You're forgetting that Nintendo considers the DS to be their "third pillar" alongside the traditional handhelds (the Gameboys) and the home consoles. The DS is also significantly more expensive than the GBA line, so it's probably wise that they keep that "entry level" product around. Word has it that the next "proper" handheld is currently in development.
The system has a brightness toggle (although the light can't be switched off now, for obvious reasons). As for battery life, the GBA SP's was long enough to make a small reduction unnoticable - assuming there is a reduction (the old frontlit SP wastes so much light it's not hard to imagine improving efficiency).
Those maligning the system as pointless because they already have a GBA SP or a Micro are perhaps missing the point. While I'm sure a few existing GBA or SP users will buy the thing, they're not the target market: like the quieter, DVD-R-able PS2, this is a refinement of the product line aimed at people who haven't got the system yet.
No, they haven't confirmed there will be one. The oft-misinterpreted statement simply says there will be more games in the MetalGear franchise, which includes MG: Ghost Babel on the GBC and MetalGear Acid on the PSP. They're probably not going to be called "MetalGear Solid" sequels.
They reckon it's more practical for a system where you're likely to be bumping around on a bus during play.
Also, I've been waiting for the series to try out turn based strategy for ages, so I'm chuffed.
Well, according to that AC Watch interview which turned up a couple of weeks ago, users will be able to play back AVC/H2352342whatever video files (MP4?) freely from memory stick. So that's certainly practical. The interviewee even mentioned that Sony were contemplating releasing their own software to convert video files for playback on the PSP (although he made no mention of DVDs).
Interesting that so many of the cut-and-dry replies here didn't actually know that, but I'll let it slip. Basically, if you already rip your DVDs for playback on a PDA or whatever, you can do it for the PSP. Quite why you'd want to when you're already doing it for your PDA, I don't know. And I'm rambling now.
Erm, just to explain my maths there: I'm assuming that a standard UMD will be single-layer rather than the dual layer 1.8GB Sony have shown off. In which case:
900MB/32MB = ~29 (that is, at least 29 disk accesses are needed to complete a movie)
120min/30 = 4 min (that is, these accesses will happen at 4-minute intervals)
Assuming Sony just switched on the PSP and left it running, then, it should be reasonably plausable for limited streaming to be pulled off (around 8MB of data every minute) without dropping battery life too low.
On the other hand, if they tested it on a 1.8GB dual-layer movie UMD... then you're talking double the amount of data access (64MB every 4 minutes, or 16MB per minute) and accessing twice as often (once every 2 minutes).
And of course, if they were using less than the full 32MB of memory to cache the data, then they would've been doing even more disk access.
Movie UMD battery life: 4-5 hours according to the press release.
That'd be copying roughly 32MB of data every 4 minutes, assuming 2 hours for a single movie and that all of main RAM is used for data caching. Fairly good indicator for how well games will perform, I reckon.
Here's an interesting observation: according to many sources, the PSP will only include region coding for movie UMDs (4-5 hrs battery life, folks, I noticed people taking potshots at battery life on the basis of little disk access, without looking at the figures for movie streaming). With this in mind, observe the region 2 logo on the PSP's box. Region 2 being the movie region that the UK's in.
Also note the 110-240V 50-Hz inputs accepted by the AC adaptor, which conveniently comes with a standard kettle plug for the actual mains connector.
Thirdly, notice the launch price is ~£100, or ~£125 for the value pack. And that UK gamers are used to paying £x for the price where x=the US price in US dollars (Sony and Microsoft in particular don't seem to understand the concept of exchange rates).
The perfect system for a UK importer?
Edge originally (and somewhat controvertially) gave the game a 7/10 rating on release, somewhat lower than many of the other nominees... possibly because of its non-universal appeal.
A sign that numerical rating systems for reviews are faulty?
Considering how well the PS shifted units at that price point, things should really pick up.
One concern is how this will affect the handhelds launched next year, though... the NDS will probably cost more than the GC's current RRP, and the PSP's price will most likely be ludicrous in comparison to the XBox and PS2.
Of course, this is hardly new, as the GBA SP currently costs more than the GameCube, and it doesn't seem to have dramatically affected sales of either unit.
Just because some people allow their audience to download their music, and encourage it, (DMB, for example), doesn't mean that it's okay to go and pirate music from people who don't want you pirating it. Common sense, no?
I'd be interested to see what the powers-that-be at Slashdot make of this blatantly misleading "news" post.
Addenum: unless I am mistaken, 128kbps is precisely the quality that CD audio is encoded at.
In fact, isn't this whole post just an excuse for some whinger to repeat the strange arguments of the past? How does downloading a 128kbps version of a track and keeping it and then not buying the record constitute a "promo"? Or am I missing something?
Call me stupid if you must, but I don't see how a news story saying that record sales are up and piracy is up somehow proves that record sales increase piracy.
Indeed, it would seem far more likely that the market forces increasing normal sales are also increasing pirate music sales.
Come to think of it, this is something which has been obvious for approximately as long as music has been pirated.
Come on, Kazaa users, stop seeking justification and just admit that you're pirating music because you don't want to buy it.
Slashdot Mirror
You're forgetting that Nintendo considers the DS to be their "third pillar" alongside the traditional handhelds (the Gameboys) and the home consoles. The DS is also significantly more expensive than the GBA line, so it's probably wise that they keep that "entry level" product around. Word has it that the next "proper" handheld is currently in development.
