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PSP Site Launches, Launch Titles Confirmed
The Official PSP Website has launched with details on the system and games. GamesIndustry.biz has a list of the PSP Japanese Launch Titles we can expect when the system hits retailers. From the Article: With just over three weeks to go until the PlayStation Portable launches in Japan, Sony has revealed that buyers will have six games to choose from on day one, with around 20 games total due out before the end of December."
Will these things be region locked, or can I order on from the Japanese release and play US games on it when they are released on this side of the pond?
Keep Austin Weird!
Babelfish Translation:
n tent?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.playstation.jp%2Fpsp%2Fs oftware.html&lp=ja_en
http://world.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pageco
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
BLOCKED BY WEBSENSE. What would really be cool, although not very... ergonomic is if we could bring our memory cards and Playstation games that already exist and play them on the machine.
A third of the release day games are mahjong.
I guess those Japanese GOTTA have their mahjong.
in this particular market.... Its pretty much just been Nintendo Gameboy in the mainstream... its good to see a name (Sony) that everyone is familiar with finally breaking into it. Hopefully this will cause pressure to reduce pricing of systems overall. I believe the new system coming from Nintendo will have a similar number of launch titles. The pressure is on.
Then I might be able to learn a bit more about it on its official website. Does anyone have a translation that isn't taken from BabelFish or some other lame auto translation site? I'd like to know all the official specs and stuff.
--
Sounds like a scam, but it works.
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infested with jello like fishes no melotron wishes
Let the hacking begin!
Oh boy! I can't wait to pre-order such classic titles as - Piposaru Academia: Dossari Saru-gee Daizenshuu!
Seriously, where are the *REAL* games that don't involve pink lizards that use magical space eggs that spread love to an all-girl japanese school?
The games available at release and soon after do not look very interesting. Granted that the Japanese have different tastes in gaming, but other than Metal Gear it's a pretty bland list. I'm sure that the US launch will look quite different.
And is it just me, or is this recent trend toward "Sponsored Links" a real pain in the ass? When I see text in an article that is a link I expect it to be relevant, not a redirect to a merchant site.
Ok...raise your hand if you actually think this has a chance in hell of actually beating Game Boy.
/soapbox
Didn't think so.
I think this will go the way of the N-Gage, and Atari Lynx: *Bing* Thank you for playing.
Gameboy has the games, the market, the shelf-space, and the name recognition. And to top it all off, it's a good product. If the DS is going to ship with the perpetuating network, as has been hinted, it will be unstoppable.
That's all
Sorry to be a shill for Sony, but that thing looks great. My camera has a memorystick, by the looks of it I can use the PSP to look at the pictures on a better screen than the camera's. Anyone know if it plays movies off the memorystick, or what the price is going to be in the US?
Wow this is really interesting. Take a look at this quote from their website:
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WTF????
What happened to Gran Turismo 4?
People that fall for that line of reasoning deserve what they get.
I bet Sony is impressed that Slashdot gave them a Gameboy icon. From the 1989 Gameboy no less.
JoeLinux, Blackmonday; it will b an uphill battle for Sony. But they started out some 11 years ago with another battle. Who won? There's no question that Nintendo has a very good grip on the hanheld marked now, but they had a stranglehold on the console market before. And things have happened in other markets as well.
I hope it will (fo once) be a battle where the better alternative comes out on top. Unlike the VHS - Beta battle, WordPefect - Word Battle, OS/2 - Windows battle....
I'm not really sure what the fascination is with card game simulations, but so it goes. Then again, maybe I shouldn't knock it until I play it.
Well, it looks like the Japanese price is 19,800 Yen which turns out to be about $190. I don't know if that's what Sony will sell it for here and I expect they might sell it for lower considering the Nintendo DS will be selling for $150. But who knows.
--
Sounds like a scam, but it works.
Free Flat Screens | Free iPod Photo |
infested with jello like fishes no melotron wishes
I hope it will (fo once) be a battle where the better alternative comes out on top.
