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Which is why you buy this. No, seriously. I play every emulator that I have using this. With the exception of the N64, every console (and arcade button layout) works with this thing. I love it. I've always liked the PSX/PS2 controller style though.

yes it's Region encoded, but (a) the 50Hz/60Hz thing doesn't count here, as the PSP doesn't have a TV out, and so ignores the PAL/NTSC standards

So? This forum message from Lik-Sang strongly implies that come September, European UMD Video titles will not play in Japanese PSP units. It's to be expected, as one of Sony's other PS Family products enforces TV-system lockout even if it doesn't have to. If I'm playing an all-region PAL disc on a PS2 NTSC U/C system (if it matters, it's Wobbl and Bob vol. 1), it still says "TV system doesn't match" instead of outputting a 50 Hz signal or converting the video. On the other hand, my Apex AD-1200 dedicated DVD player (purchased for $60 roughly 2.5 years ago at a Wal-Mart store in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA) can send the PAL 50 Hz/576i signal through or even convert it to NTSC 60 Hz/480i.

Do you mean something like the GP32. Sadly you can only import it and good luck on find one. But it was a cool handheld with tons of emulators and everything.

Dear sir,

Would you like some cheese with that wine? If playing Halo 2 on your Xbox doesn't seem complete without being able to play with a mouse and a keyboard, I suggest the SmartJoy Frag. http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?products_id=5438& lsaid=322441

Well, I don't actually know if you have a Xbox or not...I would guess not...but this still solves that whole keyboard/mouse-on-xbox issue.

Free international shipping!

You can get a GBA analog tv tuner for £20 or so, e.g.

at lik-sang.

The tuner unit is pretty chunky, I don't think you'd shoehorn one of those into a phone. Digital video is a better idea. The analog way has a bonus though: it has a video-in, so you can pretend to play gamecube games on your GBA!

To which you answer, Yes. Yes it can.

Nobody's ever made a sexy controller tho.

I beg to differ.

I can't wait for Kirby.

Any favourite stick?

Any favourite stick?

Any favourite stick?

She'll love it even more with a decent controller!

Only Lik Sang or Play Asia can help us now. I wonder how much an import price of about 195 for a Japanese PSP will hurt sales of the European version.

I just bought one of these things, Pocket Famicom (Gametech), along with the NES adaptor. I bought it because I also have old NES games but no functioning NES, and you can hook it up to a TV and attach NES controllers to it. It actually works pretty well, even as a portable.

Why do companies insist on making a round D-pad? I find it to be a stupid design -- you can never press the direction you want without going slightly diagonal.

Sony's got it dead-on, and I hope they don't change a thing for PS3. Just wait for the day where something like this comes out for XBox360-420-69 -- whatever the hell it's called.

one example of a ps2 keyboard can be found here: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/bre/blacplay2key.html mouse: http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId =601416162&s=uwb70000 adapter for keyboard and mouse for xbox http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=&product s_id=5438 these products do exist, and i suppose if you didn't own a computer, it might be a pretty decent deal

If you have a Gameboy Advance and a piece of compact flash, you might try this for a cheapie solution.
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=246&prod ucts_id=3983&
http://movieadvance.com/
The GBA movie player reads ebooks.
I don't know how nice it is for those, if you point me to a little ebook sample, I can try it out and give my 2 cents.

FYI, the Rez / Lumines creator has a game coming out in the US for the DS (it's been out in Japan for a while) called Meteos. If you want the japanese version, you can import it from lik-sang.

Cyber Gadget makes a unit called the Famulator which is a re-designed (or re-re-designed depending on how you look at it) NES toploader that sells for just under 3,000 yen. You can use your US NES carts on it, but you'll need an adapter like the one sold by Lik-Sang.

Oh for crap's sake! The sensor IS aligned, it's just not centered on the button.

Have a look at This Pic from Lik-Sang. The sensor is perfectly aligned under the button pip, it's just that neither are in the centre of the button.

Lik-sang tore a PSP apart back in mid-December.

Here http://www.lik-sang.com/psp.html/

Less annoying adds and page flipping. Everything is on one page.

I use a Sony Dual-Shock. No, seriously, I do. Grabbed a SmartJoy Plus through Lik-Sang (should be this link but it currently isn't working for me), and have been using a Dual Shock for SNES games.

