Planet Moon Studios, developer of Giants Citizen Kabuto and more recently Armed and Dangerous, has announced its intention to create content exclusively for Sony's PSP handheld. The company, well known for its original and different games, has quoted Sony's desire to create original titles for the PSP as the main reason for its decision.
Sony has promised to safeguard the PSP from the expected onslaught of PS 2 ports, in order to help the handheld create its own market niche.
Planet Moon Studios also hint that the risk involved in creating original titles for PSP is much more acceptable than that involved when developing for larger consoles and PCs. It is easy to see how a small developer may struggle when a title such as Armed and Dangerous, having been received with critical acclaim, fails to meet target sales. A company may find itself having spent 2 years working exclusively on a title and having nothing to show for it.
Planet Moon, being a one team developer, stand to gain from the shorter period required for the creation of PSP titles. Sony also stand to gain by the cooperation since it will act as a message that the company is willing to fight to keep PSP loaded with original content.
Planet Moon's pedigree guarantees that the PSP will have titles which will not be part of a well-established franchise and definitely not the product of a movie tie-in, instead PSP owners will have to settle for original, probably humorous and definitely quirky games, something which we have to admit gets us excited.
The gamble involved is great since PSP will be facing stiff competition from industry giant Nintendo and its well-established GBA and forthcoming DS handhelds but Sony may have a good move on their hands by attempting to strike exactly at Nintendo's strongest point, originality.
Gamble or not, Planet Moon's Producer, Aaron Loeb sees this as the only option and has a disarmingly straight-forward argument, Sony has now managed to twice launch the world's most successful console, right? Right.