New Media Experience Coming to PSP

The Guardian Gamesblog discusses the announcement that a Metal Gear Solid digital comic is in the works for the PSP. There's also going to be a title called 'The Silent Hill Experience', which will be a sort of guide to the series. From the post: "Designed to offer a comprehensive guide to all things Silent Hill, The Silent Hill Experience combines a number of media formats to give a compelling overview of the horror series. Using an intuitive 3D interface, users can view all-new Silent Hill digital interactive comics, listen to music from the four games in the series, and watch exclusive video content. The Silent Hill Experience also features an interview with Christophe Gans, the Director of the highly anticipated Silent Hill movie, starring Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean." Nice that they're finally doing something defining with the console.

Comments

When are they planning on a game experince?

[Godeke]

The PS2 did very well for me, but the PSP has left me cold (and thus unpurchased). Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings. Considering my time constraints, I don't usually bother with anything below 90 unless it is in a genre I like. That brings me to the genre problem: I loved my GBA because of the strong RPG and Strategy game showing... so far the showing has been especially weak in that regard on the PSP.)

I finally picked up a DS mostly because my GBA games work on it. Neither system has a strong game showing although I give the DS a very slight nod for my taste in portable games, such as Advanced Wars DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. My wife loves Nintendogs (the killer app for the DS if you ask me) and Animal Crossings. Meanwhile, the PSP is lacking in "cute" for her and strategy or RPG games for me. (Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade looked promising but was universally panned).

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[masamax]

The PSP does still have some killer apps. SOCOM is an amazing game given the limitations in the control scheme, but games like Wipeout Pure, and for the first time console quality sports games o the system make it very good as well.

Honestly, the best way I can think of it is to say that the PSP and DS are very similar to the Genesis/SNES era. Both systems were good, but both did certain types of games better than the others. No one can tell me playing sports games on the DS is as fun as the PSP, or tell me that Wipeout isn't an awesome game.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[Godeke]

I have heard Wipeout referred to as the "one night stand" because of length. Meanwhile, I am not a sports gamer (that's why they invented outside: for sports). Neither system has really impressed me, but the DS edged out with backwards compatibility and some innovative games that at least were interesting from interface standpoint.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[j.bellone]

Unfortunately this system is taking longer than expected to bring content up to par, but at least they didn't leave it in the wind, and we can expect some more coming. The real problem is the developers, not the system, which sans a few problems is a great piece of hardware. The real problem is the price of the system, it needs to come down a good $100 USD before its a viable mainstream platform for handheld gaming. Not to mention the vast edge that Nintendo has because of the exact reason that you explained: the DS has support to play GBA games.

But I agree though. I am primarily a PC gamer, and I see no reason to buy either system. My brother owns a PSP, loves the system because of all the different things it can do, but is waiting patiently for the games to hit the market. He uses it as an MP3 player, picture viewer, and portable web-browser while at school (thank god while I was there I convinced the high school to buy wireless hardware). He doesn't use it for movies, and I'm not sure if may people actually do.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't care about games this times, maybe I'm getting really old.

Or maybe Sony is smart and is positioning the PSP as more of a "portable media center" than a rival to the Gameboy ,etc.

I'm more interested in media, so I'm waiting for the homebrew scene to advance a little more,so I can buy PSP and stream content of any kind wirelessly from my PC.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[masamax]

How can a game with a huge amount of downloadable content and online gameplay be a one-night stand? Regardless, even if you dislike sports games, you have to admit they are a selling point of the PSP that the DS cannot match, at least yet. They are a huge part of the games market, and the PSP essentially has a stranglehold given how in depth and beautiful most of the sports games on the system have been compared to their DS counterparts.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[Benanov]

The problem is that Sony's official stance is that homebrew shouldn't run, so your reasons to purchase the PSP aren't on Sony's radar.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[Total_Wimp]

The PS2 did very well for me, but the PSP has left me cold (and thus unpurchased).

I'm seriously disapointed to see every PSP-related article start with a post similar to this.

This article is about a new type of media that hasn't previously been tried. I'd love to see more people comment on this new thing and leave their overall opinion of the PSP for a more appropriate place.

