Top Ten Things About the Sony PSP

Bwahaha. by maskedbishounen · 2004-12-28 09:01 · Score: 2, Insightful

The battery time issue is fixable. Everyone was worried about what kind of battery time we would be looking at with such a powerful system. Well as of now, you can expect even the most intensive games to last well beyond 3 hours of play time, while other less graphically intense games can reach up to 6 hours.

Well beyond 3 hours! What is this, a joke?

It was dead before it was even released, and this is why.

--
"An infinite number of monkeys typing into GNU emacs would never make a good program."

Re:Bwahaha. by astrokid · 2004-12-28 09:16 · Score: 1

Since the battery is removable, it is conceivable that sony will release one from their 'stamina' line, like they do with the other consumer electronics they put out.

The next few months are going to be very interesting. Competition is a good thing.

--

Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
Re:Bwahaha. by maskedbishounen · 2004-12-28 09:27 · Score: 3, Interesting

You're going to take a 12 hour flight. You can have, what, two carry on bags now? One? Remember, these things have weight limits.

You can buy one of these, perhaps even later on shell out the money for an extended battery; or you can buy the rival unit that lasts for 2-3x times as long, natively.

I don't know about you, but I'm going for the latter in a heartbeat. :)

The point being, this is a portable device, yet with battery life like that, they're clearly not aiming for the portable market. It's insane that this even got out the door like this.

Or is it just me? Sigh.

--
"An infinite number of monkeys typing into GNU emacs would never make a good program."
Re:Bwahaha. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 10:02 · Score: 1, Insightful

These are the top-ten things about the PSP? This is it? The best the system has to offer?
They sound more like excuses to me.
Re:Bwahaha. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 10:49 · Score: 2, Insightful

You're going to take a 12 hour flight.

How often do you go on a 12 hour flight? I am willing to bet the majority of the people in the market for this device don't go on 1 trip the requires a 12 hour flight more then once a year. I am sure you can deal with keeping yourself occupied for 12 hours with out a video game, at least I hope.
Re:Bwahaha. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 11:11 · Score: 0

This is so true that it's a little sad.

The PSP's "pro" list reads like a list of compromises and "not completely cons."
Re:Bwahaha. by superpulpsicle · 2004-12-28 13:41 · Score: 1, Offtopic

People need to stop bashing the battery issue. You want to hear about battery issues? Look at the iPod's internal battery. Once that thing fries you can't recharge it, and you have to pay $99 to have Apple replace it for you. The PSP is nowhere close to that bad. If iPod can have a monopoly, so can the PSP.
Re:Bwahaha. by CrackedButter · 2004-12-28 13:53 · Score: 1

People need to stop bashing the battery issue. You want to hear about battery issues? Look at the iPod's internal battery. Once that thing fries after about 2 years you can't recharge it (mind you, thats with any device sporting a rechargable battery) and any you have to pay $99 to have Apple replace it for you or go 3rd party for $49. The PSP I suppose in retrospect is close to being that bad if not worse. If I compare an mp3 player to a hand held games machine I'm making a lot of sense anyway. This is because I overlooked the fact that the PSP has a removable battery anyway unlike the ipod.

--
Jonathanjk.com
Re:Bwahaha. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 20:53 · Score: 0

This is one of the reasons I opted to order the new iAudio G3 over an iPod. (the other being that I wanted a durable flash player that could take a beating amidst my various adventures) The G3 takes one AA battery and gets a record 50 hours of playback according to the specs. Much simpler to deal with, and even if I don't get the full amount it'll be far more than an iPod.
Re:Bwahaha. by Rew190 · 2004-12-29 00:50 · Score: 1

Of course, the only difference there is that you get about 6 hours of battery life out of the iPod initially and the battery only craps out quickly if you work only off of battery power A LOT (many have the iPod plugged in more than not, ie in cars, offices, etc). The battery life is complained about heavily with iPods, as it is the only real issue with the iPod.

Then you've got the PSP that only functions at half of that. Optimally. Whether you believe it's an issue or not, battery life is clearly an issue for the market. Using the iPod which generally has superior battery life (and still deservedly has a lot of complaints about the life) as some sort of reason why the terrible battery life of the PSP is justifiable is ridiculous.
Re:Bwahaha. by Golias · 2004-12-29 08:08 · Score: 1

The so-called "battery issues" of the iPod are completely overblown.

The iPod's internal battery often lasts much longer than they myths out there. A friend of mine and his wife bought the original generation-1 iPods. They are both still running with the original batteries.

Every laptop owner knows that rechargables need to be replaced after somewhere between 1 and 5 years, and it's hard to predict when that will be. $50 for a battery that lasts a matter of years is a bargain, compared to what it would cost to get that much power out of disposable Energizers or Duracels.

Oh... and the iPod battery is removable. Not easy to replace, because they chose to trade convenience of this one-every-few-years procedure for less bulk. I consider that a good trade.

That said, the current iPod has an 11-hour battery, allowing you to listen for an international flight without a recharge. The PSP battery, from the sound of it, doesn't even keep you amused for the duration that you'll be delayed on the tarmac.

--
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Re:Bwahaha. by Golias · 2004-12-29 08:18 · Score: 1

6 hours was last year's iPod. The current one goes for 11.

I run off the battery for several hours every day, with the older iPod you are talking about, it's still going strong. The duration has not even gone down as far as I've been able to notice.

The only reason you hear complaints is that people have unreasonable expectations about batteries. They think it should cost nothing, weigh nothing, take up no space, provide enough power to run a little hand-held computer with an internal HD (which is basically what an iPod is) and last forever.

A $50 battery which gets replaced every few years is not the end of the world, especially if you are somebody who can afford an iPod or PSP.

However, the short running time of the PSP is a bit of a disapointment for a portable game console. A battery with twice the time per charge would only slightly increase the size of this thing, and would make it a much more attractive toy.

--
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

That was pretty convincing... by Pacifix · 2004-12-28 09:10 · Score: 4, Interesting

I am definitely going to spend a lot of time deciding where to plop my $150. It takes about six months to see where the best games are coming out for a system. The PSP looks to be more hackable than the DS - AVI playback built in? MP3? Gorgeous screen? Nice. Now, what about the games?

Re:That was pretty convincing... by Seth+Finklestein · 2004-12-28 09:13 · Score: 2, Informative

The PSP does not support AVI; it rather supports SVI, Sony's DRM-encumbered "replacement for AVI." Likewise, you must convert all your MP3s to ATRAC3, Sony's DRM-encumbered "replacement for MP3."

Frankly, I would sooner urinate myself than spend $150 for a "MagicGate" equipped Memory Stick. How can you break the worst memory card "standard" even more? Add encryption.

Oh, and I'm going to jail for violating the DCMA with this post. See you next year.

--
I'm not Seth Finkelstein. I still speak the truth.
Re:That was pretty convincing... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 09:19 · Score: 0

I have already bought a DS and I am disapointed in the lack of battery life it has compared to my SP. The likelyhood of me buying the PSP with a max of 6 hours battery life is pretty slim. Smooth move Sony. I will stick to my more economy based handhelds rather than the Dragster of hanhelds.
Re:That was pretty convincing... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 11:27 · Score: 2, Informative

I have a GBA with a third-party rechargeable battery, an SP, and a DS, in addition to many old GBs and other handhelds.

Battery life hit a peak with the GBA SP. No question, anyone with a GBA SP has been spoiled rotten with the amount of juice you can squeeze out of the thing. It's wonderful.

The DS has shorter battery life than the GBA SP, thanks in part to the move away from unlit/fronlit screens to backlit screens. The more advanced hardware (including surprisingly awesome stereo speakers that can be turned up pretty damn loud) and the wireless capabilities certainly contributed here too. But I find myself charging my DS up more often than my GBA SP, and it's a little strange to go back to doing that after going forever without charging my GBA SP.

People that are claiming that the PSP's typical average of 3-6 hours is enough really seem like weirdos to me. Have they never owned a GameBoy, PDA, or even a cell phone? I have owned many types of each aforementioned device, and 6 hours of usable life between charges is ridiculous - even worse is that's the commonly reported best case scenario for the device, while it goes way down for most games. That encroaches on the horror that is laptop battery life.

I think the PSP will be for people who will play them at home, which is strange considering superior full-sized versions of its games will inevitably surface on far the more capable home consoles that already exist. Real portable gaming will probably be done on more suitable systems like the Nintendo DS and the GBA SP, just because they really do make more sense for that purpose.
Re:That was pretty convincing... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:38 · Score: 0

Actually the video has no DRM. And it supports MP3 with ATRAC. You do not need the memory stick to be magicgate compatable according to sony. And PS2 mem cards have had magicgate since launch
Re:That was pretty convincing... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 07:04 · Score: 0

You don't need to convert your mp3s.

