TGS 09: EA’s PSP minis

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Tokyo Game Show hasn’t quite kicked off yet, but that didn’t stop EA from showing off their wares to press. With the PSPgo now just a week from nestling into gamers’ pockets worldwide, I caught up with Mayumi Koyanagi to ask about EA’s plans for minis. While Tetris and Sudoku have already been announced, Koyanagi confirmed that EA has more in development.

Now as far as Tetris and Sudoku are concerned, both work pretty much as you’d expect. Fortunately, they take advantage of the PSP’s display for the highest resolution versions of these classics that I’ve yet seen. You can see that for yourself next week.

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56 Comments

  • Nice job Jeff. Are we going to hear from other developers about their Mini program this week?

  • Hmmm sorry to say this but what concerns a game like Sudoku, I prefer that game on a handheld with touchscreen.

  • Someone should tell EA that Tetris and Sudoku have been around forever and aren’t that big of titles to brag about. Hell, I’m doing a sudoku in my newspaper.

  • Oh, Mayumi is adorable :D I love Japan/ese :D

  • The pspgo price dose not justify the handheld when you compare it to the ps3 it makes no sense what so ever.

  • I want the PSP Go but I need to know if I can rip my UMD collection before I do buy it.

  • I’m a sucker for both, I’ll more likely than not buy both day 1. I played the crap out of Sudoku on Brain Age and even bought the PS3 Go Sudoku. And, well, Tetris is just classic.

  • These Mini’s are a great idea!

    What didn’t you guys make the PSPGo(or the PSP 3000) wireless G though? I remember seeing a video of the unboxing of the GO and it took forever to download a 10mb Motorstorm video!!

    Being a portable and download only system, wifi should be a strong point of the system! It would have also helped out with Remote Play, which is always slow and laggy. G has been a standard for so long now, why not have it?

    On that note, you guys should have thrown in wireless N for the new ps3.

    Come on Sony, where are the trophies and friends list for PSP?

    Make sure you guys advertise this holiday season! With such great software coming to the systems this holiday season, you have to let the people know about it. During the MLB playoffs, NFL, NBA, etc. You guys better advertise Uncharted and Ratchet, Demons Souls would be nice to. MW2 will take care of itself. :)
    The same thing applies when you guys release the motion controller.

    Are we ever going to get Vidzone in the US?!

    As always we want all of those ps3 features we are dieing for. ;)

  • Not really about these games but TGS related :

    Will there be a GoW III trailer at TGS ?

    Thanks.

  • @8 Insomnia999

    802.11b is to save power. Also a good majority of people (In the USA anyway) don’t have an internet connection download speed of 11Mbps or higher.
    If they were getting the full 11Mbps it would take a little less than 10 seconds to download that demo. I refer to my previous point as to why it took so long, unless you consider 10 seconds forever.

    802.11n was probably not finalized when the new style PS3 went into production an aslo to save money, as such not included. If you NEED 802.11n Buy a Linksys WGA600N works PERFECTLY!

    Agreed on the trophies and full PSN access on the PSP!

  • okay, i dont like EA but i certainly love tetris.so, i’m on the fence on this one not only because of EA but also the pricing structure. i just hope that both games are 5 bucks or under because if not i could see the minis doing pretty bad.

    on a side note,it has been said that sony are going to announce a couple of new games/services. i also hope that whatever they announce will a)be a rpg/cool service B)will come to america

  • Gizmodo had an article regarding PSP Minis restrictions are these true?

    • no network or online features
    • no downloadable content (expansions)
    • no peripheral support

    I would expect Tetris to have Ah-Hoc multiplayer.

  • I can’t wait to get my PSPgo next week! Please update us on what’s going on with the whole UMD to digital thing though, you guys are cutting it kinda of aren’t ya Sony….

    Great interview Jeff, your getting better every week. Not to say you were bad, you went from awesome to awesomer lol. Mayumi is hot btw, someone tell her to contact me on PSN… ;)

  • @ 5 The pspgo and Ps3 are just personal agreement some will based it on price and others on features so to say the pspgo should be cheaper is not fair it’s should be based on what the market values it. i will get a pspgo but it will be early next year , i want to see what others features it’s will do there are enough downloadable game for me just to buy it for that.