Thanks,
TW

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[falcon5768]

who cares about beauty? seriously this belief that graphics are more important over gameplay has got to end. I can give two craps if I can smell the BO on my players the graphics are so good, I want gameplay not graphics.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[oGMo]

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[apoc06]

you cant believe everything you hear. wipeout pure has tons of downloadable content. thats been coming at a steady rate for almost a year after launch. the game has a reasonable amount of length natively, but the downloadable content, and the multiplayer aspect make for an excellent launch title. try it for yourself.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[apoc06]

the graphics for wipeout pure are excellent. easily better than most of the ds offerings, and there are lighting effects that the ps2 isnt even capable of pulling off. the poster mentioned graphics, but the gameplay is great too. wipeout pure and wipeoutXL are easily regarded as the best in the series. the downloadable content and the extra modes make wipeout pure a very good game.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[apoc06]

wish i could mod you up, but i already posted.

ive discussed this elsewhere, but PSP titles in particular are usually not judged on their own merits. because the handheld is so similar to the ps2, people tend to judge PSP games by ps2 standards. games in the gameboy line have been notoriously short and comparatively easier than their console counterparts. no one cared. psp games have to be short and playable [read: enjoyable] for short bursts of time, but you read reviews of psp games, you will find marks taken away from games for being such. no one cares about that fact that it has more challenging and rich games than handhelds have ever been privy to, they just slap its wrist for not being on the same level as the ps2. a shame really. ive enjoyed many games that reviewers have panned for the wrong reasons.

it doesnt help the cause when most of the games coming are ports of already available ps2 titles. review bias is a definite to creep in, in that case.

Re:When are they planning on a game experince?

[falcon5768]

and there are lighting effects that the ps2 isnt even capable of pulling off

considereing the PSP isnt nearly as powerful as the PS2 I call bullshit on this statement.

Anything to help me forget...

[masamax]

... the horrible experience of MGS: Acid. Oh Mr. Kojima, what happened to MGS2 being the last game? This series has more side stories and alternate story lines than an episode of 'Days of our Lives'.

Re:Anything to help me forget...

[garrett714]

This kind of reminds me of the whole Shenmue thing. When are we going to see Shenmue 15 as promised? Ryo needs to find "that man" he's been looking for.

Re:Anything to help me forget...

[masamax]

At least we never had to deal with Raiden in Shenmue. I men, seriously, what? I've seen more interesting characters in a porn movie.

Re:Anything to help me forget...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it's worth noting that it's not called MGS: Acid. It's Metal Gear Acid. People who don't realise that it's not a part of the Solid series tend to be the ones who don't enjoy MGA, because they expect something different to what they get.

UMD = Blecchh

[hardran3]

Sony has to get over the whole "Make our own propietary media" thing. Mini-disc sucked. Memory stick is overpriced. UMD is the next mini-disc.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[masamax]

As opposed to what? Every major camera company has their own memory card type, and frankly, the fact that they use UMD on the PSP is pretty much a necessity. If not UMD, what? Attach a portable DVD drive to the unit?

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[guice]

Make them writeable. Then UMD's will have my 110% support. Until then, they are just a crappy propritary format.

At least with all other camara cards, you can freely write/delete from them using your home PC.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[masamax]

Uh, you can with MS cards. As for making them writeable, why? That's why they have a thing called a memory stick slot. At the same time, how would that help them? I know how much Sony would like everyone to have easy acccess to pirated games, but somehow I don't think that fits their buisness model.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[guice]

As for making them writeable, why? That's why they have a thing called a memory stick slot.

Cost effective high volume storage. $100 a flash stick isn't exactly cost effective, nor is it high volume (1 or 2g is nothing when you think in movie terms).

I'd love to watch my movies on a PSP, on the go, but having to rebuy any one of my 300 DVDs isn't exactly something I'm willing to do.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[garrett714]

Yeah Sony should just make it super easy for people to pirate games and then the game system would do really well! And you could put tons of porn on an UMD! Think of the possibilities!

Oh wait, they already included a MemoryStick slot which can use 2GB cards. I can put my porn on an overpriced MemoryStick, Stick it in my PSP, and then Stick my *ahem* in my hand. In the end, Sony shoves their Stick up my ass and everyone is happy (especially my anus which now has a rootkit installed)

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[sdhankin]

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand this. My DS cartridges are a proprietary format as well. Why would I care? I buy the media for its contents. I never got too bent out of shape about the format I bought my games on. UMD's are a nearly 2GB, relatively cheap, very small medium. I don't seen anything I could reasonably replace them with that offers that same.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[Total_Wimp]

If not UMD, what? Attach a portable DVD drive to the unit?