"The system supports MP3 and Sony's ATRAC-3 plus formats for audio, AVC (H.264) for video, and JPEG images."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portabl e

You also don't need to dish out that much money for a memory stick. The sandisk memory sticks are a fraction of the cost and function just as good.
Re:That was pretty convincing... by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 08:09 · Score: 1

Sony has also had magicgate memory sticks for years, to support their drm-enabled mp3 players, so this is nothing new, and not even particularly interesting.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

unbias'd! by chill182 · 2004-12-28 09:12 · Score: 5, Insightful

That said, we need to keep in mind that these are first-generation PSP titles. Just look at how the PS2 games have evolved since its launch. If handheld games are looking this good at launch, imagine what a couple years of development time will do. You can expect the same leaps, similar to those found with home based consoles, as developers become more familiar with it.

Signed,
Hector Martinez
Sony PSP Marketing Dept.

Seriously though, the guy gets his own article posted on Slashdot and it is a "nice read". More like PSP love fest. The article failed to mention all the complaints that have been reported about discs popping out, bad pixels, etc. Why didn't he just title the article "The Top Ten Ways to suck Sony Off."

Re:unbias'd! by generic-man · 2004-12-28 09:19 · Score: 2, Insightful

So if you don't parrot the same "why X sucks" line, and instead post "why X is good," that makes you a shill?

Reminds me of how Slashdot posts "why Linux rules" articles all the time, but posting a "why Linux is bad" comment automatically makes you a Microsoft spokesman.

Sometimes it's good to read both sides of the issue. I thought it's important to hear multiple viewpoints of everything, not just the viewpoint you agree with.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:unbias'd! by ayersrj · 2004-12-28 09:32 · Score: 1

The problem with the "why X is good" in this case is that the X's he chose are what make the PSP not good right now. Half of the points basically tell you to wait a couple years or to spend more money, it'll get fixed, it's worth it, there'll be better games.. I'm not holding a smudgy black brick.. really!
Re:unbias'd! by generic-man · 2004-12-28 09:35 · Score: 1

Perhaps we'll see the "PSP II," much like the way Atari fixed the early Lynx products with the Lynx II.

In any case, I agree that there are still a lot of problems with the PSP that people have commented on. However, I still think that there are enough people to support at least a minority market for the PSP (I) as a platform. The system is already off to a fast start in Japan.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:unbias'd! by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 10:11 · Score: 1

If Sony plans on fixing things, then why did they bother bringing a sloppy device to market? Didn't they learn from Nokia?
For that matter, who will buy it if they are waiting for V2?
Re:unbias'd! by generic-man · 2004-12-28 10:15 · Score: 1

About 200,000 people bought the PSP to start, and as many as 500,000 have by now.

Not like it matters too much, but it already looks like the PSP will outsell the Xbox in the Japanese market. That's total sales, not weekly sales.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:unbias'd! by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 10:21 · Score: 1

I'd be interested in seeing the sales numbers and the ratio of PSP/DA/GBA SP sales to see how they stack up and see what people are really interested in.
While I know they sold out of the PSP, they also didn't make all that many to begin with. Even fewer if you consider the number of defective units.
Re:unbias'd! by ayersrj · 2004-12-28 10:30 · Score: 1

Plus shipping 500,000 is not the same as selling 500,000. Sony is notorious for using the numbers shipped to retailers as a stat, while the others use sell-through as theirs.
Re:unbias'd! by ivan256 · 2004-12-28 10:57 · Score: 1

Nintendo too... I went to three gamestops on Christmas Eve (looking for Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance for GameCube) and every one of them had at least two DSs in stock. They were sold out of PS2s and Xboxes. Even used ones.

I wish people would just chill out and see what happens rather than turning on their obnoxious inner fanboy and going to bat for some company that doesn't give two shits about anything but their wallet (Or their parent's wallet as seems more likely to be the case). These silly flame wars certainly aren't going to sway any opinions.
Re:unbias'd! by TLLOTS · 2004-12-28 18:46 · Score: 1

Agreed, this lovely spiel right here seems rather wishful thinking

Just look at how the PS2 games have evolved since its launch. If handheld games are looking this good at launch, imagine what a couple years of development time will do. You can expect the same leaps, similar to those found with home based consoles, as developers become more familiar with it.

This isn't an apples to apples comparison at all. The PS2 is a notoriously hard to exploit platform, and I'm sure many have heard of the wails of developers regarding its nature early in its life. By comparison, the PSP isn't vastly complex. It's powerful yes, but the presposition that we'll see vastly better looking titles is grossly misleading.

Not to mention that the comment regarding the brightness of the screen being superiour to the DS is also tied directly to battery life. You can have your screen nice and bright, but the DS will be running for at least twice as long as your PSP will be.
Re:unbias'd! by chrismcdirty · 2004-12-29 02:38 · Score: 1

You saw at least two DSs at these three Gamestops, but when I went out with my cousin to Walmart, EB, Gamestop, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Kmart, there was absolutely zero on those shelves. It's just a matter of location.

--
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Re:unbias'd! by paedobear · 2004-12-29 03:58 · Score: 1

That's not hard - the DC is currently outselling the X-Box in Japan...
Re:unbias'd! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 04:18 · Score: 0

I don't believe you.
Re:unbias'd! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 09:22 · Score: 0

GB2 /L

Call me negative... by RegalBegal · 2004-12-28 09:16 · Score: 2, Interesting

but I can remember a great handheld coming out by a company called Sega that was everything the game-boy wasn't and I haven't seen a game-gear around since 96. weird.

--
"It'll destroy you if you try to make it mean anything to anyone but yourself." - Henry Rollins

Re:Call me negative... by boohiss · 2004-12-28 09:34 · Score: 1

I wouldn't call you negative. I was of the same opinion before reading this article. If everything this guy says is true, the PSP looks to be a mighty good competitor. And if the PSP can't give Nintendo some competition, then noone can :P

--
Earn a free iRiver
Re:Call me negative... by happyemoticon · 2004-12-28 14:43 · Score: 1

I have one of those!

Weak by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 09:19 · Score: 0, Troll

This guy is on justification highway! A lot of what he spouts is really a stretch. I'd like to see him write 10 great things about the N-Gage.

Re:Weak by generic-man · 2004-12-28 09:28 · Score: 5, Interesting

10 Great Things About the N-Gage (not the N-Gage QD)

1. Plays MP3s.
2. Runs the popular Series 60 OS, for which many non-N-Gage-specific apps are already available.
3. Synchronizes built-in PIM software with Mac OS X (iSync) and Windows (Intellisync).
4. Built-in FM radio.
5. Supports on-line play with built-in GPRS radio.
6. Available used for about the same price as a Game Boy Advance SP.
7. Memory expansion with widely-available albeit slow MultiMedia Cards.
8. Includes software that lets me surf the web and check e-mail using the built-in modem.
9. Supports Bluetooth, letting me use a cordless headset instead of Sidetalkin'.
10. Has a built in Media Player, which supports not only MP3s (#1) but also video clips and streaming media.

There, that wasn't too hard. Maybe I should put it on a web page myself and submit it as an article!

--
For more information, click here.
Re:Weak by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 09:55 · Score: 2, Funny

Hell! When you break it down, the N-Gage sounds MUCH better than the PSP!
Re:Weak by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:50 · Score: 0

Wait, the N-Gage QD doesn't have some of these features?
Re:Weak by generic-man · 2004-12-30 03:59 · Score: 1

That's right. The N-Gage QD doesn't play MP3s or have Bluetooth.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:Weak by Anonymous Coward · 2005-01-01 17:19 · Score: 0

The QD does have Bluetooth, having used it as a Bluetooth DUN modem for both my laptop and PDA on more than one occasion.
Re:Weak by generic-man · 2005-01-05 05:04 · Score: 1

Sweet! I stand corrected.

--
For more information, click here.

10. Announcements are coming very soon? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 09:35 · Score: 0

That is the lamest one! How about one of the following:

"Amazing ninja star UMD action!"

"Who needs the square button?"

Oh well, hopefully Sony will get the problems fixed before the US release. The games look good, aside from the defects and battery life the system seems fine, and hopefully by then more must buy titles will come out.

exchange rates? by Thrakkerzog · 2004-12-28 09:49 · Score: 3, Insightful

Live mid-market rates as of 2004.12.28 21:36:07 GMT.

20,790.00 JPY Japan Yen = 201.768 USD United States Dollars

They still claim $186. The 20,790 includes tax. How much is tax in JP? The dollar has been falling a lot lately. I wonder how much more of a loss Sony will be taking, or how much they will have to raise the price in the US.

It may have been $186 back in October, but it is getting more expensive every day.

Re:exchange rates? by generic-man · 2004-12-28 09:54 · Score: 1

Sales tax in Japan is 5%, so the pre-tax price is 19,800 yen. According to xe.com, that's about $192 US. It's definitely gotten pricier since October due to the exchange rate worsening.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:exchange rates? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 10:04 · Score: 0

Is is really possible that it could come out for $150 like the article suggested? How much is Sony giving away with each unit at the current cost in Japan? Half?
Re:exchange rates? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 11:53 · Score: 0

"They're giving half of their production costs away with every PSP sold? I hate Sony, I think I'll buy 500 of them! That'll teach 'em!"

