The PSP Minis are a new series of games launching the same day as the PSP Go, which will emphasize "bite size" entertainment and counter the App Store. Speaking at GDC Austin , Sony Computer Entertainment America senior account manager Justin Cooney confirmed that features like patching, DLC and online multiplayer will not be available in order to "accelerate the approval process."
"When you look at it from a testing perspective, you have to do more QA. [Allowing those features] would defeat the purpose of having a dedicated service for smaller content," explained Cooney to Gamasutra. "It increases the barriers."
PSP Minis (which are also limited in size to 100MB) usually take only a few days to finish up the QA process compared to the up to two weeks for full-sized PSP games. "Perhaps other times of the year, it may be shorter," added Cooney. "From our perspective, if we're going to reduce the time it takes to get through our internal process, it helps that we don't have to check multiplayer features."
Games on the App Store, by contrast, can have DLC, online features and updates. When asked if this would cool iPhone developers to the PSP, Cooney responded, "I think from an iPhone perspective, you can create a Minis product from your iPhone product, or create a [full-size] PSP game," Cooney said. "Nothing stops you from bringing an iPhone product to the PlayStation platform. It's just really up to the developer to decide if they want it to be a regular title or a PSP Mini title."
While this news will no doubt disappoint certain gamers, Cooney makes a point about the options being available for regular PSP games, which will also be available for download along with at retail on UMD.