Define "better". How much time did a player get on one 24-pack (4 sets) of AA batteries in a Game Gear? Compare to a 24-pack (6 sets) of AA batteries in an original Game Boy, even with the lighting accessories turned on. Now compare the PSP battery life (3 hours on a charge in practice) with that of the DS (well over twice that).
I'm not sure whether to jump at this or the Nintendo DS. To be honest, I love the Playstation 2, but after all the anti-hype about battery life on the PSP, I think its a tough question.
Certainly the hardware on the PSP is extremely impressive, but I question whether it's impressive enough to warrant the two hour battery life (or less) that I'll have to spend another $45 for a spare battery (BTW, I like that you can buy a spare battery!).
DS might have taken the safer road with the long battery times while still providing a very good graphical experience. I'll probably end up waiting and seeing how much Sony can squeeze from the PSP, and see what games come out for what platform. After all, SOny did say that in "later revisions" of the firmware, they would be able to extend battery life out to 6 hours and beyond for high end games. Sounds ridiculous, but one can always hope.
uhm
/ ny ud.info
see the links pointing to
http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=3&q=http:/
?
It's a legit link to google and all but it's a redirect from there.
If PSP isn't launching in Japan fo another 3 weeks, it looks like the system will completely miss the holiday buying season in the US.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is launching the DS in time for Black Friday. Current estimates show pre-orders running in the 5 million unit range in both the US and Japan.
Nintendo will have 5 million systems in the hands of gamers before Sony delivers a single PSP.
The DS has better battery life and it's $50 cheaper.
There will be lots of DS systems sitting under the tree this year. There won't be any DS systems there.
Which system would you develop for if you were EA? The one that will have 5 million units shipped in the US before the end of the year or the system that will have none.
I know many my-dad-can-beat-up-your-dad Nintendo people and their opinions on how this system is just derivative drivel. That argument is a loss despite being valid. The real prize here is that a company that both MAKES things and owns the means of production to ENTERTAIN people with that is throwing their hat into the ring. Does Nintendo make a better game system? Probably, although the final judgement is horribly subjective.
Realize this device for what it is and not what refined old implementations it competes with now. This is a bona fide mobile communications/entertainment platform that also happens to play games. They made the screen giant and saw fit to include just one. Why? Look at the screen in the future and you will see.
I am impressed with this from a company direction standpoint. This direction doesn't and shouldn't ever suit Nintendo. I believe they should focus on games and the marketing thereof. Sony on the other hand has albums to record, movies to shoot and entire mobile media platforms to leverage under one roof. This stuff is off the hook!
May you live in interesting times.
Just in time for my trip to Osaka!
OK, I understand this is offtopic (Why was the grandparent not modded down then?), but I seriously did look at the link and I don't see the same thing he claims to. How am I a troll?
I wouldn't misunderestimate the Sony/EA relationship. That relationship had a HUGE hand in killing the Dreamcast and the Dreamcast beat the PS2 out the door by a wide margin. Take a good look at Nintendo's third party support for Gamecube. Take a good look at Sony's third party support for Playstation 2. Business relationships have a way of crossing from one device to the next. If this is the kind of thing Nintendo fan boys are grasping on, I think you are right to be nervous. The Gameboy Advance has good support now, but it has no competition. The video gaming elephant just walked into the middle of the room and its presence cannot be overstated.
One of the games (Lumines by Bandai) seems pretty interesting to me, because it's from the makers of Rez...
But not interesting enough to buy unto the platform. I just hope it comes out for some other system.
I don't even have a GameBoy yet, not sure why I would spring for a PSP with a lot less titles and an iffy future. They did at least price it well, perhaps it will have a fighting chance.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The difference is that Sony beat nintendo with a 3rd gen console both in launch date and price point.
This time, Nintendo is first and is cheaper.
Combined with the installed based of GBA (DS is backwards compatible) DS will simply be the winner here.
Handheld gaming will not take off with people over the age of 18. And please spare me the "but I'm 23 and I play on the bus to McDonalds where I work", because you're atypical. These things are for kids.