Sincerely,

The idiots who believe that buying an Xbox hurts Microsoft
Re:exchange rates? by NonSequor · 2004-12-29 06:08 · Score: 1

The dollar is weak right now. Sony will adjust the price to specific markets as necessary so taking the price from another market and converting it to dollars isn't really a valid approach for guessing the US retail price.

$186 is still a tad steep for a handheld though.

--
My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
Re:exchange rates? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 12:43 · Score: 0

Sony will adjust the price to specific markets as necessary...

Or rather, as much as they can get away with.

Converting the Japanese price to pounds sterling gives an approximate "fair" price of £110 after tax. Chances are, the PSP will be launched in Britain at about £180 ($350).

Don't go complaining about how expensive hardware is in the USA till you've seen what things are like in Europe...
Re:exchange rates? by NonSequor · 2004-12-31 13:59 · Score: 1

I think that they view the 50% or more surcharge for Europeans as being a neccessary adjustment.

--
My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.

Top Ten Things! by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 09:52 · Score: 1, Troll

1 Graphics
Sony kept telling us that the PSP was a mini-PS2 in your pocket. Now that we have screen shots and movies we see overly-simple character models with fewer polygons than characters on the PS1 and games that skimp on textures like Wipeout Pure. Thats okay though because on a tiny screen you wont miss the extra polygons or textures. Just buy our crap and I promise well make better looking games in the future. Honest!

2 Battery
Okay, the battery thing isnt an issue. Really! If you are in the middle of a game and the battery runs out, just plop in another $45 battery and keep playing. Just make sure to keep your spares charged and in a huge bag to carry around with your huge game cases and the charger. Also, make sure to save your game cause those rumors you heard about the game being suspended while you swap the battery were spread by Sony fanboys and arent true.

3 - Music playback
Yep! Now you can play music on your PSP. If you dont believe us, check out the great article about it on IGN that gives us the low-down. 1 directory of music with no ID3 tag support to sort on artist/genre/album. No crossfade like your rio Karma so expect a gap between songs. No album art cover or any imaginative use of the huge screen at all. No real EQ settings for bass and treble. Look out iPod, we have the Walkman of the 21 st century here.

4 - Wireless too
The PSP follows in the footsteps of the Nintendo DS showing that you can have fun without wires. Unlike the DS, you have to manually turn on the wireless capabilities or your battery will loose juice like a sieve. It kind of sucks that you cant just automagically find other players and that you have to worry about the battery slipping away faster than the awesome 3-hours than you may already get, but hey, thats progress!

5 - Sleep mode
One of the drawbacks to a disc-based system is load time. To help overcome some of the boot-up and loading time for the PSP, it allows you to put the system on sleep mode with a flick of a button. You wont really need this feature though, since after a short burst of gaming, your battery will need a recharge anyways.

6 - Movie playback.
The PSP plays back MP4-formatted movies, right off the memory stick. Were still working on a way to make this thing less complicated, but right now you need at least a couple pieces of software to make the movie conversion. One is Decrypter, to rip movies off of your DVDs and store them in VOB format files, and in conjunction with that you will need 3GP Converter, a free utility that converts video files to MP4. (really, I dont even need to make fun of this one. It is a joke already. It should be noted though that you can only play 320x240 movies, the same resolution movies my phone already plays. So much for a high-resolution screen since you can only play low-resolution movies on it.)

7 - Strong third-party support.
The PSP should have a huge selection of craptacular 3 rd party games available throughout its short lifespan. 3 rd party support is guaranteed cause Sony does not really make any 1 st party games, but buys other companies to support its own products. You are sure to see games like generic off-road racing PSP, retarded golf simulation that tries to be funny PSP and a shitload of shovelware from the evil EA games. 3 rd party companies are expected to show the greatest support making extra batteries for the PSP that explode in your pocket when they bump your keys.

8 - The price is going to be right
If the unit comes in at the totally reasonable price of $185, like it is in Japan right now, you may be a happy camper. Before you have the register biscuit ring you up, make sure to grab a few added necessities to make playing fun. Memory Card - $49 You dont HAVE to have a memory card, but you really do. Extra Battery - $

Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 13:22 · Score: 0

Jesus, 9 posts (so far) to this one thread bashing the Sony PSP? Did the CEO of Sony steal your girlfriend or what gives?
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 14:03 · Score: 0

i think it is hysterical how kamalot points out the pointlessness of the actual article's top 10 reasons. they aren't reasons, they are excuses. and your defense of kamalot's parody falls really short. there are lots of things wrong with the psp that I didn't know about before. i'll spend my $$$ on the system with the best fps game.
Re:Top Ten Things! by ag0ny · 2004-12-28 14:52 · Score: 4, Informative

You're obviously a troll, but I'll bite. Oh, and I DO own a PSP since the day it was released. Here we go:

1 Graphics [...]we have screen shots and movies we see overly-simple character models with fewer polygons than characters on the PS1[...]

One of the games I own is Ridge Racers. The graphics are comparable to Gran Turismo 3 on the PS2, as is the framerate.

2 Battery [...]If you are in the middle of a game and the battery runs out, just plop in another $45 battery[...]

If the battery starts running out, you'll know at least half an hour before, because the battery LED will start flashing.

[...]make sure to keep your spares charged and in a huge bag[...]

The PSP battery is quite small, so even if you're freak enough to want to carry more than the one on the console, it won't be a problem.

[...]make sure to save your game cause those rumors you heard about the game being suspended while you swap the battery were spread by Sony fanboys and arent true.

The suspend function works. I use it all the time because I use my PSP mostly on the train when commuting. And replacing the battery when the console is suspended works too. That said, I have been playing Ridge Racers for around 6 hours with one battery charge.

3 - Music playback [...]1 directory of music with no ID3 tag support[...]

The PSP supports directories and ID3 tags. I have a 512Mb MemoryStick with several directories of music on it. The PSP media browser displays the name of each directory, and inside of each directory it displays the title and artist of each song. You can also click to display more information on each song, that is taken from (guess where?) the ID3 tags.

[...]No album art cover[...]

Neither does the iPod, and I don't see you complaining.

4 - Wireless too [...]you have to manually turn on the wireless capabilities or your battery will loose juice[...]

The wireless switch is to lock/unlock the wireless functions. If you're not using wireless, it won't be sucking juice from your battery, regardless of the position of the wireless lock.

5 - Sleep mode [...]

This is only flamebait, doesn't deserve an answer.

6 - Movie playback. The PSP plays back MP4-formatted movies, right off the memory stick.[...] you need at least a couple pieces of software to make the movie conversion. One is Decrypter[...] and you will need 3GP Converter[...]

You'll need Decrypter only if you want to rip a DVD. Not only on the PSP, but also on any other case when you want to rip your movies to a hard disk. You'll need the MP4 converter if you don't have the movies in that format. Of course, there's the possibility of a firmware upgrade that includes other formats. Both my cell phone and camera save movies in mp3 format.

[...]you can only play 320x240 movies[...]

You're lying again. It can play movies at full screen.

7 - Strong third-party support. [...]

This is only flamebait, doesn't deserve an answer.

8 - The price is going to be right [...]make sure to grab a few added necessities[...]

Or get the Value Pack.

[...]Memory Card - $49[...]

$25, to be exact

[...]Extra Battery - $49[...]

The PSP already comes with a battery. I don't think you'll need an extra one, unless you're a freak.

9 - The screen is a marvel [...]the screen is bright and ghosts like a 1 st generation LCD monitor.[...]

This is not true.

[...]For something that is intended as a movie viewer[...]

It's not a movie viewer, it's a game console.

[...]we could have made a screen that didnt blur when there was motion or action on the screen[...]

The screen doesn't blur. Ridge Racers and Armored Core Formula F

--
My site
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 16:57 · Score: 0

Actually PSP does support ID3 tages AND album art. IGN even has screenshots of album art
Re:Top Ten Things! by True+Vox · 2004-12-28 17:43 · Score: 1

"Both my cell phone and camera save movies in mp3 format."

I fondly think back to all my .MP3 videos. They had TOP NOTCH sound quality... :D

--
"Gratuitous complexity is akin to chaos" - True Vox
Re:Top Ten Things! by Cryect · 2004-12-28 17:43 · Score: 1

"[...]discs that act as ninja stars[...]

These videos are fake. The eject mechanism isn't strong enough to throw discs out."

So GameSpot is also in the conspiracy on this?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/17/news_61152 93.html

"[...]poorly placed buttons[...]

They all work correctly."
Which unfortunately isn't true for everyone.
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 18:28 · Score: 0

Apparently Sony fanboys like to steal Nintendo players' jokes.

That's the second one of mine I've seen stolen in the past two weeks. Nice going, you clever SOBs!
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 23:50 · Score: 0

The resolution issue is valid. It does not allow you to transcode AVIs greater than 320x240. You can play 'em full screen, but they're stretched. UMD movies can of course be larger.
Re:Top Ten Things! by Guppy06 · 2004-12-29 04:02 · Score: 1

"It's not a movie viewer, it's a game console."

Um, somebody might want to tell Sony that at some point, since they're marketing folks have been pushing it as an all-in-one media handheld, hence the name "universial media disc."