  • @13
    I wouldn’t expect sony to answer your question…. nor will this solution ever come to light.

    In PlayStation history every time they’ve said “We’re working on a solution” it usually ends in us being ignored. Biggest of these is the PS2 Slim w/HDD which many FFXI fans inquired about. Their PS2’s were breaking and they were tired of paying as much as a new PS2 slim to get it repaired. Most eventually switch to PC and X360 just to continue playing and getting new expansions (DRE kind of make this a problem).

    so in short I don’t think there will ever be a solution. Sony may do a mail in program or a special voucher plan with GameStop. Right now GameStop (at least in AU) is not playing nice with Sony in regards to the GO.

  • They better be cheap, I am not spending any more than…. $3 at the most for these games.

  • that video was funny=)

  • @3 [Spunta]:

    If you find “Tetris” in your newspaper that would be something worth shouting about.

    Funny how the PSP hasn’t had a “Tetris” game before though.

    BFN,

    fp.

  • I will buy one day one if i can do something with the umds i have, otherwise…i may as well wait.

    Hey…how about 3 UMD legacy titles or something…you did the 5 free BRs with my 60…:)

  • LOL, The two thing I will never buy A PSPgo and A EA game. I fell sorry for U Jeff That would be the hardest thing for me to do is talk good about EA. But I guess that is why your there and I’m not. :)

  • @ Jeff or Chris,

    I’ve been dying to know this answer, can you gameshare PSP games or PSP minis? It’s one thing to pay a full retail price for PSP games but if you can’t gameshare I just don’t see the point of PSP Go.

  • @10

    G should still be in there.

    I realize N was just finalized and it is expensive but we should see it in the system soon.

    Also you guys can advertise Eyepet and Afrika to the casual crowd.

    Why not turn on wifi for the PSP through the system menu instead of a switch which you can easily hit and turn off?

    Also people are already reporting some issues with the slim that you guys hould look into.
    Discs getting hot(is that from the HDD being right under the disk drive?).
    Popping sounds in the actual system, like the plastic is warping.
    Disc loading mechanism being very loud when inserting and ejecting discs from the system.

  • ooh tetris, label me addicted lol, love classic games like tha hell i’m playin pacman daily since namco essentials came out. 1 question though…will the psp go be compatible with wpa2 web security? not a big deal but figured i’d ask

  • Jeff would it ever be feasible or even POSSIBLE to play PSN games on PSP the way PS1 classics are played on it. I’d love to play Mega Man 9 or Turtles in Time on PSP.

  • @12: You’ve gotta remember the whole point of the Minis program is to give developers a means to distribute *cheap* and *small* downloadables without the need for $1M budgets.

    Allowing online support and a framework for DLC would make it much too difficult for indie devs and other fledgling startups to get in on the service and give us the features we’d expect while keeping their prices competitive with those of the big-name studios.

  • I’m most interested in Pac-Man Championship Edition for minis at the moment so if you could get some more info on that I’d be grateful.

  • Adam Grant PSP Product Manager SCEA:

    Will it be possible to transfer my UMD games to the new PSPgo?

    We know that there are many of you excited about PSPgo but are hesitant at leaving your UMD games collection behind. We recognize this and as such we are planning a goodwill programme and will unveil more details soon.

    We also know that there are many already released UMD games that you may not own but want to play in the future on your PSPgo. To make this happen we are considering every possibility to bring downloadable versions for the majority of past titles available only in UMD to the PlayStation Store along with all new releases. We will announce further details on this.

    This statement was made June 12 2009…I’m not sure of your definition of ‘soon’ but 3+months have passed with NO comment and the go is due in 2 weeks.

    Please have your product specialist on the blog asap.

  • Also in a magazine(sorry I forgot which one it was, but it was around the time when Orange Box came out), Valve said they would love to release their other games that they have made like they do on Steam through PSN or XBL.

    That would be huge! Think Counter-Strike Source, Half Life 2 Deathmatch, and Day of Defeat Source on PSN!!! Even the original Half-life would be amazing!

