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Portables (Games) PlayStation (Games) Entertainment Games

PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced 421

Posted by timothy from the you-mean-it-has-batteries dept.
zmcnulty writes "The day has finally come: Over at TechJapan, we've got a translation of a Japanese BB Watch article stating that Sony has announced the Playstation Portable will cost 20,790 yen (about $195 USD) and is to be released on December 12th. Also, the battery life is quoted as being 4 to 6 hours. Not exactly what I'd call fantastic, but at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition. Free your doubts about software too, as Sony has announced 21 titles will be released in December as well. Here's the official Japanese PDF press release regarding the PSP's release."
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PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced More

PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced

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  • Battery Life (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tom7 ( 102298 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:50AM (#10640640) Homepage Journal
    Just remember that 4-6 hours really means 2-3 hours.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Insightful)

        by SetupWeasel ( 54062 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:15AM (#10640815) Homepage
        Don't forget that any game that uses Wi-Fi will chew up a lot more energy.
      • It'll be the heavy duty 3D processing that sucks up the juice even more.
      • I'm sure it depends on what you're doing. If you're watching a movie, sure, it'll probably be low, since they'll need to keep the drive spinning and spinning. For games, though, if they only spin up the drive when they absolutely need it, they can probably eek the 6 hours out of it.

        You probably has very little experience with gaming consoles. Usually they are shipped with very small non-upgradeable RAM. In case of PS2, it's mere 32 MB. Usually, there's no harddrive (and even if there is one, a console g

        • Re:Battery Life (Score:3, Insightful)

          by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

          That's why the laser in your console wears out much faster than that in CD/DVD drive of your home computer.

          Uh, I don't think that's why. I have seven Toshiba 2x SCSI CDROM drives that date back to the Taft administration that were used in a cdrom server at Cisco, where several of them were spinning more or less constantly. They still work fine. The reason the laser in your (Sony) console wears out much faster than in a CD/DVD drive is that sony can't make a reliable laser unit for any amount of money

      • Re:Battery Life (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Trejkaz ( 615352 )
        Imagine if they just used cartridges in the first place. Oh, the power savings!

    • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Insightful)

      by chrismcdirty ( 677039 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:52AM (#10640655) Homepage
      Really. 4-6 hours with minimal disc-spinning. On a game where the disc is constantly streaming to reduce load times -- or a movie -- you'll probably get 1-3 hours if you're lucky.

      • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @11:34AM (#10643210)
        Posting anonymously since my company is under NDA (though I'm not personally working with this device).

        Sony's requirements allow spinning the disk only during level loading and not during gameplay. It seems reasonable that they will relax this if you can pull something incredible off, but expect most games to make minimal use of streaming.

    • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Informative)

      by wheany ( 460585 ) <wheany+sd@iki.fi> on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:43AM (#10641047) Homepage Journal
      From the press release: [scei.co.jp]

      PSP features an integrated high output lithium-ion battery that provides play time of between 4 and 6 hours for game titles and continuous 4 to 5 hours for video viewing. (SCEI actual measurement) [...] Measurement conditions: display luminance set to maximum (180 cd/m2) and minimum (80 cd/m2) while volume is set to half of the maximum level, headphone in use and wireless LAN not in use.

      • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Insightful)

        by NonSequor ( 230139 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @09:43AM (#10641605) Journal
        Battery life estimates are always complete fabrications. I don't care if they do claim this is the result of actual tests rather than wishful thinking. I've never owned any battery powered device that met the manufacturer's battery life estimates.

        Dividing the estimate by two is usually pretty close to the actual battery life, but it can be worse than that.

        I doubt that the DS will live up to its battery life estimate either. We'll have to see how both of them perform when they come out.

        • Re:Battery Life (Score:3, Interesting)

          by TLSPRWR ( 711680 )
          For the original GBA, unless they gave an estimate of around 40 hours, that divide by two theory doesn't work. On their website, they have it listed as a battery life of 15 hours [nintendo.com], though I've had a GBA last almost 24 hours on a single pair of AA batteries (volume off and on about half the time, no screen lighting). That's playing it about 30 minutes to an hour almost every day, and not having to change the batteries but once (or perhaps twice) a month.

