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The PSP's Birthday Party

Posted by Zonk on from the little-tiny-hats dept.

Joystiq and EnGadget were there for the PSP Launch party, and have plenty of photos to prove it. Looks like it was a great opportunity to enjoy another uncomfortable marketing event. Hats off to the folks who endured it to bring us back the photos. From the article: "The weather outside is awful, but that didn't stop us, a few hundred Sony fanboys, and lots of B-list celebs (who clearly needed to collect the appearance fee) from hitting Sony's official launch party for the PlayStation Portable this evening."

95 comments

  1. ::Caution:: by Brainboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    I hope no one was hurt due to flying game discs.

    --
    Just a guy with an opinion
  2. Durability Concerns by Da+Rabid+Duckie · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've held a PSP, and it's pretty solid for what it's worth, and the design is noteworthy. So of course, the one picture that stood out the most to me in that article was the picture of the PSP that had the broken screen from being dropped. I wonder what it took to do that kind of damage... maybe a stiletto heel from one of the cheap actresses there?

    On another note, I have a new favorite quote: (from the article) "If someone told you that the PSP is a portable gaming device, shoot these people. The PSP is not a portable gaming device, it is really a convergent portable entertainment device." -- SCEA president Kaz Hirai

    --
    (From the Laws of Japanese Animation) Law of Inherent Combustibility -- Everything explodes. Everything.
    1. Re:Durability Concerns by ZephyrXero · · Score: 1

      The pictures of how the X button barely lines up with it's censor still concern me more...

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
    2. Re:Durability Concerns by unclethursday · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Never know. It could have been dropped and landed at just the right angle to break the screen is all.

      I had dropped my old cell phone tons of times over the course of a few years, and nothing ever happened to the screen. Then one time it fell, and hit at just the right angle to nearly shatter the screen.

      It's possible that the PSP was just dropped, and it just happened to land at that angle to break the screen.

      Still, it makes me wary for people throwing it in backpacks or pockets full of stuff. No screen cover is just a bad design decision by Sony. And we all know there's no way in hell they'll replace a broken screen for free because it isn't covered under their warranty (hell, dead pixels in Japan, not the fault of the consumer, are not covered by the warranty, it says so in the Japanese manual).

    3. Re:Durability Concerns by KDR_11k · · Score: 1, Troll

      It's the Square button, the one closest to the screen. Though I think almost everyone confuses those idiotic button names.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    4. Re:Durability Concerns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Troll?

      Maybe PS3 should have buttons like "the artist formally known as the artist formally known as Prince's former name," "pentagram rotated 35 degrees," "upside-down Christmas tree besides a thumbs-up sign," and "silhouette of Abraham Lincoln's head with his tongue sticking out." Would that make FAQ writing better for you guys? Would it help your memorization of the button locations?

      Or maybe Sony could just catch a fucking clue that such abstract associations do not help people remember the buttons AT ALL. It may not be difficult for some people, but the fact that it is difficult for other at all is proof that Sony is all for complexification in the name of style over substance. Fuck Sony.

      And if you think _this_ is a troll, I don't think so. It wasn't posted with trollish intentions. But hell if it isn't more of a troll than the parent's insightful comment.

    5. Re:Durability Concerns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some of us can recognize shapes. I'm sorry about your deficiency.

  3. fools by cgenman · · Score: 4, Funny

    If someone told you that the PSP is a portable gaming device, shoot these people. The PSP is not a portable gaming device, it is really a convergent portable entertainment device.

    Right, because the history of convergent entertainment devices is long and illustrious. They would be fools to not want some of this action.

    And going with a brand new disk standard that nobody has and nobody sells as a medium for selling movies? It's a brilliant maneuver from some of the industry's best minds.

    I should say that the Sony reps I've worked with about other things have been completely with it and didn't lose sight of reality. So what happened to this guy?

    --
    The ______ Agenda
    1. Re:fools by Worminater · · Score: 0, Troll

      Am I the only one that gained some grima mount of satisfaction from seeing the broken psp int he article?

    2. Re:fools by The-Bus · · Score: 3, Funny

      My only issue is that this fails to play any of the other open standards for multimedia, like Sony's MiniDisc, or Sony's Betamax, or Sony's SACD, or Sony's...

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    3. Re:fools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think of "Pretty Shitty Playstation" when I read "PSP".

    4. Re:fools by bVork · · Score: 1

      You missed a few devices.

  4. I should have mine soon by alatesystems · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'll have mine in about 5.5 hours. I'm not about lines, but they didn't do a midnight thing anyway here. I pre-reserved at ebgames and I'll pick it up at 9.

    I think I'm going to get wipeout pure and ridge racers. I'll probably put an article in my journal later today with my "findings".

    1. Re:I should have mine soon by LordNimon · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      What's the difference between reserved and pre-reserved? It sounds to me like you just reserved your PSP. I don't even know what pre-reserved means.

      --
      And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
      To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
    2. Re:I should have mine soon by Impotent_Emperor · · Score: 0, Troll

      What's the difference between reserved and pre-reserved?


