Loco On: Why LocoRoco Failed…
Loco On is a weekly column written by Get Loco founder and blogger locoroco, who also does a weekly podcast and monthly newsletter for his LocoRoco-based blog.
When the PSP first came out, third-party developers jumped at an offer to make an enticing portable offering. Instead of worrying about new and original games, they focused on porting and sending existing games to the PSP (and in many cases, just introducing a few new features or a slightly different storyline). WipEout Pure, Grand Theft Auto, and Metal Gear Solid have all done this quite well, but it still doesn’t push the original barrier. The majority of PSP owners actually own a console, and they’d like to play games that are different from what they’ve seen on consoles. When LocoRoco came out last fall, it was hyped as the game that could finally change the PSP’s direction.
Instead, the game bombed after all the hype and critical acclaim–it failed to generate buzz in the UK and Oceania, couldn’t reach gold in Japan, and barely made a whisper in the Americas. Being such a disappointment, many people were about to call quits on any bets that the PSP would begin dominating. Because of the lack of original games, there has been very few ways to differentiate the PSP from just another ordinary machine.
The reason LocoRoco couldn’t generate enough buzz to sell well is because PSP owners demanded the same old games–action, shooting, sports, and strategy. They wanted more GTA, more MGS, and more Madden. LocoRoco clearly couldn’t do well in a market saturated by owners who have no appreciation for other gaming. It’s sad, but it’s all so true. It’s hard to imagine that someone like me would be admitting this after all of the positive buzz I’ve given LocoRoco. They’re just too few people in the world who own and utilize their PSPs who could’ve actually appreciated the game–which is why so many people say that Tsutomo Kuono should leave SONY for Nintendo and create a killer app (or a LocoRoco-game) on the DS.
There are few ways to change this perceptive that the PSP is only for action-hungry teenagers; first of all, SONY needs to change advertising (dude, get your own is clearly a great example of what needs to be changed) and SONY needs to offer more sophisticated puzzlers, original games like LocoRoco, and games that are both enjoyable and don’t always offer shooting or sports. It’s great that we have these games, but it would also be a benefit to see this graphical prowess used for something else, too.
Hopefully, we’ll see more in the way of originality in the future from SONY. Maybe even continuing the LocoRoco franchise.
Until next time,
—loco.
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