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PSP - Peripherals, Pride, And Prejudice

Posted by simoniker on from the oodles-of-o-s dept.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for reporting that Sony have confirmed their PSP portable has mobile phone and digital camera peripherals planned for it, separately of its 'main functionality' as a handheld console/media device. Sony executives also discussed the 'complicated' nature of "...copy protection measures in the hardware" for this new UMD optical disc-compatible handheld, saying "...software piracy won't be a problem if the protection system is as complicated as the one planned for PSP." In a related story, a ZiffDavis Wireless columnist takes Sony to task over the handheld's UMD format, concerned that "...Sony will hobble the forthcoming product's broad standards support in some bizarre proprietary way", and therefore miss out on making the PSP an "exciting and versatile media playback device."

38 comments

  1. Nonsense!! by JFMulder · · Score: 1

    and therefore miss out on making the PSP an "exciting and versatile media playback device."

    Sony is not in this for versatility. They're in it for money. Last time I checked, Nintendo was raking in a lot of money with the Gameboy, even tough it only plays games (except for a peripheral or two that plays MP3 and stuff like that). That should be enough for Sony.

    1. Re:Nonsense!! by Txiasaeia · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The Gameboy does one thing, and it does it well: play games. I don't want my GBA SP to play movies, TV, music, or any other such crap. I want it to play games, and for what it does, it's terrific.

      Various add-on products, such as gray-area flash GB carts, add on compatibility in these areas, including the ability to play Nintendo (original) games. Now *this* is a feature that the GBA should have!

      But I digress. All it'll take for Sony to beat the GBA is the following:

      1) Cheap hardware

      2) Cheap software, preferably in a non-proprietary format (mini-cds, mini-discs, for example)

      3) GOOD (fun, good looking) games running on GOOD (fast, good looking) hardware

      That's it. Oh, and compatibility with GBA carts would be nice too. That's

      --
      Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
    2. Re:Nonsense!! by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 1

      I'm assuming you don't have a CD player or a radio in your car, right? I mean, you've got a car to allow you to travel from point A to point B, not entertain you with music and/or political discussion. You want your car to do one thing and one thing only! No extra crap needed, right?

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    3. Re:Nonsense!! by EvilSporkMan · · Score: 1

      Your analogy is invalid - the CD player and radio are used WHILE the car is being used for its main purpose. It would be valid if you bought a hybrid car/CD player that could be used for one or the other, but not both. After all, you're not going to go sit in your car while it's in the driveway expressly to listen to music, are you? You have a specialized home stereo for that.

      --
      -insert a witty something-
    4. Re:Nonsense!! by MBCook · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Cheap software, preferably in a non-proprietary format (mini-cds, mini-discs, for example)

      Based on the pictures of the UMD, it looks abit like a mini-cd/dvd, only in a cartridge to protect it from scratches (not unlike a mini-disc). I don't think it's any more proprietary than a normal PS2 disc, a GameBoy cartridge, or a GameCube disc.

      That's the problem I have with the idea that it's a bad idea to go with this new format. What other choices do they have? Rom? That's getting old and doesn't have the storage capacity of an optical disc. Mini-CD? Doesn't hold much. Full DVD? WAY to big for a portable. Minidisc? Doesn't hold much (under 300MB, IIRC). Mini-DVD? Could get scratched. So you put a mini-dvd in a cover (sorta like a minidisc) and you make it a proprietary filesystem (like all consoles seem to use) and you're set. Like I said above, I think this is what the UMD is.

      But, all will be answered when the system is revealed. I can't WAIT to see it.

      --
      Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    5. Re:Nonsense!! by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 1

      Okay, are you disagreeing with me because you want to argue with me or do you not think that having a device that does a number of things (as long as it does them well) is a good thing?

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    6. Re:Nonsense!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm "disagreeing" because that analogy was crap (see above), and I'm posting anonymously because this post, as well as yours, is off-topic.

    7. Re:Nonsense!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alright, the analogy is crap eh? I say that a machine that plays video games and music at the same time is within the realm of possibility. (See PS1 plus Ridge Racer plus music cd) - so there you have a video game system that is doing its primary function at the same time as one of the functions the original poster did not want. Therefore the analogy holds and you are a fucking moron. Get over yourself.

    8. Re:Nonsense!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      video games and music at the same time
      Yeah, exactly, except there was no mention of these capabilities being used at the same time.

    9. Re:Nonsense!! by acxr+is+wasted · · Score: 1

      ...and the winner is: Acidic_Diarrhea! Yay!