          I'm not sure about the GBASP, but I'm sure it gets ove

          • GBA SP (Score:3, Interesting)

            by sbszine ( 633428 )
            I get 10 hours with backlight on from my SP, so this seems reasonable. (I have the sound off, tho', 'cos there's no sodding headphone jack).

        • Re:Battery Life (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 )
          I wouldn't doubt the DS. Nintendo has a consistent history with its portables of announcing VERY conservative estimates for battery life, wireless range, etc, and then far exceeding them. Which if you think about it, makes sense from a marketing standpoint because people get a pleasant surprise rather than an unpleasant one, and its not like the numbers Nintendo offers are bad even though they're conservative. As it is now they're still better than the PSP numbers.

          So what it ultimately comes down to is t

    • Don't write the PSP off (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Meet the new competitor... same as the old competitors? Maybe not.

      ISTR my Atari Lynx having a 4-6 hour battery life... my Game Gear, too. I think the TurboExpress' batteries were rated to last 6 hours, too (they could only make it for about 3).

      All three machines generally had better games and specs which crushed the Gameboy's.

      But, all of the Gameboy's past competitors have also debuted at prices 2x or more the cost of a Gameboy system. Sony isn't making that mistake - and it could be the most important

    • Re:Battery Life (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Dogers ( 446369 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @09:04AM (#10641248)
      A more important question...
      How long does it take to CHARGE?

  • I think (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MarkVVV ( 740454 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:51AM (#10640644)
    I will wait until someone test this out to check real battery life.

    • Re:I think (Score:5, Interesting)

      by The Desert Palooka ( 311888 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @09:39AM (#10641572)
      I agree... Nintendo seems to have a tendency to underquote the actual battery and range of things... Like the wavebird, as mentioned before, they say it has 20 ft of range, in reality it has 90ft... Also they only say something is a feature when it's in there rock solid... Basically they seem to go Worst Case, Sony, in my experience, seems to go Best Case... and then pull back the specs as they can't accomplish certain things...

      I'm going with the DS. Nintendo understands the crucial points of this market... Price point, and battery life.

  • 4-6 hours (Score:3, Funny)

    by justforaday ( 560408 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:51AM (#10640650)
    That's 4 to 6 hours in standby mode, right?

  • 4-6 hours is not enough (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 ) <vasqzr.netscape@net> on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:52AM (#10640656)

    Game Gear and Lynx both advertised '4-6 hour battery life'

    They both failed. Why? They ate through batteries too fast.

    The original Gameboy lasted 15-35 hours. If I took my Gameboy on a family trip, I'd get bored of it before the batteries ran out.

    • Re:4-6 hours is not enough (Score:4, Insightful)

      by iapetus ( 24050 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:00AM (#10640715) Homepage
      With PSP, of course, the batteries are rechargeable. The killer with GG and Lynx was that you had to spend the GDP of a small European country on batteries just to keep the thing going.

      I'm planning on playing it on the train to and from work. 4 hours is fine for that, and I can recharge it overnight, just like I do with my GBA SP currently.
    • Game Gear was actually a decent device. Both it and the Lynx did *not* have nearly the library that the Gameboy did.

      Also, back in their time, these devices ran on double a's and triple a's and couldn't be recharged easily. They failed because of the 4-6 hour life, yes, but because not everyone had a battery recharger, and a quick means to recharge them was not available.

      I find currently that if I'm not done playing my current GBA after 4-6 hours, then my neck and back generally regret it the next day.

  • Yikes!!! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatmanNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @07:54AM (#10640673) Homepage Journal
    Two hundred smackers for something you might accidentally leave on the bus. Nintendo has the right idea, I think. $80 for a brand new Game Boy SP, with older models selling at even cheaper prices.

    • Re:Yikes!!! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by -noefordeg- ( 697342 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:02AM (#10640730)
      Uhhh.. Are you serious?

      My mobile phone costs A LOT more. My sunglasses costs more. My wrist watch costs more. My ring.

      If it's worth it I buy it. I don't buy a rocks because they are not so expensive to lose. Even tho it could be fun, in a retarded way, to have two rocks and bang them together, or fling them at people.
      If PSP is a great toy with great games $200 would be next to nothing.

