THQ prepping quartet of PSP titles

Another third-party publisher reiterated its full-fledged support for Sony's PSP today: As part of its earnings announcement, THQ revealed that it has no less than four PSP titles in the works. Among them will be an as-yet-untitled game in its MX (motocross) series that will launch alongside the portable early next year. However, the other three unidentified titles will not come until later in the year, perhaps even as late as the fourth quarter.

Speaking to analysts, Brian Farrell, THQ's president and CEO, said that he was "delighted about the PSP pricing in Japan," and said he was "very bullish for the PSP" and its prospects in the North American market.

Farrell also commented on what the cost of a PSP game might be, saying that "$39.99 is a possible price." Responding to an analyst's question about whether the price might edge even higher, Farrell said, "That would be very, very difficult." He expressed similar thoughts about the price for games for the Nintendo DS, which THQ is also supporting.

The CEO also touched on the topic of the availability of PSP development kits. "I'm hearing a lot of moaning and complaining," he said. "Dev kits are hard to come by, but this feels a lot like other launches." In other words, he didn't sound like he was sweating the situation, and was merely allocating resources intelligently by "putting [available] kits on launch titles."