Basically because the Dual Shock maps basically directly to the SNES pad (fancy that, being that Sony basically ripped off Nintendo for the original PlayStation), it works very nicely for emulating SNES games. And you don't have to worry about the stupid extra shoulder buttons. Plus they currently still sell 'em in stores, but once Sony loses on appeal to Immersion, they're gonna be all gone. Oh well.

y'know you can get adapters to hook the old SNES pads up to USB on your PC? In fact, you can get something like that for just about every old console out there.

Here y'go.. a quick google turned up a SNES one here at Lik Sang

It is called Meteos. It was made by the same guy who made Lumines, Rez, and Space Channel. You can order it from Lik-Sang for about $50 USD w/ free shipping at the moment. It can play on the US NDS's too. And supports Download Play so you and your friends can play each other in mini-renditions of the game.

My friend ordered it last week, and he's been going bonkers on me waiting for it to show up.

How are you supposed to use all these great programs? Through the d-pad and buttons.

With the Touch screen the DS can perform all these easier.

With http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=246&prod ucts_id=3983& you can play MP3s and watch movies. For $25 and buy a 1 gig flash for less than $100 you will be set. It also Plays FC games and other homebrew applications.

Not just MemoryStick Duo, and not MemoryStick Pro. But actually MemoryStick Pro Duo.

Keyboard/mouse adapter for XBox. Works great, been usin it for a couple weeks.

I'll probably get modded down for this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I am ridiculously excited about the PSP. Not because of the games (Wipeout and the new Nipppon Ichi game are the two games on the horizon I am remotely excited about), not because of MP3 (iPod 3g), and not because of the movies (I really have no desire for a personal video-player... If I'm that desperate, I use my laptop).

I am excited for the sole reason that it will be, perhaps, the best handheld system ever to emulate SNES games.

Really, think about it: the layout looks exactly like a SNES controller. The damn thing has a d-pad, start, select, L, R, X, Y, A, and B in nearly identical positions.

Compare:

SNES PSP

As soon as someone ports ZSNES and a GBA emulator, I'm buying a PSP and bringing with me all the great SNES and GBA games wherever I go, so that I can play some great, classic, properly emulated games with all the damn buttons for once. And if they manage to get PSX emulation working, then I think I might just pee down my leg a little.

Regards,

-PhosterPharms

You need a $40 3rd party extension, but that's still cheaper than the PSP. And it has good reviews too. This was an SP product that happens to work on the DS due to backwards support. The good thing about this is that it isn't controlled by Sony like their fucking UMD that no one else can use. Anyone with a flash card reader can use the DS for movies. The downside is that it's another item to carry with you which is bad for those without big pockets or bags. Given that the old GBA roms are a known format, I'm guessing that there will be a lot more third party apps for the DS than with the PSP. Particularly when someone figures out how to get the DS to play games over WiFi without a physical disk. This is a known feature of the DS, but it's not a public spec yet.

--
Want a free iPod?
Or try a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof

You need a $40 3rd party cartridge, but you can play divx movies, mp3s and read text on the GBA and DS off a flash card. It's an import called Movie Advance There is a good review on Lik Sang but that site seems to be having troubles so here is a Google cache. Another review is at PlanetGC. The good thing about this is that it isn't controlled by Sony like their fucking UMD that no one else can use. Anyone with a flash card reader can use the DS for movies. The downside is that it's another item to carry with you which is bad for those without big pockets or bags. Given that the old GBA roms are a known format, I'm guessing that there will be a lot more third party apps for the DS than with the PSP. Particularly when someone figures out how to get the DS to play games over WiFi without a physical disk. This is a known feature of the DS, but it's not a public spec yet.

--
Want a free iPod?
Or try a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof

Erm, you guys do know that Sony already has software available for the PSP that will convert any video file you can drag and drop onto it (Yes, DivX, XviD, etc.) into MPEG4 and put it on your PSP....and images as well....

It's called Image Converter. It's bundled with the PSP (At least the pack that comes with the memory stick gets a CD with it, otherwise it's free from Sony with registration). What's the point of this guy reinventing the wheel?

