o Game Downloads Cost Too Much?

Last week I logged into the PlayStation Store to download two games: Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! (watch for a review later this week), and Myst. While I hesitated a little over the $19.99 USD price tag on Badman, it was only for a moment. After all, twenty bucks is pretty cheap for a PSP game.

The same price tag on Myst made me hesitate so long I haven't bought the game yet, though I suspect I'll cave in eventually. If Myst was brand new, I'd have bought it in an instant. But it's a sixteen year old game ported to a new platform. OK, the be fair, it includes the Rime Age, but even that is nine years old.

So all of this got me thinking about how game downloads are priced, and about Sony's plans for having UMD games and their PlayStation Store versions priced the same for the launch of the PSPgo. So I have to ask:

• Do Digitally Distributed Games Cost Too Much?

Once you read the article, there's a link for adding your own arguments to the fray. Tell me what you think. Are downloadable games fairly priced?

Edit: Technical problems are all fixed, so go ahead and click on the article. Read more!

Second Analog Nub Was Considered For PSP

The latest issue of Game Informer magazine includes an interesting quote from Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Worldwide Studios:

We also felt - like many users - that we wish we had a second analog on the PSP. But we are talking about the mid-life cycle of this platform, and the PSPgo is designed to be perfectly compatible with the PSP-3000 and all the games that released before that. So we had a very serious discussion about this particular subject, but we decided not to add a second analog, and some of the developers are doing quite a nice job translating the second analog functionality to different buttons. We didn’t want to divert their efforts either.

What this means for the future of the PSP is unclear. Maybe someday, when Sony actually does release a PSP2, it might have a second analog nub. Or maybe it won't. It does show that Sony is listening to fans, even though it sometimes seems that they're making decisions that have nothing to do with what gamers are asking for. Read more!

3D Tech for PSP?

Irish optical technology developer RealView Innovations Ltd is planning to launch its new V-Screen for the PSP in time for the holidays this year.

V-Screen is

a unique 3 dimensional screen technology that enhances the perceived depth of 2 dimensional screen images

It's an attachment that "enhances the perceived depth of the 2D screen image" without the use of software or electronics of any kind, but apparently creates a fully three dimensional experience.

If that sounds kind of vague to you, then we are in agreement. I'm picturing some kind of overlay or second screen that somehow refracts or distorts the light coming through it to make two-dimensional images look 3D, but I really have no idea. I'll post more info as I get it. (Source: RealView Innovations press release.) Read more!

New PSP Releases This Week (July 20 - 26, 2009)

PSP games scheduled to be released in North America this week:

• July 21: G-Force (Disney)

Release dates are collected from a number of sources, so there will occasionally be errors. Please note that some games may be released in some parts of the world and not others. Read more!

There Will be Some Sort of XBox Handheld . . . Eventually

Kikizo has a recent interview with XBox VP Shane Kim about the future of the XBox. Most of the interview centered around how the console will develop in the living room, with tidbits about Natal and XBox live, but eventually the topic came around to handhelds and the advances in digital content distribution pioneered by Apple. Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS have both been changing and improving in response to Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch challenge, and Kikizo wondered how Microsoft and Xbox would respond.

On the third page if the interview, Kikizo pints out that Microsoft already has the content distribution channel sorted out with XBox Live. As far as an XBos handheld goes:

we've chosen to focus on the living room experience from a hardware standpoint, if you will, but we're building a service in Live that will... will extend to other platforms. No question about it. So the question will be, how do we enter into that market - do we do our own device, do we create our own phone - that's a question for the company itself - do we continue to go down the Windows Mobile path, which is that path that we're on today, etcetera, etcetera. But believe me, we understand the importance of that device in people's lives.

I'll be curious to see how an XBox handheld will differentiate itself from the PSP, DS and iPhone. Will it try to be everything and more? Or will it find something unique to offer and concentrate on that? It's going to be interesting to find out, that's for sure. Read more!

Adhoc Party for North America?

Siliconera has discovered that Sony has trademarked "Adhoc Party" in North America, which means the service might soon be available here.

Adhoc Party allows games with local wireless (ie. ad hoc) multiplayer to be played over the internet, and therefore with people out of reach of ad hoc connections, via a PS3 with a wireless connection to the PlayStation Network. It means you can play ad hoc games with non-local friends, as long as you've all got PS3s. There's quite a long list of games (at least in Japan) that can be used with Adhoc Party, so it's an exciting prospect. Read more!

This Week's PSP Content From the PlayStation Store

Here's what you can expect to find new for PSP, as of this evening, at the PlayStation Store.

PSOne Classics

• Spec Ops: Ranger Elite ($5.99 USD)

Games

• Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? ($19.99 USD)
• MYST ($19.99 USD)
• Unbound Saga ($14.99 USD)

Add-On Content

• Rock Band Unplugged: "My Curse" - Killswitch Engage ($1.99 USD)
• Rock Band Unplugged: "My Iron Lung" - Radiohead ($1.99 USD)

Videos

• Pulse 7/16 Edition (free)

Find the downloads at the PlayStation Store, via your PSP if you have a wireless connection. Or get them via PS3 or PC. Read more!

Assassin's Creed Entertainment Pack Update

The Assassin's Creed Entertainment Pack has been listed on Amazon.com for quite a while, but the listing was never specific about the contents, and showed it as coming with a black PSP-3000. Now the PlayStation.Blog has a small update: the pack actually comes with a white PSP-3000, and will also include a so far unspecified movie on UMD and a 2 GB memory stick.

I was starting to think I'd break down and just go buy a PSP-3000 core pack, since this one doesn't come out until after the PSPgo is released, at which point I'll want a PSPgo. But since the PSP is going to be white, I think I will wait. After all, my PSP-1000 is black and my PSP-2000 is silver, so I might as well continue the sequence. Or something. I guess I'll start over again with black when the PSPgo comes out in October. Read more!

This Week's PlayStation Store PSP Goodies

Here is the new PSP stuff you can expect to find at the PlayStation Store this week.

PSOne Classics

• Spec Ops: Covert Assault ($5.99 USD)
• WILD ARMS 2 ($5.99 USD)

Downloadable Games

• Tomb Raider: Legend ($12.99 USD) - includes free theme until July 31
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary ($12.99 USD) - includes free theme until July 31

Game Add-Ons

• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Quest Pack #3 (free)
• Rock Band Unplugged: "The Boys are Back in Town" – Thin Lizzy ($1.99 USD)
• Rock Band Unplugged: "Casey Jones" – Grateful Dead ($1.99 USD)

Videos

• Gran Turismo B/W Trailer (PSP Spec) (free)

Get your downloads direct to your PSP, or via your PS3 or PC.

Read more!

Comic-Con Exclusive PSPs

If you happen by Sony's booth at Comic-Con this year, you'll see two exclusive PSP-3000s on display. One is metallic green, with a Green Lantern logo and graphic on the back, and the other is gold with Caprica and SyFy logos on the back. Both exclusives will be given away to attendees of the con so if you're there and you want one, go get in line at the Sony booth. Kotaku has pictures. Read more!