      --
      "Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
  2. Ease of Switching Over by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 1
    How much of a pain in the ass are service providers when you tell them you want to use a different phone model that you are providing? For instance, I have a Verizon Account. If I were to go out and buy an N-Gage or PSP, will Verizon slap me around with hefty service charges in order to have my phone changed? I am new to the Cellular Revolution and therefore haven't had any experiences with this. I assume that it's not a big deal from the technical side BUT it seems like the cell phone service companies have some of the slimiest business practices.

    I'd be interested in getting a PSP and if I did get one, it would make sense to have it serve as my phone as well.

    --
    I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    1. Re:Ease of Switching Over by rufo · · Score: 1

      Right now the way it works is if you have to cancel your contract with your cellular provider, you're out around $200 (sometimes more, sometimes less, if you're reeeeally lucky you may be able to dodge it). Once your contract runs out, however, you can switch and there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. However, once the number portability deadline rolls around in November, there may be some sort of fee for changing your number to another provider, but there's no way of knowing how much they'll charge, or if they even will charge. I would doubt that the provider you switch to will charge you, though - it's just another chance for them to lock you into a contract for a year or two.

      Also, keep in mind that quite often fun toys like this are relegated to the Japanese market. I'm not saying they won't introduce the phone in the US, just that it may be unlikely. I'll bet anything Sony (and MS/Nintendo) are watching Nokia's N-Gage experiment very closely to see how well it does...

      --
      My English teacher once told me that two positives don't make a negative. Two words for her: Yeah, right.
    2. Re:Ease of Switching Over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I were to go out and buy an N-Gage or PSP, will Verizon slap me around with hefty service charges in order to have my phone changed?

      No. If you break contract and go to another provider, be prepared to pay an early termination fee. If you're just using a new phone on an existing account you won't be charged for it.

    3. Re:Ease of Switching Over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want an N-Gage you're out of luck. It runs on a different cellular standard than Verizon. Good thing nobody wants one...

    4. Re:Ease of Switching Over by Tombstone-f · · Score: 1

      At Verizon you can simply get a new phone and they'll switch the service for free. At least they did that for me when I broke my old phone (used a friend's old phone). Of course the N-Gage won't work. I think you need a gsm network.

  3. Is this a problem? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 1

    Will you really have more than one of these devices?

  4. Great, a "complicated protection system" by Rayonic · · Score: 2, Funny

    That should both keep prices down, and forever thwart hackers! /dreamland

    --
    [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
  5. Not enough information, yet by Kris_J · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Much as I've ignored Sony's MP3-era portable music attempts because they don't actually directly support MP3 and I've been a little upset with their use of the (unnecessary) DMCA-protected "Magic Gate" technology in their PS2 memory cards (Datel 16 Meg PS2 memeory card owner here), I think it's a little soon to be raggin' on the PSP for being proprietory.

  6. Here's a thought... by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ..don't worry about copy restriction. Instead, pass the savings off to me, the customer.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
    1. Re:Here's a thought... by Fred+IV · · Score: 1

      Worked for the Dreamcast, didn't it?

    2. Re:Here's a thought... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 1

      "Worked for the Dreamcast, didn't it?"

      If memory serves, it was relatively easy to get pirated Dreamcast games. I don't know many people that actually tried that more than once, though. Wasn't really worth it.

      Then again, everybody I know would go buy the game if they really wanted it. It's a pain in the ass to wait for the download, burn it, and then hope its the right one. In 20 minutes I could go buy it.

      I, too, am sick of being punished because of other people. What Sony should do is get their fancy ass copy protection scheme going and then say "Because of the copy protection measures we've put into this system, we're lowering the average price of games." The benefit here is that customers would be more willing to accept these mechanisms *cough*WinXP*cough*, but it also really would lower piracy. Cost has more to do with piracy than anything else.

    3. Re:Here's a thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dreamcast, *cough* sarcasm *cough*

      20 minutes to download and burn will always be cheaper than paying full retail.

    4. Re:Here's a thought... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "20 minutes to download and burn will always be cheaper than paying full retail."

      Somehow I doubt pirates are updloading at 3 megabits a second.

      This is such a tired argument. Price doesn't mean everything. If that were true, who'd pay $3.50 for a 21 oz latte? Service and quality are things people pay for too. $10 to download a dreamcast ISO legitimately in 30 minutes is a better deal than 24 hours to maybe download an illegit .ISO that may or may not work.

    5. Re:Here's a thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe they upload at an irrelevant rate to alt.binaries.dramcast

    6. Re:Here's a thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Logve to discuss this, but I have to get back to my Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ROM, leaked a week before US release date and downloaded in under 5 minutes.

      Enjoy your Latte.

    7. Re:Here's a thought... by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 1

      iirc, the Dreamcast had a proprietary-format ROM (GD-ROM, 1GB disc), but since the system could also read CD-ROM formats, that's what most developers used. Burning a GD-ROM would've required a fairly expensive burner, but since it also required extra cost on the developer's end, and multiple-CD titles worked fine, it didn't slow most pirates down a bit.

