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Are you looking forward to the PSP?  

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  1. 1. Are you looking forward to the PSP?

    • Yes I sure am.
      49
    • No way, sounds dumb.
      23


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It stands for Playstation Portable. Supposedly it will be released sometime next year. I hear it plays DVDs and it may have better graphics than the PS2. The CDs can hold 3x as much as regular PS2 CDs, and they're half the size. Anyone else hear about the PSP? If you know anything about it, post it here. The price will probably be $100-$250.:o
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The PSP doesn't use DVDs as such. It uses UMDs from Sony, which are basically a version of Mini Discs. They hold 1.8 GBs, which is about three times the size of a CD, as you said.

Lately from what I've been hearing it won't really approach the level of PS2 in graphics, but it seems as though it'll be better than Dreamcast quality. It can apparently do some things PS2 can't though, which is surprising.

Who knows about the price. Things from Sony have lead various reputable news sources to say that games would cost around $40 apiece or more. Who knows about system price.

According to something released recently (I believe quoted from Sony itself), the expect battery life is only like 3 to 6 hours.
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It will probably come out on the same timetable as the PS2 harddrive (saracasm). Really, though this thing is coming out and there's the N-gage but I really like the simplicity of the Game boy. I don't really want a videogame/cell phone/DVD player.
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If you read PSM magazine, they have a few concept sketched of what it is to look like. Such as a fold out screen, ala GBA and it uses one toggle stick and the four buttons you find on the PS2 controller. I look forward to it, but the N-Gage looks too bulcky and the screen looks too small. But hte PSP is supposed to have PS1.5 graphics and game quality. Behold the marvels of technology and down with Nintendo!
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[url]http://pocket.ign.com/articles/450/450207p1.html[/url]

[i]The most significant of the news is the controller configuration, which is now confirmed to consist of the four face buttons we all know and love (triangle, circle, cross, and square), a digital directional pad, two shoulder buttons (left and right), start and select buttons, and one analog joystick. The absence of a second analog stick implies that a Dreamcast-like controller setup may be used for first-person games, but only time will tell.[/i]

I am skeptical until I see this thing in action. Many have tried to topple the Game Boy's supremacy as king of the handhelds; all have pretty much failed/short-lived (Neo Geo Pocket, Game Gear, etc.).

But, if anyone can pull it out, it is Sony. Price + launch titles are absolutely vital to the PSP's lifespan. I mean, look at the (overpriced) N-Gage. The launch games were lackluster and the actual device ($300/$400?) is just not that great.
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  • 4 weeks later...
The PSP should be close to the same price as the PS2 which will be about $150**good price** the bad thing is youll need headphones and it will easily be stealable if you do take it to any event such as school and so on. The DVD and graphics are going to be the same or better than the PS2 and the designs are iffy yet so the battery might be a little bigger than the GameBoy Adv. and SP but the life of the battery should be at least doubled or more. And the sketchs could be quite wrong for all I know. So i have shared my knowledge and I Say Adue'
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I extremely am in doubt that the PSP will "require" headphones. For something that is sizing up to be technologically superior to the GBA/SP, it would be a rather huge shortcoming by Sony to not take advantage of its software power.

Also, if anything, Sony wants to outperform the GBA/SP in the sound department considering that the GBA/SP sound quality is pretty impressive; thus, it is in Sony's best interest to take it to the next level.
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Heh, it's way different than what everyone else thought it would look like, I'll give them that.

The only problem I see with it is the weird looking control pad. Is there supposed to be something rising up that you can press down on or is it completely flat? If it's completely flat, then I think there will be some issues with the control pad, heh.

Other than that, it looks like a stylized GBA...except it's apparently a keychain now o_O
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Hmmm...something is wrong here. I thought it was confirmed by Sony that the PSP would have one analog joystick? Even if this is a conceptual design I would assume it would have to be in it somewhere.

For what it is worth, though, I think it looks really cool. The back covering is slick and futuristic.

Query - where would the UMD go? Would the back of the PSP open similar to a walkman (makes sense...sort of...)? Where the heck are the batteries? It better not be an N-Gage Part 2...

Just some thoughts.
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I don't really remember who was the one who stated that. It's possible the whole stick thing came into being because of rumors, as well. I never remember there being any real official information on anything about it... outside of the specs and possible addons.
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[url]http://pocket.ign.com/articles/457/457945p1.html[/url]

[QUOTE]
[b]PSP Concept System

Sony reveals its current work-in-progress system design for its upcoming handheld.[/b]

November 04, 2003 - At Sony's Corporate Strategy Meeting today, Mr. Ken Kutaragi today revealed the first concept images of its upcoming PlayStation Portable system. The meeting more focused on Sony's overall corporate strategy, so no details were revealed on the PSP itself beyond an image of what the current version of the hardware currenly looks like in concept form. The images of the PlayStation Portable concept appeared in the company's slideshow presentation today, indicating the ideas that Sony has for the handheld.

