PSP hitting Japan on December 12 and battery life info...

[Chewchilla]

And check-out that price! :shock:

Nintendo might have a little competition after all.

Sony's PSP is hitting Japan within the year, with a price in the same ballpark as the Nintendo DS. Official word on battery life, to boot.

TOKYO--After months of analyst speculation that the Sony PlayStation Portable might not make it out this year, Sony Computer Entertainment today dispelled these notions when it announced that it will, in fact, release the PSP in Japan on December 12. The next-generation handheld gaming device will be priced at 19,800 yen ($185), which is fairly close to the already-announced price point of the Nintendo DS, which is slated to hit Japan on December 2 for 15,000 yen ($140).

Of further note, the PSP will be available in a number of different packages. The normal edition PSP package will include the handheld itself, an AC adapter, and a battery pack. The PSP will also be offered in a value pack that's 5,000 yen more expensive at 24,800 yen ($232), which, in addition to the accessories included in the normal package, will come with a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, a set of headphones with a remote control, and a carrying case.

The accessories, of course, will also be available for purchase separately. The 32MB Memory Stick Duo and headphones with remote will be offered at 2,800 yen each ($26), and the carrying case will be offered at 2,000 yen ($19). Additional rechargeable batteries will cost 4,800 yen ($45), and a spare AC adapter can be purchased at 3,500 yen ($33).

In addition, today Sony Computer Entertainment finally made an official statement concerning the battery life of the PSP: The handheld's rechargeable Lithium Ion battery will allegedly last for four to six hours for gameplay, on average, and four to five hours for movies, on average.

Also, the PSP's wireless connection, which follows the IEEE802.11b standard, can allegedly reach up to 30 meters indoors at 11Mbps, and 91 meters at 1Mbps. Outdoors, it can reach up to 120 meters at 11Mbps, and 460 meters at 1Mbps. The range will decrease if there are obstacles in the vicinity or strong electronic frequencies nearby, such as from microwave ovens or power lines.

Twenty-one PSP titles will be released during December, although SCE hasn't clearly stated as to how many of those games will be available precisely at launch of the PSP. The titles scheduled for release by the end of the year are as follows:

Electronic Arts K.K.: Tiger Woods PGA Tour R, sports
Electronic Arts K.K.: Need for Speed Underground Rivals, racing
Capcom: Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, fighting
Koei: Shin Sangoku Muso, action
Koei: Mahjong Taikai, table
Konami: Mahjong Fight Club, table
Konami Computer Entertainment Japan: Metal Gear Acid, strategy
Cyberfront: Kollon, puzzle/action
Sega: Puyo Puyo Fever, action puzzle
Sony Computer Entertainment: Dokodemo Issho, chatting game
Sony Computer Entertainment: Minna no Golf Portable, golf
Taito: Puzzle Bobble Pocket, puzzle
Namco: Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan Daijiten, puzzle
Namco: Ridge Racer, racing
Hudson: Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory, SF action RPG
Bandai: Eiyuu Densetsu Gagharv Trilogy: Shiroki Majo, RPG
Bandai: Lumines, sound and light action puzzle
From Software: AC Formula Front, mech simulation
Marvelous Interactive: A.I. series Igo, table
Marvelous Interactive: A.I. series Shougi, table
Marvelous Interactive: A.I. series Mahjong, table

By Hirohiko Niizumi -- GameSpot
POSTED: 10/27/04 01:36 AM PST

[JamesB]

In addition, today Sony Computer Entertainment finally made an official statement concerning the battery life of the PSP: The handheld's rechargeable Lithium Ion battery will allegedly last for four to six hours for gameplay, on average, and four to five hours for movies, on average.

i already know what Shane is gonna say on this subject:

I TOLD YA SO!!!

[Shane R. Monroe]

NOpe... not going to say a word ...

