The Sony PSP2, Sony’s successor to its handheld multimedia console, almost certainly won’t feature a disc drive for retail games. Dave Perry, respected videogames industry veteran and Chief Creative Officer at Acclaim, had already said the PSP2 wouldn’t feature a UMD disc drive. But Sony has, until now, denied this. Now it has edged closer than ever before to admitting the “stupid battery-sucking” drive (as Perry put it) is out.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ray Maguire, Senior VP/MD of Sony Computer Entertainment UK has said the UMD drive in the existing PSP “wasn’t brilliant” for games publishers. This led to the PSP being “under-supported” in terms of new games.
When questioned about the future of the UMD disc drive, Maguire said: “My gut feeling is that downloads will increasingly become a bigger part of [the PSP's] future.”
In a clear nod to the way the Apple iPhone is stealing handheld gaming share from the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, Maguire continued: “Great quality, snacking content, delivered online… absolutely great for the handheld market.”
In other words, even Sony PlayStation UK’s head honcho is admitting that the UMD disc drive has not been a wild success and downloaded games are the future. Who fancies betting it won’t make the cut for the PSP2? The most likely future for the PSP2 is to not feature a “battery-sucking” disc drive of any sort. But instead sell games through downloads and in retail stores on solid-state Memory Sticks.
TBC | £TBC | Sony
