QuickJump QuickPeek special edition:The PSP 2007 Commercial Year in Review

We feature the latest developments in Sony PlayStation Portable homebrew here at QJ.NET all the time, and it’s a given that 2007 had a ton of developments. Have you been keeping in step with the commercial side of things?

We’ll jog your memory by reviewing just what went down in the PSP mainstream scene in 2007 in the detailed version. We’ll take a look back at big games such as Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, then we’ll discuss sweet features like PSP Firmware 3.80‘s Internet Radio.

Just how did Sony‘s PlayStation Portable fare in the calendar year 2007? This year’s about to ride off into the sunset, but before it does, we’d like to invite you to take a few moments and look back into the year that was. It has certainly been a memorable one for the high-end handheld, so let’s get started.

Solid Showing

Some pundits may tell you that the Sony PSP lacks a defining game, that good titles are few and far between, and that UMD movies are dead. Let them talk their heads off because we know for a fact that 2007 was a solid outing for the PSP. Sales have remained stable all year long, with some spikes and surges triggered by welcome hardware and software releases.

A revitalized ad campaign with the tag line “Dude, get your own!” is generally acknowledged to have set this year’s tone and helped the sales of the PSP by making it look hip and catchy enough to be noticed by a larger demographic. This is in stark contrast to earlier attempts to tease the public with vague hints of a memory stick.

This year also saw the Sony PSP burst into a variety of lively colors. From the slick Ice Silver to the Ceramic White that we got our hands on in North America, Sony didn’t let up and went right on repainting the handheld across Europe. The PAL region got its hands on black, pink, orange, and silver variants while Japan got Rose Pink, Lavender Purple, and Felicia Blue PSPs.

The most special aesthetic handiwork for the Sony PSP in 2007, however, has to be the Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary edition which went on sale in Japan and in some online stores. The stock was limited to 77,777 units, making this variant a true collector’s item.

The PSP Slim

Starting in Spring of 2007, rumors of a redesigned Sony PSP circulated in blogs and PSP websites across the Web. Sony was initially mum on the subject but finally confirmed the reworked version in Santa Monica’s E3 of 2007. Some specifications were revealed, including welcome reductions in size and weight.

The Sony PSP Slim & Lite is 33 percent lighter and 20 percent slimmer than the original PSP. It also has a video output that allows players to plug the handheld into a TV and play using bigger screens. This was appreciated by owners who wanted to watch their videos in standard-sized displays. It was also made known in E3 that the PSP Slim & Lite has a longer battery life, but with the 1,200 mAh battery installed, mixed claims from users have been voiced out.

Even so, Sony’s PSP Slim seemed to have hit the sweet spot as critics and the market reacted positively to its September 5 launch. Sales in all major regions – Japan, North America, and Europe – skyrocketed. As this of this article’s writing, the PSP leads all handhelds in Oceania.

Sweet New Features

Sony upped the PSP ante in 2007 with some really nice features that make the machine feel more high-end than ever. With the release of Lair on the PlayStation 3, Sony drilled in their point for Remote Play‘s viability. Players can access the PS3 from a Wi-Fi hotspot, play with compatible PS3 offerings, and even run PSOne classics.

Another big addition came just over a week ago when PSP Firmware 3.80 hit town. PSP fans raved with the inclusion of the very handy Internet Radio feature which lets us listen in to tunes from the web. This is very cool, especially to people who don’t want to use precious memory stick space for storing music files. Sony PSP homebrew fans will now be able to allocate more space for their apps and games instead of MP3s.

The addition of video output, as mentioned earlier, made playing and viewing an even bigger joy. One can’t help but recall the funny and quirky Japanese TV ads which were launched to let the public in on what the PSP Slim can do.

No Shortage of Games

There has always been this strange notion that the PSP lacks quality titles that will attract a bigger market share. In 2007, a blind eye seems to have been turned by the disbelievers on an excellent crop of releases.

PSP Year 2007’s breed was led by Sony’s very own Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow which is considered as one of the top shooters pixel-for-pixel in any platform to date. In this iteration of the popular franchise, Gabe Logan is trapped in a plot replete with conspiracies, betrayals and secrets as his longtime partner and friend is accused of defecting from the Agency. It’s a frantic, lead-pumping affair from start to finish with excellent box battles and an immersive online mode.

This year also saw remakes of the old and new blood in the tactical RPG genre go head to head on the PSP. Square Enix released Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions roughly a decade after the PSX original came along. With a clearer storyline, awe-inspiring anime cutscenes, new job classes, and the multiplayer mode that a lot of us have wanted from the very start, this was an addition to the Final Fantasy franchise that wasn’t to be missed.

Japanese developers Nippon Ichi weren’t to be outdone, though. Their PlayStation 2 classic Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was brought over to the PSP to become Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. It featured young overlord Laharl, the entire wacky bunch, and the deep gameplay that made it a mind-numbing affair to play.

High-quality puzzle games like Crush and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords provided addictive mental fun. Sid Meier’s Pirates! and new IPs like Jeanne D’Arc joined the platform’s elite, while Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters hauled its insane arsenal of crazy armaments to the handheld. Towards the year’s end, Konami brought us chills with Silent Hill Origins.

Overall, 2007 left PSP fans a lot to be busy with. Most titles ranged from the average to the impressive class, making just about everything you see on store shelves playable at the very least.

A Look Beyond

While a lot is still up in the air as to what the year 2008 holds for Sony’s handheld, there’s still a handful of confirmed upcoming games to be excited about. There’s no denying that God of War: Chains of Olympus is the most anticipated title headed our way as we wait to see what epic plot Kratos will be plowing through next.

Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Lego Indiana Jones are also in the works and should be out soon. At this early point, we already have what seems to be a solid starting lineup, and the surprises should keep on coming.

The PlayStation Network is starting to show signs that the PSP will have its share of content as some quality titles have been released as of late. Still, we’re hoping that we’ll get to do PSN downloads straight into the PSP without the PC mediating file transfers.

We’re also hoping that the bond between the PS3 and the PSP will continue to grow. Remote Play can be very exciting if Sony can capitalize with more games. Peripherals are always welcome to add some extra spice to the way we enjoy our handhelds.

Overall it’s been a good year for the PSP and we’ll be very happy in 2008 if we can see that momentum come to full swing. If Sony can put it all together on the hardware, software and online fronts, this party should get that much bigger.