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PSP Dated, PSX Convergence Plans Discussed

Posted by simoniker on from the stork-coming-to-sony's-family dept.

Thanks to PlayStation.com for their feature interviewing new Sony Europe boss Chris Deering about Sony's portable PSP, the multi-purpose PSX, and more. Notably, the interview strongly suggests that the recently-announced PSP will be simultaneously released worldwide next year: "There's no official date for its unveiling, but it has been announced that the target date for its global launch is November 2004." Deering also explains why Sony's PSX 'media center', encompassing a PlayStation 2 with TiVo-like capabilities, is the first stage of their attempts to create an all-in-one entertainment device: "PSX makes that all very simple with a fun and easily understood navigation system, which is the core of it really. And once you have that in place, along with the sizable hard drive capacity, you can also do other things that make more sense in the living room than on the desktop."

28 comments

  1. Well! by obeythefist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's interesting that Sony is working on a series of "convergence" devices like the "multipurpose" PSX. That would be the caused by the many sales of xboxes related to people wanting to use it as a multifunction entertainment device.

    Of course, people who use the xbox as a multifunction device tend to hack it and use linux or whatever to drive it. Not Microsoft's intention I'm sure!

    So will Sony release an equally "hackable" playstation, or have they missed the point?

    --
    I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
    1. Re:Well! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Sony has got the point. The point is sit down, shut up, and play playstation games. They get nothing when you hack the device. The playstation 2 exists only to sell playstation 2 games.

      Not that I have any problem with hacking game consoles. I just don't think that is sony's goal.

  2. Poor planning by M3wThr33 · · Score: 1

    Uhm, no component cables? Why spend so much for something that won't even look pretty?

  3. Someone explain? by Sklivvz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    From the article: "It's true that PSP is not directly compatible with PS one or PlayStation 2, but it may have several areas of compatibility, through the Memory Stick, with PSX. Consumers are getting smarter and more familiar with the digital era and the different ways to enjoy interactive entertainment.".

    So, PSP is barely compatible with PSX - but not with PSone or PS2. Not good. And then the next sentence: consumers are getting smarter.... right! So if I'm getting smarter I have to own a PSX?? I mean if the products I bought from Sony are not compatible with each other, how is Sony rewarding me for being a smart consumer?
    Unless... Consumers become smart buying the PSX and PSP, dropping their PS2 in a dump... yeah right, very smart! :-O

    --
    My Stack Overflow user
    1. Re:Someone explain? by TechnoPops · · Score: 1

      By compatibility, I would garner a guess and say he's hinting the ability to copy audio, and maybe even video, from the PSX and listen/watch it on the PSP, which would actually be quite cool.

      As for no backwards compatbility with PSone and PS2, think about the UMD disc size. They deliberately went with a small optical disc because it keeps the system small, while being able to store wads of data. If it had to hold a full size disc, the portable would be big and cumbersome to use as a portable gaming system. So, really, do you want something reasonably small that might possibly fit in your pocket, or something that would be over 6 inches long and wide, and you'd need to stow in a bag? I think we know the answer here.

      --
      "Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
    2. Re:Someone explain? by Babbster · · Score: 1
      I consider myself relatively smart and familiar with the digital era, and I couldn't possibly care less whether or not the PSP is compatible with anything beyond good PSP games. Some of the interactivity between the Gamecube and GBA is interesting, but if they had nothing to connect them I'd still own both devices.

      I read this as pure marketing drivel that exists solely to be commented on by enthusiasts and analysts. For any game console, I would paraphrase that famous Clinton campaign message: "It's the games, stupid."

    3. Re:Someone explain? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You don't get it. When he says "consumers are getting smarter", it is an indirect way of saying "smart people choose PSP and PSX". The reason for this is, most people are stupid, and will take this subliminal message to heart. They will go out and buy these devices, and feel smart for it.

      Actual smart people are less common, so were not the target of this well crafted sentence. Marketing is targetted at the masses. It might end up confusing the people it wasn't written for (because it is usually nonsensical), but it is impossible to market to everybody at once.

    4. Re:Someone explain? by bhtooefr · · Score: 1

      What I'm wondering is how hard would a PS1/PS2 port be. Would it be a simple burn-it-on-a-UMD, or is the PSP actually different inside?

      BTW, someone has made a portable PS1 - http://www.classicgaming.com/vcsp (forget URL to the PS1 Portable, but click Systems, and then PSp)

  4. Silly tech industry by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The consumer electronics industry has pushed "convergence" for a long time, and the market has continued to support the modularity of separate devices over all-in-one machines.