Um, yeah. Mini-DVDs(think of the tiny CDs you sometimes see) would have been a great choice. They could have even saved a little space in the console by not using a carrier and making the discs slot loading. It would have saved space for the end-user carrying the discs around as well.

I'm not against UMD. It's certainly no worse than using a proprietery cartridge like Nintendo does. But DVD would have been prefferable.

TW

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[sdhankin]

Actually, Mini DVD's are CD-sized media that are formatted to hold video. It wouldn't be appropriate for a handheld device. You're probably thinking about cDVD's, sometimes called 3-inch DVD's. They hold somewhat less than a UMD (1.4GB vs. 1.8GB) but might have been considered, if piracy weren't an issue.

Personally, I think a slot loading handheld would be a mistake. I can imagine all kinds of gunk getting in the slot. Handhelds have to put up with much more demanding environments (like people's pockets) than your typical slot loading CD or DVD player does. It just seems to be asking for trouble.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[Total_Wimp]

Actually, Mini DVD's are CD-sized media that are formatted to hold video. It wouldn't be appropriate for a handheld device. You're probably thinking about cDVD's, sometimes called 3-inch DVD's. They hold somewhat less than a UMD (1.4GB vs. 1.8GB) but might have been considered, if piracy weren't an issue.

I guess it depends on who you ask, but yes, I was thinking of the 3" verion that holds 1.4GB.

1.4GB would have been fine as far as size is concerned, but, then again, SD cards would have been fine as far as flash memory is concerned. Sony like to go it's own way with this stuff. And just many large Memory Sticks and pre-recorded videos would have been sold if everyone could have inexpensively burned their on-the-go music and video's to inexpensive 3" DVDs?

Piracy was probably an issue, but a small one. Making money reselling 512MB Memory Sticks and HellBoy were probably more important. After all, wouldn't you still have piracy on an MS?

Slot loaders: you're probably right. I'd like to add though that the potential to get gunk in your drive is also pretty high when a full third of the back of your device pops open to insert a UMD.

TW

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[sdhankin]

No doubt about it - being able to burn your own stuff to, um, little DVD's would have been sweet. And I myself would have preferred SD cards - way cheaper. (And more internal memory, but that's a different topic.)

But I think you underestimate the piracy issue, at least in Sony's eyes. After all, they've already demonstrated the willingness to be a pariah as far as copy protection is concerned. MS piracy isn't an issue, as they don't put out games or movies on those.

I haven't seen a potential gunk problem with the pop-out back, because I don't open and close them that much. But I'd be really reluctant to do so at the beach, for example - I'd just be asking for sand to get in there.

Re:UMD = Blecchh

[DarkJC]

I don't mind UMD, but why didn't they install a sliding cover over the exposed disc, ala MiniDisc? I think that would've been a much smarter option, and then I wouldn't have to worry about constantly keeping them in their oversized cases.

Slideshow

[idonthack]

And by "digital interactive comics" they mean "slideshow".

Re:Slideshow

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, so it will contain more animation than the actual games then.

The games just have two pictures of heads talking back and forth for hours on end...

I think occasionally you get a brief interactive sequence between radio conversations, but they're trying to reduce that since players found it too distracting.

The concept of a MGS game with absolutely no interaction (beyond the camera) just seems to fit so well with the existing games - they're already mostly cutscenes already, simplifying the game to pure cutscene is just a stroke of genius!

Or was that "invented by someone who had a stroke", I can't remember.

PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[cybereal]

Granted, the PSP can play games, but who really wants to pay $250 for the one or two good games it has to offer?

On the other hand, for almost $100 less money you can have this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6970 469&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat139000500 18&id=1099386329954

That gives you access to your EXISTING dvd collection, rather than paying more money for lower quality versions of movies you may very well already have, that will not play on ANY other device besides the PSP. Furthermore, get yourself a DVD burner and burn 4.7GB (or 8.5gb if you shell the cash for DL) worth of MP3's to listen to on the go.

Granted, the PSP is smaller and looks "sexier" but it also only has a, what, 4.5" screen? The dvd player I cite (and there are others, especially in the car-only segment, you can get a dual screen setup for $250) has a 7" tft.

Battery time is also directly comparable, not due to portable dvd players having good battery life, but instead due to the PSP having terrible battery life.