Did anyone see that NFS Rivals is coming out in December? Where's GT4 on that list? Talk about bitch-slap... EA is beating Sony's little darling to Sony's own platform!
I guess working 200 developers for 200 hours a week pays some dividends after all.
He's right, MGA's fighting component is a card game. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it's not going to be the kind of MG game Americans are used to.
Bland? Bland? Compared to what, Mario and Metroid? We could consider those "bland": just another franchise release, right?
Armored Core? Ridge Racers? Vampire Chronicles? One of those has to appeal on opening day. (Or maybe Golf or Mahjong, but those seem like obviously low-end titles.) Then there's Dynasty Warriors, Metal Gear, Puzzle Bobble, Puyo Puyo, NFSU, and Tiger Woods. Those are big names we recognize over here; some of the Japanese titles might be big names over there, too. Add on top of that other PSP originals Ren Goku and The Gagharv, both of which look to be awesome, and you've got a killer lineup. Compared to the PS2's US launch, that's amazing.
Compared to the DS launch, that's amazing.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
Liksang.com reports that the PSP games are going to be region-free.... meaning you could actually buy an import unit from liksang.com in december and play your US games when they get released. -In Absentia
If I remember right they were showing DS games at $50 as well until Nintendo actually announced American prices for them. They'll probably do the same for PSP games until Sony starts announcing American prices. That won't be for a long time.
Does anyone know, does the Japanese site linked here say anything about game prices?
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Sony continues to brag about the 333 Mhz processor in the system, but it's a lie. While the processor may technically be *capable* of running that fast, it's in fact been throttled to 222 Mhz. Developers have the option of running it even slower, but there is no way to run it faster.
First and foremost. Companies are in this industry to make money, now that we have this out of the way, look at the industry:
16bit Generation: Major japanese developers (capcom, konami, etc) jumped to make Megadrive/Genesis games. Why? Market share.
Rationale: More Systems = More chances of selling games
32bit Generation: Major publishers jump on CD-based systems. Why? To get away from the restrictive licensing practices of nintendo and to maximize on the cheap medium.
Excuse: We want to make better and bigger games.
Rationale: Cheaper media = higher profit margins.
Past 32/64 bit Generation: Publishers jump on the PS2 because it caught up with the Dreamcast despite a less-than-competitive 1st generation lineup.
Rationale = See 16bit generation Section.
Follow the money trail and you'll see where the developers will go. There are very very few publishers/developers that will get excited about the uniqueness of a platform. That will end up either benefiting or working against Nintendo, but at least they'll re-write the rules, because if a game is conceived with the DS in mind the ports to the PSP may not be the same experience.
Myself, I'll be buying both next year, hopefully when the 2nd generation of games is out and at a sweet price of $125
are doomed to repeat it
PSP(TM)(place t Shaun Portable)
R3
Stuff that matters: circuitbreakers, vacuum-cleaners coffee makers, calculators generators, matching salt+pepper shakers
Did I say that they wouldn't make any games for the DS? You're rediculous.
I didn't say EA wouldn't support DS. I merely argued that EA will likely support Sony. The grandparent was supposing that EA would NOT support Sony, and specifically because the DS launched first. I provided examples from history that disproved this and demonstrated the strong EA/Sony relationship. This shouldn't be controversial to the impartial observer.
Your misunderstanding is indicative of your personal fears about Nintendo failing.
Personally, I went with the DS for now. It launches earlier, has good games lined up over the next 3 - 5 months, and it is more affordable with being $50 less.
I'm not interested in a handheld system that won't last for at least 6 hours per charge. My GBA: SP does that quite well right now. I have had the Lynx, Nomad, GameGear, NeoGeo, and TurboGrafix handhelds in the past. Yet, I always end up coming back to the GB and GBA.
People are saying that the DS will have crap for games, yet if you look at the titles that were listed for the PSP back when it was announced who the developers were, you would have noticed that most of the games were simply ports of the games they are playing right now on their PS2.
