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PSP Reception Lukewarm in US?
There are plenty of interesting takes available on Sony's new media/game console. The neat tricks seem to be the most popular. An Anonymous Coward writes "A blogger figured out how to batch convert e-books so they can be read on your PSP. Check out the guide here for a complete walkthrough on this method." Meanwhile, RyuuzakiTetsuya writes "PSP Vault has a great story on how to Use Non-Duo Memory Sticks on a PSP! The process involves using an adapter that's meant for a Sony Ericcson phone." Via Joystiq, a way to get Tivo content on your PSP. Out in the real world there is already talk of the opening weekend sales. Doomstalk writes "According to IGN sales of the PSP have been lukewarm, with many outlets selling as little as 10 out of the 80 units they received." The PSP is currently burning up the charts in Japan, though, where the console has been out for a while. Early adopters on a holiday weekend may not be the best yardstick. Official numbers from the first weekend of sales likely available on Monday.
I was at EB Games earlier today and one of the customers there asked the dude behind the counter if they had sold out of PSPs. The guy said no they still had plenty.
When millions disappear from earth, it's not aliens, it's the rapture.
The hacks are already starting to role in. A web browser has been found in the PSP game Wipeout Pure.
More info here: http://www.pspondering.com/
There aren't any PSPs at my EB or else I would have dropped three hundred bucks that I don't have.
from a friend of mine who works in a game store says its the most returned gaming console in history (faults/dead pixels)
of course anyone who knows Sony's gear thesedays its hardly suprising, their pro gear (broadcast) is still good but the consumer level gears build quality in the last 10/15 years has declined massively, i couldn't reccomend Sony anything for the average customer
still the concept is nice, until my mobile phone kicks its ass in 2006
You can say that again.
The thing's far too expensive to justify whatever niftiness it may hold.
My digital rights don't need management.
http://www.pspvideo9.com/
"PSP Video 9 is a free PSP video conversion and management application. It can convert regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into PSP video files, as well as manage/copy these PSP video files between your PC and PSP."
The market for the PSP could get a lot larger if the software keeps coming at this rate
Business Voyeur
I felt the same way. But the DS really doesn't have any games going for it right now either. The only way I could justify it was by reasoning that Advanced Wars DS will be out for it soon. That game alone was enough to get me to buy a DS.
But until then I'll keep enjoying my DS with this and this.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
I pre-ordered from EB and got mine. I was #30 on the list and they got 40. Everywhere else here is sold out....
except Target.
I'm convinced that no one shops at Target. Click here to see my picture commentary on it. I ended up getting Ridge Racer from Target, since everywhere else is sold out. Target has all the games and a few psp's left, because NO ONE shops there.
With that said, Sony has done a horrible job of mismarketing/undermarketing. Almost none of my non-nerd friends even know what a PSP is. It's really sad. I've seen maybe one commercial total for it.
They need to pimp it as the awesome media machine it is. I love mine, and I have Ridge Racer, Wipeout Pure, and Twisted Metal: Head-On.
Playing on the actual internet from a handheld via WiFi in Twisted Metal is a truly awesome experience. Hopefully Sony will market it, but I guarantee you, this thing will be marketed by word of mouth/view of eye. The PSP is dead sexy and I guarantee you people will be asking me about it at school, since I'll be playing it before class starts and in between classes.
Or maybe folks are just tired of stacking up one more game console. I have two young teenagers and we could open a store with everything from the Ninenteno, Nindento 64........PlayStation 2, XBox, ad nauseum. My kids weren't interested in the PSP. I have to admit I expected them to coming begging for it but they showed little interest. So, that's $250 + games + peripherals saved (theoretically, anyway).
http://www.busyweather.com/
"A blogger figured out how to batch convert e-books so they can be read on your PSP."
I mean, I like embracing new words as much as the next guy, but from the elections (where "blog" was the word of choice for the media), to talk of the PSP, I just don't *need* to see that word everywhere
My digital rights don't need management.
The DRM is annoying, if you record say, a lecture on the MD using analogue, it *deletes* your files on the MD on the 2nd upload, it randomly trashes tracks (ie breaks them into hundreds of 2-second tracks, which you have to manually join - and about 8% of those tracks are corrupted) - and because of the stupid encryption that Sony useds to prevent *gasp* copy protection (why they prevent analogue copies and not just digital is beyond me)
SonicStage itself (the interface software) is a piece of badly coded rubbish - and the random encryption and DRM only makes it worse - if they spent half the time coding software as they did DRM to supposedly prevent copyright breaches (who on earth would buy a MD player to copy music? Most customers, judging by the minidisc forums are musicians or those like me recording lectures).