Info on the software is here:
http://forum.lik-sang.com/showthread.php?t=1929

The d-pad on the standard controller is fairly weak. That's what a Hori pad is for. Unfortunately, the schema of having two directional inputs for the left thumb requires that one of the inputs be placed at a disadvantageous angle. Xbox controller S's D-pad is better, but still not nearly as good as the PS2's D-pad. Unfortunately, on the PS2 controller the analog stick is in the 'secondary' position, and hence not as easy to use as the analog sticks of either GameCube or Xbox.

i feel obligated to say something here.

regarding these adapters for the xbox; the (first) thing that kills them on a console (that only has sticks) is that the maximum turn is limited. this is that the console believes the controller has sticks, which have a limited range. so, if you want to turn, the fastest you can turn is 'all the way'. this is unlike a mouse, which does not have this same restriction.

this makes it very frustrating for PC FPS games to make the transition to console using mouse+keyboard. its not a sensitivity issue.

in terms of halo, another significant factor knocks out the mouse+keyboard adapter for use on the xbox, is that the stick is simply much more natural for controlling vehicles. it makes sense to easily pull back on the stick to pull up the nose of the banshee or push left to turn the scorpion. it is very clumsy to do the same by repeatedly sweeping a mouse across a mousepad (further complicated by the maximum speed problem mentioned before).

if there is a sensitivity issue, it has to do with the dead-zones in the x and y axes in the stick. the gimbals in these controllers are not perfect; theres a little play on both x and y. in other words, you can move it very very slightly in different directions w/o it springing back. this is more apparent in cheaper controllers. some stick designs are very good at eliminating this (gimbals in R/C transmitters), but i have not seen a console controller that did not have play. so, games (or the hardware, but in the xbox, its the software) must compensate for this. this means that adapters must allow for a dead-zone, also. the result is a mouse control that not only has a maximum limit, but also has a minimum limit.

since ive gone on this far, ill go ahead and also note that stowing the controller means you also lack the vibration feedback that the game assumes all players feel. using a keyboard to move also means your movement is not analog (push a button to walk, not a variable stick).

i bought a mouse+keyboard adapter for my xbox, hooked up a wireless mouse and keyboard and programmed my familiar PC FPS keys. in some cases, the interface works well. but, id never try multiplayer with that handicap.

the adapter i used was a SmartJoy FRAG

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=166&prod ucts_id=5438&

it does a good job at what it was designed to do. im not trying to sell the thing; visit the site if youre interseted.

much of this is just my limited understanding of things work. please correct me if im wrong.

I agree. That's why when I found this xbox/playstation add-on I went to straight out an acquired my first gaming console.

I have a modded xbox sitting beside me right now, modded for a friend, it's not mine. I have played Thief3 on both and have to say that as a long-time gamer, consoles suck for something needing real control. Those game controllers make eating with 10-foot chopsticks seem natural.

First, I agree with the other poster that a well designed game pad (such as the Xbox Controller S) is at least 80% as usefull as a mouse/keyboard combo. It's all about what you are accustomed to; using twin joysticks to control your character gives you as much freedom of movement as a mouse/keyboard. One issue can be fine tuned aiming, however games written for consoles use various techniques to help overcome this small issue. In the end if you really miss you mouse, just pick up one of these. Problem solved.

MS dosen't care if windows sucks. They only care that people don't feel that they have an alternative. I have spoken with several MS folks over the last 15 years and they care about marketshare above everything else that was discussed.

Obviously their biggest concern is market share. If it weren't, they wouldn't be in business any more. A company's first priority should be staying in business, just as a human's first priority should be (and is, instinctively) staying alive. The question is how are you going to go about this. The best way to guarentee longevity is to please your customers and get them to come back; any other way will eventually lead to your demise.

If a person went around their entire life pissing off and trying to bully and intimidate everyone they meet they'll eventually regret it by getting killed or otherwise having their life taken from them (or being put in prison, meaning basically the same thing).

Now you can see for yourself. [liksang.com]

Have you given the DS a hands-on? It is clearly not a work of love in comparison with the GBA or GBA SP. It is the work of marketers and executives, who, by definition, can only love yen -or dollars-.

Forget about PSP. DS's mediocreness as a product needs not outside of brand comparisons. The press should be looking into Nintendo to see how could they come up with something as appalling as this. I have a hunch the responsible will not be found among technologists or artists.

DS + Movie Player = Better than PSP.

"new bulky hardware for a genre that mostly runs off one game, DDR"

Though DDR has overshadowed most games in the Rythmn/dance genre, a most underrated game that hardly saw American shores was Samba De Amigo (here and here). It started off as an arcade game with maraca controllers (something you wouldn't likely see in American arcades), and was then ported to the Dreamcast. They even had maraca controllers for the 'real' experience. I guess it was the failure of the Dreamcast (Despite the many good games released for it), or the strangness of shaking maracas to latin beat with a dancing monkey, but it's one game you aren't likely to see in stores again, despite the enormous enjoyment one can get out of it.
Perhaps if the monkey had been Donkey Kong it would have taken off?