Clearly there are pros and cons to both, but, this post claiming "Nice that they're finally doing something defining with the console" makes me realize just how sad the PSP's showing really is.

Nothing in the post today can't be done on a DVD. I guess if you really want to shell out $249.99 msrp for vendor media lockin on movies, a smaller screen, and access to *WOW* digital comics *laugh*, then by all means, buy a PSP.

p.s. I didn't even bother comparing digital media players due to price, but, the price vs. feature set, with emphasis on size comparison with the PSP, also makes these devices a much better deal if you're looking at the PSP with movie watching in mind.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[masamax]

Oh yeah, that will work REALLY well, me lugging a portable DVD player on a transit bus.

If the PSP was so crappy, why have they sold millions of units? Besides, some of us like having everything they need in one device. I'd rather carry around ONE psp than a DS, an mp3 player, and a portable DVD player. Sure, each of them might do each better than th PSP, but I can't afford the space or the cost of all three when I want all three.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[guice]

While watching a movie. Average DVD player playtime: 2hrs. Average PSP playtime: 8hrs.

Small difference. ;)

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[Jearil]

wow! How do you get 8 hours out of your PSP battery? I get like 4 on mine on a good day.. usually enough for 2-3 Lumines games before it goes dark. Bought an extra battery now since I'll be going to Japan and there's no way the thing will last any significant portion of a 13 hour plane trip.

Now the standby mode on the PSP is very good. You can have a game running but the whole system in standby for days and the game will snap right back up instantly when you flip the switch and barely any battery will be lost. But I could never get close to 8 hours of actual play time on one charge.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[cybereal]

I take it you haven't actually owned or used a PSP for watching movies as these times are terribly inaccurate. The PSP will last 3 hours, maybe, while regularly reading from the UMD media. On the other hand, if you are referring to watching movies off of a memory stick then, fine, 8 hours is feasible (though, as a PSP owner, I've never had the PSP last 8 hours doing ANYTHING, let alone watching video or playing games).

Given that you are referring to memory stick videos, and you want to watch a full length movie on one, let's look at what that entails:

- Let's ignore the fact that it takes a long time to convert a movie to the proper format for memory stick.

- Let's ignore that you can't fit more than one, maybe 2 movies at a lower quality rating, on a 1gb memory stick (definitely nowhere near the quality of even UMD, let alone DVD).

- Let's ignore that most consumers will pay full MSRP for a 1gb memory stick duo, which is the only hope of having 2 movies (at low framerate and quality) on the same stick. That full price, btw, is $99. On pricewatch I found one for $74. Best price I can find for 2gb is $146.67 (pricewatch)

- Let's also ignore that some *cough*evil*cough* organizations feel it is illegal for us to rip a movie for any purpose.

Ok now that we've ignored most all of the pertinent facts, we conclude that it's great to get to watch movies for 8 hours straight, assuming you like watching at 8-10fps, 320x200 resolution, with lots of encoding artifacts. You also don't mind shelling out $250 for the base device with a 4" screen, another $74 per 2 movies ($150 to maximize your 8 hours on average), or spending a weekend converting the movies you're completely certain you will want to watch the next time you're out and about.

Yeah, that's a good deal!

By all means, the PSP is a cool little device, it's just severely lacking in a few aspects that would help make it THE device to have. My examples would be the poor *REAL* battery life, the inability to do say, listen to music while browsing or looking at text files http://gutenberg.org/, or a useful amount of storage http://store.palm.com/product/index.jsp?productId= 1999092&cp=1157580

Of course, this is all opinion, blending with facts and personal experience. No need to get upset if you disagree.

p.s. Yes, I do feel like I got majorly jilted when I bought my PSP. Almost a year later, my psp has no new games that interest me, no value in the videos (cripes, at least make them half the price of a dvd since they have half the quality and none of the features!), and my DS has brought me many hours of quality unique entertainment... I should sell the PSP.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[sdhankin]

I guess I'd rather bring my PSP with me to play games, watch movies, and listen to music than bring a portable DVD player, my MP3 player AND my DS - the footprint is somewhat smaller. Come to think of it, it's cheaper than buying all three as well.

But I admit, digital comics leave me cold. Please, Kojima-san, tell me that this isn't the all-new Metal Gear experience you were talking about a while back! Talk about a letdown...