      Why there's only one thing it could possibly mean: you are reserving a reservation.

      That way, when you show up on launch day, the store employees can all laugh at you because all you got was a reservation and not a PSP.
    3. Re:I should have mine soon by alatesystems · · Score: 1

      The PSP is awesome! I've been playing Wipeout Pure, and I can't believe how awesome the 3d graphics look on a handheld.

  5. comments by Lil-Bondy · · Score: 1, Funny

    i wouldnt like to be this guy; "I want one! My GF said she would leave me if I get one - in the least she'll be really upset. Should I take a chance and make the purchase? hehe"

    --
    Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - HHGTTG
    1. Re:comments by KDR_11k · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd purchase the PSP in that situation. Not that I want one but a GF that wants to leave you for buying a fucking game system deserves to get pissed off.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  6. Wow... scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The level of bitterness and resentment in some of the comments here (and also in the initial news post) is a bit scary. Anybody would think Sony had been killing babies for fun rather than releasing a serious competitor to Nintendo's long-running monopoly on the handheld market.

    1. Re:Wow... scary by badasscat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The level of bitterness and resentment in some of the comments here (and also in the initial news post) is a bit scary. Anybody would think Sony had been killing babies for fun rather than releasing a serious competitor to Nintendo's long-running monopoly on the handheld market.

      What monopoly? Nintendo's got the market cornered because they make better products than their competitors. You want a list of all the companies that have tried to de-throne them? Off the top of my head:

      Atari
      Sega (twice)
      SNK
      Tiger
      NEC
      Bandai

      Just to name a few. Atari at the time was owned by Warner Communications, and was signigicantly larger than Nintendo. Ditto for NEC, which dwarfs Nintendo even today.

      Almost all of these systems were more powerful than the Game Boy, and some of them had extra features that the GB didn't have. Why did they fail?

      Poor battery life and price. Sound familiar?

      Sony is making the same mistakes everybody else has. There are a few differences in the philosophy of the PSP vs., say, the Atari Lynx, but the basic template is the same - you've got an expensive, battery-hungry, big and powerful system going up against a small, cheap system with long battery life (the GBA SP). Why do you think the PSP is going to be any more "serious" of a competitor than any of these other failures were?

      Note that I'm not even counting the DS in the equation. The GBA SP is the real PSP competition. At the SP's price, it's practically an impulse buy, whereas the PSP is a major purchase. People may be more excited over the PSP right now but they will continue to buy the GBA SP just because it's cheap and there are a lot of games available for it. You almost don't even need to think about buying one, especially if you're a parent buying something for your kids (which is a huge market in handhelds, and one the PSP ignores).

      If somebody else ever figures out what Nintendo has about the handheld market, then I would expect market forces to determine a new winner. But Nintendo has no monopoly; they simply understand the market better than anybody else.

    2. Re:Wow... scary by badasscat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Quick clarification to my post - The Neo Geo Pocket actually failed just due to a lack of marketing clout, not any technical issues with the system itself. Same is basically true of the Wonderswan. I think SNK and Bandai are the only two companies who really "got" the handheld market like Nintendo did, but they did not have the resources to market their products against Nintendo. Atari, NEC and Sega did, though; they just had poor products in comparison to the GB (despite their extra horsepower, which doesn't matter much in handheld gaming).

    3. Re:Wow... scary by brkello · · Score: 1

      Ok...now think about what you said. Nintendo isn't a monopoly because it destroyed all of its other competitors by being better. Huh??? Whether Nintendo did it through making a better product or by making underhanded deals, if they are the only player in a market, that makes them a monopoly. People consider MS a monopoly and there are competitiors with bigger market shares than Nintendo's competitors. So really, your indignant rebuttal is kind of stupid.

      I agree that PSP should be compared to the GB SP. I also agree that it would be more appealing to parents from price point alone. But gaming has grown up. There is a large market for adults (like me) who game now, and that is much more the target that the PSP is aiming for. I really don't see why you Nintendo fanboys are so scared. You should be happy someone is trying to compete with Nintendo. It might make them work harder and come out with better games or new innovations. Instead, you want Sony to die. Just get over it. I hope the PSP does well. I hope Nintendo does well. The one thing the PSP has going for it than something like the Lynx did not is that it seems it is coming out with a very solid library of quality games. That's what really matters.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    4. Re:Wow... scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Main Entry: monopoly
      Pronunciation: m&-'nä-p&-lE
      Function: noun
      Inflected Form: plural -lies
      1 : exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition and that esp. is developed willfully rather than as the result of superior products or skill --see also ANTITRUST Sherman Antitrust Act in the IMPORTANT LAWS section
      2 : one that has a monopoly

      Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

      Any Nintendo is a monopoly how?

    5. Re:Wow... scary by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      Are you on crack?!

      All those companies launched their handhelds at a down cycle. Sony is the only company Nintendo ever competed with that has 2 very strong successful consoles backing it up (PS1, PS2). Once PS3 comes out, Sony will have 3 strong consoles backing up 1 handheld.