That's a Nintendo argument, not a Sony one.
Re:Top Ten Things! by _xeno_ · 2004-12-29 05:15 · Score: 3, Interesting

Heh, if the original poster was a troll, you're obviously an astro-turfer.

One of the games I own is Ridge Racers. The graphics are comparable to Gran Turismo 3 on the PS2, as is the framerate.

I've seen movies of Ridge Racers running. No, it isn't comparable to Gran Turismo 3. It's graphics look better than the PlayStation, if only for the bilinear filtering, though. Textures on the PlayStation looked fugly, it's good to see the PSP isn't repeating that. So I'd say that the both of you are exagurating, the PSP is in between the PS1 and the PS2 in graphics capability - about what I'd expect, really.

Battery

I've heard figures of 1.5 hours to 6 hours life. Regardless, that's way too short. If you're correct that it's around 6 hours life, then it may be acceptable, but if it's around 3 hours average which seems to be the most widely agreed on figure, then that means that after every play session I'd have to recharge it. How hard is the charging process anyway? You can play while charging?

Depending on the answers, you may need an extra battery. One of the things I'm planning on using my GBA SP for is plane trips, and sorry, but 6 hours battery life isn't good enough for one battery. (Of course, I never travel, though, so it doesn't come up much. But it almost came up a while ago.)

I could honestly care less about the PSP's media capabilities, since I can't imagine it being comfortable to watch a movie on a portable game system unless you can place the unit in front of you somehow. I've already got an iPod mini, so I've already got MP3s covered.

These videos [of throwing-star like PSP discs] are fake. The eject mechanism isn't strong enough to throw discs out.

They aren't fake, exactly... They just aren't honest. The PSP really does have a flaw where you can get the disc to eject by twisting it in just the right way. However, the disc just kind of pops out, and isn't at all like a throwing-star. That's a massive exageration. Most of the videos of the PSP disc flying out at things have been taken with the disc flying straight down, so it was gravity helping with the speed, not the PSP itself. From what I've been read, it's really hard to do this by accident while playing, too.

Ultimately, though, it's the games that matter. I'm not going to be getting a PSP on launch. If titles I want to play come out for it, then I'll consider. Right now, even if it were technically flawless, I'd rather get a Nintendo DS - it has games I'm actually interested in.

--
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Re:Top Ten Things! by PhotoBoy · 2004-12-29 05:18 · Score: 1

As a PSP owner myself I thought I'd just chime in and say everything you've mentioned is in line with what I've observed using my own PSP. I really don't understand the fanboyish bashing of either of these handhelds (I own a DS too), they're both great and they both currently have such different games (we'll pretend Ridge Racer DS doesn't exist ;) ) that I don't currently see much overlap between them.
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 05:29 · Score: 0

Heh, for people that don't read the article in the link, this eject problem was only in a few of the PSP's from the first batch... most of the quality electronic devices released now have problems that occur occassionaly in the first batch... the SNES for example had 8(?) or so versions before they seemed to get it right...
Re:Top Ten Things! by ostermei · 2004-12-29 08:18 · Score: 1

[...]No album art cover[...]

Neither does the iPod, and I don't see you complaining.
It doesn't?

--
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx
Re:Top Ten Things! by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 08:33 · Score: 1

A DVD is a Digital Versatile Disc, but an ordinary DVD player only plays DVD-Video from them. (Even most DVD players with support for mp3, jpeg, vcd, etc won't play them from DVD, inclusing my panasonic DVD-S80.)
That's a lame argument, not a reasonable one. The PSP is a game console first and all that other shit second.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 10:03 · Score: 0

Sony is on it's 12th playstation 2 version and still hasnt gotten it correct.
Re:Top Ten Things! by Guppy06 · 2004-12-29 10:22 · Score: 1

" A DVD is a Digital Versatile Disc, but an ordinary DVD player only plays DVD-Video from them(...) The PSP is a game console first and all that other shit second."

Your analogy is flawed: DVDs were not developed by Sony solely for the PS2. Considering that the UMD was developed expressly for the PSP, then why didn't they call them "PSP game discs?"
Re:Top Ten Things! by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 13:53 · Score: 1

I intended to imply that they could be used on other platforms in the future, especially if they come up with a higher-density version.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Top Ten Things! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 23:09 · Score: 0

I agree with you about the battery life. On a 9 hour flight I played Ridge racer almost continually, just breaking to eat. I charged a spare battery for the flight (after reading all the bad reviews) but didnt need it in the end. Being a plane I could get away with the lowest brightness setting.
Re:Top Ten Things! by Echnin · 2004-12-30 15:36 · Score: 1

Which games do you want for the DS? Super Mario is okay, but I'm just lost as to what to buy next. My host father (I'm an exchange student in Japan) gave me a 5000 yen note and send me into Toys 'R' Us to get a game, but nothing really seemed interesting. Maybe that Kimi no tame ni wa shineru game (something like XX XY Feel the Action in the English version, IIRC) is fun. Reading this article kinda made me interested in the PSP, but, meh, I don't have anther 20,000 yen to spend; I'm poor. (-_-)
I've pretty much been playing the GBA cartridge with Final Fantasy I+II on my DS, actually. Meh.
Oh, I'll mention I've never seen anyone with a PSP, though I've seen DS's often. Maybe the PSP selling well is just a Tokyo thing...

--
Lalala

As mentioned before by M.C.+Hampster · 2004-12-28 10:02 · Score: 1

The PSP doesn't support AVI, it supports the UMD movie discs. It doesn't appear yet that you are going to be able to play your own movie content.

However, Nintendo is releasing an add-on for the DS and GBA SP that will allow for playing of custom video and audio content that looks to be around $50.

I'm still curious as to how much the PSP is going to cost in the US. As mentioned at the bottom of this article that appeared earlier on Slashdot, they said a straight conversion of the price from Japan would be around $460. I'm not sure how accurate that is considering I kept hearing that the price in Japan would convert to around $185 in the US.

--
Forget the whales - save the babies.

Re:As mentioned before by M.C.+Hampster · 2004-12-28 10:04 · Score: 1

Totally disregard my first two sentences. I should probably RTFA.

--
Forget the whales - save the babies.
Re:As mentioned before by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 10:08 · Score: 1

The PSP does support AVI.
Some things to note.
Only 320x240 - it stretches the low-res movie to fill up the screen.
Converting is a pain in the butt. Not easy. The article explains.
Engadget wrote an article about it that said they had trouble fitting an hour of video on a 512 card. IGN writes that card transfer rates are slow. At that rate, it hardly seems worth it when my PDA or Phone can watch the same resolution video on MUCH CHEAPER SD cards.
Re:As mentioned before by rcs1000 · 2004-12-28 20:12 · Score: 1

OK, I'm not even sure where to start.

(1) PSP does support AVI, and you can play AVIs straight off the Memory Stick Duo.

(2) The Yahoo! article is wrong. The PSP costs sub $200 in Japan, and *may* cost just $150 when it is released in the US. It certainly does not cost $460 in Japan.

Thanks,

Robert

--
--- My dad's political betting
Re:As mentioned before by M.C.+Hampster · 2004-12-29 05:18 · Score: 1

It sure is strange that when one corrects themself, there is still an influx of people who feel the need to come correct you still. :-)

I already replied to myself correcting my statement about the AVI's. As for the Yahoo! article, I thought that sounded wrong.

--
Forget the whales - save the babies.

i agree actually by pezpunk · 2004-12-28 10:03 · Score: 1

the article was just salivating at what the PSP *MIGHT* be, once they fix all the current issues. i don't buy it.

Just look at how the PS2 games have evolved since its launch. If handheld games are looking this good at launch, imagine what a couple years of development time will do. You can expect the same leaps, similar to those found with home based consoles, as developers become more familiar with it.

whaaa? no. Gran Turismo A-spec was one of the first games released for that system, and it's still probably the best looking game ever released for it. 4 years of tweaking have yielded incremental at best improvements. people worried idly about the PS2 being underpowered, and those worries proved to be all too well founded. it's easily the weakest of the major players in that department.

The battery time issue is fixable.

fixable?! yes, if sony feels like it. it's also possible that sony will upgrade the system so it runs on gumdrops and spits out hundred dollar bills. the technology is there!!

Music playback.

or right like what new gadget CANT play mp3's? my car keys will probably have hard drives by next year. big deal.

--
i could live a little longer in this prison

Re:i agree actually by GTRacer · 2004-12-28 11:10 · Score: 2, Insightful

Gran Turismo A-spec was one of the first games released for that system...
Bzzt. GT3 didn't hit until July '01, 9 months after launch (11 months if you're going by the Japanese dates). IIRC, Smuggler's Run was a launch title, for comparison. And you obviously haven't seen ICO or MGS3 if you think GT3 is the pinnacle of PS2 poly-pushing prowess.
The PS2 is the weakest of the three in terms of raw potential, but there are excellent teams that can wring more out of its silicon than average teams on GCN and XBX...
GTRacer
- I'm a functional alliterate

--
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
Re:i agree actually by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 11:45 · Score: 0

Funny! Especially "Bzzt": That always gets me LOL when it's followed by a flawed/inaccurate explanation.