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Sony has a history of , ever since MD over 10 years, Atrac3, then memory stick etc. pushing consumers into draconian, proprietary technologies that both rake in more money, and preserve their music sales (stupid idea, since people who copy music will just buy an mp3 player, which hurts them twice - they lose MD sales, and their original idea of protecting copyright is a failure right away).
I only hope that efforts to free up the PSP carry over into other Sony technologies, like the Vaio (don't own one, but I feel for those who have to put up wiht the SS/Memory Stick issues), MD, Clie etc.
At $249.99, there better be a handful of games I just can't live without. For me, there are none. This changes with the introduction of new titles and price drops on the PSP itself. At $149.99, I could see buying it for only 2-3 games (with the expectation of more).
Until I played Lumines for one minute on a PSP at my local gaming store. The sheer addictivness of this game alone makes me desperatly want a PSP, but without the financial means to aquire it. It is a wonderful system, it has a nice feel, as opposed to the slightly clunky nature of the nintendo DS...
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin
less than huge launch. At my place of employment we recieved in 40 units, and sold 2 on Thursday. The company wanted us to sell out of them by noon, similar to the DS launch before Christmas. I know the local Best Buy, EB Games, Gamestop, were all sold out, but people do generally not come to Toys R Us for the big video game launches. So if you are looking for a PSP hit the local Toys R US, they probally still have some in stock.
The PSP would be a fantastic handheld with it's brilliant screen and fantastic hardware... ...except...
They need to make UMD-R. Seriously. I am not going to pay 50%+ more (versus SD) for a 1G Memory Stick Duo that will not work in any other device I own just so I can carry around some extra media. Come on Sony. Didn't you learn your lesson about propriatary formats yet?
Sheeple, who feed off on sony's products no matter how they suck? I LOVE my DS, I went to get a PSP, saw someone playing it, and decided not to. I have the $$$, but load times, battery life, and freakin 50$ a game is discouraging me. Its the principle that they do this because they KNOW those who want to be hip will buy one. Sure the screen looks nice, but looking pretty isnt what makes a game to me. I saw someone say on penny arcades forums they plan to never leave the house with this, so battery life isnt important. I take my PORTBALE device with me on the way to school, play in between classes. His logic amazed me.
I would have to agree, I used to spend a lot of effort researching each of my purchases. I would spend days scouring the Internet for reviews from every viewpoint, make multiple trips to stores to "touch and feel" every aspect, post numerous questions on message boards, etc.. But no more, these days I just wait to see if Rob Enderle or John Dvorak like it, and if they do I avoid it like the plague. I have a lot more free time to waste around here and don't make post as many auctions. Whew, thanks Rob Enderle, that PSP looked tempting but knowing you are ALWAYS wrong is better than a 30 day return policy.
I'm not sure I'll ever buy either system. Portable gaming isn't something I must have really. But, on the unlikely chance I do, I think a DS is more innovative. The PSP has a boatload of cool gimmicks (and trust me, my roommate is trying to take advantage of all of them..he doesn't know how he lived without portable anime 2 days ago, heh) but the DS has the 2 screens which can lead to really neat ideas in games, plus the one screen is a touch screen. Also, I've always been about a system that does one thing and tries to do it well. The PSP might really play games well eventually but it's not worth the price. It's substandard as a movie player, MP3 player, etc so I would only buy it for games. It lacks here right now too and even if it didn't, the price is too high I think.
In the end, I think a DS will offer more innovation for game play.
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
I've been to numerous stores today, and each place had plenty of the units. By the looks of it some places had sold as little as 2 or 3. Worse part still is the fact that at all the places I saw like 2 people maximum looking at them. It's release was front page news in the local paper with quotes such as "It's the biggest realease in seven years, since the Xbox" (this was a gamestop employee, who obviously can't count) and claiming they were sold out. Mabie they were, but no other place I was to were. The DS launch was far better sales wise, most places having only games but no units.
Very suprising, but that launch lineup wasn't exactly stellar. (DS was no better, but still...)
John 3:16 - The easiest way to a BETTER YOU.
As with many console launches, I think a big problem here is the games. This happened with the DS too since their selection was limited (Mario DS and Metroid are the only two good ones from what I've heard) even though they have their GBA games to fall back on. Since the DS is less expensive, can also do movies, MP3s and ebooks using Movie Player Advance, people don't seem to want to spend the $100 extra for it. Both companies want to create a new industry around downloading content over WiFi and other non videogame things so they seem to be holding out on their initial releases. It might be better to wait six months and see which side has better stuff.
--
Want a free iPod?
