Almost since its release, Sony’s PSP has been roundly castigated for a lack of innovative, significant software; even Sony America executive Robert Wiesenthal confessed earlier this month that the portable console lacks, "the one title that defines the product," a view that seems to be shared by other figures in the development community.

Other figures such as WipEout Pulse director Tony Buckley, who has now urged PSP developers to make better use of the handheld’s range of functions. Speaking to CVG, Buckley admitted that the responsibility of creating original, killer software fell squarely on the shoulders of developers.

"It's our [developers'] job to create something that attracts people to PSP," said Buckley. "I think that rather than focusing on the gameplay side of it, we should be focusing on how to fully utilise what I think is quite a sophisticated piece of kit. It’s such a great machine with so much functionality, you've just got to focus on how the games can build on that functionality, rather than on whether a game was built completely for PSP.

"I'm not too sure whether there is a killer piece of software out there that would make people say "woah" - there are loads of great games out there. I just think that our team and other development teams need to utilise other areas of the machine," he continued. "Games are games. People buy WipEout to play WipEout but we can give them extra."

Asked whether or not game-makers were too frequently ignoring the multi-functionality offered by the handheld, Buckley replied, "Yes, I suppose so. You know, there's a lot in there that you can use. For example the whole idea of playing your own MP3s in a game - it's not rocket science so we've done it and it's a nice extra feature. The music is there on the machine - why should you not be able to use it?"

Buckley also discussed the importance of creating a strong online community for games, and pointed to his own studio’s title, WipEout Pulse, as an example of this. "The furore about a game tends to die down after six to eight weeks but if you've got an online community it drives on with people," he said. "It's really important to us. The visual appeal is a huge aspect of WipEout, and now we're letting people go online and come up with what they think a WipEout ship should look like."

Head here to read the full interview.