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Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

Sony PSP Launched With Long Queues In Akihabara 358

Posted by timothy from the modern-epic-tale-of-survival dept.
Juergen writes "At 7 a.m. JST, the first shops in Tokyo's 'Electric City' Akihabara opened their doors and sold the brand-new Sony PSP to the long queues of gamers (Mirror) who had waited already for more than 24 hours in a chilly 5 degrees Celsius."
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Sony PSP Launched With Long Queues In Akihabara More

Sony PSP Launched With Long Queues In Akihabara

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  • What's a queue? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mollyhackit ( 693979 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:07AM (#11064801)
    Is it longer than the battery life?

  • weee (Score:2, Funny)

    by bLindmOnkey ( 744643 )
    Tailgate party, Anyone?

  • That line isn't as hardcore.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Peter Cooper ( 660482 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:09AM (#11064810) Homepage Journal
    ..as the insane line outside the new Apple Store in London when it opened a couple of weeks ago. People were out there in sub freezing temperatures, some for over 24 hours. I thought they were nuts, the lot of em, especially considering there was no new product on sale.

    • Re:That line isn't as hardcore.. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ISEENOEVIL ( 206770 ) * on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:35AM (#11064890) Homepage
      Yes, the line outside the Regent Street opening was definitely quite insane, but fun. As first in line I had a wonderful time and would wait just as long if I had the chance again. The temperatures were just around freezing and there were times when it was hard to stick it out, however, there were plenty of things to do to keep warm. For all those waiting for the PSP launch I can imagine they had a good time and believe it or not 24 hours goes by fast...atleast for an Apple opening. Come to think of it, I don't remember standing in line 48 hours at all on one of the busiest streets in London. Crazy? Maybe. A good time? No doubt about it. Have a writeup of the being first in line at http://www.stormyshippy.com/ [stormyshippy.com]
    • The first in line for the San Francisco store opening was there three days in advance. I felt bad for his preteen kid, who didn't look too excited to be there.
    • People were out there in sub freezing temperatures, some for over 24 hours.

      Well, they *are* Mac users. Confirmed certifiable if you ask me.

    • Re:That line isn't as hardcore.. (Score:4, Funny)

      by zeno_2 ( 518291 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @07:55AM (#11065515)
      Last night on the news I saw people in line to buy tickets for the first Boston Red Sox game vs. the Yankees. I believe they said the tickets will go on sale in about 5 months...

  • s/line/queue/g (Score:3, Insightful)

    by entrigant ( 233266 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:09AM (#11064811)
    So when did this happen? I remember back in the good old days when we called them long lines...

    • Line [wikipedia.org] is an infinitely thin, straight geometrical object of dimension 1.

      Queue [wikipedia.org] is any process that ensures first in first out behavior among elements, such as those used with people [wikipedia.org].

    • Welcome to 'English' (Score:5, Funny)

      by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:36AM (#11064894) Journal
      Named after its country of origin 'England', English is a little known dialect used by up to 1.5 billion [wikipedia.org] non-Americans worldwide. Some interesting but obviously incorrect features of the language include:

      - queues of people
      - wonderful coloUrs
      - the useful metal aluminiUm
      - the exotic herbs (h-urbs), basil (ba-zil) and oregano (o-re-gaa-no)
      - specialiSed books called 'dictionaries' that tell you how to spell words correctly

      Many people using this bizarre gutter speak also subscribe to the pagan belief that water freezes at 0 degrees and that distances should be measured in the forbidden mathematical system of base-10...

      • Re:Welcome to 'English' (Score:2, Interesting)

        by kfg ( 145172 )
        Named after its country of origin 'England'. . .

        Actually, the country is named after the language. Go figure.

        KFG

        • Re:Welcome to 'English' (Score:3, Interesting)

          by kahei ( 466208 )

          They're both named after the Angles, a tribe from Denmark.

          In any case, I would say that the case for 'color', 'realize' and many other American spellings is stronger than that for their English equivalents.

