Not since the launch of the PSP has it seen such a great set of releases as right now. The PSP has already seen standouts this year, such as LocoRoco and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror.
Uncanny, yes, but the PSP has both quality and quantity on its side this holiday season. Also a little bit odd, the DS has little in the way of quality titles in this last quarter of 2006.
Now, I am a huge fan of portable games. Currently I play portable games on a PSP, DS, GP2X, and mobile phone - I use these all regularly. And it is not because I travel a lot. Portable games offer things that console games do not. But that is not the thesis of this piece.
Suffice to say more times than not, I find more enjoyment in the portable gaming space.
My point is that I play a lot of portable games. In fact, I spend more money on them than on console games (despite the fact that they are cheaper). So when I see an upswing in portable games, I get excited.
The GBA is not seeing many more releases, and the ones it's getting are ports (although Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis looks like a standout and must-own).
Looking at the DS and PSP releases from the beginning of October to the end of December, it is apparent that Sony has rallied for the holiday - at least on the portable front.
Let us look at the best software on both platforms for the last quarter of this year.
To be fair, games with TBA release dates cannot be considered, simply because their release dates are not official. Games on both systems, and re-releases are also irrelevant. Plus, retro compilations were left out. No matter how good they are, they are retro compilations.
And finally, for those among us that import, Japan launch dates are not factored in, otherwise titles such as Phoenix Wright: Justice for All would be listed (the game is in English, by the way - just import it now).
Side note: There are six compilations coming out for the PSP this quarter. That is either good or bad, depending on how you see it. I leave that opinion up to you.
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
Wow. I only want two of the games on the DS, Castlevania and Yoshi's Island. Last year it the exact opposite, and now I see the PSP finally coming into its own without a mass of ports. Metal Gear alone makes it a worthwhile piece of hardware.
2 - Gonzo
I'm the same way: big fan of software, not usually a big fan of hardware and I'm happy to see sony finally stepping up to the plate. I'm also glad I got another psp (I traded in my original for an oz of.... a story for another blog) in time to get loco roco (and it's many demos), Every Extend Extra, and Mercury Madness... I mean Marble Meltdown...I mean Mercury Meltdown.
I'm still waiting for the DSs sleeper hit for the season. I thought it was going to be Cooking Mama which doesn't seem to amuse everyone else as much as I thought it would. Although I could've gotten the DS just for Trauma Center and I would've been happy with that. Others like Phoenix Wright, Cooking Mama, and Metroid Hunters are like bonus features for me.
3 - Gonzo
The biggest problem Sony has is they have to stop letting their dumb ass executives do PR work. They're horrible at it. Every time Phil Harrison or Ken Kuteragi opens a pie hole I just want to jam my psp into it. And if their job IS PR, they should be fired immediately. They make Sony seem more apathetic towards their customers than everyone already perceives them. After beating LikSang into the ground, I wanted to crap in my ps2 and send it back to them.
But all that really has nothing to do with the games when you get down to it. I may eventually get a PS3 even; but they have to get an exclusive that's even better than Katamari. I'm picturing Katamari meets Burnout meets GTA.