The PSP Thread
 

Who is going to get one and why?

Not me. I don't want to have to carry around another device. If I want to play a game or two, I'll just fire up my T|3 and play some Zuma or backgammon.

Well with some christmas cash leftover, I think I will go for one. I've been reading up on it, and it looks fantastic. If you guys have a chance to browse some in game movies, I suggest you do, I was tottally taken back by how awesome it looks in game (EA games already has 6 titles lined up for it's US release, and they say all will run at a fluid 30fps). I think I will just buy the unit, nothing else, I read on ign that the package deal that comes with a small MS and like a case and headphones is not worth the cash. So count me in.

I'm not a fan of Sony's proprietary techs(MS, UMD, ATTRAC) and the 2 hour battery life for most game makes it unrealistic as a portable. And then there's that ejecting disc problem that either occurs on it's own or if the unit is twisted by accident.

I'll wait for a "rev 2" PSP and then think about it. The only thing I find appealing about it right now is it's design.

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Knowing me and my love of gadgets, if I'm around one, I'll be tempted to buy it. Since most of my stuff is sony, i have plenty of MS's so that is no worry for me. I just can't wait to be around one to test it out.

I have that purchase on the spot weekness too, only age and being married has helped me to battle it. But a few years back I would've bought all 3 game systems, the DS, the PSP and probalby own about 10 PDAs now. :)

I checked out he PSP at E3, it wasn't enough to make me really really want one. Tis also why I'm waiting for a few. If it's like the PS2, it will have many years of life, so buying in later won't bother me, but I'm still on the fence.

I'm the proud owner of only 2 MS sticks and it's all I'll ever need. Since I got my iPod the other year, I have not needed any more then that.

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What's your source?

It's been on Slashdot and all over web, plus my friend is a manager at GameCrazy and goes to all the game conventions, so I get quite a bit of info from him.

The battery life was mentioned at E3 and Sony's official comment is that depending on the game, depends on the life. But for the heavy hitters, 2 hours is pretty much it.

Here's just a couple of links;
http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4010
http://engadget.com/entry/7043728849548149/


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I have that same weakness, and marriage and children are most definately a cure.

I would be in the poor house if it weren't for the weef and her stable heed. :)

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Meh. I asked because IGN's battery journal told kind of a different story.
http://psp.ign.com/articles/574/574557p1.html

Who knows though. It also sounds like those minor errors with the UMD popping is minor and can be fixed easily, if what they assume is the problem turns out to be so. When it comes stateside, I think it will work out. In the end, it sounds like I'll have to buy another battery back for serious on the go gaming.

There is also rumor of a beta firmware revamp that includes voice chat, email software, internet browser, and other stuff. No word on if it's true, but with built in wifi, I don't see why not.

Someone could write e-mail software for the PSP. I've already heard from my friend that one is in the works for the DS. But this is not why I buy portable game machines, so I will be avoiding those options.

IGN got an astounding 2:46 minutes with Wi-fi play. :)

Here's an interview with Sony about it;
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/1...s_6114909.htmlf

"Ridge Racers seems to last somewhere between 90 minutes and three hours."

90 minutes would really suck. My Powerbook with a 15" screen, wi-fi and and the workings of a real computer gets just over 3 hours with heavy use. I get about 5 on conserve mode. Sony really needs to rethink this battery thing. But my hats off to them for getting the price down from over $400.

That article has something new that I didn't even think of, " Slow Load times."

Hopefully the American release resolves theses issues. Apple more then doubled doubled the iPod's battery life by using a different way of managing it's power.

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Yes, it also got rated around 5 hours with heavy UMD use and about 3 hours trying to squeeze as much performance out of it as they could. Average? 4 hours.


Indeed, I'd like to know what kind of tests they did and compare them to IGN's findings. Because, as you probably noticed with the IGN's tests, they used the same game, and seem to have some sort of different numbers. However, without explanation, I'm not so sure I'd trust their statement. And I'd be willing to bet that there is no way that the PSP with Ridge Racer would last at best 90 minutes.

Also, I don't think it's fair to compare the PSP to an apple powerbook. Apples to oranges, if you'll pardon the pun.



Now here is where things get troubling. I have read that it can take up to 8 seconds to load from the MS, and 25 seconds to load from the UMD. That is lame. Also, it looks like the games are going to be region locked; Japan's titles seem to have a lock on them, who knows about american titles.

Some good things are coming through for us clie users who might have memory sticks already. You'll be able to watch movies on the PSP through MS, and it supports MPEG-4 movies. There's already software with the PSP that converts it apparently.

Here is a port for Tony Hawk's series. It just looks INCREDIBLE.
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=4328&type=mov

And here is an awesome article about voice chat and translators that are in the process of being put together for the PSP
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/conten...me=new&aid=3776

I think there is going to be some awesome things in store for this new handheld.

Pictures you say?

Linked cause I broke tables
http://homies.go-dedicated.com/Imag...15072938465.jpg


Shawn of the Dead playing on the PSP


And just cause I know someone around here has a DS (TEEHEE!!)

I get 6 solid hours playing Ridge Racers on full brightness. Any talk of 1-3 hours out of the PSP playing *any* of the current games is malarky spread by people who don't own the device and are just quoting old rumors from before the release.

Movie watching, I get 3+ hours, which is streaming from Memory Stick.

Load times have also been grossly exaggerated. The only game thus far that I've even been remotely annoyed by has been Darkstalkers/Vampire Chronicle. It does take into the 20-ish seconds to load and streams too much during attract mode (hence IGN's use of it to 'hard test' the battery life). But between levels, it's not a big deal. Ridge Racers load times aren't bad at all.