      Sega came the closest with 1 dying Genesis, which was practically dominated by SNES at the time. Not to mention the amount Sega spent marketing was a joke compared to what Sony has done. AND the Internet didn't exist quite back then.

    6. Re:Wow... scary by EnglishTim · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think it's a mistake to assume that the PSP will fail to compete with the gameboy just because nobody else has managed it.

      Sony isn't aiming for the same market as the SP, certainly at launch anyway. It's a no-brainer for a parent to buy the cheaper SP for their 10 year old who may play for many hours at a go, but for the twentysomething with more disposable income who wants to play great games on his daily commute, the PSP is much more desirable. I don't think battery life is going to be as important for the modern adult gamer as it was for kids playing on their Lynxes thirteen years ago.

      Sony also has an incredibly powerful brand in the Playstation, and that will carry over to the PSP. In many circles, PS2 is practically synonymous with gaming, and now you can get pretty much the same thing in your pocket.

      Now, I don't think you'll find the PSP wiping out the SP, but I do think you'll find it being very successful and also expanding the market for handhelds.

    7. Re:Wow... scary by Momoru · · Score: 1

      Just to be devils advocate, by your count Microsoft is not a monopoly, because these companies have tried to take a shot at what they do:

      IBM
      Apple
      Lotus
      Real
      Sun
      RedHat
      etc...

      Almost all of these systems were more powerful than the Game Boy, and some of them had extra features that the GB didn't have. Why did they fail?

      Poor battery life and price. Sound familiar?

      All these operating systems/application vendors had better features then Microsoft, and some of them had extra features that Microsoft didn't have. Why did they fail?

      Poor developer and third party vendor support. Sound familiar?

      Please don't pick apart what i said above on technicalities, my only argument is that having competition take an attempt at you doesn't mean your not a monopoly.

    8. Re:Wow... scary by sehryan · · Score: 1

      As someone defined earlier in this very thread...

      A monopoly is exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition and that esp. is developed willfully rather than as the result of superior products or skill.

      Please note, that owning the market as Nintendo does with the GB is not a monopoly by the above definition. They have not and cannot restrict access. They have not controlled prices

      Microsoft is a monopoly, because they did do both of those things. They locked out all of those vendors at the OEM level. Nintendo has not done such a thing with the GB. They have always just had the device that the consumer prefers.

      --
      The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
    9. Re:Wow... scary by Mattintosh · · Score: 0, Troll

      The GBA SP is the real PSP competition.

      No it's not. The PSP will die a quick death very soon. But not at the hands of the GBA SP or the DS. The reason the PS2 is so popular is because the PSX took advantage of a weak competitor (the N64) and built a HUGE library of games that could later be played on the PS2 as well.

      But Nintendo uses disks now, and they're about the size of the PSP disks. They already have a Gamecube library that dwarfs the "OMG 20 LAUNCH TITLES" that the PSP has, and will continue to do so for some time. What if the "Revolution" is a portable? They keep mentioning it'll have wireless networking like the DS, which only really makes sense for a portable device. I would bet good money on it having at least a GCN backward compatibility mode if it's not just out-and-out a portable GCN. Sure, the Xbox and PS2 can compete with a GCN on all the technical specs, but the PSP can't.

    10. Re:Wow... scary by DeVryGuy23 · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about? You say the PSP is going to die because the Gamecube has more games? Do you listen to yourself while your typing? The main competitor for the PSP is going to be the DS, because those are the two "current generation" handhelds out now, and unless Nintendo really gets off its ass and starts making, I dunno, games for their handheld, the PSP wont be going anywhere. /got mine this morning, tis awesome

      --
      Butthead Vendor
    11. Re:Wow... scary by oGMo · · Score: 1
      Sony is making the same mistakes everybody else has. There are a few differences in the philosophy of the PSP vs., say, the Atari Lynx, but the basic template is the same - you've got an expensive, battery-hungry, big and powerful system going up against a small, cheap system with long battery life (the GBA SP). Why do you think the PSP is going to be any more "serious" of a competitor than any of these other failures were?

      In all the time since the Japanese release, I have heard problems about launching discs and stuck buttons and even some load times... but none about battery life being an impediment.

      Let's look at what the PSP does differently:

      • Rechargeable battery that comes with the system, vs buying lots of alkaline batteries every few hours. You don't have to buy new ones every 3 hours either (like with the Lynx and others). Extra batteries are only $40... sleep your game every 5 hours and swap and you're good to go.
      • Games, vs few games. This is what gaming devices are all about, aren't they? The PSP has a wonderful starting lineup, and a lot more down the road. The DS and the SP have neither. (Suprising and sad especially for the SP, of which I have almost every top game. On par for Nintendo, though.) The older devices you listed had very few as well.
      • Price. Sony is targetting the generation that grew up with games. We're 20-30 now. $250 is a lot less now than $100 was as a kid.

      Things are not as simple as people who cite "power and price" would have you believe. Correlation is not causation: and there are a lot of really obvious other factors involved with these other handhelds.

