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PSP Minis on UMD 'real possibility,' could appear on PS3, Sony says
Given that they're being tailor-made for quick, digital distribution on PSP Go, Sony's "Minis" will probably be released on UMD, the company tells Develop. "The most successful Minis titles will probably transition to UMD," SCEE head of developer relations Zeno Colaco said in an interview published today."I think that a package of multiple Minis games on a single UMD is a real possibility at a later stage, where even a studio or publisher will put a collection of their own games on a single disc," Colaco added. "We'd be open to that."UMD might not be the only destination for Minis. Responding to a question about Minis making the jump to PS3, Colaco said, "I do think there's a possibility that Minis could find themselves on other consoles down the line." So, Maximum Minis, then?[Via MCV]
Indie dev Icon Games reveals four PSP Minis
An independent developer by the name of Icon Games recently added product information for four of its upcoming PSP titles -- all of which fall under the sub-100MB "PSP Minis" classification. The quartet of titles is mostly composed of digitized parlor games, such as Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling, Arcade Darts and Arcade Pool & Snooker, though the company is also catering to motor vehicle enthusiasts with Stunt Cars.Okay, fine, none of these titles are particularly groundbreaking. Still, we'll be glad to finally have a billiards game on Sony's handheld that doesn't make us want to claw our eyes out.[Via CVG]
Sony Ericsson's 'Aino' is almost a PSP phone ... but not really
The long rumored PSP phone may still be far away (or never coming, for that matter), but at least Sony Ericsson plans on bringing some of the PSP's functionality to its "Aino" phone. Though the Aino won't feature UMD support (where have we heard that before?), it will allow for Remote Play functionality, essentially granting the phone remote, limited access to a linked PlayStation 3. Sony Ericsson's Lisa Canning told the Euro PS blog that the first Aino will be arriving "early October in the UK, with the rest of Europe to follow," though no release Stateside has been announced yet. Aside from the missing UMD playback ability, no indication is given whether or not it will support PSP Minis, but unfortunately no games can be played through the Aino's Remote Play functionality. We're still not sure if a PSP phone is ever going to come out -- we are sure, however, that we stopped holding our breath for one a long, long time ago.
Sony cuts bandwidth fees, publisher penalties from PSP Minis service
For its PSP Minis service, Sony is doing away with many of the fees associated with other digital networks to attract the attention of developers. As discovered by GamerBytes, the PlayStation Network's bandwidth fee -- for which publishers are charged per gigabyte of data transferred over PSN -- is revoked for the PSP Minis service. It's a somewhat odd decision, considering each Minis game will be limited to under 100MB. Certainly, a bandwidth charge would be one of the smallest fees a PSP Minis developer would have faced.The PSP Minis program also does away with many of the practices common to WiiWare and Xbox Live. Unlike WiiWare, there is no minimum sales quota for developers to reach before they get paid. Additionally, PSP Minis publishers are allowed to choose their own release dates, instead of joining the growing queue of games awaiting release on both the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Arcade.It's clear that Sony is taking measures to make the Minis service appear lucrative to third-party developers, especially indie studios. The question is: Will PSP gamers buy into this new platform, or will Minis be a retread of the floundering Xbox Live Indie Games project?
Interview: Halfbrick talks PSP Minis
Last time we talked to Halfbrick Studios, the company was gearing up to assault Xbox Live with a suite of Indie Games (then called Community Games). Now, with the unveiling of Sony's Minis, Halfbrick has announced it's developing for the PSP platform. In fact, a few of its titles were even in the debut trailer for Minis. We talked to Phil Larsen, community manager at Halfbrick, about these new products and Sony's bite-sized games service.
Yesterday's PlayStation news, all in one place
Sony had itself quite a day yesterday, effectively reinvigorating the PlayStation brand with the $300 PS3 Slim and a host of upgrades and updates to the PSP, the PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Network. Now that the dust has settled, we thought we'd throw down a little recap in case you didn't catch it all -- it's clear that the lower-priced Slim has a lot of people talking about finally buying a PS3, but we think things like PSP Minis "snackable" games and the new PS3 firmware 3.0 might be equally important in the long run. Here's the full breakdown: Liveblog: Sony's GamesCom presser coverage live at Joystiq! Live from Sony's GamesCom Press conference (at Joystiq) PS3 Slim and PS3 classic: Sony unveils slimmer PS3: $300, lands in September (updated!) PlayStation 3 Slim unboxing and hands-on! PS3 Slim sized up: smaller, deeper, no Linux or PS2 compatibility Sony sneaks PS3 Slim through FCC under pseudonym, 250GB model discovered Sony finally hacks $100 from 'old' PlayStation 3 price, starting today Sony announces PS3 firmware 3.0, European PlayStation Video Store, Digital Reader comics viewer Editorial: A slimmer, cheaper, better PS3. Was that so hard? PSP: Sony announces 'snackable' 100MB Minis for PSN Store Sony announces three new PSP-3000 colors for Europe PSP Minis, Digital Comics get their own promo videos
PSP Minis, Digital Comics get their own promo videos
The PS3 Slim might be getting all the attention today, but the new PSP Minis bite-sized games and PSP Digital Comics service are actually potentially game-changers as well -- so of course they get their own promo videos. Minis are 100MB or smaller games that will launch on the PlayStation Store the same day the PSP Go arrives, and while the launch lineup doesn't have any standout must-haves, we think they'll be quite popular. The real sleeper might be the Digital Comics service, though, which will launch with Marvel titles and eventually add more publishers -- although pricing and other details haven't been announced, we've got a feeling quite a few PSP owners will be into the idea of getting comics on the go. Innovative new ideas or clever reaction to games and ereaders on the iPhone? Hit the break, watch the videos, and sound off.
A tiny glance at PSP Minis, Digital Comics
Sony had two big announcements for the PSP at GamesCom today. First up was the "PSP Minis" service, which opens the platform to bite-sized, iPhone-esque applications under 100MB in size. Launching the same day as the PSP Go, the service will greatly expand the content available on the PlayStation Store. The initial lineup of games, seen in the video above and gallery below, include a variety of little-known titles like Break Quest, Melody Bloxx, Circles, Flexis, Puzzle Scape, Sudoku, Tetris, Zombie Tycoon, Little Track. This is but a small sampling of the Minis' launch lineup. Additionally, Sony made the Digital Comics service for the PSP official. The first announced partner is Marvel, but many more are to be announced in the future. In a chat with Eric Lempel, we found out that details like pricing and placement on the XMB are still being determined. You can check out a video of the service after the break. %Gallery-70375%
Sony introduces Minis: bite-sized downloads for PSN
Sony has announced a new line of downloadable titles for the PSP and PSP Go, confirming rumors that first surfaced last week. Dubbed Minis, these titles have a 100MB size limit and are exclusive to the PSN Store. The lineup will launch on October 1st, the same day as the PSP Go. These titles will reportedly cost less to develop and, more importantly, cost less for gamers. Sony plans to have 15 snacktivities ready for the PSP Go launch, though 50 games are slated for the rest of 2009. A few titles mentioned during the company's GamesCom keynote include Tetris, Field Runners, Hero of Sparta and Minigore.