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[glitch0]

Yeah, who wants to pay $100 more for a smaller device, with only 1 or 2 good games to offer? Let's totally ignore the fact that the PSP can run emulators and play 1000s of classic games, and even homebrew games. Let's also ignore the fact that with a $50 upgrade for a decent sized memory stick duo, you can load your own movies on and not worry about having to carry around big dvds.

But who on earth would spend $300 on a gadget that plays music, videos, a pretty big array of games, and allows you to browse the internet wirelessly? What kind of weirdo would want to be able to check his email on the go?

Your post reminds me of something: No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[sdhankin]

My experience is different from yours. I have Jurassic Park on my 1 GB Memory Stick Duo right now, taking up a little less than half the stick. I got a Gigapack, so the MS cost me $50 over the value pack. I get 25-30 fps, 368x208 (16:9), no artifacts. I love the way it looks and sounds, and it's uncertain that better resolution would be noticable to me given the screen size.

Once you're set up to do it, converting movies is not appreciably different than ripping CD's, something people do all the time without complaint. After all, you only do it once per movie, then you're done. I've done this with all my DVDs. Now if I find myself in a position of wanting movies for a trip, I pick two, and move them over. No big deal.

I guess this is why I've found the UMD movie argument to be a straw man. I couldn't agree more - who'd pay the same price to buy a movie they already own? If I care enough about the movie to buy it, I'll buy a DVD and rip it. I'm sure as heck not going to buy a UMD and burn it to DVD!

Theoretically, I agree about the battery life. There is a newer battery you can buy which give you about 20% more capacity. But I've never played the PSP (or any game device) the required 5-8 hours needed to run out the battery. I have a job and a family - 5 hours is a long time. I just plug it in to the charger if when it gets close to half out.

The PSP and the DS work out fine for me. Perhaps you should sell your PSP. You seem very unhappy with it.

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[KDR_11k]

Okay, so if I were to go out right now and buy a new PSP, how would I go about making that run emulators?

Re:PSP vs. Portable DVD Player

[glitch0]

Well, most retail store PSPs at this time come with 2.0 firmware, which they have a downgrader for. Even if you get a PSP with the 2.5 firmware they now have a downgrader for that which uses a sound glitch. So, all you really need to do is buy a PSP almost anywhere and run some software on it. The hardest part is getting it to 1.5 firmware, but once you have 1.5 you can very easily run homebrew apps on it. I had 1.5 for a while, but then decided the web browser was more important to me and upgraded. So yes, you do have to choose between a web browser and running homebrew apps.

Uh...

[Burgundy Advocate]

So... uh... when are they going to make some fun games for it?

HI-MD

[JohnnyLocust]

Sony were fools to opt for UMD instead of the HI-MD format. http://www.minidisc.org/hi-md_faq.html

Even though they are .8 GB smaller than the UMD, their rewriteability would have made the PSP a truly revolutionary media device. HI-MD audio players have incredibly long battery life for a non-solid state player. Using the h.264 video format, they could still have released very high quality movies. If they thought the UMD was going to prevent piracy, well, we all know how well that turned out.

garbage

[Anonymous Coward]

enough of the movies and bad 'interactive experiences', i bought my psp to play games and other than 2 or 3 launch titles that were good and 1 or 2 games over the past year, the psp is horrible.

the best part was running emulators and running homebrew but sony tries their best to shut that aspect down, kinda ironic since otherwise it's a paper weight and the only thing that would keep me using that paper weight

i can't imagine these things being more than $5 either (or free) since its more or less advertising for their games/movies/etc.

Come on.

[British]

Nice that they're finally doing something defining with the console.

Forget that, how about affordable games? You don't need to do something "new", just have a baseline of affordability. Jeesh!

I gladly traded away my PSP for a DS + 2 games. I find myself playing Mario Kart(networked or solo) during boring TV shows for a quick race fix. Now I just need to find some good puzzle games.

Useless post

[Anonymous Coward]

I like the idea of mixed content disks with a little of everything. If there's anything that I miss with the UMD format is the exclusion of extras (probably by choice more than anything).

I own a PSP. It serves it's role very well as a portable entertainment unit. The price is high, but so is the quality. Nice dot pitch, minimal ghosting and adequate processing power make it quite capable. Often when I travel, I have short periods of down time, waiting in terminals, etc... so I need content that's easy to use/view in parts.

Even with all this "special" content, homebrew would be the single biggest thing lacking.

In other news...

[MMaestro]

Sony again fails to pick up the ball on the the games department of the PSP.