    Of course, that doesn't mean that some multifunctionality isn't desired. Personally, I love the fact that my game consoles (minus the Cube) play DVD movies. That sort of convergence wasn't forced, but was just a natural choice, given the fact that Sony and Microsoft opted to use the DVD format for their game discs. Now, adding DVD to a console that doesn't use DVD for the game functionality would be a different story.

    At this point, though, I don't see shoving TiVO-like capabilities into game machines. In the future, when the standard hard drives are much larger, maybe it will be just a natural feature to add in. But I think it is ill-advised to add features that require equipment above and beyond what you're using for the device's primary functionality.

    1. Re:Silly tech industry by JFMulder · · Score: 1

      Considering that DVRs like the Scientific Atlanta's costs 450CAN$, or TV cards like TV@nywhere which cost 80CAN$, I don't see how can this kind of technology can be included into consoles cheaply, even with big hard drives.

      Personally, I wouldn't use a PVR and record as much if it wasn't for the on-screen programming guide. This is a service you have to pay for, and personally, I wouldn't pay so my console can record TV shows. I'd rather stick to a dedicated device.

    2. Re:Silly tech industry by iainl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The biggest problem with the PSX's idea of a Tivo capability in a games machine is that the cost savings of convergence come through using the same hardware components to do multiple things.

      Which means I can't record TV (in order to watch it later, skipping over the ad breaks, or just because its something my wife wants to watch when she gets home) and play games at the same time. Which would be really, really annoying.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    3. Re:Silly tech industry by Blackknight · · Score: 1

      That's why we have things like multi-tasking. There's no reason the PSX couldn't record shows and play a game at the same time.

    4. Re:Silly tech industry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can barely multitask a computer set up to be a PVR and you want a "convergence" device that will use cheaper and less powerful parts to pull this off as well? Don't think so.

    5. Re:Silly tech industry by h0mer · · Score: 1

      Blackknight is right, any scheduled recording can still take place while you're playing games. Also, there's a pause button for games, but not pressing Start. It just freezes the game exactly how it was, something akin to an emulator.

      --


      I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
    6. Re:Silly tech industry by iainl · · Score: 1

      Really? It has enough processing power to record and play games at the same time? That certainly wasn't the impression I got from reading the publicity stuff.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    7. Re:Silly tech industry by *weasel · · Score: 1

      well, for the bulk price of the xbox's 8gb drive in 2000 you can get a ~40gb drive today - so pvr-necessary capacity is quite likely. dvd playback already requires mpeg2 decoding, and encoding hardware is only ~$15 for the part itself.

      getting it to work together might throw a total of $30 in cost into the machine. while this might seem high, remember that the ps2 and xbox successfully launched at $100 more than any console before them. MS has already taken steps to dramatically reduce the xbox2's costs (custom cpu, newer, cheaper vid tech deal with ati). bumping up initial unit prices to $350 would not likely send anyone running to the hills.

      the major justification though, is that PVR functionality is something that is ready for a breakthrough, just like DVD playback was last generation. including it in the next generation consoles could lead to that explosive widespread early adoption that the ps2 saw at release due it's dvd playback.

      Sony took a hit in unit pricing to put then-expensive DVD technology into its system, that no video game it published would need. but it was added purely to add multifunctionality to the device. they didn't add a DVD-ROM because game designers were running out of space for their games and demanding it.

      and people wouldn't be buying it as a convergence device: they'd be buying it as a cheap pvr that happened to have dvd playing and video game functionality.

      simply looking at game sales charts will show Sony's ps2 market dominance has not translated into vastly more game sales. it has 5-10x the console installed base, but doesn't sell nearly 5-10x more games than MS/Nintendo. many many people bought the ps2 that don't have a strong interest in gaming -- yet they ran out and bought one.

      this would have been a bad thing for anyone other than sony, as they all take a hit on selling the console itself. with a large section of the customers not buying video games, it could have been a huge net loss. However, Sony also profits from the expanded adoption of dvds overall. hence Sony promoted its multifunctionality, while MS (who do not profit from dvd movie sales and so would only lose if people bought their box as a dvd player) downplayed such multifunctionality (and charge $30 for a $1 remote if you want it).

      as you point out - the market is bearing a monthly subscription for PVR untility. this wipes out the fears of not making their money off people who buy the box but don't buy games - and indeed broadens their potential market and adds another revenue stream.

      imo (and remember that's all this is, opinion): adding PVR tech to the next generation of consoles is the necessary step for one of the giants to achieve clear market dominance. Nintendo really doesn't have to because of its first-party title strength.

