Each developer that participated in IGN's The Future of PSP feature was asked a series of questions about their work with PlayStation Portable, both past and present. To give context to the entire opinion set, we asked each team a set of six common questions about the PSP:

• What have you learned from PSP?
• How do you approach PSP development?
• How tough are the budgets on PSP games?
• What can Sony could do for developers?
• What features of PSP need to be pushed?
• What is the future of PSP?

Not all of the developers and producers we talked to were able to take part in the feature (between difficult development schedules, tricky license issues and other reasons, a few of your favorite PSP developers may not have answers for you yet on their views of the PSP's future.) However, we do want to extend our appreciation to every single person that participated or talked with us about this feature. We would also like to thank the teams for their candor and insight -- we at IGN learned a heck of a lot about the PSP from talking with the teams powering it, and we're sure you'll learn a lot from reading through what they all had to say.

What is the future of PlayStation Portable? You're about to find out...

Capcom (Production Studio 1) Location: Osaka, Japan & Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Formed: 1979 (Capcom) PSP Works: Monster Hunter Freedom (plus Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins, Capcom Puzzle World, Darkstalkers Chronicle, SFA 3 & more at Capcom) Other Works: Resident Evil Outbreak, Monster Hunter (PS2), Auto Modellista, Devil May Cry 4 & more History: Capcom is one of the veterans of the videogaming busines, with titles that date back to the early days of videogaming and coin-operated games. As with many companies in Japan, Capcom went through both a growth expansion and consolidation phase -- its studios were broken out into at least seven Japanese production studios (plus an eighth US-based team, plus Flagship and Clover), but the individual studios are rarely credited these days to focus gamers towards the fact that one mega-studio is making many of their favorite games. Capcom Production Studio 1 became known as an entity at first for its cel-shaded racing game Auto Modellista and also its work on DMC2 (neither necessarily the best things to be known for), but the team became a fanboy's household name with Resident Evil: Outbreak and Japan's mega-popular Monster Hunter franchise. Fun Fact: Lines for playing Monster Hunter at TGS and other Japanese game shows often stretch for several hours. When IGN first heard that the team was making PSP games, we were hoping it might be the team doing the heavily-rumored (but never confirmed) Resident Evil: Outbreak game, but with Monster Hunter on PSP quickly becoming the best-selling game on the platform, we see why they made this choice instead. Look For This Logo:

Responding for the Monster Hunter team (in the few seconds of his day that he's not playing his own game, we imagine -- the Japanese sure do love Monster Hunter, and it's gaining ground in America as well) is producer Ryozo Tsujimoto.

QUESTIONS FOR CAPCOM

:: Monster Hunter Freedom has somewhat surprisingly become one of the most popular games on the system, becoming the first million-seller for PSP in Japan. Why has Monster Hunter been so successful in capitalizing on the PSP's ability to deliver console-quality games when other equally big games have not performed as well as their PS2 counterpart?

I believe it's because it does have such great graphics. One of our goals, even on the first Monster Hunter Freedom, was to preserve the console-quality graphics. Our experience with the first Monster Hunter Freedom gave us the know-how to achieve that goal successfully.

Monster Hunter Freedom is a portable game, so players are more likely to be able to show it to their friends. If the visual quality is high, it definitely adds to the game's wow factor. We wanted anyone who happened to see it to be impressed immediately.

:: When the very first Monster Hunter was unveiled in 2003, many mistook the game for a PS3 title because they didn't believe graphics like that could be done on PS2. Now, we're seeing that same level of visuals and animation on a portable system. Did Capcom have to do anything unique to create this game on PSP, and do you feel that the system is still capable of more than what we are seeing so far?

Maximizing the hardware's potential and exceeding our goals for quality were possible because of the creativity and talent of our team. All hardware has inherent limitations of course, and we've always striven to push those boundaries to maximize the potential. I still think there is more we can learn about the system's capabilities and we will continue to maximize its performance as we go.

