Sony Exec Confirms PSP Delay Possibility

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Sony Exec Confirms PSP Delay Possibility

Posted by Zonk on Friday October 15, 2004 @06:15AM from the raise-your-hand-if-you're-surprised dept.

PSP launch delays have been discussed before, but GamesIndustry.biz is running an article today in which network systems exec Izumi Kawanishi confirms the system may be delayed. This despite continuing announcements regarding launch titles for the system. From the article: "Speaking in an interview with Impress Watch AV, Kawanishi said that it is still possible that the console will be released this year in Japan, but that this depends on whether game publishers will have software ready for launch."

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DS wins by default? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 06:28 · Score: 0

Does that mean we can declare the DS the winner of the next gen handheld war, or does it still have to pick up market share to prove itself?
1. Re:DS wins by default? by maiku · 2004-10-15 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'm tempted to say yes, but of course, it ain't over till it's over. The Dreamcast beat the PS2 to market by over a year. The result? Today the DC is $15 used while the PSTwo sells for 10 times that. Granted, there are a lot of factors I'm leaving out, but first to market doesn't always guarantee success.
2. Re:DS wins by default? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 07:55 · Score: 0
  
  IT'S OVER FOR THE BOSOX I CAN TELL YOU THAT!!!!
  Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive
3. Re:DS wins by default? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 08:04 · Score: 0
  
  We need a "copy & paste from the post screen" filter.
better than M$ by ShroomSolo · 2004-10-15 06:30 · Score: 0, Flamebait

At least they want to wait until they have a descent product before relasing it unlike M$
1. Re:better than M$ by hollismb · 2004-10-15 06:46 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  What the hell does this article have to do with Microsoft? Any excuse I guess. And this also has absolutely nothing to do with the product being decent or not. It has to do with games being available for said product. Gee, they won't release the system until there are games for it, big shocker.
2. Re:better than M$ by buffer-overflowed · 2004-10-15 06:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Umm... MS actually makes pretty good hardware, much better build quality in their PC peripherals and in the XBox than Sony(who pretty much sucks at everything except TVs since the moved manufacturing out of Japan). I think the Gamecube *might* outlast the XBox, but only because the XBox has an HDD and you don't have to simply pop the hatch to clean the laser. They're probably about tied for overall build quality though.
  
  In this area, you really can't go off on a MS hating tangent.
  
  Perhaps you mean decent product as in "a gaming platform with games on it?"
  
  Or, are you just hoping "Descent" gets ported to the PSP?
  
  --
  The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
3. Re:better than M$ by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  I loved that game! A portable Descent would be awesome, but the lack of buttons would be it's downfall. That thing needed a whole keyboard to be fully playable though.
4. Re:better than M$ by drinkypoo · 2004-10-15 13:11 · Score: 1
  
  Umm... MS actually makes pretty good hardware, much better build quality in their PC peripherals and in the XBox than Sony
  
  Playstation and Dual Shock controllers are the best controllers since the original NES gamepad. Next comes SNES, then Dual Shock 2, which I found to be somewhat unreliable in the button department.
  
  Microsoft's game controllers are all right, but questionable ergonomically - their D-pads are especially strangely shaped and I found them pretty much unusable. Their mice are of very strange shape as well - to me, nothing beats the Logitech dinosaur-footprint-shaped mice (the tall, square-shouldered triangular ones) followed closely by the classic logitech mouse design found everywhere for cheaper than microsoft mice. Logitech's mouse software is better than Microsoft's, too.
  
  My favorite piece of Microsoft hardware is the Digital Sound System 80 - Manufactured/designed by Philips.
  
  The Xbox is a pretty well-built system, and so far my controllers (including used ones) are holding up admirably. But, I'm not very impressed by any other hardware, especially for what you end up paying for it if you buy it new and before it hits the bargain bin. Hmm, their original force feedback steering wheel was OK, too, but my logitech driving force wheel pees all over it for less money.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
5. Re:better than M$ by buffer-overflowed · 2004-10-15 21:57 · Score: 1
  
  The dual shock is better overall with it's buttons than the dual shock 2, but they both have really weak shoulder buttons. Frequency or Amplitude will kill either relatively quickly(since that's pretty much all you use), especially if your roommate is a guy you nickname "Mongo the destroyer."
  
  We ended up using a dremel to fabricate some replacements for the little weak plastic bits inside the shoulders and that worked well. Little different feel to it, but they became nigh indestructable.
  
  Haven't had any problems out of the GCN controller, which is probably personally my favorite controller thus far, nor have I heard of a lot of problems with the XBox controller, but there really isn't anything out as hard on those shoulder buttons as Amplitude or Frequency is.
  
  Anyway, nothing beats the original square NES controller for sheer durability though, as all of us who threw them at walls can attest to.
  
  As to MS's hardware. Never had any durability problems out of it(and I worked on-site/phone support for quite a while, can count the number of mice, keyboards and trackballs that broke[out of several thousand] without resorting to fingers or toes[0]), unless you really, really abused it. It's a bit overpriced, and I prefer old IBM keyboards[clicky] and logitech mice ergonomically, but eh, that wasn't really the assertion.
  
  I mean, the XBox can take a bullet, and I still have a working version of every Nintendo system made thus far. OTOH I don't have a PS2 right now because for the 2nd time my laser assembly died, and my PS has been dead since prior to the PS2's launch. Granted, I'm a smoker with gas heat and use my systems A LOT throughout their lives, as well as all of this being anecdotal, but still.
  
  --
  The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
6. Re:better than M$ by accelleron · 2004-10-16 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  This is correct.
  When Joe and Jane Average go to buy their 13-year old a Playstation Portable, they're likely not to give it to him with an SDK, if you know what I mean. They'll want to make sure it has that Gran Turismo 3 Johnny's been wanting.
  
  Regardless of what us techies think, the PSP is a platform. What matters is content.
  
  To put it in perspective, if Sony were to release a player that played BluRay discs tomorrow, we'd be psyched. But how many of us would actually BUY it for $500+ when there were no commercially available discs yet, and no publically available recorders yet? I think few, if any. This is the same story.
  
  --
  Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
7. Re:better than M$ by drinkypoo · 2004-10-16 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  Later PS2s have a much more reliable laser unit than early ones. It will be interesting to see how the new PS2 comes out. I find it amusing that Sony, the partial inventor of the CD player and inventor of the portable CD player, should have the worse laser units around, but they certainly seem to have.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
8. Re:better than M$ by buffer-overflowed · 2004-10-16 15:23 · Score: 1
  
  Well, I've gone through 2 PS2s thus far... and my neighbor has one. So I'm pretty much just going to wait for the PS3 to come out, and at that point decide to get a cheap PS2 or a PS3.
  
  --
  The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
From TFA by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 06:52 · Score: 0

In the same interview, Kawanishi explained a little more of the planned functionality for the device - which will appear as an external drive when connected to a PC with a USB cable, allowing users to drag and drop MP3 or ATRAC3 music files and JPEG images directly onto it.

You can plug this into a computer and have files transferred to it? But doesn't it only have like 64MB of RAM? What will this do to your gameplay?
1. Re:From TFA by KDR_11k · 2004-10-15 08:06 · Score: 1
  
  It uses a memory stick as non-volatile memory.
  
  --
  Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
2. Re:From TFA by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-15 08:07 · Score: 0
  
  Files you drag to the PSP get put on the memory stick you tard
3. Re:From TFA by Lazyhound · 2004-10-15 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  I think it has a MemoryStick slot.
Well, since no one has said it yet... by Hamster+Lover · 2004-10-15 08:08 · Score: 1, Troll

Are we surprised? Nope.

When the hell are we going to learn that Sony says one thing and does another? The PS2 will push 100 bajillion polys a second and have more power than a super computer, and so on. Why do we believe this shit?

Can't they be at least a little more honest? Especially about hardware problems with the PS2, of which I don't own anymore since the last two failed. They really are their own worst enemy and have completely lost credibility with me.

End of rant.
1. Re:Well, since no one has said it yet... by mausmalone · 2004-10-15 14:10 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Look, nobody believed it, but /. posted it anyway ... exactly when DS info came out. Now that more DS info is coming out, everyone's reporting on how the PSP is being delayed. This is a standard Sony strategy to keep their product in the press as long as possible, and to keep the competition out. Unfortunately, the ever-retarded video game press still hasn't caught on.
  
  --
  -=-=-=-=-=
  I'd rather be flamed than ignored.
Lost in shitty Translation by News+for+nerds · 2004-10-15 08:58 · Score: 4, Informative

The original Japanese interview on which this story is based on is here. It has a sequel at here.

But I found interesting is, there's difinitely some unfortunate mistranslation of those US/UK media (Gamespot, Gamesindustry.biz) that jumped on this 'confirmation' like some brainless Nintendo fanboys.

This is the literal translation of the original article (You can't find what Kawanishi stated directly, but a summary by the interviewer).

"For the release date (of PSP), he said, while it depends on negotiation with software makers, it's sure thing that (Sony) will release it (PSP) in this year." So what matters is not when it will be released, but when in this year it'll be released.

It's as if those news websites mistranslated it like "for the release date (of PSP), he said, while it's sure thing that (Sony) can release it (PSP) in this year, it depends on negotiation with software makers", but it's not the case, for even the caption of this paragraph is "The release is in this year with a reasonable price". It's an impossible speculation job to connect it with delay when even the original interviewer doesn't.

Since Kawanishi is the head of developers at Network Systems Division and not a high exec like CTO/CEO or whatever who can announce the exact date, he made it vague relating it with software schedule. But he confirmed the release in 2004, not delay.