Reeves: Capcom will help spearhead PSP resurgence

Sony's outgoing president David Reeves has said that Capcom's continued support for the PlayStation brand has helped the company establish all of its home consoles on the market, from the original PlayStation to the PS3.

And as the companies prepare a new Monster Hunter hardware bundle for release in June, Reeves said that Capcom can help Sony put the PSP at the forefront of handheld gaming this year.

"The relationship between Capcom and PlayStation goes all the way back to the very start of PlayStation in 1994 when it was introduced in the end of November/beginning of December in Japan. Games such as Mega Man, Street Fighter and Resident Evil helped establish the PlayStation brand and truly showed how gaming was changing forever,” said Reeves at last week's Captivate event, reports Eurogamer.net.

"This relationship has continued throughout PlayStation 1's lifecycle, through to PlayStation 2, with games such as Devil May Cry, and of course into the latest generation of home and portable consoles with PS3 and PSP."

The Monster Hunter bundle will come with a copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, and a demo will be made available on UMD and via the PlayStation Network in the run up to release.

Reeves admitted that some PSP software and support has been lacking, but 2009 is shaping up to be an important year for the handheld - promising more unveilings for the hardware later in the year.

"I'm not going to stand here and tell you we've had it all our own way since we launched the PSP. We know that our own Sony software line-up, and to some extent the third parties', has not lived up always to expectations.

"2009 promises to be a very important year for PSP, with its strongest software line-up ever, with some exciting surprises yet to be announced," added Reeves.

"Monster Hunter Freedom Unite will spearhead the PSP resurgence of 2009, we believe, and I would like to thank Capcom for their unwavering support in this endeavour."

Reeves said that the reason Sony and Capcom's relationship has remained strong over the year's is due to both company's taking chances and being willing to experiment with new gaming experiences.

"The industry has changed beyond recognition throughout the 15 years that I've been part of it, yet the relationships between companies such as Capcom and PlayStation have remained constant.

"This is not because tradition states they should, this is not because we're afraid to shake things up - the reason these relationships have remained so strong is because we are indeed like-minded, iconoclastic companies, companies that strive for the same goal, to create innovative, and more than anything, fun experiences."