GameStop brands PSP the biggest disappointment of 2010

More likely a call for new hardware than an intentional slight, senior VP of marketing at US retailer GameStop Bob Mckenzie has named Sony's PSP strategy as the biggest let down of 2010.

The handheld has been facing increasing competition from smartphones of late, with Mckenzie stating that it's the lack of games coming out on the platform that is essentially winding the business down ahead of Sony's own schedule.

Handheld hiatus

"If I were to pick a disappointment the only thing would be looking at the number of titles that have launched on the PSP format compared to the prior year," Mckenzie told Eurogamer.

"I think Sony did a great job two years ago in terms of coming out with a pretty good line-up of PSP offerings and I didn't see that breadth of titles this year. And it's still pretty meaningful to consumers."

Just where PSP goes next has been subject to speculation for the last couple of years, if not longer.

With Sony's handheld having trailed DS in terms of hardware sales for the majority of its life, software sales have also been hit by the rise of app-based smartphones Sony's marketing strategy in the US aimed squarely at iPhone as a result.

PSP 2 rumour are, naturally, rife, though with the prospect of PlayStation Phone also on the cards, PSP's long term role in Sony's business is looking an increasingly narrow one.

[source: Eurogamer]