The big difference between ON:PW and Digimon Adventure is that well the PS3 has a far larger install base than the PSP these days, especially when it comes to a game nominally aimed at children. And even then, OP:PW is going to be a PSN download only in the US despite getting a full retail release in both Europe and Japan. Nor will it feature any English voice work despite there already being an active cast for the still in production dub. So its release here should be seen for what it is: Namco Bandai taking a gamble while also minimizing the risk from said gamble as much as they can. Dollars to donuts, the decision to actually release the game stateside was likely a near thing.

But decisions like these that can work for a game mostly aimed and/or possessing potential appeal for a more hardcore and/or older demographic just would not be viable in the same way with a property that is technically aimed at kids. Whatever appeal to a nostalgic older audience, or those of us who simply just like the franchise regardless of age, Digimon might have, at the end of the day don’t kid yourself about the role that younger audience plays in keeping the series around. These games do have to be able to reach that vital younger audience after. And as relativity weak as general sales of the PSP where in the US, they were even worse in terms of that very younger age bracket.

The shame of it all is that US Digimon fans are kind of getting screwed over by the same Monster Hunter effect which is still keeping the PSP viable in Japan. Without the continued success of the PSP there, not mention its wide install base among all ages, perhaps Namco Bandai would have felt the time was ripe to take Adventure and make it a Vita game. But the reality is they don’t have to because Adventure can still tap into that aforementioned audience to be a big success on a system that will require far less expense and resources to develop a game on than the Vita would.

It is less risk for more potential reward and I cannot honestly blame Namco for making this decision. But all the same, it is a decision that likely dooms the game to being Japan only. The fact that Digimon has never really built up popularity among younger viewers today that it once had with the ones of the past does not help matters either. If the show was a hot commodity at the moment in the States, maybe then we might have seen a port of past games or at least increase the chance of this one getting released on more systems.

If there is any chance of the PSP version of Digimon Adventure coming to the US, it lies in a Project Rainfall style campaign to show Namco that there is indeed a sufficient audience for the game. But as you yourself said, previous attempts at such a campaign have not gone anywhere, which in turn probably means that such an audience likely does not exist in the numbers required especially as it relates to PSP owners.

The best we can hope for is that Digimon Adventure is a big enough hit to warrant a port to a system where localizing it might actually be viable. It is a slim hope but better than none I suppose. And of course there is always importing for those who don’t mind wading through tons of Japanese text. Thanks for the comment and the kind words alike and I hope you keep enjoying the show.