      The original GBA was pretty miserable; its success was hardly because of some magical understanding Nintendo possesses, it was because they were the only show. Remember these?

      • Terrible unlit screen. Had you squinting and looking for a powerful light, except then there was glare.
      • Regular batteries. Buy new ones every time, or a 3rd-party rechargeable battery pack that wasn't terribly reliable.
      • Ports. Lots of games; most of them we've already seen. No new Mario? No new Zelda? 3rd-party Metroid?

      Things aren't quite as peachy with Nintendo as they could be. The PSP isn't perfect either, but it's got a lot going for it.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    12. Re:Wow... scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you mean like nokia..

    13. Re:Wow... scary by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Nintendo has a monopoly in the handheld market even if they don't engage in monopolistic practices (overcharge, block out competitors, etc).

      They have a natural monopoly, but don't abuse it.

      --

      God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
    14. Re:Wow... scary by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

      The one thing the PSP has going for it than something like the Lynx did not is that it seems it is coming out with a very solid library of quality games. That's what really matters.

      You and I must be reading different lists. All I saw was a mish-mash of sports and racing games, with one RPG game in there, which the fanboys at IGN could only call a very good attempt. I'm holding out a little hope for the system, the upcomming titles seemed to have a few good ideas in them, but then upcomming titles don't mean a thing until they release, cancelations can and do happen.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
    15. Re:Wow... scary by Momoru · · Score: 1

      A monopoly is exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition and that esp. is developed willfully rather than as the result of superior products or skill.

      Microsoft is a monopoly, because they did do both of those things.

      I'll agree that Nintendo is not a "true" monopoly by definition, but it is a monopoly by the same definition that Microsoft is one. Microsoft did not have EXCLUSIVE control of the software or operating system market. Macintosh and unix combined even in the 90s was still over 5% of personal computers. Nintendo has pretty much held 95% of the portable gaming market, and as such could fix prices in the same way that Microsoft could fix prices....but neither really do. Microsoft has never had 100% exclusivity of any aspect of the software market...especially not in the same way that Standard Oil or AT&T had corners of their markets.

  7. So shoot me.... by unclethursday · · Score: 4, Insightful
    It's a goddamn gaming device. I don't care what Kaz "The button isn't supposed to line up over its contact, because we designed it that way" Harai says. It's a gaming device, with some extra functions I'm not interested in.

    MP3 playback? I could get an iPod for a little more, and save thousands of dollars in memory sticks to get the capacity I'd want. If I want something to play music on, I'll get something with that purpose designed into it, and not one where I need to buy hundreds of Sony Memory Stick Duos at their outrageous prices to fit all my music on. 40 GB of Memory Stick Duos is over $10K... no thanks, I'll spend $400-$500 on an iPod first.

    Movie playback? I don't feel like buying my movies AGAIN on another proprietary format just to be able to watch them on the go. I can get a portable DVD player, and have all my DVD extras (because I'm fairly certain all the bonus features I buy DVDs for won't be on UMDs), and not have to buy my movies all over again.

    So, yeah, it's a gaming device, with other things thrown on top to try and justify the price and the hype. It's also how Sony really hopes that they can sell tons and tons of Memory Sticks.

    1. Re:So shoot me.... by alatesystems · · Score: 1

      Not just MemoryStick Duo, and not MemoryStick Pro. But actually MemoryStick Pro Duo.

    2. Re:So shoot me.... by unclethursday · · Score: 2, Informative
      Joy. So if I want 40 GB of them, since these are after market SanDisk ones, not Sony branded ones, it's still $7,192. Those are $89.90 each from there, so I'm sure the Sony branded ones are around $100 or more.

      I know you are just correcting my forgetting that normal Meory Stick Duos won't work, though. Gotta be the Pro versions.

      I don't own anything that uses Sony Memory Sticks or any version of them... so AFAIAC, the PSP is just the way to try and get their Memory Sticks into people's homes, and in a way that will be potentially bigger than digital cameras and such that use them. After all, I can buy a Kodak, or Olympous, or whatever digital camera and never have to use Memory Sticks. If people want to do stuff with the PSP, though, it's Memory Sticks all the way.

    3. Re:So shoot me.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Movie playback? I don't feel like buying my movies AGAIN on another proprietary format

      Then dont, convert the ones you have to memory stick. It supports that.

      MP3 playback? I could get an iPod for a little more

      I couldn't care less. Have fun carrying an ipod and PSP around, and rigging up headphones to take audio data from both devices simultaneously for custom soundtrack support.

    4. Re:So shoot me.... by Hast · · Score: 1

      You know that you can convert movies to a format more suitable for the PSP pretty much automatically right? There was even a Slashdot article about one such program (there are several) a week ago.

      And only an idiot would buy Memory Sticks to hold all their data. You get one decent sized one and then you can add or remove stuff from it as you see fit.

