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PSP North American Launch Date
captain writes "According to PSP411, Sony C.E. President and CEO Ken Kutaragi announced today at CES 2005 that the PSP will have a North American launch in March, followed by Europe around the same time. In Japan, the near-PS2 quality portable gaming device sold only about 500k units on account of GPU shortages. While the price and exact date aren't entirely clear, the USD equivalent of the Japanese sale price is a little under $200USD. Some are speculating that the price could be even lower to contest Nintendo DS's long-held portable gaming throne even further." Some good writeups about the announcement at Gamespot and 1up.com.
The original link was messed up. Here is the correct link: Link. I also got a mirror if needed.
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199 Gmail accounts!
Don't worry. You'll only be able to play for about half of a class hour before the battery dies.
Nevermind :) FP got the corrected link.
Thanks.
Because I was one of the massess that felt the sting of the PS2 Disc Read Error monster.
:-)
Sorry Sony, I am going to wait 2 years before I will buy it.
However I love my Nintendo DS
Nintendo Hardware = Tank.
A friend is returning from Japan and was contemplating joining the hordes selling the Japanese model on ebay, for up to $400 each. I explained the logistics and other troubles he may encounter and thankfully he elected to drop the scheme. Though he is bringing in the Capcom Travel version of Settlers of Catan for me 8^)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
There are lots of things to complain about with pretty much everything that gets posted to Slashdot. You have stumbled upon one thing that is not a problem.
Every time an acronym gets posted, it should be explained? That seems a little silly, don't you think? How hard is it for you to talk some personal responsibility and figure out what the acronym is referring to in the context it is given. And for fuck's sake, Sony is mentioned, there's a Playstation icon used - what more do you want?
Nice troll, btw.
THIS ACCOUNT IS OFFICIALLY RETIRED/RETARDED.
Sony will likely take a big loss on the device in order to challenge Nintendo, just like Microsoft did with the XBOX to challenge Sony. The difference between the two is that the XBOX could be used with standard non-proprietary media and converted to a stand-alone media center ... bringing no more revenue to Microsoft. The PSP, as I understand it, requires that users either use Sony's new disc format or Sony's memory stick. They're almost guaranteed to derive at least some profit from the sale of games or memory for the device. Seems to me that Sony can afford to take a huge hit in device price to encourage more users to buy.
In Japan, the near-PS2 quality portable gaming device sold only about 500k units on account of GPU shortages.
If I recall correctly, the PS2 had a similar problem on its launch--there was a shortage of CPUs.
Who supplies Sony with these processors, and why can they never meet demand?
I got so sick and tired of acronyms while working in the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), I came up with my own. S.A.M.B.A. Society Against Making Bad Acronyms.
Of course! After all, an article about 'PSP' in the 'games' section of Slashdot is really very likely to be about a small Dutch political organization!
It couldn't possibly be about a well-known and much-debated games platform called the PSP!
Oh, wait, actually it could. After all, that would be the sensible, obvious and non-silly option.
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
Oh wait, [you didn't mean a pacifist socialist political party;] you mean[t] "Playstation Portable". In which case *Why Didn't You Say So?*
The blurb describes it as a "near-PS2 quality portable gaming device", and the article contains a photograph of the device with the PlayStation's characteristic A # O X buttons. Did you also say "To me, 'PS2' is an old IBM PC" back in fall 2000?
Remember kids: Articles are more than 'a', 'an', and 'the'.
I thought we'd already heard how the PSP is poorly made, ha sno battery life and we shouldn't touch it incase it falls apart/gets scratched.
Seems we may as well wait for the PSportable in a couple of years fine and hopefully they will have fixed these problems.
I like muppets.
It was called the Neogeo pocket. Fantastic platform. Then the company threw a fit and pulled it from the US Market. Hopefully Sony won't be that way. Anyone want a used Neogeo Pocket with one game?
If you see spelling or grammatical errors don't blame me. I tried to preview but IE here at work borked the CSS
The Gameboy as a brand certainly has a long-held portable gaming throne, I mean the 1989 original lasted virtually 10 years on its own...
However I wouldn't say the DS had a long-held portable gaming throne, it's only really just come out!
Some are speculating that the price could be even lower to contest Nintendo DS's long-held portable gaming throne even further.
The DS has only been out for, what, a couple of months? It hardly holds the portable gaming throne, let alone for a long time. You're thinking of the Game Boy Advance. Granted, I'm sure that the DS will hold the throne in due time, and it probably will until Nintendo releases their next system.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
Using the 26 letter English alphabet there can only be 17576 possible TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). And nobody wants to settle for a five letter acronym. Three is the only way to be cool. So how about setting up a standards body to hand out these precious TLAs?
John Hancock
Actually, Sonys announcement was at CES yesterday, around 4pm EST. Of course, they didn't really announce any new information, ie: price.
Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
I look forward to it so i can use it to play back media off a memory stick. If it supports divx I'll be all over it. I already have a cybershot camera, it'll be interesting to see how they work together. I don't expect it will play MP3s, but perhaps someone will create a game shark type cart that will allow divx, mp3, and other useful screen-on-the-go type applications. Does it have wifi like the DS?
I keep hearing 3 to 3 hours and a half.
You have to set it to medium brightness, and yes, medium brightness is brighter than it's DS counterpart.
- sigs are for wimps.
Where are you getting your information from?
The PSP does not have as short of a battery life as you claim. It may not come close to the SP's 11 hours worth of play, but it is reported to be variable between 3~7 depending on the task. This value is close to the DS' 7-9 hour play time but it is no where near an hour and a half as you stated.
Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
Well if you add numeric characters to that you get 46656 different combinations, but of course not all will be used (e.g. 666 or KKK) :)
Well, in that case, can I order a subset of TLAs? I'd like the KFA.WS set.:)
-WS
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
Something like TLA (TLA Licensing Agency)?
And yes, I was aware you can get longer life by screwing around with settings. But why should we have to? We shouldn't.
At $200 with $50 games, the PSP is in more of a luxury range than is the $80 GBA SP with games ranging from $10 to $35. I've not made the following comparison before, and it still might not be valid, as there are several orders of cost magnitude difference in this parallel, but it's like assuming that since some manufacturer is introducing a line of luxury cars, Ford will start losing buyers of its Taurus. Obviously, the market size and selection is significantly larger than the handheld gaming market, which, again, is why I'm still not sure I'm making a valid comparison.
My point, though, is that the PSP may draw away a few older gamers that didn't have much other choice than to buy Nintendo (you know they don't want an nGage), but its larger effect is more likely that it will draw a new group of people into the handheld gaming market. I doubt the new influx of consumers will be enough to dethrone Nintendo's dominance, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
..the christmas market has already been hit by nintendo DS. Kids are gonna buy what their friends have adn their friends have the DS. Especially when it's as cool as the DS. PSP is gona have some serious high quality features (divx mp3 etc.) if they want to pull this off. But if the PSP costs more you can hang it up.
http://psp.ign.com/articles/574/574557p2.html
... specially one with such a high quality screen.
In their test they got 3.5 hours with full brightness.
If you lower it to medium, it should do much better, and at least for me it's not unreasonable to adjust the screen brightness in a portable system
- sigs are for wimps.
I thought the same.. until I read about this
0 4. 1223.1054.34002.htm
Lumines - Bandai - 2005
Take one part puzzle game with one part musical experience and tack on some trippy visuals and you've got Lumines, the brainchild of Tetsuya Mizaguchi (the man behind Rez). We've managed to get our hands on the Japanese version of the game and needless to say, we have to do everything in our power not to play it all day long.
The idea I simple: match up four colored blocks to that they form a square. But add to mix a unique music-based combo system and you have one of the most innovative puzzle games every made on any console. Lumines also packs in some truly impressive music and sound that will have you toe-tapping for hours on end. Out of all the PSP titles we've played so far, this is the one that's consumed our lives and we bet it will consume yours, as well.
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200412/N
no
You'll see that this is the same news we heard yesterday. Only this site took the quote "probably be March" and made it into an announcement that it would be in March.
Hell with the Gran Turismo 4 debacle (delayed after the announcement that it went gold) I wouldn't be sure it would come out in March if they had announced it.
Golly! I've been trying to get my kid one with "Legend of sucess Joe" for five years! Please! Get me the details!
I'm a case in point. I am older than the typical target audience, have no interest in a GBA, but the PSP - with game, movie, and music capabilites - has me very interested in getting one of these things.
I'm most certainly part of a new segment with a little mor emoney to spend on toys.
...and that's the end of our show. Donk!
The SoC (system-on-chip) of the PSP contains all processing units including 2 CPU cores, a graphics core, eDRAM, and other goodies in a single 90nm-process die chip, so what in short is not specifically GPU. Besides this main chip, a PSP unit has a wireless controller, a DDR-SDRAM chip and a UMD controller on the motherboard.
SOURCE
Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
You did it! (it is trolling liberals).
I did it! (it is being trolled by you).
Damn....
Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
I can see it now:
"I was using PSP to create some graphics from my new PSP game. Of course I'm using the PSP to develop it. I just hope the PSP don't think I'm violating the DCMA."
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
I have had all kinds of issues with my Playstation 2. Most of them caused by moving and or dropping the console on the floor. I've been able to fix them all thanks to the information one can find on the internet.
