More Delays For EyePet PSP and Buzz: Ultimate Music Quiz

EyePet PSP and Buzz: Ultimate Music Quiz are to suffer from futher delays it was revealed today. The news follows the SCEE's decision to stop producing PSP Development Kits on the 15th November this year.

Eyepet PSP was first announced at E3 earlier this year, and was originally given an late October release date. This was subsequently changed to the 5th of November 2010.

However, the game has once again been delayed without a clear reason. The new release date for Eyepet PSP is the 19th of November 2010, but there is no way of telling whether this date will be changed again between now and then, and to make matters worse, Eyepet PSP isn't the only PSP game to delay its release by a number of weeks.

Buzz: The Ultimate Music Quiz was also supposed to be released on the 15th of October this year. That date was then changed to the 19th November 2010. Now the game is set to be delayed until the 26th of November 2010.

These two games are sadly a further example of the PSP's overall decline in the gaming market. With the launch of the PSP Go console, which allows game media to be downloaded directly  onto its built-in hard drive, more and more video game retailers have chosen to only stock a limited amount of PSP games and peripherals. This is a trend which is set to worsen after the Development Kits have been discontinued.

                    

Several  popular PSP games have been delayed until next year, including Star Wars III: The Clone Wars and Patapon 3. Whilst an even greater number of  sequels to successful PSP games have failed to even been produced for PSP at all, including The Force Unleashed II, whose predecessor (The Force Unleashed) was a huge smash on PSP, and The Sims 3.

Speaking at E3 in June this year, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO, Jack Tretton, promised PSP fans that an amazing 70 new titles for the handheld console by the end of 2010, but as the amount of delays increases, this promise is unlikely to be fulfilled.

In recent months, several rumours concerning new types of PSP console have emerged, including rumours of a new gaming device nicknamed the PSP 2, which Sony refuses to acknowledge, and a new mobile phone with PSP gaming capabilities, which is said to already be in development. Is this the end of the Sony PSP as we know it?

Further Delays For EyePet (PSP)

It has happened again. Mini Gamers has just received word that EyePet on PSP will now be delayed until the 5th of November 2010.

This game is one in a series of recent PSP titles to be delayed more than once. The fifth game in the hugely popular Metal Gear Solid franchise, Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker, was delayed from the 25th of May until the 2nd of July 2010.

Then the PSP version of Lego Harry Potter was famously delayed from the 25th of June until the 13th of August this year, causing distress to many of the PSP-owning  Lego Games fans around the world.

Next was UFC Undisputed 2010, which was delayed from the end of May until the beginning of September 2010, dispite the fact that the game had already topped the UK pre-order charts.

Now EyePet (PSP) is set to continue the trend. So what is happening here? Is it - as some sceptics have suggested - merely an attempt to delay the most popular titles until the 2010 Christmas rush, or could it be further evidence of Sony PSP's further decline in the current gaming market?

Whatever the reason, delays such as this often cause confusion and disappointment for millions of gamers and can even sour the experience of owning a delayed game when it is finally released to the public. Mini Gamers sincerely hopes that the reason for this delay (and any future delays) can be rectified soon.

 Remember to check in with the Mini Gamers blogsite for more news on this subject as it happens.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

How has the delay of EyePet and the other games in this article made you feel? Why do you think that PSP games in particular seem to be suffering from long delays at the moment? Should games producers be allowed to change release dates on games without a proper reason?

If you have a comment and wish to share your views with other readers on this site then please feel free to click on the 'Comments' link below this post (or fill in the comments box if viewing this post in a separate window). We would love to hear your views.

Sony offers 'ModNation Racers' Patch

Gamers can race using a variety of vehicles including aeroplanes

If, like many fans of Sony's Modnation Racers, you have struggled to compete against the  myriad of ultra-competitive CPU opponents within the game, then help could soon be on its way to you.

Modnation Racers was released for the PSP and PS3 some time in May this year, and although the game has proven itself to already be a very popular racing simulation, it has suffered complaints from fans that the CPU characters are virtually unbeatable, leading to many gamers being able to complete the final racing levels.

Some of the CPU characters have been accused of being too tough to beat.

Very little is known about the intended patch yet, but Sony has promised that it will include "Less aggressive" CPU drivers. The Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC  (better known as SCEA) has also promised fans that the new patch would take into account some of the other improvement suggestions that fans of the game have asked for.

There is lots of customisation available in this game.

The patch is welcome news, as it means that many gamers will now be able to complete the final levels of the game, and it is also kind of heart-warming to know that Sony is still prepared to listen to what fans of its products have to say about particular issues.

There has been no confirmed date for when the new patch will become available, but the game's developers UFG assure fans that it won't be too long. They are requesting that fans be patient and say that they are putting "The finishing touches" to the patch, which will apparently add a 'Casual' difficulty option to the game's existing Careers Mode in order to help those gamers who just can't keep up on the race track.

Be sure to check in with Mini Gamers for news and updates about the new patch when it arrives!