Of course the same teams will get better acquainted with their target hardware over time, as you know. Experience nurtures learning, and learning nurtures skill. But Polyphony Digital's first PS2 game was GT3, meaning that all those launch games you cite, of which none were done by Polyphony Digital, are irrelevant.

And of course the PS2 at its best will at least match average efforts on superior consoles. If it couldn't, then it wouldn't qualify as a current generation system. But even that has nothing to do with experience improving skill, so one wonders why you even bother talking about the PS2's weak placement against its technical superiors.
Re:i agree actually by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 08:14 · Score: 1

Besides your ignorant comment about GT3:A-Spec (I as waiting for the game expectantly and had a PS2 before it came out) your battery life comment is plainly stupid. Of course Sony wants to add battery life, as they will sell more PSPs. Also, 3-6 hours between charges is just fine for almost any use. Just staring at that thing for three hours will cause eye strain and isn't good for your hands, either. Take a fucking break, addict.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:i agree actually by pezpunk · 2004-12-30 02:34 · Score: 1

wrong on both counts, sorry try again.

--
i could live a little longer in this prison

It's just you. by BigChigger · 2004-12-28 10:04 · Score: 1

You are taking the issue that is apparently most important to you (battery life) and extrapolating it to be the most important issue to others.

I think the DS is a cool piece of hardware, but if all they can do game wise is Mario rehashes and goldfish vomiting games, then I think they will struggle. I think the PSP, with its multimedia capabilities AND games will be the the portable system I buy (if I buy one.) But that's just me.

I do think there are enough like me that the PSP isd not "dead in the water" like above posters want to think. I'll spend $200 on the PSP, why would I not be willing to spend another $40-50 on another battery if needed?

BC

Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 10:13 · Score: 0

PSP system is a weak multimedia system. Low-rez movie playback. Poor MP3 handling. No id3 tags. They better have some great FPS games for me to consider.
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 14:56 · Score: 0

Did you try Metroid Prime? I skooled some guy on the kiosk at my local game store. The controls were shockingly good. If other games are like that, I could see Unreal Tournament on the DS and I'd be loving it.
Re:It's just you. by cluke · 2004-12-29 01:43 · Score: 1

Here's a thought - a lot of airlines are very uptight about you using laser devices on their aircraft. They make you remove DVD/CD drives from laptops, and some tell you not to use portable CD players. This will affect the PSP as well, won't it?
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 02:02 · Score: 0

Try moving to America, where you can fly all over and never have that problem.
Re:It's just you. by generic-man · 2004-12-29 05:07 · Score: 1

Name one airline that tells you to "remove DVD/CD drives from laptops." Bonus points if it's a US-based airline.

There are dozens of people on your average flight that have either a laptop or a portable CD player of some kind. Airlines will not ask that you turn them off except during takeoff and landing, during which all electronic devices must not be used.

Nice FUD, though.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:It's just you. by TechniMyoko · 2004-12-29 06:30 · Score: 1

Actually, it does support id3 tags, and album art
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:35 · Score: 0

I can see people caring about id3 tags, but I don't really understand album art.

It's not like you're going to stare at your mp3 player for hours on end. Most album art is shitty anyways.

(Don't anyone give me any shit about LPs, evidently old fuckers have a very selective memory and seem to forget all the bad art which severely outweighs the good)
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:43 · Score: 0

The controls wouldn't work on UT, they're different styles of game.
Re:It's just you. by SkyWalk423 · 2004-12-29 06:59 · Score: 1
- ...Low-rez movie playback...
It's a handheld!
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 10:36 · Score: 0

Have you never tried the d-pad on your left thumb for movement/strafing, with the thumbstrap on your right thumb for mouselook? That is the ultimate console/handheld controller scheme for FPS, and the Nintendo DS is the first system of any kind to feature it.

Expect UT and other FPS on the DS.
Re:It's just you. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 01:59 · Score: 1, Funny

Yes, the only problem you have to worry about when flying in America is being hijacked by a load of crazy arab terrorists and flown into the side of a building.

Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by RzUpAnmsCwrds · 2004-12-28 10:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

I just got my Dell Axim x50v. It's a Pocket PC.

It was $375 - quite a bit more than the PSP. Keep in mind, however, that Dell is making a profit on the unit while Sony is selling the PSP for a loss.

It's clearly not optimized for gaming. But, here's the lowdown.

The screen is VGA (640x480) with a 3:4 aspect ratio. It's quite a bit higher in res than the PSP screen.

The unit has WiFi, like the PSP, but it also has bluetooth for connecting to a mobile phone.

It doesn't need expensive memory sticks. You can use either CF-based (up to 8GB flash, or use a microdrive like the iPod Mini) or SD-based (up to 2GB flash) media. You can use both slots at once.

The unit has a faster processor than the PSP (Intel PXA270 @ 612MHz) and it has a good 3D accelerator (Intel 2700G - based on the PowerVR core used in the Dreamcast, with 16MB of memory - 4 times more than the PSP).

Battery life is only around 2.5 hours, but that's with wireless on, the processor set to full speed, and the brightness set to the maximum.

The unit has 64MB of main memory - 8 times more than the PSP. It's an ARM core, like the DS, GBA, Pocket PCs, Palm OS devices, and 100s of other products.

Thanks to the PXA270 and the 2700G, the unit has no problem playing back DIVX/XVID movies at VGA resolution. You can download the trailers off of the Divx website and play them right on the unit without conversion - and they look great.

The Axim isn't really a Dell product at all - it's produced by a company called HTC. HTC also produces many of the iPaqs.

Microsoft could absolutely own the mobile market. Here's how:

1: Call up HTC and ask for a unit with these specs

- VGA touchscreen
- Intel PXA270 + Intel 2700G platform
- 64MB SDRAM, 64MB flash, 16MB VRAM
- 2 SD slots
- WiFi
- A game optimized case & buttons

Since the device is based on existing hardware and could simply be a modification of an existing Pocket PC, design time would be short and the unit could be on store shelves in quantity by next Christmas.

2: Develop an OS to run on the system based on Windows CE. Since similar hardware platforms already run Windows CE, there isn't a lot of work to be done there. Microsoft already has a compact DirectX framework that works with the Intel 2700G, they already have the OS, they already have a media player. All they need is a nice UI to tie everything together and a SDK to make development easy.

3: Ship the SDK. Get game development going. The SDK should make it easy to port XBox games - not a huge problem given the fact that WinCE has a similar API to Windows and the fact that the unit runs a variant of DirectX.

4: Launch. If Dell can make a profit at $375, Microsoft loses only about $110 on each unit at $200 (assuming that Dell's profit is $10, that Microsoft is charging $20 for the WinCE license, that the cradle costs $10, that the Bluetooth chip costs $10, and that Dell's "free" shipping costs $5.)

Regardless, here's what we see:

- Microsoft launches a product that is largely compatible with the XBox. Call it the XBox pocket.

- The unit has comparable graphics to the PSP, plus a better screen, enhanced video/audio playback, a touchscreen, and better battery life.

- Microsoft ships the unit with IE for Windows CE, plus an organizer that syncronizes with Outlook.

- Microsoft ships the unit with Windows Media Player 10. The unit plays Windows Media files, MP3s, and even WMA-DRM files purchased online.

- Microsoft ships a cable that allows the unit to link to the XBox. The device already has a USB client port (for connection to a PC) and the XBox controller ports are USB.

- Users can download games from XBox Live or purchase them at a place in a retail store. Games have DRM (of course) and are loaded onto SD cards. A 1GB SD card holds 16 games (at 64MB each - plenty of space with careful programming) and is only around $80.

Any thoughts?

Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 10:28 · Score: 1

Well, your Dell makes a MUCH better multimedia device. You make some interesting ideas for Microsoft. They wouldn't even have to make the device themselves, they could simply set out a list of specs and have other companies make the hardware like they do with Pocket PCs.
It would have a touch-screen too so they could make DS-like games for it or even a DS emulator.
Neat idea!
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by generic-man · 2004-12-28 10:29 · Score: 1

Tapwave is trying to do something very similar with a Palm OS-based device. They included two SD slots, some 3D acceleration hardware, and a button layout that's suited towards gaming. They're targeting it at a professional market where people could use their Tapwave device as both an organizer and a game device. Sales have been meager so far. PalmOne still controls most the Palm OS device space, which itself is about half of the total PDA marketplace.

There's no integration with an existing device, but I'm skeptical about the idea of a gaming device being tied to another gaming device. The NeoGeo Pocket Color linked with the Dreamcast (according to the manual) and neither system was successful. The PocketStation linked with the PlayStation, but the PocketStation was never officially released in the US. The Game Boy Advance was supposed to link up with the GameCube, but few games took advantage of that capability.

--
For more information, click here.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by ivan256 · 2004-12-28 10:48 · Score: 1

Sony is selling the PSP for a loss.

Says who?
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by RzUpAnmsCwrds · 2004-12-28 11:16 · Score: 1

"Tapwave is trying to do something very similar with a Palm OS-based device. They included two SD slots, some 3D acceleration hardware, and a button layout that's suited towards gaming."

