Ubisoft has called on Sony to act quickly to stop publishers abandoning the PSP as a viable format.

Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz, UK managing director Rob Cooper has said that the format lacks direction, with Sony unsure of how to market a machine he sees as over-priced and too technical for the mainstream consumer.

"I think that Sony is disappointed with sales and it's unsure as to which way to take it," said Cooper in an interview published today.

"Sony needs to show us a bit more about what its plans are to convince the publisher to invest lots more money into it. Especially when you've got the DS selling at such a tremendous pace.

"I suppose it's almost too technical for the casual person, those that are buying the DS at the moment, who want a few buttons and not a lot more. It's so simple what [Nintendo] has done. That's where I think Sony has gone a little bit too complicated, they've over-specced it, the price is too high and they need to go back to the drawing board and start again," he added.

"I don't think it's a pricing issue," he admitted. "As a publisher I'll always say pricing is not the first point of call. I don't think dropping the price of games is going to sell more product or hardware.

"It's direction, a real strategic decision by Sony as to what it wants to do with that product. It's a great shame that sales are at the level they are, because you've got a hardware system that is absolutely beautiful."

Ubisoft has no games planned for the PSP this year, but Cooper insists the format still has potential, so long as Sony can properly identify its audience and move the system out of "no man's land".