      • Wow...that point was completely missed (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        "My mobile phone costs A LOT more. My sunglasses costs more. My wrist watch costs more. My ring"

        And how many of these have you bought for an 8-10 year old child?

        Do you think the criteria for an adult purchase is different than that of a child's purchase? Do you think the primary audience for a portable game system is children or adults?

        • Re:Wow...that point was completely missed (Score:4, Insightful)

          by 10Ghz ( 453478 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:27AM (#10640904)
          And how many of these have you bought for an 8-10 year old child?


          Then don't buy it for that kid. Give him etch-a-sketch instead.

          Do you think the criteria for an adult purchase is different than that of a child's purchase? Do you think the primary audience for a portable game system is children or adults?


          looking at some of the comments on /. and elsewhere, adults seems to be a HUGE market for portable game-machines! And with devices like PSP, it might become even more adult-oriented activity. Why should portable game-machines be meant for kids only? Because Nintento is dominant there, and they focus more on childish games like Pokemon and it's numerous offsprings?
          • Right. Because we all know that games with attitude are instantly better than ones that are inherently creative. I'd much rather play Jak & Daxter PSP than Super Mario 64DS because that crazy Daxter is sooo much more mature than a plumber.

        • Re:Wow...that point was completely missed (Score:5, Insightful)

          by marmoset ( 3738 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:47AM (#10641090) Homepage Journal
          The PS1 and PS2 weren't targeted at that age range, they were aimed at 16-35 yr olds with disposable income. Why would you think Sony would be changing tactics with the PSP?

      • Re:Yikes!!! (Score:4, Funny)

        by D'Sphitz ( 699604 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:13AM (#10640803) Journal
        we're all happy you're so succesful, but in reality most people don't sleep naked atop a big pile of cash as you do.

      • Tell me more. (Score:5, Funny)

        by Bill, Shooter of Bul ( 629286 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:44AM (#10641057) Journal
        I need to know a couple of things about you for my next ... er ... "Job". Where do you live? What kind of a Car do you drive? Do you have a home security sytem? Do you have any Guard dogs that I should be aware of? Does your car have an alarm? Does your car have Guard dogs and/or any trunk monkies? Whats the easiest way to break in your house? Do you or any of your other family memebers carry any conceled weapons? What night of the week is the house usually empty? Where do you keep your valuables? Do you have a Safe? What is the combination to your Safe? Do you have any Life Insurance? Could You make me the Sole benificiary of said Insurance Policy? Do You have fire Insurance? Have you ever considered the benifits of Insurance Fraud?

        Get Back to me as soon as possible! That way I will be able to ... Uh... "advise" you sooner.

    • Re:Yikes!!! (Score:2, Informative)

      by kkrista ( 814366 )

      Nintendo has the right idea, I think. $80 for a brand new Game Boy SP, with older models selling at even cheaper prices.

      Just keep in mind that as of 11/21 that $80 Game Boy SP will be an older model. The Nintendo DS rings in at $149.

    • Yeah, that sort of problem has really cut into portable MP3 players. I mean, it isn't like they are selling millions of the things.

      • Damn.. Forgot to mention that.

        I've bought 4 portable mp3 players the last 18 months. All in the range of 1200-1800NOK or around $180-270.
        I just need to have some music when run/walk/do workout and these small gadgets to get worn out, fast. And they are easy to lose :-/
        But that doesn't stop me from buying them and not some old walkman for $15. Because I want the music player to me small, very small and not prone to skipping when it get bumped around.
        The smaller they are the more they costs. That's a tradeof
  • I still take the 4-6 hours of battery life to be optimistic given their past articles wrote on this topic.
    There are articles like this one circulating the web that says developers are responsible for good battery life on the PSP

    http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=2305 [gamesarefun.com]

    What are developers going to do ? Randomly decrease the screen brightness or turn off the screen for a couple seconds at a time ? Half the processor speed ?

    Maybe games like Metal Gear Acid and Gran Turismo run fine for 4-6 hour

  • Movies (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Ionizer7 ( 814098 )
    For 195$, this is a cheap alternative to a portable DVD player. This feature alone might get me to buy one, not to mention it also plays games.

