Who's up for a Sony PSP?

[xortam]

I read an article about the new Sony PSP about a month ago and they just loved this new handheld gaming / A/V entertainment device. The on-line articles today also have high praises for this new gizmo. My wife was even considering buying one for me so I'd keep quiet when she drives on long trips (I used to use an Atari Lynx for such purposes).

Anybody got one of these puppies on order? Who plans on buying one this year? What's your opinion on what you've heard about this device?

[schmosef]

The problem with buying such a device at launch is that there are no truly "must have" games.

I plan to buy one when the price comes down a bit and then only if some killer games come out.

Probably for Chanukah.

[GT98]

I prob wind up getting one down the road...not enough games right now nor money for it

[DGhost]

i picked one up earlier, only got a chance to play with the demo disk. the screen is easily as impressive as everyone makes it sound, and then some. ****ing gorgeous. it's a really, really slick device. i look forward to ****ing around with it a bit more tonight.

[xortam]

The problem with buying such a device at launch is that there are no truly "must have" games. ...

I guess that depends on how you define "must have".

... For the PSP to succeed, it all comes down to games. Sony has a ton of 'em ready to hit store shelves with the PSP – 18 to be precise. Another half dozen will appear within roughly two weeks, and 23 more are currently in development, including Grand Theft Auto 2 for PSP, due in the summer. ... "Wipeout Pure" has been a personal favorite, and the critical cheers for the puzzle game "Lumines" are almost deafening.

... The PlayStation 2 also plays movies and music. But ultimately, it's a game machine. ... Sony's bundling of "Spider-Man 2" with each unit sold. ... the PSP will play your MP3 files ... Memory Stick ...

.. I plan to buy one when the price comes down a bit and then only if some killer games come out.

Probably for Chanukah.

I read that prices will hold steady through the holidays.

(and this year Chanukah actually starts on Christmas day for the first time in quite awhile.)

[xortam]

i picked one up earlier, only got a chance to play with the demo disk. the screen is easily as impressive as everyone makes it sound, and then some. ****ing gorgeous. it's a really, really slick device. i look forward to ****ing around with it a bit more tonight.

All right!!! An early adopter. The gamer magazine I read a while back showed the screen and such and it was quite impressive ... they loved it. I look forward to your review.

[DGhost]

ooh, lemme get my digicam out and do some pics!

[Sasq]

Sigh, that old thing, you guys are really behind the times

[xortam]

Feel the excitement!

[Nowhere]

Sigh, that old thing, you guys are really behind the times

Nah, they're not, I'm the one who's behind (considering buying GBA - and not SP)

[xortam]

Well you can guess where the gamer mag got theirs. They had no problems getting additional PSPs in smaller shopping centers on opening day.

[DGhost]

Well you can guess where the gamer mag got theirs. They had no problems getting additional PSPs in smaller shopping centers on opening day.

that is pretty much what I did. I found one of the larger stores that carries some games but that no one ever goes to. they had a bunch still in stock, expecting them to sell out after the end of the work day.

anyways. my initial impressions - it's a very sexy piece of hardware. the screen is gorgeous, and the sound quality is definately a notch above the other handhelds.

physically, it's fairly solid and hefty - you know you are holding it in your hands. it feels comfortable to hold, feeling like a console controller, just a little wider. after years of having my hands right next to each other with the GBA SP it is definately a nice change. at the same time, it definately is not something you would want to give to young kids. i do not know how durable it is - I wouldn't want to drop it to find out. it seems like it might be a bit delicate, and the fact it is so shiny out of box definately instills that fear of breaking it in the user. the only major gripe I have of it is that the UMD drive makes noise when it is seeking.

the downside to the design is that it is large. i wouldn't want to put one in my pocket (fear of damaging it being included), although it would fit comfortably in cargo pockets. this is the sort of thing you throw into your backpack or luggage when you are traveling.

sound quality is good, especially with headphones. you can play music off of UMD disks or the Memory Stick. i would not want to use it to replace an iPod though - the physical size and user interface would definately prohibit that. plus, by the time you spend the money on the device and a reasonable size memory stick you could have easily gotten an iPod Shuffle that would be more portable and less easily damaged.

it is worth mentioning that there is a remote device that is included in the value pack, which would definately address the user interface problems.

video support seems pretty good as well. it can play MPEG-4 off of the UMD and Memory Sticks, although I don't know if it uses straight MPEG-4 or a Sony specific derivative. the stuff included on the UMD's is definately top notch. no obvious pixelization or blocking on the included copy of Spider-Man 2 or on the videos on the sampler disk. It is worth noting that a few of the videos on the sampler disk seemed to suffer from very poor de-interlacing - i am guessing that is the fault of the person who converted and encoded the videos though. it will be interesting to see where this goes - if they can bring enough good quality movies to it, then I would probably consider buying them for trips and what not.

a quick note on the sampler disk - it is entirely videos, with no playable demos. kinda lame.

onto the games - I have not spent much time playing with it, so I didn't get into the games too much. from what I saw I was impressed with what it can do. it is definately far more impressive than the DS in terms of capabilities. it appears there is a loss of resolution when running games (arrggg, pixelization!) but it isn't too bad and is still a step up from the closest competetor. the button placement makes sense and is entirely comfortable, however there are still some questions about the analog stick - which is located in the bottom left corner, below those buttons. kind of annoying to use sometimes, but it might become easier as I play with it. it is also worth noting that in order to save your games, you have to have a Memory Stick Duo in it.

The current game selection sucks, but it will expand a lot in the near future. I have no doubt that the selection is going to improve and that a lot of games that you would never have dreamed of seeing on a handheld will soon come to it.

I do not know what the "normal" packaging of it is going to be like, but the included headphones, remote for the headphones, soft case, and memory stick are definately useful items.

if Sony can keep developer's making games for it, they should have a solid winner. it definately will become popular if they can get some solid games out for it. it definately looks far more promising than the DS does. if you are into handhelds, this is definately the one that is going to go someplace.

onto the photos:

UMD box compared to a DVD box:


UMD versus DVD:



Close-up on the data side:


PSP In relation to DVD case:


PSP Shot:

[DGhost]

The bottom edge of the PSP - the power connector is the yellow plug on the right side. the analog stick is the funny looking circle on the left side. the headphone connector is behind the lanyard connector on the bottom side. it is quite comfortable to play while using headphones and running off of wall power.


UMD Slot. the top Left/Right buttons are the translucent pieces on the top.


The Memory Stick Duo slot:


It's really hard to get a good shot of the screen, but this should show just how bright it is:

[jms]

I think I just soiled myself....

[Nowhere]

Hmm...too bad they didn't use minidisc...especially that, I guess (from the looks of it), UMD is MD, just in different (much worse...) packaging