PSP Train Simulator

Posted by Jason

February 10, 2005

Another item popped up on the Lik-Sang radar. You may recall a PS2 import title simply called “Train Simulator” from a year or two ago. If you don’t, that’s fine, neither do I. But that’s ok, we’ll be burning our train fascination on the PSP port of Train Simulator. Obscure Japanese titles are juicy sweet.

This game features life-like video (or perhaps it is real video?) from a train operators point of view aboard a Tokyo-bound bullet train. You have levers and buttons you can push to speed up and slow down the train, and a progress bar at the bottom of the screen lets you know how close you are to your next destination. I imagine real sounds enhance the simulation experience. This is an operation simulation, I don’t think crashes or derailments are possible, which is sad.

During my digging and “investigative” research (it was hard, there was a link on Lik-Sang’s page), I uncovered the official site and some promo videos of this impressive import: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3. Apparently, if the tongue of babel is true, this video is a promo for a contest to win PSP Value Packs and copies of the game. I didn’t see (or “couldn’t tell” would be more appropriate) any country limitations, so I suppose those of us outside of Japan could enter if we could read the entry form.

PSP Train Simulator

Train Simulator poses a unique problem to me individually. My 3 year old son LOVES trains. I don’t think I could accurately paint the picture of this kid’s pure obsession with trains. He can hear an air horn several miles in the distance that is only faint to adult ears. He yells “Train! A Train!” any time he sees one. It could a real train on tracks, or one on TV, or even a small train picture on a cereal box, he spots them all. If I were to import this title, I may never see my PSP again (I don’t technically own one yet, I’ve only pre-ordered). The PSP is an investment, but so is my son’s happiness. Will I buy the game? Yes, I most likely will. The smile on the boy’s face at the sight or sound of a train would be worth the minor power struggles from time to time. I usually play games after he’s asleep anyway, so it really isn’t too big of a deal. He can play TS during the day, and I can play my GT4 or RR at night. See, problem solved.