With third-party PSP support dwindling and becoming increasingly coveted -- even by Sony's own Shuhei Yoshida -- it seems that a new plan of action is in order for the high-tech, twice-revised handheld. Speaking to Edge Online, SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, provided just such a strategy: "You cannot have ports."

Sony hopes to guide publishers and developers down a better path, enabling them to produce PSP games that take a cue from their console versions, but leave the identical content and gameplay behind. "The recipe for success on the PSP resides simply in providing franchise games that are strong brand names like on consoles, but have unique gameplay on the system," said Koller, listing Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, God of War: Chains of Olympus and the forthcoming Midnight Club as titles that stand on their own, despite their recognized branding.

Koller went on to predict that 2009 would see "significant growth" for the PSP, with "a number of very strong franchise games" on the way and revitalized hardware sales bringing publishers back from the brink. And who knows? Maybe those persistent petitioners will finally get their Assassin's Creed PSP game.

Square Enix is releasing a Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII PSP bundle for Europe to coincide with its June 20 release. The bundle includes a PSP Slim with the above art and a copy of the game for 189,90 Euros (US $293.43). According to Amazon France, if you bought a PSP Slim (169,20 Euros) and Crisis Core (36,99 Euros) separately, it'd cost you 20,70 Euros (US $32) more, so it's definitely a good deal to pick up the bundle (assuming, of course, you don't already have a PSP).

Fun fact: When the title finally reaches Europe, it will have been over 9 months since the Japanese launch and 3 months since the North American debut.

After enjoying Amazon's Xbox 360 deals yesterday, it is with much dismay that we report the online retailer is throwing yet another wallet-busting offer our way, this time for our oft-neglected Sony PSP. The very awesome (if you don't believe us, ask the podcast) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is today's Gold Box deal, down from $40 to $26. Unlike yesterday's lightning deals, though, you have all day to order a copy. If tomorrow brings another video game bundle, we may very well go broke. Oh, Amazon, why do you curse our bank accounts so!

• PSW Magazine UK (90/100): "Crisis Core is a fine PSP adaptation of FFVII's key qualities, taking inspiration from its dramatic cutscenes and magic (Materia still has a big role), but cutting away the fat (lengthy wandering, and an overlong centre) to present the critical core of FFVII's enduring spirit."
• IGN (85/100): "I was sincerely moved by certain portions of the title and I suspect many others will feel the same. I wouldn't dream of spoiling anything for eager players, but I will say that Crisis Core's ending moments are a must see. I'd go so far as to call them brilliant."
• GameTap (80/100): "If you shudder in horror when hearing the phrase "Nibelheim incident," then Crisis Core is a fantastic and emotional companion piece to FFVII. If you shrugged at that phrase, well, you'll probably just see Crisis Core as a well-made PSP action role-playing game."

Watching this trailer may embed some niggling questions in your mind -- questions like: Is it safe to run on top of trains? Why does Cloud have black hair? Who at Square Enix decided that story-rich fantasy and gut-crunching metal were a good mix? However, this video should eliminate any question in your mind that a spiritual sequel to a 3-disc RPG masterpiece could fit on a UMD. Focusing mostly on summons, a Final Fantasy staple, this trailer has pushed our excitement for Crisis Core far beyond our apprehension towards the game. We just hope the final product has music of a more ... listenable variety.

We're well aware that only two groups of people are going to be interested in this particular bit of news. The first, of course, is the set of people eagerly awaiting the English version of Square Enix's portable Final Fantasy VII prequel, Crisis Core. Though American fans are due to receive the PSP game later this month, folks in the UK have to wait a bit longer. The wait may not be without reward, however, as a "Special Pre-Order Edition" of Crisis Core: FF7 (complete with obligatory art book and slipcase) has been spotted on certain retailer websites. Eurogamer notes that an announcement is "imminent," and suggests that offers for the rest of Europe may differ.

Oh, and the other group? That would be the smaller and decidedly more eccentric bunch that absolutely hates the F7 key for no apparent reason. We apologize if Google search picked up on our headline and led you astray. Personally, we've never cared much for that tilde key.

[Update: You can now see the special edition (animated and spinning!) on the official Crisis Core website.]

[Via PSP Fanboy]

As we discovered during our trip to Japan's Square Enix store last year, the many worlds of Final Fantasy are pockmarked by some surprisingly deep merchandise mines. No matter what the item -- t-shirts, mugs, jewelery, clothing, action figures or spoons -- chances are a tenuous link can be established between it and your favorite spiky-haired moper. Replicas of the many extravagant and frequently weapons are fine too, just as long as they're approved by Square Enix.

The company today announced a federal lawsuit filed in the Central District of California against "alleged infringers of Square Enix's intellectual property." Specifically, said infringers include "at least" four wholesalers of unlicensed sword replicas based on four video games and a CG movie (likely Advent Children) within the Final Fantasy franchise. "While Square Enix appreciates the enthusiasm of its fans, and values its relationship with
them," said Square Enix General Counsel Yasuhiko Hasegawa, "it is also obligated to protect its intellectual property rights or risk weakening or losing the very rights that enable the company to continue to provide its fans with an exciting entertainment experience."

The lawsuit has its swordid (OOF!) origins in the recent seizure of a crate full of "counterfeit" replica blades by the United States Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol. Following an investigation, Square Enix located the primary wholesalers and retailers of these "unauthorized products in the United States." We hope this turn of events will serve as a lesson to all of you looking to sell real things based on fake things.

You only have to wait another two months or so, until March 25th, when Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will grace the UMD trays of many a US PSP owner. Will the return trip to Midgar push PSP scales skyward, like it did in Japan? Will Zack's hair ever be truly competitive with Cloud's? Will you still cry, even though you know Aeris doesn't die this time? The above CGI clip released today won't answer any of these questions for you, we just wanted to share it with you.

Who's having the best day ever? Nerds. That's who. Not only was their beloved NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams the belle of the new release ball, their spirits can now truly take flight with the news that Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core is coming to American PSPs on March 25th. As you may already be aware, Square Enix's action RPG follows Zack while a part of SOLDIER as he meets Cloud, Sephiroth and others. With over 710,000 copies sold in Japan, we can't wait to get our hands on it.

We could try to do a better job of outlining where Crisis Core falls in a chronological sense in the FFVII mythology, but it's a little more effort than we're able to put forth on a Monday, so "before the PlayStation game" will have to suffice. Take your little brother's head out of the toilet and ask him, we're sure he'll be able to explain it to you.

It is with trembling hands and an overwhelming sense of insecurity (more so than usual) that we bring you this week's Japanese sales charts. It's as if someone flipped our world upside down, yanked the carpet off our heads and welcomed us to a zone where doors float in space and wild fantasies become startling truth.

What hath Square Enix and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII wrought?

- PSP: 277,794 182,307 (190.92%)
- DS Lite: 70,523 9,451 (11.82%)
- Wii: 24,992 1,189 (4.54%)
- PS2: 11,373 1,755 (13.37%)
- PS3: 10,732 2,369 (18.08%)
- Xbox 360: 1,687 444 (35.72%)
- Game Boy Micro: 243 471 (65.97%)
- GBA SP: 106 16 (13.11%)
- Gamecube: 68 29 (29.90%)
- GBA: 33 33 (N/A)
- DS Phat: 15 -- 0 (0.00%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts