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Sony CTO Reassures PSP Fans

Posted by Zonk on from the i-assure-you-i-am-not-kidding dept.

Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz for its article regarding new PSP news, including statements by Sony CTO Masa Chatani that "our plan to sell the PSP within the year is secure". He also revealed some new features of the PSP, such as a "home page" type screen, while being quite quiet on the battery issue. Commentators still seem to find it unlikely that the PSP will be out before 2005.

11 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. Pre-sales? by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Do pre-sales count as "sales in '04"?

    --
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
  2. Battery life and homepage by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Am I the only one who gets really sick of turning on my PS2 with a game in it and I have to go through the whole damn PS2 menu just to play the game?

    Some games just go right to the game when this disc is in and the unit is on, but many don't.

    Frankly, with the PSP, if battery life is an issue, and I can't see why it wouldn't be, I don't want to waste time/battery life going to a damn homepage. I want to play a game. This isn't a handheld computer, this is a portable gaming device, don't add steps that make me wait longer to play the damn game.

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    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
    1. Re:Battery life and homepage by Firehawke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "PS2 Menu"? If you're talking about the browser, if that's coming up with a disc in the drive, then you've got drive problems and it's not recognizing the disc without a struggle.

  3. Screw battery life... by Paladin128 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm much more worried about the speculated $350 price tag. That's one great way to keep it out of my pocket.

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    Lex orandi, lex credendi.
    1. Re:Screw battery life... by ooPo · · Score: 2, Funny

      That feature was designed to remove any fat wallet you may have preventing you from inserting a psp fully inside the pocket.

      Sony is thinking about us!

    2. Re:Screw battery life... by MBCook · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I agree. I want one, but if they price it above $250 they are shooting themselves in the foot and will be another Sega Nomad (those were expensive at first as I remember) or like the NeoGeo Pocket (don't remember the true name, but it premiered at like $500, IIRC).

      Their target audience may be "older and more sophisticated" with more discresionary income, but if they try anything over $250 they're dead.

      And I hope they do good with battery life (I trust they will). I'm not expecting the 20 hours a GBA can deliver, but they don't want to be the next GameGear (man did those things eat batteries!). But since the battery is internal and can't be swapped out (according to everything I've seen), when it's dead, it's dead (can't put new ones in like you could with the GameGear); so that's even worse.

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    3. Re:Screw battery life... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The neo geo handheld was the Neo Geo Pocket Color, or NGPC. The original handheld to price itself into irrelevancy was the NEC Turbo Express. I don't even remember the Nomad when it was new, I never saw one at all until much later when I got one as part of a trade or something. (I've since let it go; the battery life was abysmal.)

      I'm sure the PSP's battery will be at least as replacable as the iPod's :) I know the power consumption of the PSP is probably at least an order of magnitude higher than iPod's, and that wasn't your concern anyway, but I couldn't resist.

      Game Gear was a mobile device not designed for low power that used COTS alkaline batteries. The PSP is going to use a far more advanced battery, and it will be something custom-made for the PSP. I'm sure its battery life will be nowhere near as good as the GBA for example, but it's dramatically more machine, too.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. Money will already be spent on the DS by smanschot · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Money can be spent only once. By the time the PSP is in the stores, my cash will be alreasy spent on a Nintendo DS or two.

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    :: LoveChess ::
  5. What? by Thedalek · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Eh? Your PS2 doesn't always boot into the game? That, my friend, is most likely a physical problem (or you're just being impatient). It is certainly not a programming fault. Any time you power up your PS2 with a PSX or PS2 game in the drive, it should (barring harware failure or scratched up discs) boot straight into the game.

    If it stops at the menu, give it a few seconds. It has to validate the disc. If it never moves on, then your system is lacking functionality that other PS2s have, most likely due to a worn out laser assembly.

    Unless, of course, you're talking about the specific game's menu. That would just seem like whining, though.

    --
    Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
  6. Not reassuring by M3wThr33 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If Sony was truly confident about releasing it this year, the specs should be near final.
    Three main issues exist with the PSP. Launch time, price and playtime. Launch time is only questioned because of the neglect to the other 2 factors. Saying they'll release it this year should do nothing to relieve anyone because they haven't done anything else to confirm it. When they release REAL info regarding playtime and price, THEN you can estimate how far along they are.

    Only two situations can exist. They know the price and life. The question is if they are good or not.
    If it is expensive and dies like a fruitfly, then by not releasing info, they get fanboys to defend Sony by saying "They didn't confirm anything yet."
    If it is cheap and long lasting, keeping it hidden only instills doubt into the people. There's NO good reason to keep it hidden from us unless it's negative.

    Also, I'm not calling the people who put down speculation Sony fanboys. I'm just saying Sony fanboys will use that excuse to defend Sony.

    After seeing Nintendo's DS presentations in the US and Japan, there should be no doubts left about the system. You know whether you want it or not. Battery life, price, availability and launch games are set, mostly because it's launching in about 6 weeks.
    The PSP should be launching in the same timeframe, and battery life and price are hidden. Availability is questionable and launch games are shaky and unconfirmed mostly. (Maybe I'm wrong, but GT4PSP was delayed, right?)

  7. ...who cares? by ZeeCog · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The battery life was very vaguely referred to as being around 8 hours. Then they threw in the wildcard of power conservation requirements for developers effectively negating what was already revealed. Also, the still yet-to-be-disproven pricepoint rumour of $350 dollars hangs over this system like a dark cloud. If I was Sony, and there was this rumour floating around about how the handheld I'm supposed to be debuting soon is grossly overpriced, I would hastily take motions to put it down. So it leaves me to wonder. If Sony hasn't yet to put down such a "rumour", what does that say? I'm guess its not so much of a rumour as we think. Sorry, Sony, but I would never even consider buying a handheld priced over even $200.

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    -Zeecog