Bravo, SOCOM. Bravo.

March 29, 2006 | By: David Radd

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While a great deal was made about how GTA: Liberty City Stories would be the "killer app" for the PSP, people were overlooking another popular franchise: SOCOM. The tactical shooter series has taken well to portability, even outselling the PS2's SOCOM III of late. We chat with Seth Luisi about the game and likely sequels on PSP/PS2...

Chances are if you watched TV recently, you've seen the most recent ad for the SEALs. The setting is a beach at night, the camera showing the moonlit sky and waves rolling onto the beach. A cloud passes over the moon, darkening the landscape. When the dim light returns, it shows four sets of footprints in the sand pointing towards the camera, suggesting a group of individuals moving with extreme stealth. A wave comes and washes away the prints and the web address navy.com/seals appears.

A cool ad to be sure, and it suggests the sort of way that SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo for PSP may have snuck up on those who follow video game sales charts. That's because of the game's steady performance; it hasn't been the no. 1 selling PSP title in any of the months since it released, but it also hasn't left the top 5, according to the NPD. Additionally, it was the no. 14 best selling title overall in January. When you have that sort of steady performance, you're going to rack up some impressive cumulative sales.

GameDaily BIZ recently caught up with Seth Luisi, Senior Producer on SOCOM to talk about SOCOM Fireteam Bravo. We discussed the game's retail success, how the SOCOM experience was adapted for the PSP and the future of the franchise.

The SOCOM series has been a hit ever since its introduction on the PS2 in 2002. Still, GameDaily BIZ has always seen the attention the series has gotten from the hardcore as somewhat subdued compared to similar games offered by Ubisoft and their Tom Clancy series. Sales don't factor in the number of message board posts, however, and Sony is no doubt content to have SOCOM Fireteam Bravo be a major component of the PSP's lineup for both single and online play.

When asked about sales compared to previous incarnations of SOCOM, Luisi responded, "To our surprise, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo has been outselling SOCOM 3 for several months now. The total sales for SOCOM 3 are still higher but SOCOM FTB is catching up! SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo is still selling very well and will soon be SCEA's best selling PSP title."

He continued, "We've always had high expectations for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo, it is the first game to truly take advantage of the PSP. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo is also the first portable game to include voice chat and 16 player Ad Hoc (wireless LAN) and Infrastructure (online) play. We have over 2,300 simultaneous players playing SOCOM FTB online during peak hours and over 12,000 players log into SOCOM FTB online everyday. These are huge numbers for a portable game, especially on a new platform."

"This year's marketing/advertising campaign was more robust than the previous two titles, and was instrumental in inciting purchase among fans of the franchise, as well as newcomers," added John Koller, Senior Marketing Manager at SCEA. "Our primary goal was to utilize our association with Naval Special Warfare in a more organic and efficient way than we had in the past, and the results were initiatives such as the SOCOM Hell Week, where we placed 16 SOCOM fans through 3 days of Hell, SEAL-style, promotions on Naval aircraft carriers and a SOCOM Tactics online advertising campaign that showcased some of the techniques used by SEALs in theatre, and how they are simulated in the game. Overall, we were very pleased with the results of this year's campaign."

When attempting to bring SOCOM to the PSP, there were two main challenges that developer Zipper Interactive had to face. One, while the PSP is similar to the PS2, it still isn't equally powerful hardware-wise. Two, the PSP lacks a second analog, changing the way the game must be controlled. Solution? Knock the in-game team members down from 4 to 2 and add a lock-on with the right shoulder. The results are different, but not significantly worse than the PS2 version, as evidenced by SOCOM Fireteam Bravo's 83% on Gamerankings.com

"It was very important for us to provide the full SOCOM experience on the PSP, but at the same time we needed to modify the SOCOM experience so that it was suited for a portable device," explained Luisi. "Adding the lock-on was a bit controversial, but I think everyone that has played SOCOM FTB agrees that it provides the best experience for controlling your character with only one analog input. We also made sure that the lock on was implemented in a unique SOCOM style. Just because you are locked on does not mean you will hit the target because our full ballistics and accuracy model still applies. The lock-on in SOCOM FTB aids in the controller input required to aim but does not remove the strategy of which weapon you are using, what stance you are in, how fast you or the enemy is moving, etc... The instant action mode in SOCOM FTB also provides the perfect SOCOM style pick up and play experience where you can play short missions when you only have a few minutes to play."

"We worked very hard to get both 16 players and the voice chat working in SOCOM FTB," he said, talking about the online play. "These features have come to define the SOCOM online experience and we are most proud of retaining them in SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo. We are also very happy with all of the community features that we were able to add. No other portable title even comes close to the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo online experience."

With the sales that SOCOM Fireteam Bravo has been getting, sequels are practically inevitable. More action on the PSP seems likely, and given Sony's stance that the PS2 will have a ten-year lifespan, another PS2 incarnation is probably in the works. Luisi hinted strongly at more SOCOM for PS2/PSP, saying, "Nothing has been announced. While it is fun to talk about and work on new hardware (PlayStation3), we do feel that the enormous install base of PlayStation 2 and rapidly growing install of the PSP offer the greatest opportunities for games publishers at this time."

Down the road, Sony will need a game to help push the PS3's online program. What game would be better than one of the best multiplayer experiences on PS2/PSP? When asked about SOCOM coming to the PS3, Luisi simply responded, "You'll have to wait and see."