TGS 2004: New PSP games mooted

But not on show, sadly...

With the dust now settling around the Nippon Convention Centre in Chiba, Tokyo, we can reflect briefly upon some of the PSP news that wasn't as headline grabbing as the first public airing of the handheld itself. Perhaps most crucially for Sony's handheld machinations, yet more new games for the unit were revealed in the first instance. Four of the new titles are being created in-house by Sony, and a further three are being fashioned by third-parties.

Popolocrois: Pietro Ouji no Bouken is one of Sony's new 'uns, and is actually a re-bundling of two classic Playstation originals, featuring retro 2D visuals enhanced with new plotlines and the like. Ghost in a Shell Stand Alone Complex is Sony's next labour of love, a first-person shooter based on the anime series which will see the player joining an elite police unit, battling all manner of baddies and even each other wirelessly. All of which sounds rather promising.

Sarugecchu P! is another new Sony game for the PSP, featuring a myriad of quirky mini-games, enhanced with the addition of a multiplayer mode of the wireless variety. Naturally, Sony will be hoping this can kick any new Warioware game into touch. Finally from Sony is Derby Time, a horse racing game clearly designed with the gambling-mad Japanese market in mind.

Ys: Ark of Napishtim is next up, from Konami, and is basically a direct port of the PC / PS2 originals, which should go down well in Japan at least, where the original game has been enhanced with a brand new soundtrack. A new horror game is also en route, Higanjima from New Productions. Whilst it sounds quite like fun, the series strong manga heritage will probably prevent a release beyond Japan. Finally, NP are also working on a new 3D IQ-testing title, Intelligent Licence, which promises puzzles galore and is out in spring next year. More soon.

By Luke Guttridge