          English English spellings were affected by a wave of Francophilia in the 19th century which resulted in a lot of changes intended to give a cultured, Gallic flavor to the language. I think with the benefit of hindsight most speakers of the language now would say this was a bad idea.

          Some Americanisms,
      • It's been my experience that England doesn't give a shit about kilometers. In England they still use miles. In the UK, they might use kilometers, but not in England, because England is separate and better. God forbid you ask someone from England if they live in the UK, because the might kill you then tell you they are actually English and that you are an ass (spelled ahhhs). ;)
        • There's no logic to it. Petrol is sold in litres, many smaller signs are marked in metres, but we still use miles and pints.

          The term UK isn't really used all that much on the mainland, I think mainly because we'd like to pretend Northern Ireland doesn't exist. I refer to myself as British, although I'm English. I doubt many non-football hooligan English people would mind if you called them British/English/'UKian'. Scottish and Welsh people, on the other hand, tend to get a little upset about it.

          Most Amer
      • - the useful metal aluminiUm

        Last time I checked, we didn't call it AluminIm here in the U.S.

    • Hope it is a FIFO queue not LIFO :P

      read: LIFE -> a stack

    • pffft.. who cares about some line for a new video game console. Look at the other pictures [juergenspecht.com] this guy's got on his page. They're really interesting and offer firsthand insight into Japanese culture. Look how neat this [juergenspecht.com] homeless guy's tent is! Or how, apparently, there are these weird/creepy sex museums [juergenspecht.com] called "Hihokan" all over the country. Fascinating [juergenspecht.com].

  • The interesting thing is... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by koreaman ( 835838 ) <uman@umanwizard.com> on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:11AM (#11064817)
    Waiting in line for 24 hours almost certainly did not get them the PSP 24 hours before anyone else did. It's the classic example of waiting for 2 hours in line for a 5 minute rollercoaster.

  • humph (Score:5, Funny)

    by EGSonikku ( 519478 ) <petersen...mobile@@@gmail...com> on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:13AM (#11064826)
    Back in my day, our portables ran off 4 AA batteries, and ran for 45 minutes! And no fancy polygons, no sir, we had black and yellow sprites! And the dot matrix screen even had a motion blur feature! And we liked it! We used to carry it to school, up hill in the snow both ways, and they were heavy mind you! Of course, color had yet to be invented in those days....

    • Re:humph (Score:3, Informative)

      by dead sun ( 104217 )
      You nearly described the Sega Game Gear, except it had color, 6 AA batteries, and a 30 minute life.

    • Battery Life (Score:3, Interesting)

      by rsmith-mac ( 639075 )
      I know you're trying to be humorous, but seriously, the original GameBoy had a great battery live. Wikipedia pegs the original at ~35 hours [wikipedia.org] while all the handhelds after that have been significantly less(the GBA SP can get around 16, but only if the light is off). It's really unfortunate that handhelds like that really aren't possible these days.

  • CHILLY?! (Score:2, Funny)

    by themoodykid ( 261964 )
    Come on. It's -2C right now here in Calgary and it's comfortable.

  • Don't know if PSP can catch up (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MunchMunch ( 670504 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:16AM (#11064834) Homepage
    I admit, I didn't think the DS would do as well as it had, but Sony I can't really tell if Sony is going to be able to overtake the well-stocked and well-sought-after DS [gamespot.com] when they only launch with 200,000 systems and, as recently announced, can only deliver another 200,000 in the two weeks before christmas.

    As a side note, I may not be as confident as Nintendo [gamespot.com], but I certainly am a lot more interested in the DS than the PSP, despite the fact that the PSP technology is undoubtedly sexy and desirable.

    Early reports are that the PSP has 5 hours of battery--and that's with a non-intensive (puzzle) game with no backlight or speaker or wireless connectivity-- and also slow loading times. 2-3 hours of battery life sounds more reasonable for the games everyone is interested in (3D heavy Ridge Racer, etc...), which is just not enough time. Couple this with launch titles that are almost totally sequels or so generic as to be indistinguishable from sequels, and even the still-somewhat-gimmicky DS just seems a lot more fun with a lot less headache.