      --
      // "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
    8. Re:Silly tech industry by bhtooefr · · Score: 1

      Umm... then why were games approaching 4 CDs on the PS1?

    9. Re:Silly tech industry by *weasel · · Score: 1

      if they -had- to increase storage size for game developers then why didn't sony just develop a custom dvd-rom like nintendo to cut down on piracy and keep unit price down?

      they're sony after all - they already have all the plants and parts to do a custom optical drive. it'd have been even cheaper for them to do than nintendo.

      clearly they felt a multifunction device had more market strength than a single-function device.

      --
      // "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
    10. Re:Silly tech industry by bhtooefr · · Score: 1

      I was saying that they DID need to increase storage size, because you were saying that the CD should have been enough.

      Also, a custom DVD drive couldn't play CDs, which was one strength of the PlayStation over the N64, and the drives WOULD be harder to make.

    11. Re:Silly tech industry by AltaMannen · · Score: 1

      There's the CPU power required for the game to run for one thing (I'd say just around 100%), plus the I/O stuff which is usually kind of busy during gameplay too.

    12. Re:Silly tech industry by *weasel · · Score: 1

      fair enough. i didn't own a playstation, and no-one i know had games that used more than one CD. (outside FF, but that seemed mostly due gratuitous fmv) maybe they did need to increase storage size. i stand corrected.

      but you're saying that playing CD's was a strength of the ps is kind of my point.

      Sony has always made decisions to compete against nintendo (and now MS) with multifunction devices.

      consider the PSP specs. it isn't just going to just do video games. they are intentionally specifying mpeg4 decoding (so they can get 2 hrs of FMV on their media disc) mp3, aac, and ATRAC support. none of these are necessary for successful portable gaming -- nintendo has shown that. in fact, nintendo is only releasing the gameboy video player in america now, imo, to combat the multifunctionality of the PSP.

      but i digress.

      --
      // "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
    13. Re:Silly tech industry by asjk · · Score: 1

      I was considering buying a PSX to have a second PS2 system to use AND to get the benefit of PVR abilities. I have a question about the later though. With more shows in digital and the handful of channels I get as HDTV will the machine have enough capability to reproduce recorded material with reasonable fidelity?

  5. Nintendo's the winner here. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I like their philosophy. Why should the consumer pay an extra $200 for a feature you can get from somewhere else cheaper and better? It's nice that it's all together, but I prefer one good console and one good Tivo and good DVD player for a little extra money and a little extra space over a single device that does it all, but only half as good of a job. Things like progressive scan DVD players come to mind.

    Not to mention you lose other features of a regular PS2 for getting this...

    1. Re:Nintendo's the winner here. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same. I remember when the playstation 2 first came out. My sister and her boyfriend thought it was the greatest thing in the world at first. A great game console, and a DVD player. That was until they actually opened the box. He wanted to play games and she wanted to watch DVDs. They had 2 TV's, but just one playstation 2. Luckily DVD players are cheap now so that really isn't an issue any more.

    2. Re:Nintendo's the winner here. by blueZhift · · Score: 1

      Exactly! I want my game machine to play games, my DVD player to play DVDs, and my pc to stay in the freakin office!

      That said, Sony would have been better off to simply repackage the basic PS2 functionality into what looks and acts like a standard DVD player. This would be a DVD player that just happens to play PS2 and PSOne games. Then from this point forward, _all_ Sony DVD players would have this capability into the future. That would be a real coup, so don't be surprised if this comes to pass sometime before the PS3 comes out.

      --
      To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
  6. Linux not required for Xbox multimedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I actually removed GentooX (Xbox Gentoo distro) because I found Xbox Media Center more suited for my Audio/Video needs. It plays almost every movie format, excluding Quicktime, Windows Media 9, and some others. But it 's played every bootleg movie I've ever gotten. Ogg Video, DiVx, Xvid. I'm sure there will be modchips for the PSX.

  7. Cheaper to buy all 3 consoles & TiVo than PSX by gearheadsmp · · Score: 1

    I agree - I doubt the PSX will be able to do PVR functions while the owner is playing games. Even then, I could still buy a Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, and TiVo for the same price of a PSX.

    $100 Gamecube
    $180 PS2
    $180 Xbox
    $350 + 100 TiVo Series 2 80 hours w/o subscription
    ----
    $810