Or try a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof
I went to Target in Burbank CA, at about 9:30 to pickup God of War, and they had about 20 PSPs. I went back after work, about 7:30 to pick up something I forgot, and I noticed one PSP gone from the display case. I asked the guy if they restocked the shelves, and he said no. But the weird thing was, the bestbuy two stores down was sold out. Maybe people didn't think to try Target. The way I see it, the PSP is going to be there tommorrow, the next day and next month, so I'm going to sit on it for a while and see how it plays out.
"Then again, it may have something to do with the fact that the town where the walmart is in ain't that rich... borderline redneck and college students."
When describing the area a Wal-Mart is in, it is implied the general population there is not all too rich and/or consists mainly of rednecks.
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
BTW, here's the link to the story : http://www.technewsworld.com/story/news/41790.htm
And another totally insane quote:
Take the place of the iPod? I want some of what he's smoking.
... thanks to Sony's choice to proprietarize the UMD rather than just using a mini DVD in a caddy. I can pretty much guarantee that nobody's gonna rebuy movies for this thing, at least in the US. Yeah, you could put movies on a mildly less proprietary Memory Stick, but teens aren't gonna have the $$$ for tons of 512MB sticks..
Of course, the geek bandolier squad will come out with the whole 'single purpose devices are better' argument, and I'm sure plenty of geeks and game fiends will buy the PSP and only play games on it. For me, though, $250 is a bit rich for that, and the so-called multifunctionality is a bit of a snow job due to Sony's longstanding format nonsensicality.
I just want to see Apple take that gorgeous LCD and wrap a star-killing PDA phone around it, using a scaled-up iPod mini look with touchscreen. Something with internal disk, HWR, 3G, voice recognition (for bluetooth headset/handsfree dialing etc.), the works. Adding the ability to run Dashboard apps even if you don't use a PPC full-blown OS X env would be super kewl.
What pushed me over the edge to buy it is definitely the potential. In addition to some of the things linked already, the register has an article about a potential email and web browser which, when combined with this keyboard that popped up, might just make me think twice about upgrading my laptop.
Email/web browser aside, I'd love to see writeable UMDs come out though some how I doubt sony would give up the memory stick market so easily. Still, that would definitely make this a killer gadget IMHO.
Oh, and the games are fun too.
Maybe because gamers like myself are tired of the same old rehashed games ported over. Basically what Nintendo and Sony have done is take their old game system and shrink it down to a portable. Port games = double profit for suckers.
Note: Sega did this with their GameGear. It was just a Master System compressed in a handheld. In fact, the hardware was so identical, you could get a PCB bridge and attach Master System carts to your GameGear.
Please *sigh*
Life is not for the lazy.
And yeah - I like it a lot. However, it's quite apparent that the unit isn't selling like hotcakes. Every store I went to had plenty of stock available (Sears, Best Buy, EB Games, Target). What wasn't available were copies of Luminens and Ridge Racer, I had to poke through numerous stores in order to find copies of both.
The unit is beautiful and worth the money. Why isn't it selling? I don't know, but I'll hazard a few guesses:
a) No display units available. Not a single store of those four had a display unit to show potential buyers. Few people are willing to shell out $250 for a game device they've never seen perform.
b) It's a bit too expensive. Yes, it's worth the money for what you get, but it isn't cheap for a toy.
c) Game selection is limited. Yes, sixteen titles on launch. But only a few were selling well, and two (Luminens and Ridge Racer) were selling out.
So... am I glad I bought the unit? Yes! And oh yeah, did I buy the "rip off" Best Buy two-year protection plan? Yes! (hey, the damn thing has moving parts!) Now... time to check out that ebook thingy I saw in the article header. --M
It doesn't need more than 32 megabytes of storage space. It's a gaming machine. If you think of it as anything more than a gaming machine, you've bought into the marketing. That's the same marketing that used ROB to get the NES into electronics stores.
The PSP is a gaming machine. It's not a video playback device: when was the last time you bought a movie on UMD? Would you be willing to buy a moving on UMD knowing that it would look terrible on a full-sized TV? Where would you even get a movie on UMD?
The PSP is a gaming machine. It is not a web browser. Whatever you may have heard about it's browsing capabilities, the screen is tiny and has low resolution compared to a laptop, and it has no text input. Browsing on the PSP would be painful.
The PSP is a gaming machine. It is not an MP3 player. The archos Jukebox and iPod are MP3 players. If you want an MP3 player, you can get a CF-based one for 40 bucks these days. The PSP hasn't the on-board storage or the battery life to be a primary MP3 player. It can do it, but don't expect to throw out your current one just yet.