    • PSP recharge (Score:2, Interesting)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      2-3 hours of battery life sounds more reasonable for the games everyone is interested in (3D heavy Ridge Racer, etc...)

      Most major handheld game consoles in North America used alkaline AA or AAA batteries. The PSP battery, on the other hand, is rechargeable. Are people really away from 110*n volts for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time, unless they're already making a decided effort to retreat from technology?

      (n = 1 in Japan or USA; n = 2 in most of Europe.)

      • Re:PSP recharge (Score:3, Insightful)

        by zors ( 665805 )
        uh...what other major portables are you talking about? My Gameboy SP has a rechargable battery.
      • "Are people really away from 110*n volts for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time, unless they're already making a decided effort to retreat from technology?"

        Nope. But it is a pain in the ass to be forced to recharge every 2-3 hours when you're supposed to be able to take the damn thing with you whenever you want. And different genres are going to be affected in different ways, but I think most games will be noticably less fun for it.

        One Example:

        Imagine playing a 3D RPG, ala FFX (or, less theoret

      • Re:PSP recharge (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Jay Carlson ( 28733 )
        Are people really away from 110*n volts for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time, unless they're already making a decided effort to retreat from technology?

        It's a >16 hour flight from where I live to Seoul. If I'm in business class, I might be able to scrounge up a 12 volt socket. I can buy several handhelds for the price differential between economy and business class.
        • It's a >16 hour flight from where I live to Seoul. If I'm in business class, I might be able to scrounge up a 12 volt socket. I can buy several handhelds for the price differential between economy and business class.

          And while I'm spreading out my modpoint target by responding to myself, I might as well add that I just spent ~8 hours flying back fron Arizona. In economy, yes. Luckily, I was hoarding batteries for my laptop, and got to play through Golden Axe several times.

          The woman in front of me was
      • Uhh.. like on a bus or train? Where i have my 110*n volts I also have my computer, xbox and tv..
    • The nintendo DS is so much more sexy because of the MASSIVE game library you can ... erm... play on it.

      I am not sure about how easily the PSP can be hacked to run your own software (I'm sure eventually someone will figure it out) but for the DS its easy and a lot of things already run... for instance you can put PocketNES on the thing and it runs perfectly (of course, its for GBA, but it works)

      And thanks to the forsight of the guy who wrote pocketnes, there's actually a gameboy emulator for the GBA, which
      • Well, word on the street [lik-sang.com] is that you can simply put executables on a memory stick and run 'em on your PSP (scroll halfway down).

        So I really do like the PSP's hackability-factor, actually. Early on, Sony seemed like they'd lock it up tight--what with their DRM-heavy UMD format and encrypted Memory Sticks--, but maybe their early failure in the portable digital audio market (seems like their Walkman line didn't last two months before The Great MP3 Capitulation) made them rethink things a bit.

        Anyways,

        • word on the street is that you can simply put executables on a memory stick and run 'em on your PSP (scroll halfway down).

          You have to make the executable first, and you can do that only if you can crack Sony's private signing key.

          • "You have to make the executable first, and you can do that only if you can crack Sony's private signing key."

            Well, I'm actually wondering--do you know this for a fact? I don't know either way, but since you can just drag and drop pictures and music (and movies?) into the memory stick file system, I don't think it's out of the question that you might do this for executables. I don't know, but it's not clear that it'll be impossible either (unless you know something I don't?).

      • there's actually a gameboy emulator for the GBA, which means you can play all the Gameboy games on the DS after all.

        I know what emulator you're talking about [webpersona.com]. Half the games display "This game works only with Game Boy Color" and freeze.

        and its only a matter of time before someone comes out with a fully functional SNES and Genesis emulator for this thing.