The images of the PlayStation Portable concept appeared in the company's slideshow presentation today, indicating the ideas that Sony has for the handheld. Note the standard triangle, square, x, and o button configuration on the right, as well as the power and the multi-use eject/reset buttons on the lefthand side. [b]The control pad on the left is the most concerning, since the company previously mentioned analog control support.[/b] The system may simply utilize a pressure-sensitivity as the current PlayStation 2 controller uses.

Just to reiterate: these are currently concept models, and may change in the year before the system's ready to ship at the end of 2004.

-- Craig Harris
[/QUOTE]

I cannot find the official Sony report, but this works, too.
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"Pressure sensitivity" [i]is[/i] analog, so it's possible some wires just got crossed somewhere along the line. Obviously that probably was referring to analog sticks, but yeah lol

In any case, it's just a concept. The button layout is fine, but the placement of them and how they curve off the side seems like it would be very hard to control.

I should also add that that image is from a shareholder conference. It was probably made just so they knew what to expect for the future and understood where their money was going. I expect this to change dramatically along the line.
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Heh, that is true about the pressure sensitivity/analog thing, but it is still too early to tell either way.

I also hope the design changes. I do like this one, but I would still like to see some more variations before Sony locks down on a production model.

Has anyone else seen the PSP mock-up in EGM? It sure does look a lot like the GBASP...
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[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=569&ncid=738&e=1&u=/nm/20031105/tc_nm/tech_sony_gaming_dc[/url]

A lot of this details my only real problem with the idea of the PSP. It's too much at once. I don't care about almost all of the stuff it is capable of and it really just seems to help ensure the price will be more than I want to pay.

They want $300 for some Minidisc players... I can't see this thing being anywhere near GBA price. Although that's obvious, there has always been a limit people were willing to pay for with portables.
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You know, I like the idea but 90% of the time I'd just be playing it in my house anyway. I like Game boy Advance because its really simple, and probably the last medium for 2D games. I wouldn't be interested enough to have a playstation with a tiny screen. It would have to be a really original system with some new directions to take VG's for me to get it.

I hope they don't just port a bunch os PS1/PS2 games on it either, like GB is doing with old SNES games. (Not that I don't like the super nintendo)
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[QUOTE]
...PSP is designed to rival Nintendo Co. Ltd's Game Boy handheld game player...
[/QUOTE]

Sony cannot really expect to go head-to-head with the GBA when it is already turning into an N-Gage. I do NOT want the PSP as a phone. I do NOT want the PSP as an MP3 player (I have 100+ blank CD-R's and a CD player for that). MP3/CD players are far too common to expect a purchase.

The ONLY thing that could be interesting is the video player option.

Most portable DVD players run $700+. If Sony could pull this off as a game/video player, especially with an option of connectivity to a TV or even through a DVD/VCR player into a TV, AND keep the price low, then that would rock.

First and foremost, though, is the games. If Sony starts porting old PS1 games, then that is just lame. I sure hope there are some innovative titles on the launch date or else it will be another NEO*GEO Pocket - A prospect lost.
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  • 6 months later...
[url]http://www.adr.com/adr?page=adrnews&formtype=4&level=C&prod=BT&mdate=20040505&mseq=9791[/url]

[quote] AWSJ(5/6) Sony To Unveil `PSP' Gadget; Buzz Isn't All Good (Dow Jones News Service)
Updated: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 05:31PM ET


(From THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Phred Dvorak

Tokyo -- SONY CORP., maker of PlayStation game machines, next week is expected to unveil what is arguably this year's most hotly anticipated video-game product: a hand-held player for games, videos and music.

Game makers hope Sony's PSP, whose name is derived from "PlayStation Portable," will attract more users to a market Nintendo Co.'s Game Boy has long cornered. Consumer-electronics companies wonder how the PSP will stack up against Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, and a host of portable media players starting to hit retail stores.

Sony -- along with its games mastermind Ken Kutaragi -- has a huge strategic stake in getting the "Walkman of the 21st century" -- as Mr. Kutaragi has dubbed it -- right. The PSP is scheduled to go on sale at the end of the year in Japan and early next year in the U.S.

But only days before the prototype's expected May 11 debut ahead of the E3 video-game show in Los Angeles, not all the buzz is happy.

Many big video-game creators have started developing games for the machine, but some say they have too little information to really get going. As of late April, many still hadn't received the final development kit due out this spring, as well as some basic specifications including memory size and projected price.

What's more, Sony's decision to put out a machine that plays movies as well as games has some creators scratching their heads.

"Will it be a game machine or a video Walkman?" asks Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of corporate strategy at Japanese video-game maker Square Enix Co. "We're still not sure what Sony wants to do with it -- that's a problem."