Or if you have the cash to burn, buy:

1. A SNES to USB adapter.

2. A premodded USB SNES controller (basically a SNES controller that's been gutted and replaced with new hardware to make it a USB controller).

Yeah actually it does. You just need to buy the GBA SP wireless adaptor.

It should be mentioned that the player you linked ALSO works on the nintendo ds!

Very similar devices already exist for the GBA. This one, for instance, does movies, music, ebooks, pictures, and even old famicom games.

All that and its cheaper too. (No, this is not a product endorsement.)

Nintendo releasing a less technologically ambitious console with good quality and Sony releasing a very technologically ambitious one with sloppy quality was to be expected all along.

It's especially apparent when you compare the pictures of opened DS with the pictures of the opened PSP.
It's easy to guess that the DS is easier and cheaper to build.

The PSP is very complicated, so there's probably more risk for a defect to appear. Furthermore, it probably takes a lots more time to assemble (I suppose the final assembly is done manually in either case), so it wouldn't be too far fetched to think they make people at the assembly line work faster, at the expense of quality.

My DS already emerged out of a confrontation with the floor without a scratch (I'm just that awkward). I wonder how resilient the PSP is to shocks ?

Nintendo releasing a less technologically ambitious console with good quality and Sony releasing a very technologically ambitious one with sloppy quality was to be expected all along.

It's especially apparent when you compare the pictures of opened DS with the pictures of the opened PSP.
It's easy to guess that the DS is easier and cheaper to build.

The PSP is very complicated, so there's probably more risk for a defect to appear. Furthermore, it probably takes a lots more time to assemble (I suppose the final assembly is done manually in either case), so it wouldn't be too far fetched to think they make people at the assembly line work faster, at the expense of quality.

My DS already emerged out of a confrontation with the floor without a scratch (I'm just that awkward). I wonder how resilient the PSP is to shocks ?

Forgot if this was mentioned in the dehoaxing article:
Look at his pictures of the insides
Now look at Lik-Sang's pictures of the insides. At least the one showing were to run the wires. It looks as if they took the Lik-Sang photo, chopped off the Lik-Sang logo and added the lines. (they are to similar for it to just be a coincidence, I mean the pen mark is the exact same one and where the left side chops off)

Well done. You can buy a spare SP battery. Now tell me something I don't know.

Or perhaps I'll tell you something that either you don't know or are choosing to ignore. The SP battery is not designed to be replaced by consumers on a regular basis. There are little giveaways, like the fact that the battery is sealed away behind a closed compartment that you need a special tool to open. That it's an ugly blue thing rather than fitting in to the GBA design and colour scheme. That Nintendo's own technical web site talks about the replacement battery being used when your existing battery dies, and gives instructions for disposing of the old one carefully. You know, little things like that.

The PSP, on the other hand, is designed to have the battery changed when it runs out. The battery
looks slick enough, can easily be changed, and the instructions for doing so don't tell you to dispose of your old one.

This isn't any sort of slight against the SP. With 12 hours or so of battery life, it's a reasonable expectation (though not always an accurate one) that you won't need more than a single full charge to get you from one power point to the next. With PSP, it's acknowledged as something that might be a problem for some people, so it's addressed by making it easy to change out for a spare battery, which brings the PSP's playing life on two batteries up to roughly the same as the GBA SP's playing life with its internal battery.

Oops, do I know more about handheld gaming than suits your weak and unpersuasive arguments? My apologies.

As for being a troll, if I am then I'm a troll who gets more use out of his GBA than most people and doesn't plan on owning a PSP until well after the second batch of hardware hits the US. I just don't like disinformation, that's all.

Have a nice day.

Well, this looks like a backup power supply to me. In any case, the tradeoffs are the same as the ones built into your laptop when it goes into standby mode. Given enough time, it won't have enough power to retain state and it'll lose it. [BTW, I'd guess they would reserve the last few percent of battery for this purpose anyway. A couple minutes of play can probably be stretched out to a couple hours of backup. That cell is probably a rechargable Lithium pentoxide cell for the RealTimeClock. The chip next to it seems to have some crystals attached, and I'm betting it is the RTC. and doubles as the CMOS data storage.]

Lithium Ion batteries almost always have a chip built into the package to protect agains overcharge and overdischarge. The battery will get electrically disconnected before it kills itself, and you'll have a bunch of time to put it into the charger before it eventually dies from self-discharge.

According to Tim Rogers in this article you can just plug it into your USB port and it acts like a removable disk. Just copy your MP3 files over and play.