        Has the Xbox been cracked optically yet? From what I've read about the encryption on the DS cart bus, it may prove tougher to crack the DS through

        • From what little information I've seen, It seems to be possible to boot DS code from the GBA slot. If indeed it is, then you can use some sort of updated emulator straight from your GBA flash cart. Just an idea.
      • On the subject of emulation and hacking, there is already a project underway of porting Linux to the DS. It already runs on PDA's, after all, and the DS has a touch screen. A lot of people on the boards (see dslinux.org . dslinux.com is no longer the official board) are already making plans on porting NES and GameBoy and possibly even SNES emulators that run on Linux to run on the Nintendo DS (running DSLinux, of course)... :D We might even (if we get lucky) get TCP/IP and a web browser.

        • A lot of people ... are already making plans on porting NES and GameBoy and possibly even SNES emulators that run on Linux to run on the Nintendo DS

          ROM whores can make castles in the sky, but you can't do any coding until you prove that you've written "Hello" to the top screen and "World" to the touch screen of a Nintendo DS. Given that the DS cart bus is encrypted and that the WiFi booting 1. may have to be digitally signed by Nintendo and 2. requires a laptop anyway, I don't see Linux on the DS anytim

    • ...it's the price. The PSP is a more powerful system, but add the greater price ($50 more than the DS), plus the cost of the memory card, and you get at least $230 for the basic system without a game of any kind (while $150 gets you a Nintendo DS with Metroid Prime Hunters demo), plus the fact that the battery downright sucks (and costs $50 for a second one)...

      Does anyone remember the lessons of the Sega Nomad? Console-grade graphics and backwards compatibility (it could play all Sega Genesis games), but
    • It just pisses me off that sony isn't even selling it to us here in north america until march, atleast the DS is purchaseable right now. And the stupid gaming websites are treating it like it's coming out right now, just because they get import units for free, they are totally out of touch with joe gamer, or just sold out to sony maybe. C'mon, this is way too much hype for something that only has 200k units for sale, and in japan only for months to come.
  • ... is not cold at all. It's only 41 degrees Fahrenheit (the metric I'm most familiar with). Unless there was a fair amount of wind, that seems pretty tame to me.

    If a person is reasonably well bundled up, they shouldn't have a problem. By "reasonably well bundled" I mean decent socks (wool), long underwear, a warm hat (which covers your ears) mittens, and a proper non-synthetic coat such as wool and/or down. Basically, you'll be warmer if you don't use synthetics (thus is my experience). If you're going to
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:In Minnesota... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by gnuman99 ( 746007 )
        In Minnesota, "reasonabley bundled up" on a balmy "5 degree C" day means that you are ready to throw on a t-shirt and go for a jog!

        You know, your north is not as far north as our (Canada's) south. The same thing applies to temperatures. Up here, we get closer to 5F right now (normal high). Heck, our geese go to Minnesota to "winter over"! /me ducks

    • Are you kidding? You'd be broiling in that getup.

      Here in Denver, 41F here is jeans and (borderline) sweatshirt weather.

      But I suppose it's all relative. A friend went with their family down to Disney World in winter. I guess it was like 60, so naturally the family was in shorts and t-shirts. A couple walked up to their parents and said something to the effect of, "You know...they have programs if you can't afford to get your kids good winter coats."

      Wool socks and long johns are for fresh powder on the "da

  • Nice Shortage (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Silicon Knight ( 15308 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:30AM (#11064876)
    Other than the number of units currently available - 200,000 - I don't see why people are so hot to get one right away. There are a couple of nice looking racing games but other than that it's a pretty pathetic lineup.