Mr. Sasaki says Square Enix, known for its Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games, eventually hopes to provide content for the PSP but wants to hear more about the PSP's business model before deciding what to prepare.

Game makers' uneasiness underscores the challenges Sony faces as it pushes ahead with a bold strategy of marrying video games with its core business of consumer electronics. Under Mr. Kutaragi, the creator of the PlayStation who was promoted last year to executive deputy president, that strategy is supposed to inject life into Sony's sluggish electronics business by bringing some of the style and raw processing power of the game machines into television sets and video players. Sony said during its earnings announcement last week that it aims to ship three million PSP machines in 2004, but it hasn't disclosed its price.

If crossover gadgets such as the PSP are successful, that could give Sony an advantage in the battle with companies such as Microsoft Corp. over whose technologies will rule the home theaters and Walkmans of the future. Sony is hard at work on another crossover product: the successor to its No. 1-selling PlayStation 2 console, which is expected out in 2005 or 2006. Microsoft, which has its own Xbox console and also is readying a next-generation machine, is trying to maneuver its software to the center of a home-entertainment network that would handle games, movies and music.

Still, some game developers worry that it may be hard to balance competing technical demands -- as well as figure out the price and audience -- for a gadget that combines the functions of a Walkman, video player and game machine.

Sony's latest game-electronics combo, a DVD recorder called the PSX that doubles as a PlayStation 2, hasn't sold as well in Japan as the company hoped it would, as consumers puzzled over whether it was a game console or a home-electronics device. Sony has said it will sell the PSX in the U.S. and Europe sometime this year.

"It would be better if [the PSP] were just a game machine," says Kazumi Kitaue, executive in charge of video games at Konami Corp., which puts out the popular Metal Gear Solid series. "It's silly to talk about watching movies anywhere anytime; you want to concentrate."

Mr. Kitaue says that Konami has started developing games for the PSP and that he has high hopes for the machine. But he worries that the product release could be delayed in Japan -- as it was in the U.S.

Initially, at least, the PSP's big rival probably won't be portable video players or iPods, but rather, Nintendo hand-helds. Nintendo is planning its own new portable machine that will go on sale around the same time as the PSP. But compared with Nintendo's current top-end model, the Game Boy Advance SP, PSP specifications released so far suggest that it will be a much more powerful machine with a bigger, higher-resolution screen.

The PSP will play games and movies stored on a new kind of optical disc that holds 1.8 gigabytes of data -- several times more than the Game Boy's cartridges. Mr. Kitaue and other game developers expect the PSP to attract gamers older than the teens and preteens who commonly buy the Game Boy. That is an important bonus for many game developers -- particularly in Japan -- which are being pinched by shrinking video-game markets and rising development costs.

Besides Konami, big-name game publishers such as Sega Corp., Namco Ltd. and Koei Co. of Japan, as well as Electronic Arts Inc. of the U.S., say they are developing PSP games, although they won't say whether they will have demos ready to show by next week's E3 debut.

Despite misgivings of some game creators, Sony insists the PSP is on schedule. Masayuki Chatani, chief technology officer for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony's video-game arm, says he is confident that the games-movies-music idea will fly, pointing to the success of the DVD-playing PlayStation 2.

"After all, if you were to do it all separately, you'd need three different machines," Mr. Chatani says.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-05-04 1731ET[/quote]

Recent developments have been really strange. In addition to the press releases I posted here and in the DS thread, general other news and information has made it seem as though the DS is where developers are interested in going and the PSP still has its own issues. Strangely, I figured it would be the other way around.
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According to last year's E3 press conference the PSP's specifications are as follows:

[b]Display:[/b] Wide screen (16:9) TFT LCD with backlight (480 x 272 dots)
[b]Disc medium:[/b] ?UMD? 60mm optical secured ROM disc with cartridge (1.8GB)
[b]Video CODEC:[/b] MPEG4
[b]Graphics:[/b] 3D Polygon/NURBS
[b]Sound:[/b] PCM (built-in stereo speakers, stereo headphone output)
[b]I/O:[/b] USB 2.0, Memory StickTM slot
[b]Battery:[/b] Rechargeable (lithium-ion)

Also, the PSP will enter the market within the $125-200 price range, with games costing around $15-25.

It seems a bit too unrealistic for Sony to release a games system [i]and[/i] walkman at such a reasonable price heh, which has pretty much led me to believe that there must be some strings attached...
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They never released any official prices. Everything that has been said by developers making games for the system, analysts and those in the industry are pointing towards $250 to $300 for the thing. There's no way it will be as cheap as that considering what it does. Games apparently might reach up to $50, which makes sense given the development costs involved if it can do games comparable to a PS2 like claimed.
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