The last time I messed up my PS2 was when my cat ran into it and it fell about a foot and a half to the floor. When I picked it up the disk drive was stuck in a semi-in, semi-out position. I took the whole think apart, which required me to seperate the disk drive from the motherboard. When I put everything back together again it worked better that it had in a year.
So even though I agree that early adopters accept a certain amount of fishiness when it comes to consoles, it can also be a useful learning experience for those who like to deal with hardware issues.
Go Gusties
Yeah... Remember that article a few hours back about 'borrowing' power from airports and Starbuck's? Well, if you buy a PSP, prepare to be tethered...
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
Huh?
.
The reports that many of Japan's larger department stores did not accept preorders for the PSP fearing shortages was widely reported, as was the fact this contributed to the long lines on the PSP's launch day. A few quick glances at google turn up:
Like many other major retailers in Japan, Yodobashi did not take PSP preorders. As a result, more than 1,200 hopeful game fans lined up throughout the long, cold night, some taking up their position as early as 3pm the previous day.
Meanwhile, shortages of Sony's PlayStation Portable are already beginning to hit home in Japan, with the vast majority of retailers no longer able to take preorders ahead of Sunday's launch of the console."
It will be interesting to see what happens (in just over a week) when the PSP is launched in Japan. Retailers have not been accepting many preorders, and the device will be in short supply.
Sony's PSP preorder campaign was... practically nonexistent. There was no advance warning of preorders, which had most people checking in with shops on an almost daily basis trying to find out what was up. Of course, shopkeepers were completely in the dark as well.
What you won't find if you look around, however, are reports that the 2005 shipment of PSPs sold out. The first day shipment of PSPs of 200,000 did mostly sell out (i saw a figure of 160,000-180,000 in the hands of consumers on day one, which would seem to imply it would have been sold out entirely in some areas), but by the end of the year there would have been many of the PSP's 2005 shipment of 500,000 available-- I cannot find total sales figures for the year but by December 26 only 360,000 PSP units had been sold, which would have meant nearly half of the PSPs sold were on the first day. Again, the illusion of PSP "shortages" appears to mostly be a result of low availability on the first day, and since such a large chunk of 2005's PSPs weren't sold it seems reasonable to say that even if Sony had had more GPUs, they would NOT have sold any more PSPs.
Every time an acronym gets posted, it should be explained?
depends on the acronym, really. in this case, however, i don't believe it has to be explained, no-sir!
SNK is dead, long live SNK Playmore. Same developers, same properties, same core product focus. Which is to say, they make some of the neatest 2D games in a market where no one makes 2D games.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Well if you add numeric characters to that you get 46656 different combinations, but of course not all will be used (e.g. 666 or KKK) :)
Um, those ARE already used...
One man's Funny is another man's Offtopic.
Correct me if I'm wrong but you have a grudge on Nintendo because Mario, Zelda and Metroid are Nintendo consoles only? In that case you could have a grudge on all of the consoles all the same.
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sorry but I played at least 12 different games that were blockbusters on my DS the day I got it.
there are over 1000 games that will play on the DS right now.
or are you trying to ignore the entire SP game selection that works awesome in the DS??
> An hour f video fills up a 512 memory stick.
Did you even read the article you linked to? You can tweak it to fit a whole lot more, even 90 minutes with 300 megs.
> You can only use the memory stick duo pro. All other memory stick formats are unrecognized by the PSP.
"article:When you format a Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo stick in your Sony"
You have to use a memory stick DUO , which there are several flavors of (one with magicgate too). You imply that only Duo Pro works, that's not the case.
> The video aspects are underwhelming, unintuitive, unfriendly and unimpressive.
What's unfriendly, the process they described here does not use the Sony software that costs 5 bucks to transfer movies, of course it looks unfriendly, ripping videos is an unfriendly process. Wait for a review of the Sony software before you say that.
- sigs are for wimps.
Not if we included case-specifice TLAs, then we could have 140,608.
Artist will always make art.
...that I'm stupid and hit the submit button.
All comments are properties and trademarks of the voices in my head. Not like I'm gonna claim them.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I asked the people at Electronics Boutique a couple weeks ago whether they had any Nintendo DSes in. The response: "No, but we've started taking pre-orders for the PSP. It's coming out in March."
My question is this: Why was there such a long delay in getting this news out in the open? Obviously some people already knew about it.
I am scientifically inaccurate.
I'm not really so sure..
The PSP will win, unfortunately. It is the better machine. There really is no contest. The screen rocks.
The Game Gear was also clearly the better machine. Its screen rocked too. It didn't help. The problem is that what is "better" for a video game console may not be better for handhelds, since "better" comes with portability costs. So far Nintendo's been the only company to ever realize this, and this is the reason they've owned the market for so long.
The movie playing rocks.
