Silent Hill: Origins Shambles Onto PS2
So Konami's PS2 port of the PSP title Silent Hill: Origins is now on store shelves. Do you care? There are enhanced graphics, but the story and gameplay are unchanged. So is it really worth the $29.95? I played the PSP version and enjoyed it, but found it a little on the short side. Surely they could've added more to this port than beefing up some textures or adding polygons.
This latest in the long line of PSP-to-PS2 ports got me to thinking. I assume that the PS2 versions of these games sell more than the PSP ones, seeing as how there are a gajillion more PS2s out there than PSPs. But if PSP-to-PS2 ports are seemingly this easy to pull off, why can't it work in the opposite direction? Surely with the dearth of quality PSP software available, porting over some high-profile PS2 games would make an impression. Just add some WiFi multiplayer, dumb down the textures a bit, and there you go. There were plenty of PS2 titles I just never got to play because there were so many of them, and I, for one, would jump at the chance to tackle them on the subway!
What do you think? Would you like to see PS2 games on the PSP? And which ones?
Wootini
Posted to Video Games on 4 March 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: konami, playstation 2, port, ps2, psp, Silent Hill: Origins
it's probably easier to go from PSP to PS2 than the other way because you're not having to worry about losing 4 buttons (L2, R2, L3, R3) and an extra analog stick...
Hm. Good point about the controls. Guess it's just bitter/wishful thinking on my part...
It's hard, but not impossible, i always thought about PS2-to-PSP, I mean, there are a lot of PS2 games that don' need those buttons. I believe it's a matter of remapping them, like the PS1 titles.
Sony shot this down years ago.
But it is nice to dream.
So my pick is Dark Cloud.
I developed games for the ps2 and also for the psp and when we tried to port a ps2 game to psp we had to face the fact that it's nearly impossible due to hardware limitations.
it isn't only the textures/polygons.
it is mostly because of the UMD which is way too slow compared to a DVD drive, plus searching on it eats lots of battery.
I would say (and sadly, because I love my psp) it probably won't happen with most of the titles.
^ 100% correct.
Aside from control issues (why there's no second nub is beyond me), the technical differences between the PS2 and PSP are difficult to work around. From an art production perspective, the amount of reducing and retexturing that has to be done is enough to just say "f*** it, just make new ones just for the PSP." Simply hitting the "Reduce" button in max/maya will not cut it.
Wootini, maybe the question you should be asking is "Why aren't there more PS1 to PSP conversions, a la Nintendo?" The PSP shares more in common with a PS1 than a PS2, and has just as many awesome games in it's library. And before someone says, "Because they they offer them on the PSN Download thingy" realize that the percentage of sales that most pubs/devs get from that aren't so hot (XBLA for the win) and that they could add new stuff in a full retail release (wireless multiplayer for one).
Nothing wrong with bitter/wishful thinking though. This is something that, if made easier (price or time wise), many pubs/devs would jump on.