14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation Portable hasn't enjoyed a lot of support from video game developers and publishers, largely because it hasn't offered a very friendly development environment and because a lot of its 50-million user base have bought it to enjoy the multimedia capabilities rather than actually game on it.
But one of the companies that has stood by the PSP's side ever since its release is Capcom, which has created the hugely successful Monster Hunter franchise, a true phenomenon in its native Japan, but one that hasn't really attracted the attention of European or North American gamers.
Now, as rumors about a next iteration of the device are becoming stronger and stronger, coupled with the fact that other developers are bringing their titles as digital downloads, Capcom has talked about its position as regards the UMD and digital format. A spokesperson has revealed that, although Fate/Unlimited Codes will appear on the European PlayStation Network just like it did in the US, in digital format, Capcom is still behind the UMD format, highlighting that it is essential to the current generation of PSP consoles.
“We certainly do not intend to stop supporting UMD,” the Capcom spokesperson reveals. “Certainly for us PSP is very important – more so with Monster Hunter coming – than maybe any other publisher.”
So, there you have it, while Capcom is certainly seeing the advantages of digital distribution instead of the normal one, it will still support the old UMD format until Sony decides to remove it from the PSP. We can't be sure when that will happen, but, if we are to believe quite a few inside sources, it will be soon enough, probably at the end of this year, when the presumed new and improved PSP Go! will be launched.