    5. Re:So shoot me.... by Ericn484 · · Score: 1

      Your comparing apples to oranges in that statement. The 40gig ipod is a Hard drive based player so you cant compare that to the flash base media that the PSP is using. If you want to compare it, use the IPOD shuffle at least. Also there is some rumors going around that there may possibly be a hard drive coming out for the PSP which would give a lot more room for a cheaper price. But how that would connect to the PSP and alter the weight and looks I dont know.

    6. Re:So shoot me.... by brkello · · Score: 1

      It's almost like you talk, but you don't hear yourself. I agree with one thing, it's a gaming device. But it also has other features if you want to take advantage of them. But instead, you are going to get a PSP, a portable DVD player, and an IPOD, when you just need that one device. Real cost effective there. Yeah, I wince at the memory stick prices too. That's why I don't but stuff early. As the PSP sells, memory will get cheaper and be more reasonable. Obviously, you aren't going to replace your DVD collection. But if you are going on a trip and see something on UMD you would like to watch, well, you have that option. In any case, use the other features or not. I just don't see why you are getting so angry about a hand held. Maybe try some anger management.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    7. Re:So shoot me.... by BTWR · · Score: 1
      Looks like I'm the only one who agrees with you...

      You have all these replies about people telling you how you can convert your dvds to other formats. Yeah. Sure. Joe-PSPer is really going to know how to do that. I have my brother (Ivy League graduate with an M.D.) who calls me up and asks how to put MP3s on his ipod. My parents (both M.D., my mom has a PhD too) don't know how to navigate though a regular dvd player menu and most of the kids in college didn't know how to install a printer driver (yes, even when HP included a cd that said "1. Insert CD-ROM 2. Double-Click 'Setup'").

      I can guarentee 98% of the PSP population cannot figure out DVD-Shrink or any of those other conversion templates. To them, they have to re-buy "Shrek 2" on the new format even though they already own it on DVD.

      So yeah, I agree with the repliers that it is possible to watch other movies converted to DiVX compressed AVIs on your PSP - but I can also guarentee you that 97% of people don't know what "DiVx," or "AVI" is.

    8. Re:So shoot me.... by bynary · · Score: 1

      Don't forget power...HDs need juice. Would it suck juice from the PSP's battery or would it require its own battery pack? Either way it doesn't sound appealing to me.

      --
      http://www.bynarystudio.com
    9. Re:So shoot me.... by incom · · Score: 1

      And not to mention that it'd suck to have to hold the thing upright for 2 hours to watch a movie, hadly relaxing. I'd get a nice 12inch laptop for the purposes this thing has, and general puprose computing along with that!

      --
      True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
    10. Re:So shoot me.... by cluke · · Score: 1

      I can guarentee 98% of the PSP population cannot figure out DVD-Shrink or any of those other conversion templates. To them, they have to re-buy "Shrek 2" on the new format even though they already own it on DVD.

      Think of this as an "idiot surcharge". If you don't know how, or want to, you can buy all your old movies again. But the fact is you don't *have* to, so this should not be used as a stick to beat the PSP, especially in a forum like this.

    11. Re:So shoot me.... by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      Actually, I already have something that plays games, plays music, and plays DVDs; and is portable enough to use in the passenger/back seat of a car, on a train, or (where I use it a lot) on a plane. It's called my 14" laptop.

      The extra advantages to the laptop being I can also use it for (WiFi if available, Ethernet or modem otherwise) Internet access to surf the web in my hotel rooms or check my email or upload files to my site's FTP and such, as well as do writing, photo editing, video editing, sound editing, etc.

      So I wouldn't need to buy the other things, but I could, if I wanted to. The only one I am considering is an iPod, or other digital music player, mainly for when I am in areas where pulling out my laptop to listen to music would be silly.

      The fact remains, though, that the PSP is using the PlayStation name, hence that means gaming. Otherwise, don't you think Sony would have just put out another type of player, maybe with the Walkman name, that did the other things the PSP does? The gaming aspect is what is there to sell the PSP, not the multimedia aspects. The PlayStation name is what is there to sell the PSP, and the games. For everything else the PSP can do there are single purpose devices that will do them better than the PSP will, or multipurpose devices like laptops that also do those same things better than the PSP.

      The only way that the PSP is, as Hirai put it "convergent portable entertainment device," is if people plan on only buying Sony products for it (UMDs, Memory Sticks). They shouldn't try to sell it on the multimedia aspects, they should try to sell it on the gaming aspects (even if the majority of the games will also be available in a larger form on the PS2).

    12. Re:So shoot me.... by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      Then dont, convert the ones you have to memory stick. It supports that.

      But none of the PCs in my house, or my iBook have slots for Memory Sticks built in. Thus, another additional cost to buy a Memory Stick reader/writer. No thanks.

      And even if I could just use the built in USB to transfer stuff from the PC/Mac to the PSP Memory Stick, it wouldn;t be worth it to me.

      I couldn't care less. Have fun carrying an ipod and PSP around, and rigging up headphones to take audio data from both devices simultaneously for custom soundtrack support.

