Sony Europe Boss On PSP

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Posted by simoniker on Tuesday June 17, 2003 @10:58PM from the not-on-pcp-as-you-previously-thought dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for posting an article summarizing the recent comments of Sony Europe boss Chris Deering about the newly announced PlayStation Portable (PSP). Speaking at the ELSPA Games Summit in London, Deering gave no official hints regarding hardware pricing for the PSP, but said the UMD format software "could retail for anything up to 60 euros ($71) - the majority of games would sell for between 20 and 30 euros ($24-35)" - but note that normally-priced PS2/Xbox games in Europe cost around 60 euros. Deering also mentioned that movies available for the PSP will have region encoding, much like DVDs currently do. Finally, the original news report at UK publication Indie Magazine quotes the SCEE boss as saying: "I think [PSP] can be in fact synergistic and dynamically collaborative with GameBoy" - quite a different attitude compared to Nokia.

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Let's actually hear something by redune45 · 2003-06-17 23:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

I really am starting to get tired of the hype about the PSP. I am very excited about the system, but still isn't it about time that we were actually told something usefull about the system: Stats, Games, Price.

--
redune.com: The World 3.2 Megapixels at a time
Region lockout? by Frac · 2003-06-17 23:11 · Score: 4, Interesting

Deering went on to say that although there'll be no difference between the PSP consoles sold in PAL and NTSC territories, there will be regional encoding for movies, similar to that used on DVDs.

Great. Will there be regional encoding for games too?
1. Re:Region lockout? by SmallFurryCreature · 2003-06-17 23:55 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Of course there will be. Evil gamers who buy imported games must be stopped because ehm because because..... else the terrorist will have WON!
  Seriously what is it with region encoding. Aren't we supposed to have a global economy? Or does this just mean that manufacturers are free to produce where they want at the cheapest prices regardless of local condiditions but customers are not free to buy?
  Nah surely that cannot be it. It would be like suggesting that all those open trade deals the EU and the US have with third world nations benefit the EU and US only.
  Does anyone have a clue why some companies still insist on region encoding? Some anime companies seem to make it a point to make their dvd's region free. Doesn't this make it a lot easier to sell? One pressing, ship anywhere?
  What is the problem for sony if I buy an imported japanese game. Hell if it uses dvd style region encoding for some weird reason japan and eu are the same anyway. I guess evil americans must be stopped.
  
  --
  
  MMO Quests are like orgasms:
  You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
2. Re:Region lockout? by NihilSmurf · 2003-06-18 02:17 · Score: 1
  
  As I understand it, region lockout is primarily intended to enforce the wording of the licensing agreements of the game properties.
  
  For example, SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) might pay a media company $X for the ability to use their IP (characters, setting, etc.) in a game, and the terms of this deal only apply to Region 1 territories. SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) might make a different deal. If SCEA sells the game in Europe, it would be violating the terms of their licensing agreement.
  
  This also applies to film distribution rights, when it comes to DVDs.
3. Re:Region lockout? by Chris+Mattern · 2003-06-18 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  > Some anime companies seem to make it a point to make their dvd's region free.
  
  I hate to be the one to break this to you, but that's because those anime companies are pirates.
  
  There are exceptions, but generally, being region-free is a fairly good indication that an anime DVD is not legitimate.
  
  Chris Mattern
4. Re:Region lockout? by karmawhoreaide · 2003-06-19 07:16 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  But is there a way that could make this avoidable, allowing people to purchase DVDs on business trips/vacation or some such and still get use at home? Seems like the technology should be there. Just posting another comment deep in the bowels of slashdot history...
Not a games machine... by Dot.Com.CEO · 2003-06-17 23:32 · Score: 4, Insightful