The PSP is a gaming machine. If you believe otherwise, you've bought into the marketing hooks. The only systems right now that can claim to be more than just gaming machines are your PC, any PS2 or Xbox that you use as DVD players, and the N-Gage (which is a halfway descent phone). But even those are basically just gaming machines.
The PSP may be capable of being your personal organizer. You may theoretically be able to run your 802.11b home automation equipment with it. You might be able to use it as a teleprompter, a floor wax, or to make Julianne fries. But the fact is that nearly everyone who buys one will use it as a game machine. Pretty much like all the other gaming machines in the world. Period.
That's not to say that it is "just" a gaming machine any more than a Ferrari is "just" a car, or a 6' plasma screen is "just" a TV. But don't expect the 6' plasma screen to improve your love life, and don't expect the PSP to do anything but play games really, really well.
And yes, we should all keep Terry Pratchett in our prayers. That poor, poor diskworld...
The ______ Agenda
I agree, I think the only reason why Nintendo released the DS when they did was to get a jump on the PSP. I know I am going to get a DS because:
A.) There will be a new Mario for it
2.) Animal Crossing
D.) CastleVania (oh man, it looks good)
I am really intrigued that the PSP is looking more like a portable entertainment device than just a game machine but there's no compelling software yet. It was also cool at one time that the PS2 had iLink and USB. That went nowhere fast.
Not since Marie-Antoinette played milkmaid has looking simple and honest been so fake and complicated.
or perhaps people like me love their DS and don't see any reason to buy another more expensive portable system. Espically one with unholy load times (for a portable anyway) and less battery life.
Matt
You have 1 Moderator Point! Use it or lose it! Is that a threat? -vapid
Target is generally one of the better places to look when a game / system sells out. Their electronics department is pretty well stocked, and they always overestimate demand, as it doesn't cost them shelf-space. They're also good about sending stuff back, so it isn't much of a risk to them. And when a system fails, target clears out of a lot of them... cheap.
Another great place to look is Sears. Yes, Sears. Yes, most Sears sell games. Generally Sears has a random assortment of games that are old and frequently out of print. Not intentionally, mind you, it's just that nobody buys games at Sears. Hence, if you want a copy of, say, Ikaruga for the Game Cube, the chance that it will be at Sears is much higher than other places with a real software sales department and turn over rate.
Costco was also good for this reason, though I haven't been in one in years.
If you're willing to pay full price, a lot of big music chains decided to get into games, not realizing that there wasn't as much crossover as they thought. Many of their game departments are disused, and full of little gems that went out of print a long time ago. They're generally not cheap: full price or more, but if you're really looking for a copy of something out of print, they're a great place to pop in.
Newberry Comics also has very cheap games. Generally, look for stores that have no business selling games, but who might have thought games were "hip" and decided to try and sell them. Or big chains that have all departments, therefore electronics departments, therefore they sell games. Some of these cater exclusively to a 50+ crowd who by and large don't buy many games, and as such are frequently overstocked.
The ______ Agenda
I got my PSP on launch day and have a few things to day about it. First it needs more games. And no matter what people say, I think it's safe to bet that the system will be BIG once more titles (like the announced GTA game, for example) come out. There are many A list titles that are supposed to come out in a while or be in development.
That said, I bought 3 games. Lumines, Wipeout, and Twisted Metal. Lumines is fantastic. It should be bundled with every PSP. It should be built into the firmware. It should be a required purchase for anyone. The game is so simple and yet so fun. Wipeout is fun (not that good at it right now once you get past the first two difficulty levels) and Twisted Metal isn't bad.
Now there are some games I would like to see on the system. I'd love to have a PaRappa or Amplitude to carry with me. The PSP should be able to run a game like Gish without any problem too.
As for the hardware it's self there are a few things to say. First is the screen is AMAZING. Absolutly amazing. I looked at the pack in copy of Spider Man 2 and I can definatly see my self using the PSP to watch movies on an airplane or something. It looks better than most (all?) portable DVD players that I've seen. The only problem is that the screen (actually the whole front of the unit) are very receptive to fingerprints/smudges and such. Just a minor thing. My only other hardware comments are the WiFi and the analog nub. The WiFi doesn't support WPA encryption, which suprises me. I hope they add it in a future update of the firmware. As for the analog nub, it is VERY hard to make small movements from center, and very easy to make larger movements like around the outside of it's range. In short doing things like pushing the stick a little bit (like in Mario 64 to tiptoe) would be very tough.