      If I cared about custom soundtracks, don't you think I would have more than one CD ripped to my Xbox? It's not a feature I particularly care for on my console games, so why would it be a huge factor for me while playing a handheld game?

  8. Party for the PSP IP stack by hubertf · · Score: 1
    Looking at the PSP license, it seems they took the NetBSD IP stack - wheee!

    - Hubert

    1. Re:Party for the PSP IP stack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Looking at the PSP license, it seems they took the NetBSD IP stack - wheee!

      Heck it probably just runs NetBSD outright as a bootstrap environment. Once you plug a game in, the game pretty much takes over though.

  9. Just Brought Mine Home by acxr+is+wasted · · Score: 0

    I have to say... Nintendo should be worried. This is the coolest thing I've ever seen. The screen is beautiful.. Ridge Racer and Metal Gear Acid are lots of fun. Everything works great. Dead sexy, too.

    --
    "Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
    1. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      How do FPSes (or TPSes, if you prefer that viewpoint) play on the system? Dual analog control would be kinda hard for obvious reasons...

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by Lukey+Boy · · Score: 1

      I don't think there is an FPS for it yet. Metal Gear is actually a tactical card game, not an action game. Which you'll either love or hate :-)

    3. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1
      I have to say... Nintendo should be worried.


      Sorry, but I doubt that'll happen.

      Take Sega's GameGear for example. That really was a nice portable device; I loved the games, it was IN COLOR, all in all a winner.

      Gameboy crused it...

      Nintendo has too big of a following. They've been doing this for a while and know what buttons to push to get players interested.

      Don't get me wrong, I think portable gaming is due for a regime change, but it's going to be a bloody battle.
    4. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by prockcore · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Metal Gear Acid are lots of fun

      I just played Metal Gear Acid on a co-worker's PSP (he went to best buy this morning just to look at the PSP, and ended up buying one. No preorder necessary.. aparently there are tons in stock)

      I have to say the game totally sucks. I didn't so much as play the game as hit "O" over a hundred times as it went through a slideshow story.

    5. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by wheany · · Score: 1

      know what buttons to push to get players interested.

      Let me guess, it's the "release a gaming system, then release no games for six months" -button?

    6. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by Dreamwalkerofyore · · Score: 1

      The GameGear also required 6AA batteries that died out after 3-4 hours. The GameBoy required 4 AA batteries that lasted for 12-24 odd hours on end. THAT is why the Gameboy won. Well, that and the fact that the Game Boy had Kirby. And Kirby > most other characters at the time.

      --
      I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
    7. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by jvalenzu · · Score: 1

      Sounds like every other MGS ever made.

    8. Re:Just Brought Mine Home by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1

      Battery doesn't bother me that much and didn't back then. I used (and still use) rechargable AA batteries for all of my portable electronics that require batteries; even back in the old days of GameBoy (tm).

      I always had a set ready and charged when I'd be done. My parents drilled it into me back then that it wasn't worth paying for batteries over and over for stuff like that when I could buy a set of rechargables that would last me a LONG time.

      But most didn't have that option, so I guess that is one of the big issues. As for Kirby, was it even popular back then? I thought it wasn't until later that it started sellign well.

  10. Re:Crap by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

    You are free to submit your own articles. Why not try that?

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  11. Re:Crap by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

    Sorry to respond to my own reply. But, I see you HAVE submitted quite a few articles -- my apology. Have you stopped submitting, or have they stopped accepting?

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  12. Great game system but not a good movie player... by bat2k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The reason why...

    a) Won't play popular movie formats such as quicktime, windows media, divx, etc without transcoding.
    b) Need to store movies on a sony memory stick with lots of memory.

    Players that support popular movie formats and have built in hard drives exist now. But to become popular, I guess they need to be manufactured by a big brand and be able to run graphic intense games.

    --
    My other sig is a Porsche.
  13. Where's the B-list celebs? by British · · Score: 1

    and lots of B-list celebs (who clearly needed to collect the appearance fee)

    I didn't see any in the pics. Got me curious. Who showed? Ron Perlman?

    1. Re:Where's the B-list celebs? by zenneth · · Score: 0

      Who showed? Ron Perlman?

      It had to be either him or Dean Cain.

      --
      The Chronic *WHAT* les of Narnia!
  14. PSP problems by luccid · · Score: 1

    Anyone one have any problems with their PSP? The "R" shoulder button constantly sticks on mine

    1. Re:PSP problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had two dead pixels right out of the box. Haven't noticed any button problems yet, but we'll see.

    2. Re:PSP problems by UWC · · Score: 1
      Dead pixels are a manufacturing problem from what I've heard, so it's always gonna be right out of the box. As far as I know your unit should never have more than just those two while it functions properly.

      For what it's worth, Nintendo has offered to replace any DS systems with any dead pixels within the 1-year warranty period. No such luck with Sony from what I hear.

      --
      Honor Among Slackers. A veri
  15. Re:Great game system but not a good movie player.. by Corngood · · Score: 1

    Personally I don't think transcoding is a problem. At least you get your files encoded at the proper resolution/aspect ratio for the device, no need to waste memory stick space on those extra pixels.

