Specs for Sony PSP Handheld 497
doctor_no writes "Sony has announced the specs for its upcoming handheld gaming device,
the PSP, at their PlayStation Meeting 2003. Most interesting is that this device promises Playstation 2 level graphics, a compact 1.8GB media, Wireless 802.11, USB 2.0, 7.1 channel Audio, and a
24bit 16x9 screen TFT LCD screen. Sony has called this device the 'Walkman for the 21st Century', and plans to allow the user to enjoy
movies and music for the device, along with games. Full specs can be found at ZDNet Japan. The PSP will debut at next year's E3."
my dear lord.... (Score:5, Interesting)
the reason Sony does as well as it does in the videogame market is because it tries to find out what it's competitor does well, and improves upon it. I'm not saying this is going to be a GBA killer, (price is going to be a big factor) [slashdot.org] but it looks as if there is finally going to be a viable GBA competitor. (N-Gage [n-gage.com] eat your heart-out.)
but as we all know, it all comes down to software. personally, I'd love to be able to play Vice-City whenever and wherever I want.
Mike
So now.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Would it have been possible to make something that can take PS2 discs? I remember that portable PSX that guy made, it didn't seem too bad. Another idea would be to make a discman-like device you put in your pocket but it has a cable running to a screen/control pad thing. I saw a portable DVD player made by Sony at the Metreon last year based on that idea (although it was just a screen, no control pad).
Re:my dear lord.... (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds like it might be good, but PS2 calibur graphics in a hand-held will either mean it's large, really expensive, or both. Neo-Geo suffered because of its outrageous price, and I'd imagine this one would, too, if they manage to shrink down the components enough to make it a nice little, durable handheld.
Fine for small screen (Score:2, Interesting)
Makes me think back to replaying Wolf 3D on the GBA, having a tiny screen sure helps make those low-res graphics more palatable...
Audio + Copyright (Score:5, Interesting)
Why?
It's a HANDHELD!!!
I can just imagine the proprietary headphone now... it's a wrap around band for your whole head, with a subwoofer on top.
Oh and the name... PSP?
I hate to say that this guy [classicgaming.com] is already using the name....
Oh and in case I haven't karma whored enough?
Here's pics of the presentation [digitalbackspin.com]
Re:my dear lord.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Right you are, but the type of games that are playable on a portable are different from those on a standard console - The [relatively] small screen of most portables can make it difficult for many gammers to play high-action and/or immersion type games. The GBA for example is very well suited to RPG games, but I do not think I could enjoy playing a sports game (since the players would have to be very small) or a vice city type game (i just think it would be difficult to play at ~4"x4"). That said, if the PSP really has a 16x9 screen and is large enough, it could be awesome for many type of games.
The downside to the large screen of coarse is shortened playtime and a larger overall system - the GBA SP is so ultra-portable that its almost scarry.
Will be interesting to see though....hope the price is right (or at least reasonable)
Perhaps a GBA/pocket pc killer? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Walkman for the 21st Century (Score:3, Interesting)
all about screen quality and -games- (Score:4, Interesting)
whereas nintendo basically rolled over and gave up in the console market; the gameboy has fought off hoards of similarly impressive technical specifications.
sony needs a solid price, a solid lineup, and a good darn screen (properly lit the first time would be nice).
nice specs - but how about we hear a list of developers and games planned for the psp? or even the dimensions of the screen, or the battery life/recharge time?
after that 98% dip in revenue last quarter, it'll be interesting to see where sony puts its continued marketing force.
Re:Why should anyone believe them? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:my dear lord.... (Score:2, Interesting)
from the article (Score:4, Interesting)
That's quite some time for Nintendo to get serious with its Gameboy.
Re:my dear lord.... (Score:2, Interesting)
The UMD format was likely made specifically to reduce the size of the CD drive. The screen and battery don't need to take any more room than they do on the GBASP (which ain't much). So, then you've got ports... ummm... which aren't very big, really.
I think you're underestimating what can be crammed inside a little plastic box these days. Take a look at an iPod or a super-small DV cam... I think it can be done, and I hope they pull it off.
Anyone concerned about the reliability of this? (Score:4, Interesting)
How often are GBAs given to young kids? Most of the time they are.
How often do young kids take care of thier stuff? Consider that I NEVER give my GBA to a young kid, and I cringe as I hand them a PS2 contoller...
Take this device that has a rotating optical media. Take it for a drop. Is the head still going to be aligned? If yes, repeat 200 times. You just simulated a weeks worth of use. Also, what parent is going to buy thier kids this thing? That's like sending your kid to school with a laptop.
PS2 quality graphics are nice, but when they're applied to such a tiny screen, who's going to be able to read anything?
Battery life? Consider that the day they release this thing is the day that Duracell and Energizer's stock split 3 times in one day.
I think they're missing the market.
Re:my dear lord.... (+ anti-aliasing?) (Score:2, Interesting)
... And a battery life of ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Perhaps this isn't what we think it is (Score:4, Interesting)
Given that, the psOne had a negligiable impact on the sales of the GBC or GBA. Very few people bought the psOne for its portability. But perhaps Sony is amending the mistakes that made this so by including a fliptop screen that was a popular bundle with the psOne.
My dear lord, where's the MEANINGFUL specs? (Score:3, Interesting)
Honestly--I have an engineering degree and a fair bit of electronics knowledge under my belt and the stats made MY eyes glaze over. Dual MIPS4000 cores? 660nm laser diode to read a 60mm dual layer 1.8GB media disc? Hardware tesselator and surface mapper? Reconfigrable multi-channel sound DSP? Jeeeeezus who the hell cares (or even understands) besides the most hardcore geeks and hardware engineers in the videogame industry?