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
  7. Umm... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

    I can buy a decent portable DVD player for $199. Why should I care if the PSP can play movies on some proprietary format? It's a game machine for crying out loud.

    I wish the MPAA would just use MPEG4 compressed mini DVD's like the GameCube or the PSP has. Then the PSP would be more interesting.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
    1. Re:Umm... by evilhayama · · Score: 1

      I think the point is actually similar to having a camera on your mobile phone. It's not amazingly useful, and not the best/cheapest camera you can get, but it's handy enough to sell more phones and attract the gadget crowd.

    2. Re:Umm... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      " It's not amazingly useful, and not the best/cheapest camera you can get, but it's handy enough to sell more phones and attract the gadget crowd."

      I understand your point, but wanted to nitpick your comment about the camera phones. They serve a very useful purpose: assuming you have one of these phones, it goes everywhere you do. This is in stark contrast to most digital cameras. You've got it, but only remember to bring it on trips etc.

      Does this defeat your point? No, it strengthens it. I think NG's being a little too cynical here. I don't want to carry both a PSP and a dvd player on a plane. I carry enough shit with my laptop etc. If I can buy a movie or two for the PSP, then I'm set for that trip.

      At least I think this supports your point. Sorry for the nitpick, but I got into it with somebody the other day claiming camera phones were completely worthless.

    3. Re:Umm... by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 1

      Of course, if I had a camera in my phone, I couldn't take it with me to work. At best I'd have to leave it in my car. So, not only would the camera render my phone useless 8 hours out of the day, but I'd have a camera that wasn't quite as useful to me as a stand-alone camera would be.

      Then again, they haven't said anything about all of those little USB memory sticks yet, I'm just waiting for them to kick all of the people with those out of the building.

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
  8. Peripherals... by evilhayama · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The PSP already sounds like it's going to be a biggish device with the umd discs, and now you're going to have to add things to it to get a phone and camera attached to it? This thing is going to be huge after all that, hardly pocket sized. The only advantage would be that I no longer have to have 3 pockets on my pants to carry mobile, camera and GBA at the same time. Now I need one HUGE pocket for the PSP.

    1. Re:Peripherals... by quecojones · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Dude, I understand what you're saying, but the point is that you'd only get those peripherals if you feel the need/want to get them. I'm sure countless people will be perfectly happy to get a PSP striclty for gaming with the occasional music/movie disc (assuming anything worth getting is ever released in the UMD format).

      As for size, the discs don't look to be much different from the MiniDiscs and they've been able to make devices that use those small enough. The deciding factor for the size, I think, will be the screen/controls. I'm just kind of put off by the fact that it will only have two shoulder buttons instead of four... for some crazy reason, I think that they should still try to work the four in there. I have no idea as to how to go about that and maintain a reasonable size for the device, but I still want it. I just keep thinking that whatever PS1 classics get ported over to the PSP won't feel quite right without those two extra buttons... maybe I'm just too picky. ;)

      Personally, I'd get the phone/camera peripheral only if it were a combined thing (like the current camere/phones). Other than that, the only thing I'd go for is whatever connectivity device they come out with for hooking it up to my PS2 (and in the future PS3) and maybe whatever adaptor it would need for hooking it up to a regular TV for when I'm away from home, but at a fixed location for a while.

      All of the above is dependant on the price of the peripherals and that of the PSP itself though.

      --
      "PROFANITY is the inevitable literary crutch of the inarticulate MOTHER FUCKER." -- some PC user
  9. I have one and only one thing to say by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    My purchase of this device relies solely on one thing: the games. If the games are good, I'll get one. If not, I won't. I couldn't care less the kinds of whiz-bang features the put into it when I'm shoping for a handheld game system.

  10. Off by PaleZer0 · · Score: 1

    Can someone please push off on the hype machine until we have a little more to go on than just words.....

    --

    PaleHour
  11. Buuut. by luekj · · Score: 1
    Can it render cinematics from episode 17 in real-time with blended peanut maps?

    I don't think so.

    --
    Many Thanks,

    Luke

  12. Palm OS? by WoTG · · Score: 1

    I wonder if they'll toss in PDA functions with a Palm OS emulator... good way to get these sold to businesses.

    "It's for business use, really!"

  13. emulator? by cloudless.net · · Score: 1

    Instead of using an emulator, perhaps they can simply use the Palm OS as the operating system for the PSP? That would immediately give it a huge selection of games and software.

    1. Re:emulator? by suyashs · · Score: 1

      Palm OS 5 is very unstable...and besides, Sony doesn't like paying royalties, they will either make a new OS or use a Linux based platform...

      --
      http://chrono.posterous.com/