I'm also not too interested in having to buy all of my movies again in order to watch them on the PSP. Heck, for $225 (about), I can have a DS and a portable DVD player. Yeah, it's 2 devices to carry around, but at least I won't be shelling out another $20 per movie to include movies that I have already on DVD so that I can watch them on the PSP (while hoping the battery lasts long enough to finish the final scenes of the LOTR movies).
I'll hold off on the PSP for now. I'm not saying that I won't get one ever, I am just looking at the pros and cons of each device and right now, in my opinion, the DS wins and will be the one I purchase first. There's going to be at least 2 million more people in the next 3 weeks, worldwide, that have one. If they unlock the 802.11b stuff quickly, that's 2 million people I have the option of playing against.
Don't decide what you want to believe, Mr. Metroid, then shape the facts to fit. Not much of what you said had anything to do with my post. The Dreamcast/PS2 battle is most relevent to the DS launching first. Period. Nothing else compares because it was the first time EA did not support a potential major platform in the US and the first time they were truly the 900lb third party publisher. Lack of EA's support can crush a platform, but I merely pointed out that EA will likely support Sony no matter what. So I'll offer up this.
That will end up either benefiting or working against Nintendo, but at least they'll re-write the rules, because if a game is conceived with the DS in mind the ports to the PSP may not be the same experience.
I haven't said much about the tech because its not out there yet. But Ill say this now because its based on public information and screenshots that exist and only backed up by what I have seen on the inside. (Are you watching buffer?) Based on everything I know, I wouldn't expect very many DS-> PSP ports. I would expect plenty of PS2-> PSP ports. And as long as we are following the money, which of those is cheaper and less risk for EA? Developing whole new games for DS or porting a PS2 game? Keep that in mind when weighing your understanding of the situation. What you want to happen and how you see things has little to do with reality.
"to the more mature crowd of gamers,"
You mean "teenagers".
Because it seems to be mainly 14-15 year old boys who are concerned with their imagine. Its mainly 12-16 year old boys and girls who actually use the label "mature" and "immature".
So a game is fine if it includes "mature" elements such as suggestive female clothing, and gore, but the same game is "immature" if it doesn't have those elements?
To someone a bit older, do you realize how, er, "immature" this sounds?
"Unlike the VHS - Beta battle"
VHS won because it was better.
Longer tape times
Cheaper machines
Ability to hold a full length movie
Beta FAILED in what the market wanted. It was inferior.
Sega Dreamcast was fighting a losing battle from the start.
The Saturn was toast LONG before the dreamcast was released. Worse, Sony Pre-announced the PS2 long before the Dreamcast was released in the U.S.
With the PS1 already dominant, and the PS2 was announced as "way better than anything ouut there, and oh by the way its backwards compatible", the Sega was essentially stillborn.
The whole "can play DVD" thing was never really an issue, because by the time the PS2 was released, DVD players were already around $100. It only allowed Sony to justify the high price tag on the PS2.
Lets move to the present.
The PSP can play movies. But how? On a new proprietary format that only works in the PSP? I doubt it. On memory sticks? How? Which movie studios are going to allow content to be put on movie sticks? Or is Sony banking on hackers ripping movies? That's so farfetched, it verges on science fiction.
And as to a hand-held movie player, there is no market for such a device. MS is trying to get vendors to try, but only a handful have, and there is not one. NOT ONE. success there.
So your premise on the PS2 is wrong, and your theory on the PSP as a portable movie machine is wrong. I mean, way wrong.
" This stuff is off the hook!"
Way to completely miss why the PSP will fail.
The PSP does nothing well, and unfortunately costs a lot to do nothing well.
To summarize:
1) Cannot really play movies. Oh, in theory it can, but there is no "software" to support this.
2) The games at launch are pitiful. Maybe this will be cured in 3 months.
3) I won't beat the battery life into the ground.
