With the iPhone starting to prove itself as a successful portbale gaming platform and Nintendo continuing to strengthen the DSiWare library, Sony is under increasing pressure to introduce full downloadable games to the PSP system.
Speaking with Wired, PlayStation marketing boss John Koller hinted that more content should be available on the PSP towards the end of 2009.
"One of our big pushes this year is to be sure that the right kind of content and the right kind of games in particular are placed on the PlayStation Network for download on the PSP," assured Koller. "We"ve been engaged in a wide range of conversations with publishers over the last year, year and a half about software and games overall on the PSP. One significant topic that hasn"t necessarily been covered a lot is inclusion of digital copies of the games that they"re launching on UMDs."
Whilst PSP owners in Japan have been able to enjoy game downloads since October last year, US and European owners haven"t been quite as fortunate. As Koller explains, licensing legalities seem to be the root of the problem. "There are a few hurdles you need to jump through. A lot of them are legal, so if you have a music game, for example, you have to clear all those rights. The same goes for any other type of game, there are certain negotiations that still need to be done."