  • More launch images @ Impress Watch (Score:3, Informative)

    by News for nerds ( 448130 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:41AM (#11064914) Homepage
    Shinjuku (actually the first launch is at there, 6:00 am with the SCEI president)
    http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20041212/ pspsin.htm [impress.co.jp]

    Shibuya
    http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20041212/ shibuya.htm [impress.co.jp]

    Yurakucho & Akihabara
    http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20041212/ pspetc.htm [impress.co.jp]

    Though it seems many /. crowd are still skeptic about PSP, judging from the massive PSP demand in Japan (and the first reviews praising its super-high Sharp LCD quality), especially in contrast to the very quiet NDS launch [impress.co.jp] there, it's almost evident that who pwned whom in the new generation of handhelds, at least in people's mindshare when PSP's supply is still short now. PS & PS2 again.
    • In addition, the Shinjuku store (Yodobashi Camera) attracted over 1500 people in line at 6:00 AM.

    • Re:More launch images @ Impress Watch (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Grey Ninja ( 739021 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @04:08AM (#11064989) Homepage Journal
      That it is. [advancedmn.com]

      DS has sold half a million units in Japan so far, and has sold more than a million worldwide. This is more than double the units than PSP has even shipped. Do you suppose that the long lines for the PSP have anything to do with the fact that the unit is in short supply?

      I think it's immediately clear that both handhelds don't have much in the way of games at the moment. I would be hard pressed buying a game for the PSP right now. I own Feel the Magic for DS, but I bought it mainly because I wanted to get a feel for the capabilities of the system.

      So really, in absence of good games, it's early adopters who are picking up the consoles. What will determine the winner in the long run is the quality of the hardware and the game selection.

      Square-Enix seems firmly entrenched in Nintendo's territory this time around, and Nintendo seems to have RPGs in the bag, boasting a lineup of things such as Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos, Final Fantasy, and others.

      Nintendo also has the benefit of being able to supplement DS's weak launch lineup with GBA games. If you have a PSP, you have to make do with the crappy selection of launch games... which honestly won't go far. I wouldn't ever bring my DS with me anywhere if all I had to play was the demo cart and Feel the Magic. My DS still plays my GBA library for the most part.

      In terms of hardware quality, PSP has superior graphics, and a bigger screen. To counter that, DS has 2 screens, and a very innovative input device for a handheld console. PSP seems doomed to recieve mostly PS2 ports and never be far from a power plug, while the DS has the stamina to go for a long time without meeting a power plug, and has a library of games that seem to work well on a handheld. (wario ware, pokemon, dragon quest monsters, etc.)

      But I would agree with you when you say PS2 all over again. I remember a year of mind numbingly horrible games, and an extremely limited number of consoles at launch so Sony could show how they were selling out so fast and build up hype. I don't think it will work this time though. PS2 took the market anyways, as it's all there was. This time Nintendo is going head to head with Sony. Sony won't have a whole year to get someone to make a decent game.
      • >Do you suppose that the long lines for the PSP have anything to do with the fact that the unit is in short supply?

        Nope. Those lines of those who line up no matter what represent enthusiast interest & demand.

        >But I would agree with you when you say PS2 all
        >over again. I remember a year of mind numbingly
        >horrible games, and an extremely limited number
        >of consoles at launch so Sony could show how they
        >were selling out so fast and build up hype. I
        >don't think it will work this time t

      • But I would agree with you when you say PS2 all over again. I remember a year of mind numbingly horrible games, and an extremely limited number of consoles at launch so Sony could show how they were selling out so fast and build up hype.

        The main difference is that the PS2 ran PS games, so you weren't limited to whatever games were available for the PS2 platform. IMHO this is still one of the key reasons for the success of the PS2, because it could build on the vast selection of games for the original Pla

  • Stop the presses! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Barto ( 467793 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @03:52AM (#11064941) Journal
    Hot new gadget launched, long queues in Akihabara!

