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Posted By: IceMyst PSP sets new standard for hand-held gaming - 03/23/05 10:28 AM
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's the biggest thing to happen to electronic gadgets since the AA battery.

After an extremely successful product launch in Japan, Sony is about to hit the United States with a miniature marvel of engineering that promises to revolutionize the way people amuse themselves while on airplanes, in waiting rooms, or simply walking down the street. Gadget geeks are giddy with anticipation; they know that this $200 tiny trinket from Japan is, without a doubt, the must-have item of -- 1979.

Wait, that should be "2005." Sorry for the temporal typo.

But with Thursday's release of the PlayStation Portable (PSP), Sony's new handheld video game and media player, it's hard not to be reminded of the hoopla that greeted the original Sony Walkman back during the Carter administration.

That hoopla turned out to be justified; the Walkman indeed changed the way people listen to music. And it's clear that the Walkman's corporate grand-nephew, the PSP, aims to similarly change the way people play video games, watch movies, share pictures as well as listen to music. We'll have to wait to see if it succeeds. But one thing is certain: the PSP is a cool toy and a gorgeous one at that.
A gamer's delight

At the center of the smartly-designed PSP is an ample 4.3-inch flat-panel LCD display that's so flawlessly sleek, the first thumbprint it gets will be as aesthetically traumatic to a smitten owner as that first scratch on a shiny new car.

PSP versions of some well-known PlayStation games are now available -- including the addictive drivin'-and-shootin' game "Twisted Metal: Head On" and a new, more strategy-based entry in the "Metal Gear" action series, "Metal Gear Acid."

In those games, as well as in the other new PSP titles, the detailed 3-D graphics represent the closest any portable gaming system has come to matching the clarity of home consoles like the PS2 and Xbox (but "cut scenes" -- those movie-like animated interludes you see on many console games -- don't fare quite as well on the PSP). PlayStation 2 owners will be happy to see that the layout of PSP's buttons is almost identical to that of the PS2 controller.

Also like the PS2 and Xbox, the PSP lets you play online. If you have a wireless access point in your home, you can configure a PSP for multiplayer gaming over the Internet. You and up to 15 other PSP owners within a radius of a few dozen feet can square off via a so-called "ad-hoc" wireless network.

As Sony is fond of pointing out, the PSP is not just for gaming. The gadget plays movies and games on a Universal Media Disc (UMD), a format Sony created for the PSP.

The first million PSPs sold in the United States come with a free UMD version of the movie, "Spider-Man 2." So far only a handful of movies, including "Kill Bill, Vol. 1" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," will be available on the PSP in the near future. But if enough people buy the PSP and if Sony has learned its lesson about encouraging others to make compatible products for its gadgets, you can expect movie studios to release many more films in the UMD format.
Limited music and movie capability

The PSP can also play music and movie clips as well as store JPEG pictures. But as is the case with many other small, multi-functional gadgets, those capabilities on the PSP are limited -- partly because it has no hard drive and the 32 MB Memory Stick Duo card that comes with it isn't nearly enough to hold any significant amount of media.

While the Apple iPod famously boasts a capacity of 10,000 songs, you'll be lucky to cram half a CD onto the PSP as currently sold.

So if you plan to do any serious music or picture storing on a PSP, you should spring for a bigger memory card. And if you don't have one, you'll also need a USB cable to connect a PSP to your computer. Curiously, a USB cable is not included in Sony's $249 "Value Pack," which includes the PSP and several accessories -- including the memory card, a soft carrying case, remote-controlled headphones, battery pack, AC adapter and soft cleaning cloth.

Because it holds far less music than the iPod and is more expensive than Nintendo's more kid-friendly DS and Game Boy hand-helds, the PSP probably won't be replacing those gadgets just yet.

But the PSP still earns its rep as the year's "it" device -- somewhere in gadget heaven, the old `79 Sony Walkman is beaming with pride.