The Tapwave doesn't actaually have 3D acceleration - it relies on software.

The Tapwave is a nice device, but it has failed because it's expensive and it doesn't have strong 3rd party support. It also doesn't have the weight of a company like Microsoft or Sony standing behind it.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by DiscoOnTheSide · 2004-12-28 11:29 · Score: 1

Says the business model of every single video game console ever.

When MS first sold the XBox they estimated that at the time the cost to produce was so much higher than the price it was selling for (I believe some people quoted this gap as high as $200) that MS stated on average everyone would have to buy 6 games for them to cut even.

This is why companies are so anti-modchips. Because if you cut out the money they get from people buying games, the "Gillette Razor Model" doesn't quite work, now does it?

--
Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by ivan256 · 2004-12-28 13:28 · Score: 1

Says the business model of every single video game console ever.

Again, says who?

You're right about the Xbox, but you'll be hard pressed to find evidence of this for any other machine. Nintendo even claims they've made a profit or broken even on every system they've ever sold.

Because if you cut out the money they get from people buying games, the "Gillette Razor Model" doesn't quite work, now does it?

That model doesn't fit anyway. Games aren't disposable. Everybody but Microsoft understands that.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by buffer-overflowed · 2004-12-28 14:41 · Score: 1

Industry analysts. Look at the lik-sang pictures of the thing. Lots of silicon, lots of chips, beautiful and expensive screen.

No way they can make, assemble, and distribute the thing at their current MSRP without taking a loss, says them industry analysts.

--
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by DiscoOnTheSide · 2004-12-28 21:18 · Score: 1

Youre right, games arent disposable but the profit margins are bigger. And the reference to the razor model wasn't to suggest that games are disposable, just they're something you need to keep buying in order to keep the product "usable" (from a consumer sense... have you EVER owned a system and only bought ONE game and have yet to play anything OTHER than that game? I doubt it.)

And I've never heard Nintendo claim they make money on consoles. I would imagine they seem to be a bit better in the pricing area of things... only because they seem to be better at "cutting off the fat" and have a very basic structure. (and they got burned when they tried to use expensive stuff and try and make back money on said expensive components... just look at the N64. They've learned. I just got a Nintendo DS and quite frankly it doesn't "feel" more than $150. When I picked up the XBox and knowing what was in it, I knew there was no way in hell it was $200.) I'm fairly sure it was stated in some article back when the XBox console selling for a loss story was hot, that all consoles were sold at a loss (initially) but as the internals could be delivered cheaply and in higher yields it evened out. Hell, look at the PS2. The parts to make that could be slimmed down and redesigned and could still be so cheap. When somethings been out for ~3 years, comodization kicks in.

--
Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by aliquis · 2004-12-29 00:08 · Score: 1

Yes, it would still be a Windows device with crappy games.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by ivan256 · 2004-12-29 04:20 · Score: 1

And the reference to the razor model wasn't to suggest that games are disposable, just they're something you need to keep buying in order to keep the product "usable"

Yes, I know that's what you're saying, and I'm saying you're wrong.

You don't have to keep buying games to keep the console useable. Plenty of people are happy with their two or three EA sports titles for the life of the console. Plus, since games aren't disposable there's a used game market, a rental market, etc... There are plenty of ways to keep your gaming experience fresh without giving your console manufacturer any more money.

If you still have doubts though... These are all publically traded companies. Only Microsoft hides their Xbox figures behind a bigger division. You can go see for yourself that they pull a profit on the hardware. After the death of Sega, anybody that doesn't have a few billion in the bank would be foolish not to.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:45 · Score: 0

You're an idiot to beleive those same analysts who claimed PSP would be delayed, would cost $600, etc etc. Analysts are not Sony, and don't count. Get some real evidence and get back to me. Gamespot has an article with Ken Kutaragi himself saying they developed most of PSPs components in-house and the existance of 90nm fab. plants made PSP cheaper than analysts expected. Gees man, All I ever see you do is troll. Stop bashing PSP, makes you look like a neanderthal who fears fire
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 16:09 · Score: 0

God, you're a fucking idiot.

Smoke some weed and chill out, then re-read the post.
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by Troed · 2004-12-30 06:56 · Score: 1

Says the business model of every single video game console ever.

Why state something like that instead of investigating it first?

Here, I Googled for you

--
it's in my head
Re:Compare the PSP to the Dell Axim x50v by SuiteSisterMary · 2004-12-31 09:50 · Score: 1

Gord is, in this case, wrong.

In Revolutionaries at Sony, written by and about the Japanese folks who actually designed and built the PlayStation, it's quite clearly stated that the PS was sold at a loss in the beginning.

--
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.

Too bad... by kryogen1x · 2004-12-28 10:27 · Score: 1

Just look at how the PS2 games have evolved since its launch. If handheld games are looking this good at launch, imagine what a couple years of development time will do. You can expect the same leaps, similar to those found with home based consoles, as developers become more familiar with it.

Too bad the developers of Dreamcast games never had the chance to become more familiar with the Dreamcast.

Re:Too bad... by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 10:31 · Score: 2, Insightful

The Dreamcast, in many ways, was more powerful than the PS2. Lots of Dreamcast games look better than modern PS2 games. If Sega had Sony's deep pockets, the Dreamcast would still be a contender.
Re:Too bad... by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 08:36 · Score: 1

The dreamcast, unlike the PS2, is straightforward to use, with one CPU and one GPU instead of one cpu and a graphics chip with two cores, each of which has two pipelines which are all different. Filling all those pipelines all the time is nigh-impossible, which is why so many PS2 games look like they could have been done on the PS1.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Wirless through walls! by BondGamer · 2004-12-28 11:04 · Score: 1

The PSP follows suit with a powerful wireless functionality that can work up to 100 feet away, even through walls. Someone get out the tin foiled hats! This thing is so powerful it will be able to get you through the wall. I can't wait until we see what other applications this "wireless through wall" technology will be put to.

Re:Wirless through walls! by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 12:11 · Score: 1

Well, i think they need to specify cause the PSP also comes with "wireless not through walls" called Infra-red. In fact, I hear many games suggest you use this method of line-of-sight multiplayer since it uses less battery than the wi-fi.

What have you got against the PSP? by Mike+Hawk · 2004-12-28 12:45 · Score: 0, Troll

You've been up and down this thread bashing it. The people that I know that imported one love it and the developers that I know that have worked with it are busting a nut. But hey, you fanboy up huh?

Here we go...
1. False. I have played the PSP. The games look like PS2 games. Everyone who has seen the PSP launch titles in action is amazed and learns what a joke the DS is in terms of horsepower.
2. The battery thing isn't an issue. Unless you are the kind of cat that routinely has marathon handheld gaming sessions. If you are, maybe it is a problem, but I'm not.
3. Who cares? Music playback is a bonus that comes free. Don't like it? Keep your Ipod. Considering Nintendo didn't see fit to include it for free, music playback is automatically a wash at worst and a sweet bonus at best.
4. Once again, its a matter of the player. Noone will use the wireless on either system except for the hardest of the core (thats you fanboy) so it doesn't matter. Once again, nice bonus nothing more.
5. If this point is REALLY still about the batteries, see my #2.
6. See #3. Did Nintendo give us any free such option? It will also play UMD movies, which I hear will come with some DVDs.
7. Yeah, cause Nintendo always has killer 3rd party support. But hey, if you really need to pay for the rereleased NES classics again Nintendo is glad to oblige!
8. What does a touch-screen have to do with anything? Talk about irrational defense of Nintendo. At any rate, for most people the price isn't an issue. This isn't a device parents will buy for their kids, its clearly for big boys. So you play Touch the Pokemon over wifi with the other grade schoolers and we'll play big boy games. Price isn't an issue as long as its within even $100 of the NDS once everyone see P. Diddy and Kanye West with one.
9. The screen is very nice. If you have to turn it into an attack on photo viewing capability, well you showed how much you are stretching in your post better than I could.
10. I would assume more IS coming for the PSP. This is in contrast with the NDS which has already shown all its tricks. And we know how often Nintendo releases all those promised add-ons here in America! I mean, didn't such a misstep let Sony in the game in the first place? Let me just check the back of all my old Nintendo consoles for all those ports and expansion slots that were never used...
11. I'm just glad you haven't let your unrequited love for the Nintendo Corporation get in the way of your critical thinking.

Don't fear the PSP. If you don't like it, just don't buy one!

Re:What have you got against the PSP? by buffer-overflowed · 2004-12-28 14:36 · Score: 1

You've been up and down this thread bashing it. The people that I know that imported one love it and the developers that I know that have worked with it are busting a nut. But hey, you fanboy up huh?

They must not be very imaginative then. The possibilities inherant in the DS's feature set from a game design standpoint are very exciting. The PSP is just same old, same old only handheld. There's nothing you can do on it that you can't do better on an existing console.

You're not a very critical thinkin' guy either Mike. Let me take off my fanboy hat and put on my critical thinking cap.