    In other news, the sun rose yet again this morning and a woman gave birth to a child - 9 months after having sex!
  • After reading all these replys here, all I can see is that everyone who was not there wishes they were there. Akihabara is a magical place. There really doesn't have to be a reason to go, and to actually have a reason to be there for 24 hours is great, especially surrounded by fellow geeks. The PSP is really nothing more than a joystick attached to a small screen, which in turn is connected to a PS2 behind the couch. You can't leave the couch because it will disconnect/run out of juice. Either way, coo

  • Played it! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hoser ( 95281 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @06:12AM (#11065268) Journal
    I work as an English teacher just over the border from Tokyo in Chiba. I'm about a 20 minute train ride from Akihabara. This morning one of our teachers walked in to the office carrying a PSP and Ridge Racer. Dunno what time he lined up, but he was at work at 11. I had a go at it and I gotta say -- those graphics are nice. The screen is bloody massive for a portable. It's got a nice shiny front and just looks good overall. The screen real estate alone is a big draw and some might say it's heavy, but I didn't really notice. I don't think weight will be a big problem.

    Having said that, it's wee bit expensive for my taste (if you get the value pack with the memory card). The exposed screen seems risky and after a few of us got our hands on the thing it had quite a few smudgy fingerprints on it, ruining the shiny front. And I'm skeptical of the little joysticky button thingy in the corner(and why is there only one? Shouldn't there be two for FPS games?) Dunno about the batteries -- he had it pluged in and charging at work, so I sat by the outlet and played it -- though given the battery life estimates, I don't think I'd buy one.

    I'm more of a Nintendo kinda guy, anyway, and though I haven't tried the DS yet I'm inclined to buy it instead, given the possibilities for FPS and RTS games with the touchscreen and despite the less impressive graphics. Still, I'll wait and see what games come out before I buy anything. (But with a 12 hour plane ride back to Canada for Christmas next week, it sure would be nice to have either the PSP or the DS).
    • This is totally, 100% off topic, but I was wondering how you came to be teaching English in Japan, and what you think of it? It's something I've been considering doing as well, and I couldn't resist asking since I don't actually see many people who have done it.
    • 12 hour plane ride? PSP? Awfully optimistic there... mind, I've only seen my DS last for about 8 hours (got the orange light that means low bat), so you might be left hanging for a few hours with that, too.
  • I knew Akihabara was going to be crazy when I saw 30 guys lined up outside one store at 6PM on Saturday.

    To save my blog the hammering, I made a Journal entry here on Slashdot chroncling the timeline from when I first got in line until I got my last system (of the three I scored).

  • State side scalping (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fred911 ( 83970 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @09:50AM (#11065864) Journal
    Nice to see the secondary market for stateside delivery is alive and well (like it was for PS2).

    Current EBAY prices [ebay.com]

  • Battery life, actual playtesting (Score:5, Informative)

    by Vvornth ( 828734 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @02:28PM (#11067183) Homepage
    The guys at Insertcredit.com [insertcredit.com] has the low down on the Battery life. Actual playtesting, no bullshit. "We charged up the battery and slammed the hell out of Ridge Racers with medium screen brightness (too bright hurts your eyes anyway) all over Shinjuku and it took -- I shit you not -- SIX HOURS AND THREE MINUTES for the battery to die. No joke. Put that on your weblogs. " The retching sound you hear in the background are the Nintendo execs choking on their sushi.

  • Limited run - part of the strategy? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by lcllam ( 714572 ) on Sunday December 12, 2004 @11:03PM (#11069777)
    OK, picture this:

    1) Limit production run to 200,000 units at launch and christmas.
    2) Hardcore japanese/ sony gamers would line up in subzero temperatures for 48 hrs to buy the thing.
    3) The skeptics (read: /.ers) would hold off until some user reviews come in, each secretly hoping the battery life or limited games lineup will tank the thing.
    4) Hardcore japanese/ sony gamers (remember kids, these are people who'd brave subzero temperatures to be first in line, or to secure the christmas package) post glowing reviews, obviously biased by the fact that they're already sold on the PSP and Sony brand.
    5) positive reviews cause the skeptics to finally enter the stores, when production 'coincidentally' becomes large enough to cope, after which the numbers mean negative buzz doesn't matter anymore.
    6) break open the champagne?

    Not entirely plausible? You see, by limiting the run such that only the die hards get a hold of the thing, they are also limiting bad buzz.

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