As for the other features, they intrigue me. The music playing is interesting, but I don't think I'll use it for that. Most of my music is in AAC (ripped it myself, so it's unprotected) so without being able to listen to that the feature doesn't hold much use to me. Being able to watch videos that I make (say download off the 'net and put them on there) looks quite nice (although the 32mb memory stick would obviously have to be replaced). I can't quite tell but it looks to me like it is possible to run programs off the memory stick. If that is true it would be great for the hacker community. I would love to be able to program the PSP. Even if they charged $50 or $100 for the dev kit. This would not be out of the question as Sony has done it twice in the past (the Net Yahorzee PS1 and the Linux Kit for the PS2).
Over all it is a solid little system and very fun. I didn't have problems with flying UMDs when the system got the littlest twitch, and the square button feels exactly like the others. The design flaws from the Japanese launch have defianatly been fixed.
The system has a good future if you ask me. Sony will put their might behind it (the gaming magazines this month are about half PSP ads from Sony). Great games should be comming, and there are good games out now (plus the amazing Lumines). It has a USB port and Sony is supposed to release stuff for that (a littke keyboard for typing in games, they could make a GPS module, other interesting stuff). It should have a good future.
Note that I also have a DS and I really like that too. I've been playing Yoshi's Touch and Go lately. That is a simplistic game that seems kind of boring at first but after a few plays it becomes very fun as you get the hang of the controlls. It is quite unique in that respect. The DS has a good future too, for what it's worth.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I didn't find any of the games that were available in the store compelling. Add to that a high price, long load times, and a proprietary disk format, and it just doesn't add up.
I just picked one up at Target today; wow, it's got an incredibly nice screen, and Twisted Metal rocks as always. But immediately I've got some slight complaints:
No AAC audio support for music files? The hardware can clearly do this, as it can decode AAC audio in the context of an MPEG-4 file. This seems like straight peevishness on Sony's part to cut out iTunes AAC users. On the other hand, I knew I should have probably ripped all those CDs as
To get the unit into "USB Disk" mode, the user has to go to System Settings and put the unit into USB Connection mode. This seems overly complex. It might be better if the PSP just automatically opened a connection when it sensed a USB cable present -- that would open up all sorts of cool auto-sync possibilities i.e. the iPod.
But these are minor complaints. This unit rocks, the UI is well thought out, and the MPEG-4 video playback (which is what I was mainly interested in) is gorgeous. Nice job, Sony!
~jeff
If you knew how long I spent simply drawing pictures using Super Mario 64 DS, you'd know I don't regret it.
I really think Sony made a mistake when it comes to promoting this in the US. The portable game markets belongs to parents with kids. A parent with 2 kids will slap down the $250 for 2 Gameboys and 2 games, but will might stall on just one PSP for the same price or dropping $600 on 2 PSP w/ games.
Now, if Sony pushed it as a PDA, MP3, Video, e-book, etc and add the ability to slap in a CF card or microdrive. Hotcakes! Of course, Sony fears losing control/money on non-proprietary storage.
What I think no one has stated loudly enough is that in the US mobile gaming is a kids-only affair. Japan is a land of long train commutes and small living quarters that lends itself nicely to a concept like the PSP with its adults-only price tag. In the US the car culture and the "Everything is Big in America" don't lend themselves well to adult portable gaming. They lend themselves to huge-ass TVs to plug consoles on (which helps explain why it's the country where the X-Box has seen the greatest success).
So the PSP won't be a dismal failure, but Nintendo will most likely end up selling more machines in the US thanks to its more kiddy-friendly price tag and image (so that stereotype might be useful for them in the end...).
My friend got his PSP the day it came out (reserved one at GameStop). When he turned it on, he noticed he has 2 dead pixels, but since he bought the insurance on it, he's gonna return it for another as soon as they restock them.
In this area (Northern NJ), all the stores pretty much are sold out. They're quite the hot item. In NY, they've been nearly impossible to find, but everyone seems to have plenty of games in stock.
The thing that surprises me is that, even though Sony says the PSP is region-free, the games have a region code on them. I got my PSP in january (ordered from japan) and I'm able to play US games without any issues, but I can't play that SpiderMan2 movie that came with my friend's PSP. It's quite depressing.
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...
Wouldn't it be cool if they released an SDK for indie game studios, and other folks who want to write useful software for this thing. Even better, release UMD recorders and sell UMD media.
:0)
But no, this won't happen before hell freezes over, thaws and then freezes again, complete with flying pigs and everything. Except if Microsoft releases a WinCE based portable gaming console.
From the summary:
:)
The PSP is currently burning up the charts in Japan, though, where the console has been out for a while. Early adopters on a holiday weekend may not be the best yardstick. Official numbers from the first weekend of sales likely available on Monday.