    • Not really (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tkrotchko ( 124118 ) * on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:02AM (#10640735) Homepage
      " this is a cheap alternative to a portable DVD player

      It can't play DVD's.

      And unlike portable media players, you can't convert videos to a different format and download; you'll have to either buy your movies again in a new format or hope that Sony's new movie format catches on so that you can rent them.

      Not terribly appealing, particularly since cheap portable DVD players can be purchased for well under $200 these days.

  • EB Games PSP Game list (Score:2, Informative)

    by Fr05t ( 69968 )
    http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/products/dep tpage.asp?wherefrom=search&searchword=psp

    The preorder ship date on all of them is 12/20/2004.

  • Gamespot article with more info (Score:5, Informative)

    by mrluisp ( 724199 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:01AM (#10640722)
    Including game titles to be released in December:
    Article [gamespot.com]

  • Add another one to the pile (Score:4, Funny)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:01AM (#10640725) Homepage
    Non-gaming content for the proprietary 1.8GB "Universal Media Disc" (UMD) used by the PSP will go on sale from Spring 2005.
    Ah! Another proprietary media format from Sony that will not catch on. I guess they wanted to give Betamax, minidisk and memory stick, etc. some company.
    • Its worth noting, of course, that the PSP uses Memory Stick Magic Gate media for its memory cards (which has the added benefit of being hooked up via USB to a computer for backing up your saves, etc.).

    • Re:Add another one to the pile (Score:5, Insightful)

      by generic-man ( 33649 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:41AM (#10641029) Homepage Journal

      The UMD is about as open as all the other gaming formats for portable game systems out there:

      • Game Boy cartridge
      • Game Boy Advance cartridge
      • TurboExpress HuCard
      • Atari Lynx card
      • Game Gear cartridge
      • Sega Genesis cartridge
      • NeoGeo Pocket (color) cartridge
      • ...and the list goes on.

      What successful portable game system has used any sort of "standard" media? The Game Park GP32 doesn't count; it's not successful, and SmartMedia hasn't been "standard" for years.

  • Price (Score:5, Insightful)

    by devmage ( 685080 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:02AM (#10640728) Homepage
    Given the anounced price and the speculative pricing I guess Sony decided to take a hefty loss on the hardware. Either that or they found some really creative ways to cut costs.

    • Re:Price (Score:2, Funny)

      by miyako ( 632510 )
      Either that or they found some really creative ways to cut costs.
      your probably right, and that scares me. Seriously though, they are probably willing to take a hefty loss on this if they think that it will mean standardization on one of their proprietary formats. I wouldn't be suprised if their line of thinking went something like.
      • step 1: release PSP with proprietary format
      • step 2: ???
      • step 3: proprietary format is now used in every portable media device in the world.
      • step 4: profit!

      where step 2 pro

    • Chances are that they're taking a loss, and the basic reasoning for it all is that (a) they get a lot of money in game licenses from 3rd parties, and (b) getting it out now means they can potentially damage the DS launch. So even though they lose money in the short run, they're gambling that the system will catch on and they'll make it all back later.

    • Re:Price (Score:3, Interesting)

      by StikyPad ( 445176 )
      I'm not so sure hardware costs are all that high..

      I bought a 16k color phone with WAP, GPS, et al for 13,000Y (~$100US at the time) with no service contract. And that was two years ago. Although, the demand for items like this is much higher in Japan than in the US, so they probably make up for it in volume. Computer hardware, for example, is no cheaper in Japan than in the US; it's actually higher in many cases. I think Sony's taking a gamble that the PSP will do well, which it probably will.

      Also, to

  • White Headphones (Score:4, Funny)

    by PhotoBoy ( 684898 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:02AM (#10640734)
    Looks like it's not just iPod owners who will be mugged based on the colour of the PSP's headphones.

  • Only 4-6 hours? (Score:3, Informative)

    by AC-x ( 735297 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:03AM (#10640740)
    That's not really enough. Last time I used my GBA I was on a 12 hour flight. While it's good that the battery is removable it I don't perticaully want to have to buy several (presumably expensive) custom batteries for it. If they had used AA form factor (some digital cameras can take AAs and a special Lion pck) then I could just get a load of cheap rechargables for it.
  • Check out the PDF if it's still loading. I have absolutely no knowledge of Japanese, but I was able to make out a lot of the stats on the PDF (well, the ones in English, but thats a lot of them).