While all that is front and centre, why didn't the editors (of either ZDNet or Slashdot) include specs "real" people find important. What are the overall physical dimensions (not just screen size--and including the weight), amount of playing time from fully charged? How long can you play on a full charge? Can you toss in AA cells or does it use an expensive, cellphone-like battery pack? Are the discs enclosed in protective sleeves a-la 3.5" disks (being it will be used in a portable environment)? Can you connect it to an external monitor or television (I presume with "7.1" sound you could hitch it to your stereo being that 7-channel headphones or 7 tiny little speakers jammed in there would be silly)? How many and what games will be initially released?
Hell--there isn't even a picture of the damn thing! Even the folks making that "phantom" game box at least put a computer-generated mock-up out there! Is it going have a notebook-like "clamshell" design like Nintendo has moved to?
Until it's FULLY announced I consider this concept- or vapour-ware (ie. specs subject to change without notice--yes, even if it is from a big, rich outfit like Sony). I have my doubts about a product stuffed with so many processors, a mini laser disc player, USB, memory stick etc being practical from a price or portability standpoint.
I guess we'll see what chance it has when we REALLY get to see it at E3--it could be a great hit or it could merely be just small enough to slide into that shelf full of Betamax tapes that have been collecting dust for the past 15-20 years...
Not a GBA competitor (Score:4, Interesting)
Just like the SUV doesn't compete in the same market as "trucks" or "station wagons," the SUV created it's own market. And unlike the in the car industry, the PSP and GBA will not be chasing the same dollars nearly as much.
In fact, there may instead be three classes here as the NGage seems to lie somewhere between the GBA and the PSP in terms of cost and capabilities.
Effect of Optical Disc on Battery Life (Score:1, Interesting)
I don't think they're going to have a power problem, I think they have it worked out...
Peanut Gallery (Score:4, Interesting)
Beyond your issues with that one product, I have to say that most of their electronics lines are very well made, from experience no less. I've owned at least three of their portable audio products and an array of headphones and the only times any of them have ever failed me was after I abused them in some extreme way (dropped from height onto a steel deck for instance). Sony isn't the only portable audio hardware I buy (price factors in), but it is on the short list of consideration.
Sorry, but Sony does produce great hardware in most cases. You seem to have run into problems, but considering the PSX and PS2 have been the best selling consoles world wide for over a decade now should clue you in to the fact they must be doing something right. A lot of something as a matter of fact.
Clamshell PSP..? (Score:3, Interesting)
Then I remembered my trusty Sharp Wizard [underwooddist.com] organizer that solves the problem nicely. My OZ-9500 (not pictured) is about 4x6 inches and sports a nice wide screen (16:9?). This would provide any gamer with acceptable portablility (albeit not pocket) without sacrificing screen size or hardware. There aren't too many other ways to configue the unit without giving it a large footprint...
Remember, you heard it here first
this will be typical sony 'style'... (Score:1, Interesting)
for instance, all this talk about the cell processor for the ps3 seems awefully reminiscent of the talk about the rendering capabilities of the ps2. you can talk about vector capabilities until you are blue in the face, but the fact is that the system is designed by engineers for engineers. most game programmers aren't yet capable of vector programming. sony should have known this, but instead, they used it as a selling point (read: hype). how many games actually take advantage of the ps2's vector processing? very, very few. they should have engineered some full screen antialiasing in there instead. at least it would have gotten used. god knows it needs it...
Re:my dear lord.... (Score:3, Interesting)
480x272, 2.9".
audio/video output jacks (although all 3 of these could be done via the unknown extention port).
And almost certainly will be. Jack consolidation has been a trend at Sony for a while. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the voltage suply comes from USB or Firewire, actually; if you have a playstation or a Vaio, you won't even need a power block, just a cable.
Video out? For a portable? Why? (though with jack consolidation, it'd be neat.)
There's absolutely no reason for 7.1 sound if you can't output the sound to an external receiver.
Yah, 7.1 sound is kind of weird sounding to me. Maybe it's for external connections. Maybe it's intended to go over the wireless; Sony's starting to push for home integration, and I kind of think that the PS3 is going to be their set-top whammy box. I mena, the PSX (the name for the new PS2, not the thing we all called the PSX, which they now call the PS) has a 120g hard drive and a DVD burner; tell me that's not a TiVo killer on its way. If the PS3 has wi-fi, maybe the idea is that the PSP could just sync to the PS3, pipe the phat sound out, and all is well.
OTOH, remember that a lot of soundcards used to call themselves 5.1 because they were 3d-sound fakable. Is there a dolby logo or something?
And if you can do that, you'd better be able to output the video too -- since I sure wouldn't play on a tiny little screen when my TV is right in front of me.
That's what they said about the Gameboy and the GameBoy advance, too. It's proven to be wrong. That said, with the plethora of ports and wifi, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the PS3 chains the PSP to your home entertainment system.
I mean, really, the Japanese. You've gotta love them.
In the meantime, lately, Sony has been kicking ass and not even bothering to take names in the video game market. Their systems have consistently (ahem, twice, anyway, the PsOne notwithstanding) done exactly what was needed to win them a market. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Sony deal Nintendo a death blow, coming up.
Thank god SCEA is down the street.