There seems to be a common conception through a few media circles that the PSP is dead in the water. It has not set the world on fire in the same way that Nintendo has with their DS console and is notably weak in North America where it has sold much less than half compared to its competitor. While 50 million units sold worldwide doesn’t seem to indicate a failure on any real scale perhaps it is the lack of blockbuster titles (or many titles at all) that hit the system on a regular basis that has stuttered the pulse of the community that surrounds it. Sony has taken notice to that fact for the coming year and has released a giant list of huge franchises making their way to the PSP this year, along with new package deals in order to draw more people into purchasing the handheld.

One of the more notable additions is that of LittleBigPlanet coming to the system, and while it was rumoured and even acknowledged as a possibility it wasn’t something I was expecting to see so soon. Another big PS3 franchise will become portable this year when Motorstorm: Arctic Edge hits, something that already has a trailer and looks fairly exciting. Third parties have stepped up with the announcement that Rock Band Unplugged would be released for the PSP, a handheld version of the popular Rock Band series. No news on whether or not any peripherals will be needed, or if there will be multiplayer of any sort right now, but considering the success that Guitar Hero has had on the DS it seems like a smart idea to try. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed will also see an iteration on the PSP before the end of the year, and will be part of the first limited edition bundle included with a Piano Black console. The second package will include a Hannah Montana TV series and game and be coloured Lilac with a focus on the “female gamer”.

It’s a lot to take in from a single announcement, and was a shocking unveiling by Sony. It was also exactly what the console needed, and might dispel the rumours of the new iteration of the system that has been reaching critical mass as of late. Although they have pushed 50 million PSPs to the world, the impact doesn’t quite feel that much and while the PSP remains steady in the sales charts month-on-month it needs solid titles like this that may draw more people to the console. Last year on the heels of God of War: Chains of Olympus the system saw an 18% sales increase over the previous month, higher than any of the other consoles, moving almost 300,000 units. With the critical reception and excitement around the other PlayStation franchises they are moving into the handheld market they may be able to replicate that sales spike if the games turn out to carry the same kind of wait that Ready at Dawn’s God of War title did. Finally creating a bundle with a Piano Black console may also help for those not looking for strange decals or odd colours.

It does not feel like too little too late at this point, but it was getting there. With talk surrounding the design of the PSP 2, and many outlets pointing towards E3 or TGS as possible announcement platforms for their new hardware, the PSP needed a jolt to show that it was still a priority for their development and still had legs. Given the huge success that Sony has had with the PlayStation brand, every misstep is held up as an apocalyptic failure, so given their missteps with the PSP they are able to use the strength of existing franchises to show that it is still a strong gaming device. The mobile market is out there, and while a lot of the market shifts itself into easily digestible gaming chunks, the idea of fitting in highly polished but simply games like LittleBigPlanet should really get people back into the idea of owning a PSP. Especially given the potential for Remote Play and cross-platform compatibility that has been noted by the Resistance: Retribution features Sony has a chance to corner the market and build up their brand in a way that would outshine Nintendo, though perhaps not in the same mass market success at this point. At the end of this year failing to capitalize on these features or announcing a new hardware iteration would be the nail in the coffin of the PSP and might just turn off users to early adoption of a new platform.