    For example, 128 bit AES is listed as a feature. Does anyone know what thats going to be for?

  • competition? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by octal666 ( 668007 )
    at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition.

    The NDS has double battery life, is significantlly cheaper, and can run games from the gba. Where is the competition? I'm only seen a better N-Gage, but without the phone. It's been born dead.

    • Re:competition? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by The Only Druid ( 587299 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:31AM (#10640932)
      Well, the PSP has a better screen (both in resolution, size and aspect ratio), is significantly faster and more powerful (featuring PS2 ports from the get-go with full true 3d as opposed to n64 graphics on the DS), is aesthetically MUCH more pleasing, is more hackable (thanks to the fact that its got USB interface built in, including using that as a firmware upgrade vector according to the developers)...sounds like comeptition to me.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm not tossing my GBA SP, but I'm not even thinking about buying a DS but I'm debating the PSP.
  • So, even the staunchest of Sony fanboys have to concede that when it comes to creativity and battery life, Nintendo's going to win this round. But I still don't think it's going to be a repeat of Game Gear vs. Gameboy.

    For starters, look at the launch titles for the DS:

    Super Mario 64 DS
    Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt (demo)
    Pictochat (built-in)
    Feel the Magic: XY/XX
    Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
    Ridge Racer DS
    Madden NFL 2005
    Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf
    The Urbz: Sims in the City
    Asphalt Urban GT
    Rayman DS
    Spider-Man 2
    • I think the key difference between the two systems is Nintendo's dedication to innovation. Both consoles will put more gaming power into a portable package than ever before.

      But Sony's going to use that power to exploit proven franchises and game concepts. People can play their favorite kinds of games with great graphics on the go, and that's a huge selling point.

      Nintendo is going to use its console's power to do more than push polygons: Nintendo will (like Nintendo always does) create great games that ha
      • Nintendo will (like Nintendo always does) create great games that have a child-like sense of pure fun.

        This is why I love Nintendo... but in this market, I don't know if it'll help them. It's not "hip" these days to admit you like Zelda's cel-shaded look, or enjoyed Mario Sunshine.

        I don't think the PSP will rule over the DS like the PS1 did over the N64, but the jury's still out. One advantage in the DS' favor: portable systems are intrinsically more interesting to kids than adults.
    • so you're saying that some of the DS's features are not going to counteract the game selection. OK, both have wireless gaming, but DS can cash in on the numerous GBA titles already out there (which is one of the reasons that I will actually be getting a DS). On top of it, I know the battery life will be good. On top of that, I know the sucker will be durable (a big plus for something portable).
      I imagine that most people who want to watch movies would buy it to play DVDs, not to have to buy a select few o

    • They have a more mature and diverse lineup of games with a much better stable of 3rd-party developers, and anyone who says the PSP's screen isn't just plain sexy is a liar.

      I really hate the way "mature" in video games has become equivalent to either "violent" or "raunchy." There's no way I'll look at GTA3 and call it mature, as it's pretty much running around shooting things ad infinitum. Deathmatch games aren't mature... its a bunch of kids running around with finger pistols shouting "bang bang you're

      • I really hate the way "mature" in video games has become equivalent to either "violent" or "raunchy."

        Hold up a minute. This is Slashdot, and I fully expected to get trolled and mod-bombed over a post critical of anything Nintendo does, but I'm really getting sick of the argument you and a billion other Nintendo fanboys keep spouting off about.

        I didn't say anything about violence in games. I sure as hell didn't say anything about GTA3 - that has to be the single most overrated franchise next to, perhaps

        • Nintendo's portable systems are dominated by games like, say, Golden Sun, Megaman: Battle Network, and Pokemon. In each instance, the main character is extremely young, the dialogue is insultingly simple and/or convoluted

          Oh, so you think Nintendo's the only one putting out simple, kid-friendly games? Go browse the PS1 and PS2 title lists at GameFAQs sometime.