Translation: As a former editor of the Slashdot games section, I spent hundreds of dollars on a PSP last week and feel the need to defend it in a front page article.
You are very correct about the whole parents/rent thing. Many in Japan are afraid of losing an entire generation because they're not only afraid to leave their parents' home, they're not leaving their rooms. I forget what the term is for these people, but they fulfill the Slashdot stereotype of 30-somethings in their parents' basements never seeing light. Some form of mass agoraphobia. One news article I read put the estimate over a million. On the other hand, the depressed American economy is nothing compared to the depressed Japanese economy. It's been in the dumper for over a decade and every day the headlines make it seem worse. There are ads everywhere for legitimate big-time banks loaning money to people at zero percent interest, just to get them as customers. It's partially government incentives to get the economy moving, but after ten years it's gong to take more than than. I heard that the US release only had 10 or 11 titles. That sucks. I can understand the disappointment, especially considering everything I read on IGN and elsewhere said it would be in the 20-24 range. There are probably 40 or 50 games available in Japan, and many are very playable even if you can't read Japanese. There are a few American companies like YesAsia.com (I'm not in any way related to them, not even a customer) that sell Japanese PSP titles in the U.S. From what I've seen the prices are virtually identitcal to the Japanese prices.
World's tallest building rises in the desert
a PDA manufacturer needs to realise that 8-way pad & analog stick and a couple of fire buttons would go a long way towards making the PocketPC the mobile gaming platform of choice
Only now is Nintendo's patent on the D-pad running out.
entry-level models that are full-featured (3D accelerator and such), affordably priced - and also aimed at gamers.
In general, the wholesale price of a new video game system is pretty close to cost of goods sold. Console makers typically fund research and development with bootloader royalties paid by publishers. Do you expect the entry-level models to restrict the 3D accelerator such that only licensed titles can access it?
What Slashdot's summary fails to mention is last year's DS sales were 1.5 million......
So, let's see here. For $250, you get a cool-looking but big and chunky thing that's a closed platform with proprietary media formats and only a handful of games.
On the other hand, for just $20 more, you can get a Tapwave Zodiac with:
It also supports Web browsing and POP/IMAP email via Bluetooth networking or an 802.11b SDIO card (sold separately).
All new platforms have teething pains, and Sony will undoubtedly be addressing the PSP's shortcomings over the following months (including its rather high price). But if you don't want to wait, or you'd rather have something you can actually comfortably carry around with you, you might want to amble on over to CompUSA or Fry's and take a look at the Zodiac.
And I'm not just saying that because I work for them :-).
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
As compared to the open format on the DS? Or the GBA?
Officially, the Nintendo Playan adapter for GBA lets you play MPEG-1 layer 3 audio and MPEG-4 video stored on common SD memory cards. However, because it has an onboard decoder that draws a significant amount of current, it's recommended for use only in those GBA devices that have a rechargeable battery (GBA SP and Nintendo DS).
Unofficially, GBA has been busted wide open with third-party flash memory devices such as the EFA-Linker and the SuperCard. You can play music on them with the GBA GSM Player, or you can play video with the Meteo codec. Work continues on making the Nintendo DS homebrew-friendly.
1) its extreamly expencive and you are forced to buy a bundle at launch 2) poor advertising, most people dont know what the PSP is or that it was coming out. 3) no must have game 4) reports of 6% defective rate from the japan launch. The claimed .6% was way to low as some stores have stated almost 10% of return rater in Japan after launch. (dead pixles, dust behind screen, defective buttons, UMDs poping out, even a few PSP fires)
5) people know better then to buy a Sony product before the first revision.
5) No must have game.
Is the term you're looking for Otaku?
Everyone seems to like the game, so why pay $249+? Play a Lumines clone for free. Requires Java.. php3
http://www.rit.edu/~jhb4598/jblog/archives/000598
I really like the unit. Its got an amazing display and the controls work well. The games are being made for 10-20 minute fixes so its fun to pick up for a bit and put it back down...hard to do that with console games and PC games for the most part.
Everything is working as advertised. Movies look amazing, games are fun. Its odd becuase you compare things to PS2 and then you go - but wait this is a console!
I don't think any games will make you like a genre...ie if you like racing get racing games, RPG get UL, dynasty warriors...
Lumi is great, its like tetris from hell with electonic dance music pumping.
The bottom line is this - the day after I got it I passed the CEO of my company walking to a resturant - he stopped me and we talked about it for abit because the unit is flat out sexy and looks high class...I bet he goes and gets one he can't check his email very well lol.