    Yes, they probably would like to work with Microsoft first, but you guys should get on top of that!!!

  • @21 tagout
    NO SHARING!
    One system activated at a time.

  • Don’t you love how they talk? do od lu /noms on cracker.

  • @22 Insomnia999

    G should be in there … why?
    to suck the battery dead? to have a bunch of extra bandwidth no one can use currently?

    Look, I have an 18Mbps internet connection and a N dual band radio simultaneous router but I still don’t see a need for my PSP to have 802.11g in it. Playing Killzone Liberation online on 802.11b with the extended battery sucks it dead fast enough.

  • @2 Spunta
    I believe you have just pwned EA.

  • @25 Sakimori_X

    I disagree.
    The PSN is already on the PSP there is your framework.
    I am not saying Minis NEED to have these features or even use them but EA is taking advantage of the program. Are they an indie startup? They could easily take advantage of DLC or Ad-Hoc play. I am sure networking code is included in a PSP SDK.

    Also what does “cheap” and “small” have to do with the restrictions of no networking support, no peripheral support or DLC support?

    Really the only issue I have is with the restricted networking. Ad-Hoc should be allowed at the minimum. Now if it’s used that’s another thing but it should not be restricted. Does the iPhone app store have such restrictions? I think not.
    Is Sony not trying to court iPhone devs? Indeed they are.

  • @22 Insomnia999

    However if the PSP ever will connect to the PS3 wirelessly to transfer files and such 802.11g would be nice for that. It MIGHT help with RemotePlay but 802.11b SHOULD be enough.

    My issue is mainly with battery life.

  • @#3, Tetris is big enough to brag about IMO. It’s an impulse by and I can bet you that it’ll easily be among the top selling Minis.

    I know I’ll be grabbing Tetris first.

  • @33…

    SONY has already said that these restrictions are just for launch to try and get as much content out there as possible….the other features will be allowed in the future. iPod had the same thing when it launched too.

  • No offense, Jeff…

    But you need a wireless microphone!

  • Ugh….DUCK!! Shovelware spotted and coming in fast!

  • @35
    What I’m saying is Tetris is literally on EVERY platform. It’s probably one of the most over-saturated games out there. Is that bad? No. I love me a game of tetris. Is it worth saying, “LOOK! IT’S TETRIS! YOU SHOULD DROP SOME BILLS ON THIS BAD LARRY!” Hell no. I’ll take the free, 1000 flash versions on the web, thank you.

    @18
    Excuse while I begin to cut tetris pieces out of the sports section.

  • @36 KSPRAYDAD

    Rock Solid!
    I never saw that little bit of info before.
    Good to know.
    Thanks!

  • Definitley gonna get Tetris. Remember playing that a lot on Gameboy when I was a kid. Looking forward to play it on PSP Go!

  • @40…

    Of course…it was Eric saying so who knows if its true!

    Eric Lempel, the Director of PlayStation Network Operations and Strategic Planning, about this very issue.

    “So you can patch Minis,” he said when questioned about the situation, “but we won’t have multiplayer functions in the beginning. Basically, to get these developers on board, and to make it easier to test and get it through the pipeline, we won’t be allowing that functionality for the first stage of Minis.”

    “It’s something we will consider in the future,” he added, referring to the posibility of game updates and multiplayer in future PSP Mini titles”

  • I hope the price point for all of these stays below 9.99.

    The down loadable umd legacy games on PSP should all be cheaper to or else i’ll only buy hard copies.

  • Sorry for the off topic….
    But Jeff, what about that MAG beta code? Its Wednesday and still haven’t received (I have got all the options to receive e-mails from “you” turned on).

    Could really use your help,

    Enjoy TGS!

  • blah,Can’t believe they had a announcement for Tetris. Its on everything already so its nothing mind blowing. I can play that for free online. EA is selling Tetris for 4.99 on the Apple store. Hope Sony does price matching or they are screwed.

  • Leave it to a bunch of novices to downplay any mention of Tetris…

  • Don’t mean to be offensive, but I don’t understand what she be sayin.

  • “techalis”

  • anybody else noticed that she said “Tetlis” instead of “Tetris” and somebody laughed his ass of because of that?? lol

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