I see the psp as the next generation of minidisc, a technology that, unfortunately, few people are aware of. I have been a minidisc user for years and I believe that with the netmd sony got it right. Excellent sound quality (compared with mp3s, at least), lightweight, and acceptable drm. The psp will be the minidisc of the video age. It will have music, video and games, all in a convenient package. I don't understand why the editors of /. (simoniker might be the only exception) and most other "online journalists" fail to see both the psp and the psx for what they are: multi-faceted hardware that does well in a variety of tasks. I don't care about the gaming capabilities of the psp myself, but I can't wait to have an acceptably good, truly portable format for movies. And do not doubt that Sony will permit recording of movies on those disks - maybe non-css encoded only (home movies, for example), but it is trivial to de-css a movie and mount the iso as a virtual disk in all modern OSs.
The only thing I think is stupid is the region encoding. That rules out sales of movies at airports for long flights, but I guess that a way will be found to overcome this limitation.

--
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
1. Re:Not a games machine... by Echnin · 2003-06-18 00:35 · Score: 1
  
  Minidiscs not popular? I don't know how it is in the states, but here in Norway, they're very popular. In my 10th grade class (15-16 year old kids) of 27 people, I believe 8 or 9 people have a minidisc player. They're pretty expensive, though; some people have paid up to 3000 NOK (~$400) for theirs, a lot considering I paid 550 NOK for my MP3CD player.
  It's possible that the relatively low incomes that the working and middle classes in USA have, have lead to Minidisc players being too expensive for most people and their kids.
  I agree with region encoding being stupid too. I believe it should be illegal to control what you say in that manner.
  The Gameboy doesn't have different zones, by the way. Bought lots of games in other countries in America and some in Asia.
  
  --
  Lalala
2. Re:Not a games machine... by PainKilleR-CE · 2003-06-18 00:53 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  It's possible that the relatively low incomes that the working and middle classes in USA have, have lead to Minidisc players being too expensive for most people and their kids.
  
  Portable MD players run $130-350. Portable CD/MP3 players from Sony run $90-150. None of these are what seems to be outside the reach of the middle class in the US.
  
  Minidisc never really took off in the US because it had a poor selection of titles at launch and the hardware to record to Minidisc was too expensive initially. Plus, the format came out too soon after adoption of CDs spread. It's had a recent surge from some people looking for alternatives to CDs in car stereos, though.
  
  No one is looking for pre-recorded minidiscs any more, though, which is a good thing since no one carries them anyway.
  
  Region encoding is just bs, and the manufacturers of consoles would have less to complain about in terms of piracy rates if their consoles were region free. Fewer people (though admittedly probably not quite as few as some would like to believe) would be modding their consoles if they could import games and have them just work. Even the GameCube allows region switching without modding it, although it's not as simple as just putting in a game from another region, like the GBA. Unfortunately, the US is still big on region encoding, and it's still pretty hard to find a DVD player that comes region free out of the box, though it's not hard to find little 'easter eggs' that unlock region free operation for most of the current models if you look around on the internet.
  
  --
  -PainKilleR-[CE]
3. Re:Not a games machine... by Inexile2002 · 2003-06-18 02:07 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Portable MD players run $130-350. Portable CD/MP3 players from Sony run $90-150. None of these are what seems to be outside the reach of the middle class in the US.
  You have a deeply skewed idea of what people can afford. $130-350 represents the entire monthly disposable income of more than half the families in the US. The "middle class" is a shrinking minority. I assure you, the number of mini-disk players in the backpacks of students in a given highschool varies in direct proportion to where that highschool is.
4. Re:Not a games machine... by PainKilleR-CE · 2003-06-18 02:38 · Score: 1
  
  You have a deeply skewed idea of what people can afford.
  
  You're probably right. I grew up in a middle class family and my parents are probably now considered upper-middle class, despite the fact that their disposable income has only grown in relation to the number of kids that have moved out of their house (3 out of 5 unless someone moved back in since I last visited on XMas). I also happen to be considered middle-class myself based on my income, despite the fact that my disposable income is very low, and the area I live in is decidedly below middle class. Of course, since 'low-income' rent in most of the places I've lived generally runs in the $500-800/month area, I guess life just sucks in general (and the idea that someone can qualify to live in low-income housing and pay those rates is frightening).
  
