Publishers like Capcom, Sega, Midway, Taito, and Namco have been offering retro-themed compilations for years on a variety of platforms. However, the biggest third-party publisher of them all, Electronic Arts, has generally shied away from the practice, other than a few offerings such as the recent Command & Conquer: The First Decade collection.

That might be changing, if a new GameStop product listing is accurate. According to the retailer, Electronic Arts is jumping into the retro trend headfirst with EA Replay for the PSP. Slated for release October 3 with a price tag of $29.99, the compilation will let players relive 14 of the publisher's back-catalog offerings, including fondly remembered hits like Syndicate, Ultima VII: The Black Gate, Road Rash, Wing Commander, and Jungle Strike. Some of the games will support head-to-head multiplayer action, all will be playable in widescreen or normal views, and all of them will allow players to save their games at any time. The site even says it will include unlockable game art.

The full list of games listed for the compilation is included below, along with their first release dates and systems. Given the difficulties inherent in porting a keyboard-and-mouse control scheme to PSP, it is likely that the compilation would feature shrunken-down versions of the games' console versions, so those are the dates and systems given below.

B.O.B.--1993--SNES and Genesis
Budokan--1990--Genesis
Desert Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis
Jungle Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis
Haunting Starring Polterguy--1993--Genesis
Mutant League Football--1993--Genesis
Road Rash--1992--Genesis, later on 3DO
Road Rash II--1993--Genesis
Road Rash III--1995--Genesis
Syndicate--1995--SNES, 3DO, Jaguar
Ultima: The Black Gate--1994--SNES
Virtual Pinball--1993--Genesis
Wing Commander--1993--SNES
Wing Commander: The Secret Missions--1993--SNES

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, industry veteran Ian Livingstone has said that although Sony has been the clear victor in past console battles, the race will be much harder to win this time around.

In an exclusive interview, Livingstone said: "It's going to be a much closer race and significantly, I think Nintendo, with the Wii console, is going to be right back up in the thick of it.

"Sony has had a recent history of being the clear winner, and I don't think anybody believes that's going to be the case this time... It's going to be a much closer race."

According to Livingstone, Sony will have to allocate a hefty marketing budget to communicate the value of the PlayStation 3, and "let consumers know that the PS3 is not just a games machine but a complete home entertainment system with Blu-ray.

"To get the consumers to understand exactly what that means, and how that justifies the cost of the hardware - that's going to be the challenge for them."

Livingstone, who is currently product acquisition director at Eidos, confirmed that the publisher will be supporting all three next-gen consoles, stating: "It's much more of an open race and it's a very exciting time for independent publishers like ourselves, to be able to successfully leverage our IP over more formats than before."

There's no movement in the top three this week, as THQ's multi-format cartoon racer continues its winning streak - while GTA: Liberty City Stories and New Super Mario Bros stall in second and third.

Marking its third week at the top, Cars continues to cling to the racing line and stay ahead of the pack, despite a 17 per cent drop in sales. Outside of the top three however, some old favourites are making a valiant and, in some cases, meteoric rise back up to the top of the charts.

The Sims (Original) is making the most of its retail promotions, climbing from sixth to fourth place, pushing poor old Dr Kawashima's Brain Training down one place into fifth position.

Sixth place goes to sibling The Sims 2, whilst other iterations of the popular people management game are creeping back into the charts further down. The Sims: Unleashed re-enters the chart at number 30, and The Sims: Superstar climbs six places to 31, leaving The Sims: On Holiday and The Sims: Makin' Magic to re-emerge at number 37 and 38 respectively.

Back in the higher end of the charts, Konami keeps up training for the new football season with Pro Evolution Soccer 5 in seventh place - followed by a top ten re-entry for EA's Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which climbs from 14 to this week's number 8.

Disney gets swallowed by the currents with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at number 9, and Activision continues to dodge traffic at number 10 with film franchise Over The Hedge.

THQ's Monster House marks the only noticeable new entry this week, coming in at number 18 ahead of the movie's weekend release, which should help push the title further up the charts next week - potentially overtaking Cars for the all-formats lead.