I predict in terms of games:
1. The DS will have better controls for FPSes, anything menu driven(like RPGS), and some unique puzzle games. If it would benefit from mouse input/a programmable interface, it'll have a better control scheme on the DS.
2. The PSP will have better controls for anything where the analog stick is necessary. Racing games, 3rd person 3D games like GTA, stuff like that. Don't expect any FPSes with good controls.

Those are the gametypes best suited to each system imo. Pick your poison.

Anyway, only devotees are gonna be buying either system at this point. Normal people should wait until towards the end of the year and evaluate the game selection then.

--
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
Re:What have you got against the PSP? by Kamalot · 2004-12-28 14:51 · Score: 2, Informative

My top-ten may be a little harsh, but it isn't out of left field and makes direct reference to how silly the original article is.
The original article is the one that makes excuses for poor graphics, "Simply put, the character models don't need to be as detailed, because you won't notice the difference anyway". Thanks for making that assumption pal. We were lied to about the prowess of the system, developers too. Koei, in a recent interview, stated that they had to dumb-down all of their PS2 graphics and textures to get them to work on the PSP. It isn't a PS2 in the palm of your hand. Maybe a PS1.5, but then so was the N64.
The battery is a huge issue, no matter how much Sony tells us it isn't. Don't kid yourself. What other device do you own that has such an amazingly short battery life?
Music playback is important. The top-ten article says so. They state it as #3. Sony tells us the PSP is the Walkman of the 21st century. Compared to MP3 players from the last century, it seems to fall short. Very short.
Wireless? The article says the wireless is like the DS'. Why is that in the top ten? On the PSP, the wireless will only be used by the hardcore since you have to coordinate when/where you will turn on the wireless. On the DS it is easy to find other people playing. Why not just let software control the Wi-Fi access? Do you REALLY need another switch/button on the thing?
Sleep mode is really a non-issue, I'll admit. It sleeps. Good!
The movie playback is a joke. Sony keeps stating that is one of the big draws of the system. It is poorly implemented and weak. It does not take advantage of the system's strengths, the big screen, to play high-resolution movies. Instead, it uses a cryptic file naming convention (movies files also have to be all upper case otherwise the PSP ignores them), and requires many steps to convert your movies. When done, you can watch low-resolution video clips off of overly expensive Memory Sticks. WHY is this considered a feature? As for UMD movies, do you REALLY want to buy your movies all over again on UMD? If they come with DVDs, can you buy a cheaper version of the DVD without the UMD, otherwise, you are spending the money to make UMDs that you'll never use.
So far, the PSP's biggest supporter looks to be EA. We know how they make such quality games. Personally, I'd rather have great-quality first-party titles rather than off-road-racing, tries-to-be-funny-golf or EA shovelware made by EA slaves. Maybe others like those kinda games. Go figure.
I did mention photo viewing because the original article did. Reviews state it is slow unless you are using the native resolution of the PSP. Also, the bars it puts around your photo if it isn't the right size are white, not black. Never put photos on white, especially when your device is black. Show them on a black background to make the photo stand out. Can you imagine watching a letterbox film with white borders? Silly.
More is coming, for both consoles. Just like how our PS2 was supposed to be able to download games, movies and music. Or remember how our PS2 was supposed to have toy-story-like graphics? It was going to be the media center of the future. Remember the printer and web cam that were supposed to come out for the Dreamcast? Point is; it is hype. You have to see through the hype to the truth. As for the DS, I believe it is just getting started, but I wouldn't buy a DS for the hype, I would buy it for the hardware and the games, including all the GBA games one could play on it.
I think you have mistaken my loathing for being lied to and deceived as Nintendo Fanboyism. The PSP isn't as good as we are being told it is. It is less-capable at a multimedia device than modern PDAs. It has serious shortcomings and is riddled with poor design choices. They could have forgone the UMD and used Flash media to eliminate the battery and disc issues, but Sony seems intent on forcing a power-hungry disc into a portable handh
Re:What have you got against the PSP? by jgclark123 · 2004-12-28 15:18 · Score: 1
Okay, okay, let's clear the air here. We don't need to start a fight here.
1. The PlayStation Pocket has a better resolution than the Nintendo DS. (480 x 272 compared to 256 x 192 per NDS screen [totaling 256 x 384 for both screens]). The PSP wins the graphics category.
2. A) Nintendo DS replacement batteries only cost US$15 (http://store.nintendo.com/...) as opposed to US$46.54 (http://www.jp.playstation.com/Item/4/6170173.html (Japanese); (Google translation))
  B) The battery life is an issue. The PSP has terrible battery life compared to the NDS. Don't act like it's not important.
3. It is a nice bonus to have a free media player in the PSP, but the Image Converter software should be free as well. Plus the NDS media player is compatible with the GBA/GBA SP. The PSP wins this category, but Sony really could've done a better job.
4. With the horrendous battery life of the PSP, a manual wireless switch is a must. (It still sucks, but it must exist.) As far as I can tell, the NDS narrowly takes this category.
5. Both systems have a sleep function, which is very useful. (Kamalot took this spot to take a cheap [but not uncalled-for] shot at the PSP's battery life.)
6. See #3 for media player info.
7. Of course Sony has more 3rd party support, but Nintendo's 1st party games have their own unique crowd. It's just a matter of personal preference here; no clear victor.
8. $150 < $185
  That's all there is to it. NDS wins.
9. The PSP's screen may suck compared to a >$1,000 monitor, but it's not bad. Graphicswise, the PSP wins this category, but when we factor in the touch screen, the NDS takes this category easily.
10. "Announcements are coming very soon"
  Of course the PSP and the NDS both will have new and maybe even exciting peripherals. Obviously Nintendo still has a few tricks up their sleeve, and we can also expect more from Sony. (Don't forget Nintendo and Sony are working on their new consoles.)
11. Poor design choices? The disc vs. cartridge dispute is in the forum down the hall. Yes it sucks that you need a $50 memory card for the PSP, but if you already have one for your digital camera, it's a nice feature.
I know I haven't covered everything, but I don't have that kind of time. (Who am I kidding? I have no life, I just don't feel like researching this further.)

By the way, Mike Hawk, anyone who posts in an online forum isn't too far away from a fanboy.
--
"May evil beware, and may good dress warmly and eat plenty of fresh vegetables." -The Tick
Re:What have you got against the PSP? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 16:59 · Score: 0

The possibilities inherant in the DS's feature set from a game design standpoint are very exciting.
Nothing that cant be done on a palm pilot, tapwave zodiac, tablet pc, game.com. etc etc. And most of what DS does, shouldnt be done. Seen ridge racers? It's a piece of shit compared to the PSP one.
Re:What have you got against the PSP? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 17:03 · Score: 0

You again? I should've known you'd be here. Aren't you the idiot who was stalking some guy for a year cause they didn't like a nintendo game? Fanboyism at its worst
Re:What have you got against the PSP? by Grey+Ninja · 2004-12-29 18:54 · Score: 1

Of course Sony has more 3rd party support, but Nintendo's 1st party games have their own unique crowd. It's just a matter of personal preference here; no clear victor. I would like to see some evidence to back that up. Last I heard, Nintendo had more games in development, and most of the good 3rd parties seem to be on Nintendo's side this time around.

pointing out author's own ignorance by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 13:00 · Score: 0

There have not beeen such thing as portable game development for the new handhelds actually the "hard core" games are just "translations" from bigger consoles game like n64 and ps2 if you see watch closely the "new" games are kind of "my first new portable game like", of course we have to wait some time to get real portable based development games and hence exploiting th real capablities of these deamons actally anything goes into ./ just to keep audience.

10 by Vampyre_Dark · 2004-12-28 13:56 · Score: 3, Funny

1. 0h
2. my
3. gawd
4. my
5. batteries
6. ran
7. out
8. again!
9. and
10. again

They Don't Even Have One! by CMiYC · 2004-12-28 14:17 · Score: 4, Insightful

From TFA: "Here at Gear Live we're a little more patient, (okay, maybe just a little more broke) but that hasn't kept us from finding out all we could about the handheld. "

The author doesn't even have a unit yet! This entire article is based on what they could "find out." This is not much different than the Nintendo Fanboy article posted not to long ago. (Just not quite as childish sounding).

Re:They Don't Even Have One! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-28 16:11 · Score: 0

It is fairly obvious that the real fanboys are spouting off about how cool the PSP is, when they don't even have one.

PSP is NOT a gamegear by interdigitate · 2004-12-28 21:13 · Score: 1

You cant compare the psp to the gamegear. The gamegear took 6 AA Alkaline batteries and lasted 1 and a half hours. thats a lot of cash. how many kids can afford that much batteries, i know i wasnt able to.

If the gamegear came with a rechargable battery like the PSP I am sure it would have been much much more successful. much more.

--

----
12" ibook, G3 700, 640MB RAM, 20GB HD

DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by Aggrazel · 2004-12-29 01:12 · Score: 3, Interesting

Cripes!

Buy what you like, no need to bash the other guys system. Nintendo and Sony are heavyweights, you don't need to promote their products for them, they'll still have the same libraries they were planning anyway.

