PSP Impressions and PSU

In the days since Phantasy Star Portable was released for PSP in the United States, I've been reading a lot of community forum sites to try and determine how players are receiving the game.

Oddly, PSP has received little criticism from players so far. Even players that have expressed a dislike of PSU are finding PSP to be an enjoyable game.

When these players are asked why this is the case, most say that PSP is a less annoying version of PSU, and thus more enjoyable. I suppose you could make a case for this argument: there's no synthesis in PSP, and some of the most valuable equipment drops in the field. A lot of the Phantasy Star Online purists might say that PSP is closer to PSO in that regard.

If I worked for Sonic Team, I'd be paying close attention to this. PSP is getting good reviews and praise from players, while PSU got battered. Since PSP is basically a watered-down version of PSU, I'd have to ask myself: what's going on here?

It's clear from player response that Sonic Team managed to do something right in PSP. If they were smart, they'd try to implement some of the gameplay changes they made for PSP into PSU. Then they could get PSP players to try PSU by marketing it as a more expansive, immersive form of the portable game. And if PSP players bought into the idea and found the two games to be similar, they'd probably stay on PSU.

Such a scenario unfolding would have the potential to revive the game. Sonic Team doesn't seem to be able to figure out what the players want, though, which would explain why they've instead decided to base PSU's future on gimmicks such as pay-to-play missions in a subscription-based game. Yikes.

In any case, I'll end with one final thought for anyone who might eventually find this post: If you find yourself enjoying PSP, consider giving PSU a try. Despite what reviews you may read, the two games are very similar in terms of gameplay. The synthesis aspect of PSU might be a turn-off for some, but it's considerably better than what it used to be.

And if you quit PSU a long time ago only to find yourself playing PSP now, consider coming back to the game. You'll find that much has changed since the days when Moatoob was locked. There's much more content, and many of the annoying "features" that plagued the release version of the game have been removed. If your opinion of PSU was formed based on what you saw for the first three weeks after release, maybe it's time to give the game a second chance.