          And that's to say nothing about all the games for Nintendo systems which don't fit your "kiddie" criteria in any way, shape, or form. I notice you d
    • It's nothing but a couple sports games, a couple platformers, two racers and a bunch of gimicky nonsense.

      You say that like it's a bad thing. For an opening line-up having a couple of sports, racing, and platform titles is good. They're the main genres that people are attracted to. And Nintendo always take their time getting their first generation of games on a new system perfected. But that results in top-notch games, look at Super Mario World (SNES), Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros Melee (N

    • "It's nothing but a couple sports games, a couple platformers, two racers and a bunch of gimicky nonsense."

      Look at the sony line up, some "X"-treme sports games, Japanese-like RPG games (blue hair, bad english dubs, wahoo), on the edge racing games, golf game, and some platformers.

      Not much different is it. Ahhh fanboyism at its finest.

  • English press releases (Score:5, Informative)

    by zmcnulty ( 548454 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:11AM (#10640788) Homepage
    Looks like the English press releases are up (still PDFs, though):

    Release date, price [scei.co.jp]
    Package details [scei.co.jp]
    December launch title list [scei.co.jp]

    Also, I apologize for the error I made in formatting the original post. I was sleepy and in a rush.

  • Now we know what the 1st 3rd party accessory is. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gldm ( 600518 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:13AM (#10640802)
    A clip on battery. Just like the first addon for the Advance was a clip on light so you could see the awful screen. And the first one for the SP was a headphone jack to replace the one nintendo took out.

    Game systems often have their weak points adressed by other companies. Except Microsoft, who decided just outright buying Bungie was better than waiting for someone to fix their no games anyone gives a damn about problem.

  • Cool for travelers (Score:3, Interesting)

    by binaryDigit ( 557647 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:19AM (#10640846)
    Having the wifi would be interesting for travellers. Imagine going to the airport and joining in in established games with other travellers. If the game had an online version (in addition to multiplayer), you could continue the game with other people you met. Also, if the airlines start allowing wifi usage on the plane, then you could play against others in flight. Heck, the airline could sponser tournies and what not. This could be an interesting opportunity for developers to come up with some interesting games/apps geared specifically for those who have between 1/2 hour to 4 hours to "play".
    • I'm sorry but that's a pipedream. Granted there will be more PSP's than ngage's, but have you ever heard of people meeting up at the airport see someone else playing an ngage and start playing with them?

      Or even hooking up two GBA's randomly? There's an awhful lot of those out there last I checked.
  • Seriously! I want to be able to watch Xvids on there -- 1.8gb is enough for LOTR, encoded at 320x240x15fps, audio 11hz stereo.

    Whether the battery can last that long is another story...
  • ...but Gamespot said the pice is going to be ~$185. Not a huge deal, but $10 = more than 5% of the price. Also, it makes for a $35 difference between it and the DS.

    We can also speculate that when the PSP comes out in the states it will be even cheaper, as consoles tend to be more expensive on launch in Japan.

    • Except the DS, which is $140 in Japan and $150 in the US. Ditto for the new PSTwo. I think the $185 in Japan will become $195 here, but it's because the USD isn't doing so great these days vs. the Yen.
  • but at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition

    Game Boy Advance
    cost: $100
    battery life: 15-19 hours [*]

    PSP:
    cost: $195
    battery life: 5-6 hours [*]

    [*] as stated by manufacturer, real times are shorter

    Obviously you're talking about competition for Nintendo's upcoming DS, but that GBA is a monster to reckon with...one with a excellent library of games.

  • People are forgetting the important thing.... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by oZZoZZ ( 627043 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:27AM (#10640906)
    the games..
    That's all that really matters. Have you looked at the lineup for the two systems on ebgames?
    Nintendo's games are, for the most part, hand-hend games. The GBA's best titles (Advance Wars, FFT:A), would not work as home console games. They were designed specifically to be 'pick up and play', and put down for an hour, then play again.
    The PSP seems to have mostly ports of PS2 games. This won't work, but I suspect most people will ignore this fact, and be turned on by the sexy graphics of the PSP, and the PSP will do well, with shitty games, because most people are too stupid to base their opinion on anything that matters anyway.