If you dont mind blowing some cash on games...just buy one - its sweet.
I bought a PSP on Thursday (launch day) at Wal-Mart. No one was camped out and I was the first person to buy one at that location. No dead pixels, but I think I'm going to exchange it as the left d-pad button is sticking when I play Lumines every once in a while (typically during "oh crap, I need this block way over THERE moments).
After a few days of playing, I love it. Is it worth $250? That's very subjective, but I think so. I almost wish I had daily commute time that didn't involve driving because the PSP would be a no-brainer if you have an hour or so to kill on a train each day.
I have 3 games, including the 2 which seem to be the 'hot' titles, Lumines, and Ridge Racer. I wanted to trade in some old games for Ridge Racer at EB Games or Gamestop, simply because I felt guilty for spending so much money on the PSP and 2 other games, but it was so hard to find that I jumped on the opportunity to pick it up at Target tonight.
While shopping for other things with my wife this weekend, I came to the conclusion that it's safe to say that people who bought multiple PSPs with the intent to make a buck on eBay wasted their time and money. I've seen multiple PSPs for sale at Gamestop, Wal-Mart, Target and BJ's. Maybe the demand just isn't there, or maybe we can thank Sony for shipping a million of these things at launch to prevent eBay hoarders from ruining it for the rest of us.
I have an iPod so music on the PSP wasn't that compelling to me. However, I did want to see how it handled music files, so I downloaded iPSP for the Mac and created a 'PSP' playlist in iTunes, consisting of an iTunes purchased song along with a regular mp3 file. I had added an album cover image to the mp3 by dragging an image from amazon.com to the song via iTunes. The DRM protected iTunes song wasn't even transferred over when I synced. At least it didn't show up in the PSP's music/memory card menu. The mp3 was there along with the album art. Sound quality was acceptable to me, but I didn't put too much thought into it as I knew I wouldn't be using the PSP for music anyway.
While I probably won't use my PSP for viewing picture slideshows that often, it's a feature I'll use more than music playback. Much like music, iPSP uses iPhoto albums to transfer pics over to the PSP (you can't transfer individual photos over as far as I can tell). So, I transferred over a 'vacation favorites' album via iPSP. Along with video playback, viewing pictures on the PSP is where the LCD display really shines. Displayed pictures look incredible, although the widescreen format of the PSP means you'll have bars on the side unless you zoom the image. That's no fault of the PSP though.
I only have the 32 meg memory stick that comes with the PSP, but I had to see what video looks like, so I downloaded a Star Wars Episode III trailer. Much like viewing pictures, the PSP display does not disappoint. Even more impressive is the Spider-Man 2 full-length movie that is bundled with the PSP. I can't see myself buying UMD movies, but the image quality is breathtaking. It looks as good as DVDs on my plasma although obviously in a smaller form (which might help hide any image quality issues). My wife, who doesn't care about this stuff but tolerates my gadget obesssion, commented about how she can't believe how good the image quality is.
That leaves games. As I mentioned earlier, I guess I'm lucky to have found Lumines and Ridge Racer on release weekend. While the PSP is easy to find, these 2 titles seem to be somewhat hard to track down.
I'm not a big fan of puzzle games. Tetris always seems to blow my mind once the pace picks up a bit and I can't think quick enough to move pieces into the appropriate place. The only 'puzzle' game that I really like is Bejeweled, probably because I can stop to think of what my next move is. I couldn't dismiss Lumines however after reading all of the great reviews. My first couple of games were frustrating, my brain refusing to think in terms of which way to f
What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
My cousin/roommate is in charge of security at a Target store. They had him come in early to do (his words) "crowd control" for the PSP launch. Not only was no one there for the launch, but they sold two that entire morning. He's not even sure what a PSP is.
Sony dropped the ball when it came to marketing this thing, and they dropped the ball on the price tag. Sure it's a bargain, and it's probably got $400 worth of actual hardware in it, and it has a lot of potential, but at the end of the day you still have to convince Joe-sumer to spend $250 on a big game boy.
http://www.walkingtaco.com
The Americans are being savvy. After all, the screens and graphics drivers on Pocket PC, Palm and some of the latest phones may not match the PSP but they are good enough quality to play games. And not to mention the more versatile touch screen equipped Tapwave Zodiac. The issue here is people do not want to carry around yet another device. The PSP is not versatile enough. There is no hard drive (silly), no Bluetooth to allow for phone functionality and without a communications OS infrastructure, no way to manage your contacts for multiplayer gameplay, something 'phones' do out of the box. The phone will become the game platform, not the other way around. Why? Cost of entry.
O'WONDERWe're working on it.
