Sony brings comics to the PlayStation Portable

Comic book fans with PlayStation Portables (PSP) can look to the PlayStation Store for their superhero fix from now on, with publishers Marvel, IDW, Disney and others offering more than 400 titles for download. The catalogue will be updated weekly with new content, according to Sony, including titles from local and underground publishers.

Mainstream comic favourites such as Spider-Man, Xmen, the Fantasic Four, Star Trek, Transformers, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are ‘read’ on the PSP in a way that emulates how your eyes travel across print page, with each frame of the comic moving from left to right across the screen as you progress through the story. You can even zoom in and out of each frame using the PSP’s directional controls.

Key to this experience is Sony’s Autoflow Viewer application, which comes with the latest firmware (6.20) upgrade. This works on all PSP models, including the new PSPGo, according to Sony. Once downloaded, you can access the comic library clicking the Digital Comics icon found under “Extras” in the XMB (Cross Media Bar) menu. There is some free content on offer, but most titles cost between $1.75 and $2.45, each. This compares to $5-10 for the equivalent title in print form.

While the Playsation Store provides access to the libraries of the world’s biggest comic publishers, graphics novels, ‘zines and comic titles from less mainstream creators have been available in PSP friendly formats online for more than two years. Many of these are available for free.