Can a system be too powerful for it's own good? It seems this is the situation that the PSP finds itself in.

Console style games suffer from restricted control set ups, and simpler games feel like a waste of the hardware's power. God of War: Chains of Olympus featured the series' famous QTEs when taking down foes. But when these included half and full rotations of the analog nub, they could be hit and miss. When the penalty for failure was a loss of health, this seemed harsh: not really the player's fault, but the PSP's. Loco Roco, though rightly praised for it's art direction, could have been done as a free flash game. With it's tilting mechanics, it seems like the perfect fit for WiiWare or a low cost PSN game.

Though the machine can be used to play movies on the go and make calls via Skype, most people will already have an iPod and mobile phone. Rob Cooper of Ubisoft recently commented that the system is "absolutely beautiful" but stuck in "no man's land". Did Sony make a mistake by cramming so many features into the system's diminutive frame?

Though hardware sales, especially in Japan, continue to be impressive, software sales don't seem to tally. The part piracy has to play in this is a question for another time, but it has to be worrying for Sony. Also probably worrying Sony, but delighting Capcom, is the way the system is referred to by many Japanese owners as a "Mohan" (Monster Hunter) player. (See Edge 194, page 9.)

However, looking forward, the problems the PSP face is something that Nintendo will also have to tackle. The DS will inevitably have a follow up; what form will this machine take? Over the years, the number of buttons on the average controller has increased. Though this is a viable "solution" to the ever increasing interactivity games offer and control that gamers demand, it throws up another problem for the hand held machine. Every button added has to be on the machine itself, and the machine needs to remain comfortable to hold and of a reasonable size. The DS gains kudos for it's innovative touch screen, but what can you do after that? Two touch screens? (EDIT: Add two cameras, apparently.)

The PSP, it seems, is possibly a casualty of the current generation's power. What happens next is anyone's guess.