:: These first two PSP Monster Hunter games have benefited from being based on titles already produced for PlayStation 2 -- the expense of making a PSP game of this caliber was already largely spent for the initial PS2 version. Now that Monster Hunter is moving on to PS3, there won't be as easy a conversion from console to portable. Will Capcom be able to continue the franchise on PSP without PS2 games to support it? Has the blockbuster success of the PSP game made it possible that a completely fresh version of Monster Hunter might be made for PSP?

Actually, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 isn't just a port of the Japanese Dos title for the PS2. Many system elements were changed or built from the ground up, keeping in mind that Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is a portable game. Portable games are played differently than console games, and in different environments. So we designed this game around the concept of portability, while borrowing relevant elements from the Dos title. As far as the future is concerned, considering demand, sales data, as well as other factors, games created specifically for the PSP are not out of the question.

:: Monster Hunter Freedom 2 features the ability to download new content from Capcom to the system. How important is it to your development group that PSP designers explore these kinds of advanced features when producing a game? Do you think that Downloadable Content or Game Sharing could help make PSP games more successful, or do you see special feature support more as a gift to the fans whether it helps sales or not?

Without question, downloadable content, and ad-hoc gameplay are very important features in Monster Hunter Freedom 2. We want to have a long-term relationship with users by offering new quests and extras via network download. Being able to play new quests with friends regardless of an individual's game progress greatly improves the topicality of the game. We hope, too, that this kind of word-of-mouth advertising will have a positive affect on overall sales.

:: The one feature of the console game that the PSP game was not able to replicate is the online networking feature -- there is ad-hoc multiplayer, but it can only be played locally. Do you believe that online play could be accomplished in future editions of Monster Hunter for PSP? Is this a feature that you would like to pursue in this franchise or other Capcom projects, or do you feel that this PSP game has been successful because it plays best with groups of players in the same room?

For Monster Hunter Freedom 2, we wanted to focus on the new kind of gameplay that portable systems make possible through ad-hoc networking. It is the ability to come together with friends face to face, and play together in a cooperative capacity. The experience is akin to going to an arcade and playing a multiplayer game with your friends, but you can do this anywhere.
GENERAL PSP QUESTIONS

:: You have worked on two games for the PSP, what have you learned about making PSP and handheld games in that process?

We've learned a lot about portable gaming in general, for example, where users play, when users play, for how long, basically the overall tempo of gameplay. A user may play for a couple of hours in their free time, or for an hour before bed. We thought about what can be accomplished in that amount of time, and what we can give users to look forward to the next time they turn on their PSP and resume gameplay. We want users to be able to take their PSPs out and play anytime, wherever they are, as well as show it off to their friends.

:: Explain how your team approaches PSP development? Do you view the system as a portable that needs portable-oriented games, or do you have a less specific view of it as just one of the many systems to bring your creation to? (Also, do you have your own unique PSP or handheld development group, or do team members work on a variety of platforms.)

We carefully consider what makes a game portable-system-worthy. Neither hardware specifics nor the end user are ignored in the development process. It's worth noting that although there is no PSP or handheld specific development group at Capcom, none of the experience of development staff is discounted or goes to waste.

:: Where does PSP development fit on a production cost level compared to console game development and also Nintendo DS development. Will PSP budgets and production challenges rise as development moves away from comparable platforms and onto next-gen systems?

Budgets are decided based on the ambitions of the game to be produced, not necessarily the hardware it's being developed for. Projected sales figures and risk play a bigger role in determining budgets for titles than the hardware itself. So, it's never a question of where game budgets for one platform rank compared to another platform. The titles themselves will determine the necessary production costs.

:: Is there anything Sony could do as the platform creator and manager that would help you as a PSP developer?

Capcom works closely together with many hardware manufacturers to develop quality products and each relationship is unique. As certain needs arise, they are handled on a case-by-case basis.

:: Is there a feature of the PlayStation Portable that you would like to see used more often, something you would suggest publishers put more priority on when a PSP project is commenced?

Each game necessitates certain functions and functionalities. I would say that features should be considered for individual games, and not as blanket suggestions.

:: What do you see is the future of PlayStation Portable?

We still have a lot to learn about the PSP hardware and its potential. The key will be effectively maximizing its capabilities to produce high quality experiences for users.