  16. Is Sony and RIAA going to get in a pissing battle? by Mr.Dippy · · Score: 3, Funny

    DJ Danger Mouse was Djing the event? Last I heard the RIAA was all hot and bothered by his Grey Album. Does this mean that Sony, who is a member of the RIAA, is now going to be on the RIAA's hit list? Obviously, Sony Game Division and Sony Music do not give a flying F about each other.

    --


    -Dipster
  17. Where are all the hacks? by wildzeke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where are the PSP emulators? Where are the mod chips? Where are the programs that allow you to burn your own PSP media? This unit has been out for about 12 hours now! Lets get going here!

    1. Re:Where are all the hacks? by Mr.Dippy · · Score: 1

      Imagine a Beowulf cluster of PSP...

      oh nevermind

      --


      -Dipster
  18. Happy birthday to you by Look+KG486 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Paint Shop Pro Happy birthday to you

    --

    "Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold." -- Joseph Chilton Pearce

  19. Are these people nuts? by JocksRPeople2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is not a once in lifetime opportunity here folks! Why in the hell would you want to stand outside for 13+ hours in the freezing cold to get a video game system that you could pick up at your local WalMart in about a week with no problems! Wait until these things come out on Ebay for $50 because of some fatal flaw gamers are bound to find. They don't play any "real" movies at this point, the battery life is average at best and before Christmas Sony will come out with the PSP 2 Special U2 Edition with Kung-Fu grip! Wait and it will become available.

    1. Re:Are these people nuts? by ajservo · · Score: 1

      Do your parents know you troll on Slashdot?

      And your qualifiers for some of your points...

      What's a "real" movie?
      And last time I checked... Average battery life was perfectly acceptable.

      It's a new console. More games and movies will become available. Really, I have never cared for Sony as a company, but I'm convinced now, holding the PSP here in my hands, that maybe... They know games just as well as Nintendo does. Maybe better. But never as good as Sega...

    2. Re:Are these people nuts? by JocksRPeople2 · · Score: 1

      So far the only movies announced to be released in the UMD format are "XXX," "Hellboy," "Resident Evil 2" and "Once Upon A Time in Mexico". These are real quality flicks! They also haven't come out and said how much these new discs are going to cost. I for one don't feel like paying for a new disc format that isn't compatable with anything else that I own. Also, average battery life is not acceptable, just ask the people at Apple. They recognized that people aren't interested in average and improved their product, right after the Christmas rush! It may look cool while massaging it in your hands, but I guarantee there will be a better product out just in time for Christmas and you and everyone else who jumped in early will be kicking yourself for doing so. Oh, and tell your Mom thanks for giving me permission to troll /.

    3. Re:Are these people nuts? by UWC · · Score: 1
      Just for information, the 4 movies you listed are apparently around $15 each at Wal-Mart, and House of Flying Daggers is $20-ish. Also of note is that the version of Hellboy offered on UMD is the director's cut.

      And at least the PSP has a replaceable battery so that if the only physical upgrade in the next version is battery capacity early adopters won't be completely out in the cold.

      Also, I'll probably not buy a PSP any time soon. Just offering some extra thoughts/information to this riveting discussion.

      --
      Honor Among Slackers. A veri
    4. Re:Are these people nuts? by JocksRPeople2 · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the info on the UMD's at Wal-Mart, I hadn't seen that yet. Also, I'm sure the director's cut of Hellboy will far exceed the original theatrical version. I can't wait to see what other masters of the theater Sony will decide to produce.

  20. I'm confused... by bynary · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is this being called the PSP's birthday party? My first birthday wasn't when I was born. It happened exactly one year after that. Oh right, I'm using logic on Slashdot...

    --
    http://www.bynarystudio.com
    1. Re:I'm confused... by Brainboy · · Score: 1

      Well if you make it two words it kinda makes sense. "Birth day" as in the Day of your/its Birth. But I suppose that's stretch.

      --
      Just a guy with an opinion
    2. Re:I'm confused... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what would you refer to this as? The PSP's bris?

  21. /. uses logic. by Eunuch · · Score: 1

    For example, very few here are religious. That shows tremendous logic.

    --
    Transcend Humanity. Please.
  22. Duo's work. by Blackwulf · · Score: 1

    Actually, the PSP COMES with a 32MB Memory Stick Duo. Not a Pro Duo, although those work as well. Amateur Duo's work just fine.

  23. Too expensive?? by cmstar · · Score: 0

    These things are too expensive, unless you get one for free (click my url). Yes, the screen is beautiful, and you've got some good games coming. But it's pricey, it's got too many things thrown in. The DS and SP are more portable, better battery power, and large library of games. I just don't see this thing making it....unless you can hook it up to a tv.