The system has a brightness toggle (although the light can't be switched off now, for obvious reasons). As for battery life, the GBA SP's was long enough to make a small reduction unnoticable - assuming there is a reduction (the old frontlit SP wastes so much light it's not hard to imagine improving efficiency).
Those maligning the system as pointless because they already have a GBA SP or a Micro are perhaps missing the point. While I'm sure a few existing GBA or SP users will buy the thing, they're not the target market: like the quieter, DVD-R-able PS2, this is a refinement of the product line aimed at people who haven't got the system yet.
No, they haven't confirmed there will be one. The oft-misinterpreted statement simply says there will be more games in the MetalGear franchise, which includes MG: Ghost Babel on the GBC and MetalGear Acid on the PSP. They're probably not going to be called "MetalGear Solid" sequels.
They reckon it's more practical for a system where you're likely to be bumping around on a bus during play. Also, I've been waiting for the series to try out turn based strategy for ages, so I'm chuffed.
Well, according to that AC Watch interview which turned up a couple of weeks ago, users will be able to play back AVC/H2352342whatever video files (MP4?) freely from memory stick. So that's certainly practical. The interviewee even mentioned that Sony were contemplating releasing their own software to convert video files for playback on the PSP (although he made no mention of DVDs).
Interesting that so many of the cut-and-dry replies here didn't actually know that, but I'll let it slip. Basically, if you already rip your DVDs for playback on a PDA or whatever, you can do it for the PSP. Quite why you'd want to when you're already doing it for your PDA, I don't know. And I'm rambling now.
Erm, just to explain my maths there: I'm assuming that a standard UMD will be single-layer rather than the dual layer 1.8GB Sony have shown off. In which case:
900MB/32MB = ~29 (that is, at least 29 disk accesses are needed to complete a movie)
120min/30 = 4 min (that is, these accesses will happen at 4-minute intervals)
Assuming Sony just switched on the PSP and left it running, then, it should be reasonably plausable for limited streaming to be pulled off (around 8MB of data every minute) without dropping battery life too low.
On the other hand, if they tested it on a 1.8GB dual-layer movie UMD... then you're talking double the amount of data access (64MB every 4 minutes, or 16MB per minute) and accessing twice as often (once every 2 minutes).
And of course, if they were using less than the full 32MB of memory to cache the data, then they would've been doing even more disk access.
Movie UMD battery life: 4-5 hours according to the press release. That'd be copying roughly 32MB of data every 4 minutes, assuming 2 hours for a single movie and that all of main RAM is used for data caching. Fairly good indicator for how well games will perform, I reckon.
Here's an interesting observation: according to many sources, the PSP will only include region coding for movie UMDs (4-5 hrs battery life, folks, I noticed people taking potshots at battery life on the basis of little disk access, without looking at the figures for movie streaming). With this in mind, observe the region 2 logo on the PSP's box. Region 2 being the movie region that the UK's in. Also note the 110-240V 50-Hz inputs accepted by the AC adaptor, which conveniently comes with a standard kettle plug for the actual mains connector. Thirdly, notice the launch price is ~£100, or ~£125 for the value pack. And that UK gamers are used to paying £x for the price where x=the US price in US dollars (Sony and Microsoft in particular don't seem to understand the concept of exchange rates). The perfect system for a UK importer?
Actually, IIRC, the original Gameboy still holds that record, but in the current generation, the GBA's probably the best seller.
Edge originally (and somewhat controvertially) gave the game a 7/10 rating on release, somewhat lower than many of the other nominees... possibly because of its non-universal appeal. A sign that numerical rating systems for reviews are faulty?
Seconded. In fact, compared to the final product, the pre-release screens of then-GT2000 are a joke.
Considering how well the PS shifted units at that price point, things should really pick up. One concern is how this will affect the handhelds launched next year, though... the NDS will probably cost more than the GC's current RRP, and the PSP's price will most likely be ludicrous in comparison to the XBox and PS2. Of course, this is hardly new, as the GBA SP currently costs more than the GameCube, and it doesn't seem to have dramatically affected sales of either unit.
That doesn't make any sense. Why would there be increased survival value in people becoming allergic to computer equipment?
...go and see a doctor about it?
If it's genuine, nobody will have better resources to identify what's causing the allergy.
If it's psychosomatic, nobody will be better qualified to identify it as such and treat it.
Just because some people allow their audience to download their music, and encourage it, (DMB, for example), doesn't mean that it's okay to go and pirate music from people who don't want you pirating it. Common sense, no? I'd be interested to see what the powers-that-be at Slashdot make of this blatantly misleading "news" post.
Addenum: unless I am mistaken, 128kbps is precisely the quality that CD audio is encoded at. In fact, isn't this whole post just an excuse for some whinger to repeat the strange arguments of the past? How does downloading a 128kbps version of a track and keeping it and then not buying the record constitute a "promo"? Or am I missing something?
Call me stupid if you must, but I don't see how a news story saying that record sales are up and piracy is up somehow proves that record sales increase piracy. Indeed, it would seem far more likely that the market forces increasing normal sales are also increasing pirate music sales. Come to think of it, this is something which has been obvious for approximately as long as music has been pirated. Come on, Kazaa users, stop seeking justification and just admit that you're pirating music because you don't want to buy it.