I for one own a DS and I plan to buy a PSP if it ever gets a game I want on it. (Yeah, I'm a 29 year old man who likes playing Super Mario 64 DS, laugh it up)

First it was Atari vs. Coleco, then NES vs. SMS, then Gameboy vs. a ton of other portables, then SNES vs. Genesis, then Playstation vs. N64 vs. Saturn, then Dreamcast just plain fell on its ass, then X-BOX vs. Gamecube vs. PS2, and now this!

If there is one thing that has ever remained constant across ALL of these fights, It does not matter whose hardware is better, whoever has the best software library wins.

In terms of hardware, if I recall correctly:

Coleco > Atari
SMS > NES
Gamegear, Lynx, and that Turbo Grafx 16 handheld > Gameboy
Genesis somewhat > SNES (SNES had better sound and more colors, but Genesis had a better processor)
Saturn > N64 !! Playstation
Dreamcast = Nice hardware but only like 1 good game and the worlds worst controller design ever.
X-BOX > PS2 !! Gamecube

and just for fun:

PSP > DS - Yes the hardware is better for the PSP. Only a Nintendo fanatic will argue otherwise. But as can be demonstrated throughout history. It does not matter whose hardware is better, it matters who has better games. (that, and with portables, battery life is a huge factor)

Re:DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by astrokid · 2004-12-29 01:38 · Score: 1

I thought this was a logical sounding post until you said this:
Dreamcast = Nice hardware but only like 1 good game and the worlds worst controller design ever.
Only 1 good game? Have you even seen their catalog of games? Unless you only liked quirky dating sims I find it hard to believe that you couldn't find a handful of games you liked.
I purchased more games for my Dreamcast than SNES, PS, PS2, XBOX, and GC games, combined!
What a great system.
RIP Dreamcast, we hardly knew thee.

--

Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
Re:DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by HAKdragon · 2004-12-29 04:15 · Score: 1

Having the Saturn be more powerful than the N64 and PSX seems arguable to me. The Saturn had more memory in it, which is a reason why a number of Capcom fighters were ported from the arcade perfectly while their PSX ports had to be scaled down. The Saturn (and the N64) both had the ability to have their RAM expanded through the addons. In terms of 3D hardware, I'm not sure where the Saturn stands, but it was a pain in the ass to program for it and getting transparency effects to work was especially difficult. The PSX could push more polygons and could easily do a number of effects but the N64 had texture filtering, texture correction (then again, so did the Saturn), bilineral filtering, and anti-aliasing. Unfortunatly due to Nintendo's decision to go with cartridges, the system's textures were usually less than stellar. I think it's a bit dfficult to declare a winner for that generation in terms of hwardware. Oh, and for the XBox, PS2, Gamecube..The Gamecube is slightly below the Xbox in terms of power. It should be Xbox > Gamecube > PS2.

--
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
Re:DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by bozoman42 · 2004-12-29 08:07 · Score: 1

As I understand it, the Saturn had no real 3D hardware to speak of and it was mostly done in software. The Saturn however, had vastly superior 2D handling -- another reason the arcade fighter ports were so easy.
Re:DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by AnyNoMouse · 2004-12-29 08:55 · Score: 1

Actually, the 3d hardware in the Saturn wasn't bad. However, the Saturn was designed as a killer 2d system. Once they found out about the PS1, they slapped a 3d chip on the board and tried to engineer around it. For that reason, 3d programming was extremely difficult and only the Sega teams were able to get any real 3d performance out of it.
It was a monster at 2d games, though :-)

--
-Redundancy Man strikes again!
Re:DS Fanboys vs. PSP Fanboys by Anonymous Coward · 2005-01-01 04:14 · Score: 0

The Saturn was the most powerful at pushing raw, textured polygons out. It was just really, really had to do so. Go look at the Saturn version of Shenmue. It even had animated, polygonial mouths and eyelids.

It's such a good feature that he says it twice! by pnice · 2004-12-29 02:45 · Score: 1

From the article: " Better yet, the system can be charged while you play it," and " You can also play the PSP while charging the battery at the same time." What device with a rechargeable battery can't be charged while you play it? I know my electric razor can't (and it's annoying for sure) but I wouldn't say this is some super feature for the PSP.

--
My Xbox Live Gamer Card

Re:It's such a good feature that he says it twice! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 03:59 · Score: 0

Are you kidding? It is so impressive it made the top-ten list twice!
The original article is rubbish.

Why must we dis the DC? Let it RIP! by theREALMcCoy · 2004-12-29 03:31 · Score: 1

Dreamcast only 1 good game? Sorry my friend but the DC had the highest percentage of AA and AAA games out of any system in history. (including current generation)

Not just you. by Dr.+Manhattan · 2004-12-29 03:39 · Score: 1

My Handera 330 was stolen on a business trip a couple weeks ago. It was a long flight home without it. I've gotten past denial and anger, and now I'm trying to decide what to get for a replacement.

Color screens are nice, we can all agree. But I hate having to worry about batteries all the time. My little grayscale handheld could run for a month before I'd need to swap batteries.

I think I'm just going to get another H330 off eBay. I want the damn think to work, whenever I need it. I play games with lush graphics... but not on a three-inch screen. If you want nice games on a screen like that, you'd better not force people to ration their usage and manage power like that.

--
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!

Video Playback by Kamalot · 2004-12-29 04:04 · Score: 1

PSP only plays 320 x 240 movies. You can stretch them to fill the whole screen. The video is the same resolution that most PDAs can play. newer PDAs have 4x the resolution for playing back Divx movies.

File names have to be all uppercase and be formatted like this "E:\MP_ROOT\100MNV01" where E is your memory stick drive. Not intuitive. Even the extension has to be upper case or the PSP won't recognize it.

You can find out more on the Engadget article.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000980024404/

"if you had a 90 minute movie, and used the the same settings we did to convert to to AVI then to MP4, you would have the whole movie in 1100MB, which, unfortunately, is larger than the largest Memory Stick Duo currently available."

Re:Video Playback by drinkypoo · 2004-12-29 08:39 · Score: 1

If you just drop the $10 on the movie encoder you don't have to think about it, just feed it an AVI. Making an SVCD from scratch is anything but straightforward (down to having to specify your MPEG frame sequence) but there are tools that spit them out with one click. This is a non-issue, or at least it will be within a week of the US launch if not sooner.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Video Playback by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 05:15 · Score: 0

File names have to be all uppercase and be formatted like this "E:\MP_ROOT\100MNV01" where E is your memory stick drive. Not intuitive Even the extension has to be upper case or the PSP won't recognize it
Ironically coming from a pro-linux site, an OS with case sensitive commands, usually of 3 digits long that bare no resemblance to their function.
Concidering the PSPs videos were meant to be put on the PSP by Sony's program itself and not the user, intuitiveness is not required

Photo Viewing by Kamalot · 2004-12-29 04:09 · Score: 1

For photo viewing, GIF, BMP, and PNG files aren't supported by the PSP, but standard JPG ones are. When you have a full-sized 4 or 5 megapixel JPG file, the PSP takes a bit of time for it to load, about 3 seconds for a 1.8MB JPG file. It automatically crops the photo (most photos are in the 4:3 format), leaving white space on the sides of the picture when it is displayed.

MP3s by Kamalot · 2004-12-29 04:13 · Score: 1

You can store your files in multiple folders, although the system only allows your folders to go one level deep (so no directories within directories to organize your music).

The PSP is lacking some of the nicer features of the dedicated music devices. There is no form of database support which, in portable players such as the iRiver, allows users to easily view all the music contained on the device sorted by artist, genre and album. The system does support M3U playlists, but it's very specific about where you need to put files, and also somewhat limiting.

The PSP also loses points because it doesn't allow you to browse the full directory structure of the Memory Stick. Your stuck looking at whatever the XMB interface decides to show you, which is limited to music files and directories contained in the one Music directory. iRiver and iPod feel more convenient in the amount of access they give.

If someone has an example of the PSP showing album covers from ID3 tags, I'd be happy to see it.

http://psp.ign.com/articles/573/573413p4.html

Top 11 by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-29 06:09 · Score: 0

the PSP can run Linux.

Expansion ports on Nintendo consoles by tepples · 2004-12-30 16:17 · Score: 1

Let me just check the back of all my old Nintendo consoles for all those ports and expansion slots that were never used...

Nintendo Company Ltd had a disk drive for the Family Computer, a satellite receiver for the Super Famicom, and a disk drive for the Nintendo 64. Nintendo of America opted out of the disk drives because it observed the widespread FDS piracy, and Sega Channel didn't do so hot either. In addition, a RAM expansion that fit into the front of the N64 came out in all N64 territories. Now, the Game Boy Player uses the GameCube's High-Speed Port, and the broadband adapter uses another port on the bottom.

Wrong by Anonymous Coward · 2005-01-01 04:18 · Score: 0

The Saturn was always designed to do 3D. But it was designed to do ports of Model 1 (Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Star Wars) arcade games. After hearing about the PSX, SEGA powered up the Saturns 3D processing.

And the Saturn has no real 3D processer. Games use the sprite generator to draw the polygons and do things like draw order and depth in software.

Slashdot Mirror

Top Ten Things About the Sony PSP

144 comments