly prominent with PSP versions of most of its franchises, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour, FIFA, Need For Speed and the over-the-top duo of NBA Street and NFL Street. Most of the games were based on the home console versions, but with some added functionality thrown in.

One of the more interesting additions is Pocket Trax, which allows you to watch the music videos for in-game songs.

Sony had several in-house games on show too, including anti-gravity racer WipEout Pure, the recently announced action-RPG Untold Legends: Brotherhood Of The Blade, quad-racer ATV Offroad Fury and automotive carnage-fest Twisted Metal: Head-On.

Activision, meanwhile, ran demos for Spider-Man 2 and a new version of Tony Hawk's Underground 2 rejigged for the PSP.

Wireless play is looking to be a major selling point for Sony's new handheld, with nearly every game on show offering some sort of multiplayer, whether head-to-head or cooperative.

Developers are also working hard to ensure their games look as good as possible, an easier job now that they have development kits. Many of the games out now or in the next few months were created using software emulators of the PSP hardware, and game makers are only now starting to see exactly how far they can actually push the PSP.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games