    1. Re:Too expensive?? by UWC · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I bought a DS on launch day. I probably won't get a PSP for a while. But I'm not about to defend the DS for its game library. I know it probably is because developers are having trouble figuring out how to make games fun on the DS, but in the meantime, we're getting stuff that ranges from crap (Ping Pals) to highly polished tech demos (Yoshi's Touch & Go) to one of maybe 3 games worth buying for the DS (Wario Ware Touched). And don't bring out the GBA library stuff; if you have a DS you probably already have an SP. The PSP's launch lineup has really impressed me. Obviously its variety is due primarily to its interface being very similar to a modern console's, but there are apparently a couple of games that really take good advantage of what's there. Lumines apparently has the trance-inducing appeal that Tetris did on the original Game Boy. I've heard equal parts praise and disdain for Metal Gear Acid, but it doesn't try to squeeze MGS gameplay into a slightly simplified control scheme, which I see as admirable and in the meantime becomes an apparently enjoyable turn-based strategy game--with level design and encounters actually integrated into both gameplay and story--for those who enjoy such things. Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racer are apparently very well implemented on the PSP. The only real criticism I've seen is that some concessions had to be made for Darkstalkers, as the analog nub is not suited for fighters.

      Anyway, I'm not buying a PSP at the moment, but its game selection right out of the gate (in the US at least) easily matches that of the DS even 4 months after its release.

      --
      Honor Among Slackers. A veri
  24. OMFG YUO GOT PWNED BY... YUO? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  25. Re:Great game system but not a good movie player.. by Caesar_X · · Score: 1

    I have to say that Gamespot's article on getting movies on your PSP was pretty nice. A guy at work got his PSP this morning and in ten minutes I was running a converted MPG off his Memory Stick.

    http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-11721-1725 -x -x-x

  26. dead pixels already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hadn't intended to actually buy a PSP at midnight, but I have this game I play where I don't preorder a system I'm not sure I want to buy, show up close to midnight at Wal-Mart and stand in queue, and if I make it to the counter before they run out, I buy one.

    But honestly, I really should have waited. I had (and still have, I suppose) major concerns about the whole sticking button thing. Does anyone really know if the square button issue had been fixed? Someone here already has a right button that sticks, another who has dead pixels, and mine had dead pixels right out of the box too. To be fair, when I'm playing a game I honestly cannot see the dead pixels, but I know they're there and it bothers me that I spent so much damn money on a unit that came with dead pixels, and that Sony doesn't give a crap about it. I think my best bet is to try to exchange it at Wal-Mart when they have more in stock.

    It will be interesting to see what Sony says if US consumers start complaining about dead pixels and sticking buttons. Not that the Japanese market hasn't already brought all this up, but maybe with a few more countries frowning and shaking their fists Sony might do something about it.

  27. Man, by 2names · · Score: 1
    can't you read? You can't say, "well, I still think they have a monopoly," when the DEFINITION excludes them from having one.

    Cripes, man, try to comprehend what you are reading.

    --
    "I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
    1. Re:Man, by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1
      No, it doesn't. Do you have a degree in economics? No?

      Monopoly: A situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service.

      Is Nintendo acting like a monopoly, ie, do they prevent entry to market? No. Are they exerting monopolistic control? No. But by the fact that they are/were the SOLE handheld manufacturer... they have a monopoly.

      Just having a monopoly doesn't mean you exploit it.

      You shouldn't be a jackass unless you're 100% sure you're right.

      --

      God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
  28. Maybe video rentals? by Cap'n+Steve · · Score: 1

    I can't imagine people wanting to own movies for this, but maybe if Blockbuster felt like stocking yet another format it'd be good for keeping yourself entertained on a road trip or during class. Although it still seems better suited to shorts instead of full movies.

  29. TPS reports by Cap'n+Steve · · Score: 1

    Yeeahhhh...I don't know if you got the memo, but we're putting the cover sheets on all our Third Person Shooters now, ok?

  30. 3 Hours and counting... by ylsul · · Score: 1

    I left work to get one of the 55 PSPs being sold at the local toy store. [mind you, I own a DS too, and love it] The PSP is really beautiful. Games are nice, buttons don't stick. I'd NEVER stand in the rain for one of them though. Better to call early in the morning and take a nice break during working hours! :)

  31. Sheesh. by 2names · · Score: 2, Informative
    I don't need an economics degree to be able to read a dictionary entry:


    Main Entry: monopoly
    Pronunciation: m&-'nä-p&-lE
    Function: noun
    Inflected Form: plural -lies
    1 : exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition and that esp. is developed willfully rather than as the result of superior products or skill --see also ANTITRUST Sherman Antitrust Act in the IMPORTANT LAWS section
    2 : one that has a monopoly

    Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

    Taken from This previous post.

    Nintendo has NEVER been the "sole" player in the handheld market.

    You shouldn't be a jackass unless you're 100% sure you're right.

    I am 100% certain that you are a moron.

    --
    "I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
  32. Forget a PSP Emulator. by BancBoy · · Score: 1

    I know the parent was being funny, but on a serious note. Forget a PSP Emulator. What I want is a PSX emulator FOR my PSP. Add a nice little program on my computer to dump PSX ISOs to Memory Stick and I would be one happy camper.

    --
    [UID-HeinzIntel]