  $130-350 represents the entire monthly disposable income of more than half the families in the US. The "middle class" is a shrinking minority. I assure you, the number of mini-disk players in the backpacks of students in a given highschool varies in direct proportion to where that highschool is.
  
  The highschool I went to was decidedly upper-middle and middle class. The number of pagers and cell phones in backpacks of students was definitely much higher than would have been considered normal in the mid-90's. My youngest step-brother graduated from the same school much more recently and I can't say that he or any of his friends had any more interest in minidisc than anyone else I know, yet most of them (and myself) have portable MP3 players of some sort (I personally have a CD/MP3 player that was amongst the first available, and therefore mostly sucks). The only people I've seen consider minidisc are, as I said before, those looking for something pretty much skip-proof for their cars (which is far more important when you're running rediculous suspension systems on the cars themselves which make even the best CD players skip).
  
  The idea that people are spending money on minidisc players rather than RAM or hard drive based MP3 players seems a bit rediculous to me, especially amongst the middle and upper-middle class. Personally, if I were in a lower income bracket, I think I'd go with cassette, instead, which is what I still use in my car due to the cost of getting a decent CD player for it.
  
  --
  -PainKilleR-[CE]
5. Re:Not a games machine... by Zed2K · 2003-06-18 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  "It's possible that the relatively low incomes that the working and middle classes in USA have, have lead to Minidisc players being too expensive for most people and their kids."
  
  Its not about money. They weren't marketed here. It was all about the CD. You had to be aware of other technology to even know that the minidisc existed. Prerecorded discs were nonexistant also compared to shelf space given to cd's. I have a home deck and a portable and its great. I don't even have a cd player hooked up anymore. I use my digital out of my dvd player to record any new cd onto minidisc and also rip the cd into mp3 on my pc. Then put the cd away.
6. Re:Not a games machine... by Hadlock · 2003-06-18 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  I assure you, the number of mini-disk players in the backpacks of students in a given highschool varies in direct proportion to where that highschool is.
  
  i'm a year out from high school now, and i can tell you that i knew of two white kids who had MD players, and there were probably 10 asian kids, you know the type that have to have everything, had one too. anyways, my point is that I lived in the second richest suburb in the DFW area, in a school of 2000 people, and less than 1% of the kids owned a MD player of some sort. I don't think it's so much that it's outside the reach of these kids, as much as it is that they're not directly compatible with their PC at home where they can just burn a music CD of the MP3s they've downloaded, or burn an MP3 CD for their MP3 cd player. You can pick up an MP3 CD player (memorex brand, i think) at target for $80, and the media it uses runs about $2.50-$3.50 cheaper per unit compared to MDs.
  
  --
  moox. for a new generation.
7. Re:Not a games machine... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-06-18 13:03 · Score: 0
  
  in the states it isn't popular and it isn't outragiously popular in japan either. add to that that their is pretty much only 1 manufacturer of md players and recorders and you can see why it isn't a popular format (on a global scale). it is indeed a cool technology, but it is fading...
Is there a market? by sebi · 2003-06-17 23:39 · Score: 3, Insightful

From the original article:
âoeMaybe it might compete with people on the planes, but in the school yard I donâ(TM)t think people will be able to walk around with the PSP and treat it as roughly as you do with Game Boy. So itâ(TM)s trying for a new part of the market to escape the TV, for the shorter leisure time slots that are seeming to be a factor.â

Is there a portable market outside the one the Game Boy satisfies? Movies on the go might make some sense, but what about games? When you play the GB at home it's because it is the only current system playing classic SNES era games. I suppose the PSP would play Playstation era games. At home you can have that on your normal console and if it's not durable enough to be used on the go then why get it in the first place? Sony haven't got the same awe-inspiring back catalogue that Nintendo has, have they? If that is their idea of a modern Walkman then they are in for a surprise. The Walkman was great, because you could easily convert your music to a transportable version. I don't know that for sure, but I suppose that people bought much more music on record or CD than on tape. Now we are supposed to buy the films a second time? If you could copy the movie from a DVD to this thing that would be a completely different story, but in the current climate it is never going to happen.