Source
Posted By: Crime Re: PSP sets new standard for hand-held gaming - 03/25/05 04:06 PM
a very low standard in my opinion...
I've been an avid gamer 4 life! Own a SonyMD player, so i already have the USB cable, Sadly PSP is not 'sync' able with Sonys SonicStage software.

Lucky my state_tax refund came $150 :-( so I picked up a 512mb card 90$

my commute to work consist of Bus & Rail so i would prefer to listen to more than just music.

i have been saving up for the system since it's conception $5 here $10 there anyone can do it even on a fixed budget.

great system but some of the Value pack add in
are not worth it
remote-controlled headphones (flimsy n cheap)
soft carrying case(should be hard )
memory card (64mb would have suffice)
Posted By: Crime Re: PSP sets new standard for hand-held gaming - 03/26/05 02:04 AM
compaired to the market share of the consoles, handhelds are losing out, big time.

nintendo is pretty much cleaning house, despite the efforts of sony and nokia
even tho the DS is [censored], they still hold over 90% of the handheld market

ive seen the facts and figures, nintendo is still up for thier yearly review
Personaly I cant wait till Giz and I have the money to get the PSP. I would have no issues never touching our GBA ever again if we got one. The graphics and how it fits in your hands... Sweet lord I want to have an orgasim!!
hi
Quote:
Originally posted by bloeeagle:
hi
Yeh, that's really adding to a discussion; do it again and you're banned.
Posted By: Cyrez Re: PSP sets new standard for hand-held gaming - 04/23/05 05:18 PM
Dude i have a PSP bought it the day after it came out. Cuz I was lucky and thats when my paycheck came in. Omg i wanted to orgasm when i turned it on and still do. I have it hooked up to my mac. software called PSPWARE
Sync's with Ituned IPhoto, Built in mpeg4 encoder.Well i dunno about Mpeg4 or if its H.264 cuz thats what it uses. But its still soo rad. I have GTA on preorder. Dudes go pick one up there is also tunneling software called Kaid and we can all play against eachother its just really cool.
I WOULD but we're strapped for cash; I so want lol
PSP does seem kinda cool, but the cost is really too high for me to afford frown
It's too high for most people but that's expected when it comes to a brand new gaming system. Give it a few months and the gameing stores will have used ones for sale at a cheaper price...
my roomate picked up a PSP, you can go wardriving with it. Picked up so many unencypted networks just driving downtown.
I can just see the headlines now:

"Playstation Dominates Windows OS, Xbox Fans in Shock"
*whispers*
i have a nintendoDS and am fcuking proud of it!

sure u cant hook it up to a mac, and yes its much more bulky than the psp... but we'v got touchscreen, dual screen and can host java-based chat sessions with other ds' wirelessly!

i wouldnt mind a psp tho. laugh
I just look at the Nintendo DS's at wal-mart and see how badly the screen is scratched up and dismiss it. But that is 1,000's of people screwing with it. How long have you had yours, and sign of destruction yet?
The PSP has been hacked by some dude, so it can now be copied, or used illegally, or something like that, I don't know the details, but I'll be posting a news report on open news when I have the details.
had mine for 3 months now methinks
(got it when it first launcched here in oz)
payed AUD$289
came with metroid rime demo and free car kit charger.

iv purchased supermario64 DS, wariowarez and spiderman two.

apart from the broken stylus (anyone else have that habit where they bite the top of their pens?) the screen, thumbpad and cover are looking sweet.

mind you, my girlfriends 9yr old brother always gets hits paws on my DS whenever im at her place and it can still withstand a session with him.

i still remember wanting to strangle the runt the first time he got his thumbprint on the touchscreen!
Posted By: C1oud Re: PSP sets new standard for hand-held gaming - 05/22/06 01:33 PM
In my opinion,PSP was beaten by NDS. 'Cos Nintendo has so many popular softwar to support NDS, but SONY has nothing. Although SONY emphesize its multi-media is very well.
I decide to buy a NDS Lite in the end of this year.
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