    • You're smoking what now? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by oGMo ( 379 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @11:20AM (#10642996)
      the games.. That's all that really matters. Have you looked at the lineup for the two systems on ebgames? Nintendo's games are, for the most part, hand-hend games. The GBA's best titles (Advance Wars, FFT:A), would not work as home console games. They were designed specifically to be 'pick up and play', and put down for an hour, then play again.

      GBA games are mostly ports of console games. FFTA is basically a watered-down version of the original FFT, which was for PSX (and worked quite well there). Ports of all the Super Mario Allstars games (as individual carts), ports of Zelda, ports/remakes of old games (Shining, Phantasy Star, Final Fantasy Adventure/Sword of Mana, Metroid ZM, direct NES title ports).

      The few titles that have been original (Golden Sun, Metroid Fusion, etc.; you know the ones) haven't been that great, either. Castlevania has been good. Wario Ware was funny and fun. Advance Wars was good. But c'mon here. I bought a GBA and a GBA SP, hoping for a whole new lineup of SNES-era games, and all I got was ports.

      The PSP seems to have mostly ports of PS2 games. This won't work, but I suspect most people will ignore this fact, and be turned on by the sexy graphics of the PSP, and the PSP will do well, with shitty games, because most people are too stupid to base their opinion on anything that matters anyway.

      I don't know what you're smoking, but you obviously haven't had beyond a cursory glance at what the PSP will be offering. You saw Gran Turismo 4, and heard that there would be Metal Gear, and though "ports!"

      There are already a good number of original games lined up. Ren Goku. Mercury. Metal Gear Acid (no, this is not a port, and no, the fact it's turn-based is actually pretty logical). The Gagharv. Ten No Kagi. Many more, go look (psp.ign.com or the like).

      It is all about the games. That's what Sony has to offer: a great selection of original games.

  • sounds better now (Score:2, Interesting)

    by sknja ( 196640 )
    I think sony is making the correct steps to get this product out. The battery life althoguh short will most likely improve, and the price of the unit really is not that bad.

    My question is... will ther be a region lock. The interview with Kawanishi-san makes me believe there will be region locks on all the systems. That really dissapoints me. If that is the case then I wont be playing any american games for this bad boy...

  • So we have Sony and Nintendo lining up to battle each other over portable gaming dominance. Any word on Microsoft? They willing to lose more money yet? The most unfortunate portion of that entire statement is that I own both an Xbox and a Gamecube. So I guess I should really be rooting for Microsoft to at least make some profit. Need more games for the Xbox and all that.

    The coolness feature I like about the PSP is it's WiFi integration. Able to game online through your home router according to the artic


  • The PSX was inferior to the N64. The PS2 is inferior to the GC and the Xbox.

    But, they got the products out to market first. And, they treated the developers good, even if it isn't a easy platform to develop for. Plus, they didn't use any fancy, proprietary, and expensive media formats (such as the N64 cartridges or the GC's mini-CD's)

    They don't have any of these advantages this time.

  • Finally!!! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by TJ_Phazerhacki ( 520002 )
    Alright! I can finish a movie without a backpack-battery! Woo Hoo!

    Seriously, though. If it had a 2 hour life, I'd still consider it. This thing looks gorgeous, and I am not really away from an outlet for more than 2 hours at a time (let alone able to play for more than 2 hours, sheesh.)

    I make a sacrifice with my Area51m every day, and it's one I made a conscious decision about when I bought the thing. Buy what fits you best - If you want to play 6 hours a day, and recharge the thing on weekends, get a G

  • Look at the claims too, This thing is hyped. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by El Camino SS ( 264212 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:52AM (#10641127)
    Some of the claims of this are ridiculous.

    1. Four to six hour battery life.

    I would guess that it would be less than that. Playstation 2 processor and a beautiful screen? It will eat those batteries alive. Those screens don't just bust out all of those colors so efficiently.

    2. Plays movies in letterbox format.

    Correction. Plays movies in a proprietary format in letterbox. If you can rip to and burn these disks, great. If you can't, then you are just buying another movie on the same old format. Remember, the market has never loved the better format, the market has only loved the cheaper and more universal format. *Cough* Betamax *cough*

    Sony, of all people, you should know this!