--
Hank! White!
1. Re:Is there a market? by SmallFurryCreature · 2003-06-18 00:17 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  mmm, is there a market.
  I could be wrong but isn't the gameboy the best selling computer/console ever? The portable entertainment market is gigantic.
  Maybe it is different when you drive a car but when using public transport, portable entertainment becomes extremely attrictive. I think a good 50% is reading a book, listening to music or playing with their phone. Train/bus/tram travel is boring. A good piece of entertainment means youre time spent waiting is spend well. Perhaps even better then those who get there quicker in a car.
  As for the playing movies bit, didn't that a HD mp3 player maker come out with one that could play movies? (not apple or creative). This one could obviously record movies (HD) but then again sony is a content owner. They might not be ready to let people do their own drm.
  
  --
  
  MMO Quests are like orgasms:
  You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
2. Re:Is there a market? by sebi · 2003-06-18 01:10 · Score: 1
  
  I could be wrong but isn't the gameboy the best selling computer/console ever? The portable entertainment market is gigantic.
  
  What are you trying to say? I never said that there wasn't a market for the Game Boy. The Sony guy stated that they weren't after the Game Boy's market. I was just wondering if there is any market left.
  
  --
  Hank! White!
3. Re:Is there a market? by SmallFurryCreature · 2003-06-19 03:55 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, okay misunderstood you. I was looking at the potential market as an adult who owns a gba and similar stuff. To me it is the same market.
  I presume the sony man means this to, after the adults who own gba's for themselves not becaase they kids wanted them
  
  --
  
  MMO Quests are like orgasms:
  You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Paint Shop Pro ? oh that PSP by DrSkwid · 2003-06-18 00:07 · Score: 2, Funny

before somebody else manages

--
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Crud. by Mantrid · 2003-06-18 05:50 · Score: 1

At first I thought the PSP was a pretty cool gadget - for some reason I got the idea that it was a portable PSOne...but apparently I was wrong. A portable PSOne would've been awesome (Vandal Hearts, King's Field on the go etc.). But it sounds like the PSP is just 'another' handheld ;)
In English by Guppy06 · 2003-06-18 13:36 · Score: 2, Funny

"I think [PSP] can be in fact synergistic and dynamically collaborative with GameBoy"

Translation: We've seen the bones of the Game Gear, the NeoGeo Pocket Color, the Lynx, the WonderSwan, and a few others we can't identify, and we believe Tim's story about the Game Boy having big, pointy teeth. We're going to be staying waaaaaay over here, at least until we get a rock we think is big enough and...
Regional Coding by Anonymous Coward · 2003-06-18 15:16 · Score: 0

In regards to the reigonal coding for dvds etc, here in Australia, the ACCC (the same people that made mod chips legal) has declared that zoned dvd's are anti-competitative (damn spelling) because it's an artificial barrier to keep prices high. (the NTSC/PAL differences are ok, because there's actually a tchnical reason for them, but the dvd stuff is just pure BS). as a result, practically every dvd player you buy in Oz now is multi-zone...how will sony cope with this? will there be a huge black market for Australian PSP's?

Oh, and just a wild thought: imagine if the PSP was compatible with the next gen game boy..the game boy being only games, the psp being games+ more...now that would be an unstoppable combination.
hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-06-18 19:23 · Score: 0

i'm still mystified as to what sony thinks they've got that everyone else that tried to enter the handheld gaming market lacked. given sony has a deep wallet and good design sense, but nintendo has such a strangehold on the market, it is no wonder why sony is taking the 'dynamically collaborative' spin...