Gunfinger - General - PSP Online gaming, take my advice Sony..

As the DS and PSP came out, I think online multiplayer gaming on consoles has just about been realised by all gamers. Whiles more “hardcore” gamers were most probably in the know about it for a while now, more casual gamers, including many of my friends are just starting to understand what it is and how they can get connected. Of course they’re all familiar with normal multiplayer in a game, but the idea of playing someone possibly on the other side of the planet is, understandably, mind-boggling.

In fact the first experiences my mates had was at my house, when we played Pro Evo 5 and Socom 3 online. They messed about with it, probably ruining a good game of Socom for someone but I could tell they were intrigued.

One of my friends bought his DS at launch last year. He played the games single player, but now after his experience at my house, and certainly the large Nintendo campaign to promote online gaming on the DS, he got interested in online.

He bought two games, Mario kart and Tony hawks, very much based on the fact that they supported a fun online multiplayer mode, which he would have never done before.

Now my other friend owns a PSP, he is certainly less interested in online gaming, but even then, it’s hard for him to get into it anyway, as I can’t find many games to recommend PSP online gaming to him.

This is the point I’d like to make really. The “Nintendo Wi-Fi” online campaign has been a success in the fact that it has managed to get casual gamers to play games online which they never would have before. Thanks to it’s helpful website and joined network which doesn’t require several names and passwords to remember, it’s certainly helped raise the awareness of online games on consoles, portable or not.

I was therefore annoyed to find that the PSPs online plan is very much the same as the PS2s. By not having a joined network like the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection or even Xbox Live, publishers are not encouraged to include online modes and even if they are included, a separate name and password is required. Thus it puts of casual gamers, who simply want to pick up their PSP, click online and play. I think most will agree who have played them; pretty much all launch titles such as Ridge Racer, Hot Shots Golf and Lumines would have been much better if you could take it online and challenge fellow gamers. In fact I would have bought Burnout on PSP, if it had an online mode.

But wait, it’s not too late Sony. Sony seem to be releasing a similar easy to manage online network for the PS3, and I like the sound of it being free, but why couldn’t they also have new PSP games including this setup? Sony did great including firmware updates, as they have clearly increased the PSPs functionality. However why not add a PlayStation network shortcut to the menu, which links in with the PS3s network and open PSP user’s eyes to online gaming? Why not start encouraging PSP games to use a playStation network and place an online symbol on the PSP boxes, much like what Nintendo have done? It’s not too late for Sony to create a great PSP online community, which would rival and possibly prove far more enjoyable due to Nintendo’s overly “safety-first” approach.

With games such as Killzone PSP, as well as the recently announced Medal of Honour: Heroes which supports up to 32 players (!), Sony could place the PSP right back on the online gaming map and make a whole lot more money as a result of people buying these games for the online.

I’ve said my piece, the ball is in your court now Sony…