    3. Plays awesome video games.

    Making Metal Gear into a card battle game? That is the one they keep showing? Aw, Cmon! Card battle? Has any American bought a card battle video game besides the PA guys? I admit I haven't researched them all, but if you just show Solid Snake and you can't control him directly (an amazing NES feature), you just lost me. Why did they do that? Is there a limitation that allows you to not control him directly? Is the Wifi/processor too slow to go head to head? Does the disc not hold enough image space for a full experience? Is there a RAM issue? Look, it just doesn't make any sense why it is card battle. I think that it is a card battle game because there is a limitation somewhere. They shortchanged something in the machine, and they said "we can't do Solid Snake like we should, make it card battle so it doesn't have to cache so much!" If it was Konami's idea to try something different? Then they need to stop sniffing glue, and remember that interactivity is not what card battle is about.

    4. It will revolutionize the way that people carrry around data and information.

    Uh, not without a hard drive. Hard drives are where it's at these days. Not much more to say.

    Look, it's a toy. It is not a personal video player. If you purchase movies in that format with no video out, then you are just totally messed in the head. I'll be sitting next to you on the plane with a only slightly larger flip-top DVD player with a slightly crappier screen, AND A BAG FULL OF DVDs. When I get to my hotel room, I'll plug it in the back of the TV, and watch them all night. Why? Because I bought something that is agreeable with the rest of the world, and I bought it cheaper at Sam's Club or Costco. If I lose it, or somene rips it off, I'm not crying.

    (Walking on the plane with the new PSP)
    "Hey, I have two movies that I payed $30 for! Let's see, we have FF:Spirits within or Akira! I sure won't get tired of these titles! Nah, let's card battle with Solid Snake, YEAH!"

    Conclusion? It is a game machine. If you buy it for any other reason than the games, you're fooling yourself. You certainly don't want to get into yet another proprietary format that you cannot mess with without outrageous expense, when everyone is just getting to the phase where they now start burning their own home movies on DVD.

    At least Nintendo knows what they make are toys. Nintendo is out to maximize the toy experience, not add crap on top and charge you for it. I do believe I will be buying the PSP2 if I buy one, when all of the features make sense. Sony needs to get a grip on the idea that they go and bust out a new format every two years, and then surprise, no one buys it. Can you get a PSP disc recorder? Can you even buy blank media?

    Not that it would matter... ...ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the NEW minidisc player.

  • Comparison (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Metroid72 ( 654017 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @08:55AM (#10641152)
    Great, now the press can start comparing apples vs. apples [slashdot.org].

  • PSP v. PS2 (Score:3, Informative)

    by marktaw.com ( 816752 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @09:03AM (#10641233) Homepage
    According to the developer of the PSP in an interview [slashdot.org], the PSP should be about as powerful as the PS2, and the batteries are replaceable, so you can carry a spare. Judging by the size of the new PS2, it's easy to believe they fit that kind of power in to a handheld. The question is: Do people really want to be able to take Metal Gear [konamijpn.com] with them wherever they go? By the way, look at that trailer!! Wow if the graphics are that gorgeous, people could be buying a PSP to keep alongside their PS2 as another console.

  • there is no magic battery out there... (Score:3)

    by jxyama ( 821091 ) on Wednesday October 27, 2004 @09:30AM (#10641492)
    >Also, the battery life is quoted as being 4 to 6 hours. Not exactly what I'd call fantastic

    for the feature set, 4-6 hours is what you can expect given the current battery technology. there is no battery right now that can give significantly more than this to drive the specs PSP have. (otherwise, everyone else would be using it and our expectations would be different.) if it gave better than 4-6 hours, then some of the features would be removed and then people would be complaining about that.

    or do you think sony implemented a battery draining system on purpose to reduce the battery life? there's not magic battery out there. if you want to call something not "fantastic," how about the law of nature and the state of technology/engineering/manufacturing?

    • It's not about the battery, it's that they've specced themselves out of the competition.

      Every handheld that has ever come out after Gameboy has always had better specs than Gameboy. You don't win on better specs. You win on games and battery life, and better games does not mean console ports.

      Nintendo has sold more Gameboys than Sony has sold PSX and PS2s combined, they know what they are doing.

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