The PSP needs help. Sega can barely tread water after abandoning the hardware market. And each has something that can help the other.

Sega, meet Sony. Sony, meet Sega.

The PSP has been criticized by not adding original games to its catalog. And recently, it does seem like ports are all the rage on the handheld. First it was remakes of classic games, thanks to Capcom’s Mega Man and Ghouls and Ghosts. Now it’s straight-up compilations of classic titles from Activision, EA and Sega.

Of the three mentioned, Sega might have the best fit on the PSP. Remember back to the days of the Saturn and Dreamcast, Sega kept its consoles afloat with its strength in software. Its first-party support was legendary and rivaled even Nintendo as one of the most prolific and creative game developers. And although the Saturn, for instance, didn’t have the sales of the PlayStation, one would be remiss if they didn’t mention a few Sega titles as classics of the 32-bit era. Even the Dreamcast had its share of mentionables, as well as its pioneering of console multiplayer gaming.

On closer inspection, these consoles might have more in common with the PSP than even its big brother PS2. Maybe most notable is the actual controller. The Saturn, although it employed a six-button interface, only had one analog stick. And because the analog stick wasn’t required for more than a handful of titles, that meant the stick and d-pad could be used interchangeably for those that supported both; more times than not, just the d-pad was supported. The Dreamcast might even be a better fit, having a nearly identical controller but sporting a four-button interface. The PS2, as we all know, supports dual analog and rumble features, as well as four shoulder buttons, in its entire library.

Another similarity is the capacity of the media used by Sega’s consoles. The Saturn used a 650MB CD-ROM format, while the Dreamcast used a 1.2 GB GD-ROM proprietary format – certainly a better fit on the 1.8 GB UMD format than the PS2′s single or dual layer DVD format. From a resolution standpoint, the Saturn could output in 320×224, 640×224, and 720×576, and took advantage of high-resolution graphics in a few titles like Virtua Fighter 2. The Dreamcast supported resolutions of 640×480, or 480p. This would fit well within the PSP’s 480×272 screen resolution. Even some Dreamcast games, such as Rayman 2, Starlancer and Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, supported widescreen gaming. On a last note, technical specifications of the PSP are very close to the Dreamcast, in terms of CPU speed and system memory.

What all this means is that ports of Saturn or Dreamcast games to the PSP could be achieved relatively easily. The one obstacle is overcoming the Saturn’s dual CPU architecture, which has been done before on other consoles. The question, then, is whether the PSP is powerful enough to emulate the Saturn in software.

The pros for porting these titles to the PSP are numerous. First, Sega themselves ported many of these titles from their original coin-op incarnations, so they lend themselves to short bursts of play, as well as a simplistic pick-up-and-play nature. At a loss for specific examples? Let me rattle off a few: Baku Baku, Fighting Vipers, Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Rally, Last Bronx, Crazy Taxi, Die Hard Arcade, Zombie Revenge, and Daytona USA.

Although the coin-op division drove sales by way of home conversions, the original console titles were no slouch either. Perhaps the one for which everyone is waiting for a sequel is NiGHTS Into Dreams, but porting the original to a handheld could be the next best thing. It is also a perfect fit, with the PSP’s single analog stick and ample amount of face and shoulder buttons being more than generous to the game’s simple configuration. Or what about a portable Panzer Dragoon Zwei? Anyone up for some portable Dragon Force? Guardian Heroes in either Ad Hoc or Infrastructure? Strategy mavens, how about some Iron Storm or Shining Force III? The titles I’ve mentioned are only Saturn titles – include possible Dreamcast conversions, and Sega has one hell of a library available to a captive PSP audience.

A knock against the PSP’s game library is that it consists of too many ports that people already own for another system. The benefit to Sega is that their console titles were experienced by a relatively small number of players. For instance, Burning Rangers was released during Saturn’s last gasp of life, with a very limited print run. Releasing a port, or update, of this title on the PSP would introduce it to millions of new fans – and most importantly, potential customers. With the PSP having shipped over 20 million units worldwide, and only 10 million for the Saturn over its life span…well, you do the math.

The other benefit is that these titles are already finished. They would need a small technical team to oversee the conversion process, and maybe implement small tweaks and improvements to the gameplay if necessary. But what is most important is the game is essentially complete, which means these can be done with minimal cost. I must also point out the consumer will be much happier with these because titles from the modern 3D era are perceived as having a much more substantial gameplay experience than their 16-bit predecessors. And “happy” isn’t something the PSP consumer base has been recently.

It would be ironic if it were Sega’s catalog of first-party titles responsible for the success of the PSP, after ten years of being battered into submission by the PlayStation and PS2. Vice versa, it would finally validate Sega’s superior software and intellectual properties. A strange marriage indeed, but a welcomed one at that.