4) The DRM-ness of it all. Sony is a content producer and will not be all that keen to let you move your existing music and video content to this new device. Therefore, you will pay dearly to re-buy your existing CD's and DVD's so you can play on this device.
I'm too old to play any of these devices, but I see the PSP as DOA, while Nintendo's evolution handheld strategy as coherent and thoughtful.
Better hardware does not necessarily ensure a better quality game.Sony must be very excited.
I honestly can't believe that they're shipping this thing to retail with an average 2 hour battery life.
Even the Game Gear got 4 hours standard and the TG Express got 6.
Sony can't possibly expect people to be OKAY with 2 hours. What person is going to use a PORTABLE gaming system when they have to return in 2 hours time to recharge the battery? They can claim firmware revisions all they want, but the power consumption can't possibly budge that much.
I guess I'd take it all better if I knew that they had a rechargable 6-8 hour battery on the market.
I'd look at it like buying a camcorder then. You get a stock battery (1-2 hours) and then you get better ones (6-10 hours). If Sony goes that route, I'd probably be okay with it if the high end batteries were under $80.
The biggest difference here is that this is NOT a camera. It's a game system.
Cameras do intermittent on/off phases as you record when you want. A game system is likely to be on for a good stretch of 30-45 minutes at a time. Longer on a road trip/plane.
yes the Japanese games are different but there is a good reason. Firstly the system is not capable of running a full blown title as per PS2. So the designers are really forced to rethink their game style (and do they think) to fit the limitations of the hardware format. Take for instance konami with MG. They release MG but not *solid*, but Acid. Same franchise, different game style (with a card twist).
Konami already make a slew of GBA games so they pretty well unersand their market. Its a different market to PS/XB.
Remember Digimon , small animals, monsters fighting, computers and CARDS ... it's a bit like a digital D&D for those old enough /young enough to remember. All appeal to a very specific market.
After attending a ACMI game time symposium in Melbourne this year I had the chance to hear/see Tetsuya Mizuguchi [gamespot interview] ). He talked for about an hour about game design and a bit about some upcoming titles for PSP. I now understand a bit more about *Japanese* game style and take my hat off to true innovators. No cheesy ports of your [insert your top 10 title here] PS2, PC games here. All *new* original ideas.
For the first releases the games are squarely aimed at *kids* and certainly those with a sense for Japanse style (manga, pokemon, digimon, cards, et.-al.) and good taste (read the paul graham article, taste to understand what I mean).I already have a 6 year old drooling over my shoulder wondering how to get one of these.
peterrenshaw ~ Another Scrappy Startup
The one thing I still can't find any information about is a tentative US launch date and the US launch price. Anyone have this information yet?
The real question is: Can it run Linux?
"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are two beautiful but identical snowflakes."
Attack its weak point for massive damage!
There is already a PSP site, and that has been in existance for almost 10 years.
What will sell me on the PSP is how developers will harness the capabilities of it. Supposedly, there have been prototypes for a GPS, and a DVD player as well. Being able to dock my PSP in my car and use it for in-car navigation (hey Delorme - hint hint), or some other useful utilization of its capabilities besides games will sell me.
I was disappointed at the lack of innovative uses for the Playstation 2's USB (and on earlier models, IEEE1394). Thankfully, Sony released Linux for it, which have allowed me to use it for watching movies, a file server, etc.. I certainly hope Sony will do it again with the PSP (can you imagine wardriving with a PSP?)
Check out this video, i have no idea what they're saying, but man it looks pretty, and region free YAY! I thought I was gonna buy one of those opensource HHGS like the GP32, but screw i want this, just preordered from lik-sang :).
The DS is going to beat them out of the gate with a massive library of games while the PSP misses the US 4th Quarter completely. In addition, the stylus and 2 screens are going to give the developers more flexibility to make better, more interesting games. I played the DS at E3, it's fun. The PSP is just going to be more of the same and it's going to get stomped.
Regards, Ian
The Place-T-Shaun Portable game, "Need four speed Underground" isn't gonna fly off the shelves with THAT title :)