I'm not so sure this is really going to help it though. Since UMD movies appear to not be happening anymore, the movie playing is limited to what you can stuff on a memory stick. It seems kind of hard to find a memory stick big enough to comfortably hold a movie for less than the $100 range. This might help the PSP into a super-high-end gadget-addict niche, but probably won't help in the general market-- and on the offchance the general market decides they like this feature, it doesn't mean the PSP will be able to benefit from it. Nintendo has an aftermarket movie and mp3 player they'll be releasing in Japan soon, and they can release it in America if it's to their benefit. It fits into a GBASP or the GBA slot of a DS, and it uses SD cards instead of memory sticks, which seem to run at about half the price.
The only thing you say I really object to though is this:
Super Nintendo 64 DS has graphics slightly worse than the N64 version.
This is just plain wrong. The DS doesn't have the graphics of the PSP, but the N64 just isn't any comparison to the DS at all. Mario 64x4 far outdoes the 64 version, plus the framerate is much better, and this is just a touched-up port-- the DS has much more to offer...
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
sorry but I played at least 12 different games that were blockbusters on my DS the day I got it.
/.'er (or sane gamer).
Really? In this article I counted 11 launch titles, with one from Nintendo (I'm not counting Pictochat or the Metroid demo) and 10 from third party companies. I guess you could get 12 out of that, if you include Pictochat or the Metroid demo (or you live in Japan, I don't know about launch titles there), but that would mean that EVERY launch game is a "blockbuster", and that you either know a lot of people that have a DS, or you spent nearly $500 dollars on launch day, which doesn't seem reasonable for the average
When you look at the state of the world, how can you not become a radical, liberal anarchist?
Might I suggest this slogan: "TLAs are the DEVIL." "Three Letter Acronyms are the Deviously Evil Villans Immolating Life."
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
Look at the timestamps, mods. The parent poster probably hit "reply" before the first post hit the page. Objectively redundant, yes, but not his fault.
English is easier said than done.
near-PS2 quality
Getting a little ahead of ourselves aren't we? Both in specs and in previews people have likened it more to the original PSX than the PS2.
LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
Does this mean that if I buy a PSP at Best Buy, they will try to sell me a PSP for my PSP?
I have blog like everyone else
In case you didn't get the gist of his comment, he was pointing out that he's been able to play the blockbuster GBA games on the DS, which is a valid point. Especially in these early stages, it's actually really nice that the DS has GBA game compatibility (and aside from that, the DS's much improved screen makes GBA games look even better than they did on the GBA SP).
The last time I messed up my PS2 was when my cat ran into it and it fell about a foot and a half to the floor.
Wow, what does your cat have against Sony?
Lousy fankitten!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
One thing that Sony had going for them with the PS2 was that it played DVDs as well. A lot of people at the time bought a PS2 because they also didn't have a DVD player. A problem I see with the PSP is that it is too similar in price to a home console, but it doesn't have that "DVD feature" that the PS2 had to get it into the homes of the mass public, for the price. How is Sony going to get people to buy a PSP AND a PS2 or PS3, or if they already have one, buy a PSP and afford the games for BOTH the handheld and the home system? They aren't seriously banking on people making a choice between one or the other, are they? Is there a large enough niche in the gaming market for buyers of JUST a handheld?
I don't know if anyone has ever researched any on the topic, but how many people DO own a Gameboy, but don't own a home console? In other words, do handhelds have a seperate viable market, or is the marketing scheme for the handheld still to piggyback their way in by way of home console owners?
So, say they market the PSP as an alternative to the home console. What does the PSP have as far as TV connectivity? If you can hook it up easily to a television, and there is some kind of multiplayer capability, they might actually have found their niche there, as the quality will be good enough for people to put the money down for one. Kind of like a "console replacement". (The laptop equivalent of a "desktop replacement"). An improved Sega Nomad. Well, kind of like that.
I would bet that the vast majority of potential PSP buyers will be PS2 owners. Will the non-hardcore gamer (Average Joe) be able to afford games for both their PS2, PSP, and eventually their PS3?
It seems like Sony, with their pricing, will be forcing people to go one way or the other with their money, cutting into their own profits, because younger kids are still going to be getting GBAs and DSs. (Younger kids are going to want a home console too, and won't want to make that sarcrifice choosing one or the other. Most parents won't buy BOTH a PSP and a PS2 or PS3 AND games for both.)
Twenty and thirty year olds might be the ones that are a possible market for the PSP; they have the money to afford one and the games, and still have a home console. Maybe there is an untapped handheld market in that age bracket. Realistically, you start competing with the iPod market bracket if that is your primary target! If Sony would built good wireless internet browsing into it, a stylus, and the digital jukebox capacity for music into it, for the same price (to compete with the iPod and Palms) they might REALLY have something.
And despite thousands of testimonials like yours, the "Sony PlayStation 2: It's fun to fix!" campaign never really took off.
I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects