Rumor: Downloadable PSP Games Coming To PSP?
Imagine a PSP without those silly UMDs, quite possibly the worst idea for a format since...well since the Betamax. According to some code that can be found in Firmwares 3.50 and 3.51, we may not have to imagine much longer. Both update's code were found to contain a small module called np9660.prx, which is an official ISO loader made by Sony that can run "encrypted ISO files from a memory stick." In other words, the potential exists that we may one day download PSP games off of Sony's upcoming download service, save them to the memory sticks and run them off of there instead of using the UMD format.
Not only would such a move cut costs, but it would decrease loading times! While it's only a rumor and memory sticks are still somewhat small in their capacity and somewhat expensive, the possibility certainly seems very real. All of this is rumor save for the the fact this information is embedded in the code of the most recent two PSP Firmware updates. We're sure to hear something from Sony sooner or later. ..but if there was ever a platform for downloadable games, it would definitely be the handhelds.
Download Your PSP Games - Almost [Gadget Venue]
[via Gizmodo]
Super Timsy
Posted to Video Games on 3 July 2007
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: Downloadable Games, Firmware 3.50, Firmware 3.51, Handhelds, PlayStation Portable, PSP, Sony
This is the one area in which the PSP can offer unique *and* useful feature that DS cannot replicate. But it's almost as if it make too much sense and ends with players not spending as much money as they could, so Sony will most likely require that all purchases be made over a PS3 or something silly like that.
I hope I'm wrong and they let PC/Mac users buy, download then simply drag and drop games onto a memory stick, but...
E3's next week. we'll see what announcements come from that...
:-$
It also seems like it could be a way to sell retail games. Games could be made and distributed to the retail channel on slightly modified memory sticks. That way, the PSP could get all of the advantages (and disadvantages) of solid-state media that the DS enjoys. Heck, games could even cost more because of the added cost of larger memory sticks.
I'm pretty sure the UMD never reached the economies of scale that would have provided a cost benefit over solid-state. In fact, with PSP games normally costing more than DS games, it might even cost more.
It's not as though the UMD is an off-the-shelf format. If it were just a mini-DVD in a caddy, that'd be another story, but it's more like Minidisc.... a dead-end format they hoped to piggyback on the popularity of their brand, and failed.
If Sony could make Memory Stick(tm)s with ROM and just a little bit of flash for saves, they could probably release even the biggest games (1.8GB) cheaper than on UMD right now. If PSP games sold in the quantities DS games enjoy, they could probably go all the way and use flash.
But they don't, so I think what's most likely is that Sony will sell games online at full price, encrypted to be tied to a single PSP, and make the consumer eat the cost of the media too. Sort of like what Nintendo will do with WiiWare, except that Sony makes money off of every Memory Stick(tm) you buy.