Maybe a stupid question, but I couldn't find much info on the UMD format online. First off, the firmware is upgradeable through 802.11 or mem stick, which means hacked firmware will be along soon. The question is, can a UMD reader also read mini-DVDs? If so, the PSP is going to be bent over like a cheap whore (and I'll get one). If not, Sony has announced they're opening the UMD format, so burners may not be far off anyway. In which case, see "cheap whore" note earlier in this post.
This thread is quite amusing. I got myself a PSP a couple of days ago (although I'm in Europe, so I got a Japanese one), and I've yet to get a game for it yet. First thing I did was rip Star Wars to a 512MB MSDuo. Fantastic, and apparently it's not a media player, but a gaming machine! If this isn't a media player then I can only imagine how good the games are.
Well, I'm no Sony "loyalist". I bought this thing because it does stuff that the other handhelds can't. I've been waiting for a unit with this kind of screen quality and raw CPU power for several years. So I've never bought a Nintendo handheld simply because it doesn't do what I want, not out of like or dislike for Nintendo products. And I bought this on features alone, not love for Sony (who are just another company with some good and some bad products).
That said: I'm 37, not 10. If I had kids there's no way I would buy this thing for them. It's not just the price, but the thing is quite delicate. Between moving parts for the optical drive and the large (do NOT drop!) screen, there's no way this thing could survive the kind of damage a kid wealds. And just the image of this thing in a sandbox makes me cringe. For the 6 - 12yo crowd, yeah the GBA looks very durable and cheap enough to replace when the kid runs it through the washer or steps on it.
I actually feel fairly confidant that the PSP will do well enough among the 20s - 30s crowd to build a successful market. Next Christmas will be an important test of its viability. With a decent title selection and a drop to $200 it should sell well. If not, well I may have made a bad long term purchase. We'll see... --M
"Many in Japan are afraid of losing an entire generation because they're not only afraid to leave their parents' home, they're not leaving their rooms. I forget what the term is for these people,"
Hikikomori.
If you have enough room for a TV, game cube, and a stack of games - you have plenty of room for the Xbox.
Your analogies are just stupid. Comparing a few inches under a TV compared to a *car*? A huge ass TV in a tiny bathroom? Your point is lost in these really terrible comparisons.
And your point about fitting two Game Cubes in the "volume" of the Xbox? Wtf?
If you have enough room for any TV, you have more then enough room for the Xbox. We're not talking about a 10 foot projector screen here - we're talking about a small box here. It's not that big.
You can go on and on about how you can't fit it in a *room* but there's no way to validate such a thing. You probably just hate Microsoft and so you're trying to say the entire system is shit because it's a couple inches bigger then the Game Cube.
ps. Not that it matters, but the Game Cube isn't nearly as powerful as a game system. You also can't mod it in order to upgrade the drive and install emulators, media players, and all sorts of cool stuff on it.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
According to this article, Meteos is supposed to come out in North America in late April early March. I was gonna do the import thing, but will wait for the cheaper localized version since it should be coming out soon.
I own Polarium. It's ok, not great. I did all the puzzles, but then I was left with just the challenge mode, and I'm not very good at that. It's race against the clock, which ends up being more of a race against your inaccuracy with a stylus. Oh well.
I'm living in Japan though, and I think someone, somewhere in Nintendo HQ decided this is the month to alleviate the no games problem (at least domestically). You mentioned Meteos, which shipped to raves, but there's also a couple short but good games that just came out, like Yoshi's Touch and Go and Pac-Pix. If you want a Bejeweled clone, Zookeeper's been out for a while.
Touch Kirby's Magic Wand just dropped and based on reviews, it's the first original, full length game for the DS. The concept sounds pretty solid-- tap Kirby to make him charge, draw rainbow tracks to direct him on the screen, tap enemies to stun them before you kill them. It's definitely in my mental shopping cart.
Coming soon is Electroplankton, a crazy art-music project which I absolutely must buy based on the Game Developers' Conference demo, and Nintendogs, a DS tamagotchi with which to keep one's girlfriend or niece busy.
With software for the DS finally in stores or there soon, my problem has become which ones to get and when. My current plan is to get Pac-pix tomorrow then Electroplankton when it comes out, then Kirby, then possibly Yoshi. Who knows, I may even try Nintendogs after that.
It may sound strange for me to start with Pac-pix, but I've already enjoyed doing the demos in store and something about it really appeals to me. Yoshi got good reviews, but I wonder if it isn't just too short for me. Pac-pix should be short enough for me to beat it but long enough to be interesting, making it a good reintroduction to a system I largely put down after beating Mario 64 twice.