I keep predicting crap that comes true. Eventually, people will listen :)

[Nectar]

Who would want to watch a movie on a handeld ... let alone a handheld that requires you to re-buy your DVDs in some proprietary format that can't be used on anything else?

BTW: Also when you take in account the battery life for movies and the cost of batteries these days, you're basically paying at least a dollar everytime you watch a movie on one of these things. Isn't that dangerously close to paying for use?

[Shane R. Monroe]

I'm sure the battery will be an internal LiMH that will be rechargable.

Still, who the HELL will pay for movies AGAIN ...?

BEST CASE they let you convert and burn your own...

How many hours are you willing to spend converting your movies to some format?

I predict major problems with the PSP.

[Bryan 'KidHype' Smith]

I predict its the video game version of the ipod

Something no one knows how to use, but think they look cool owning one and only the truly stupid embrace.

[JamesB]

Still, who the HELL will pay for movies AGAIN ...?
only the stupid, Shane.


BEST CASE they let you convert and burn your own...
obviously, you can't use dvd-rs on your PSP. and i haven't seen a memory stick that has the capacity of holding a barely decent quality movie..

[Shane R. Monroe]

Like I said ... its going to be a travesty.

What makes the DS a real treat is that games are assumed to be in the $30 range - I promise that Sony won't make that.

I can't wait for the reports to come in on ACTUAL battery life on the PSP in real world conditions.

Bryan's probably right; worst tool for the job seems to be the popular motif these days. The stupidity that is iPod is only SUPPOSED to happen once per generation - but the simple fact that the presidential election is even CLOSE shows that "Dumbass Lightning" can indeed strike more than once (more like 300 times .... a day ....)

[Demolition Man]

I'd like to welcome you Shane to what I call a good chunk of today's soceity - Yuppie Drones. Here is the discription for what is a Yuppie Drone...

- Cell phone is the most important thing. No matter if they are driving (and putting everyone around them at risk), at the grocery store (and being so loud that they are annoying half the store), or whatever... that phone call about Marcy's boyfriend sleeping behind her back with her best friend's sister in law is the most important thing period.

- Doesn't even know how to program the VCR yet owns a computer because its the "in" thing to have. Not to mention a iPod, DVD player, etc etc etc....

- Speaking of DVD, most likely thinks that a $30 player is "the same" as a much better more expensive player. Same can be said about really anything technology related. "As long as it works" they mumble thinking they are all so smart, but we know the truth, right? 8)

- Thinks that Ashley Simpson has "actual talent" just because she has like one "hit" on the radio. Wow.. you mean "actual talent" like her also doesn't get busted on SNL for lip synching, right? :wink:

- Watches whatever the "masses" watch just because its popular (ie: "Friends" and "Survivor").

- Thinks "Finding Nemo" is "the greatest cartoon ever."

That is just a few examples of what a Yuppie Drone is. :lol:

[Bryan 'KidHype' Smith]

My wife watches those goofy fashion shows on E! and Style and you always see one of those so-called fashion designers or whatever with the ipod headphone wires draped all over their bodies like they've been listening to it. The first thing i think is, "i bet the fuck-er doesnt even know how to d/l music let alone even have anything on the player". I wonder how many people really run around with ipods with nothing on it.

Demo..next time you are at work and you see someone come into the store, please ask them to let you listen to their ipods. If they freak out then that means theres nothing on it.

Trust me, i really believe a lot of people have ipods and have not one song on them.

Sad

[Chewchilla]

Demo..next time you are at work and you see someone come into the store, please ask them to let you listen to their ipods. If they freak out then that means theres nothing on it.

OR it means they're freakin' out because a complete stranger walks up to them and asks to listen to their Ipod.

OR maybe they're freakin' out because they think their cover has been blown and Demo knows that he/she is REALLY an alien. :shock:

ANYWAY....

THQ talks about possible PSP game pricing in the following article:

THQ prepping quartet of PSP titles
The publisher will release an MX title at launch, but the other three may not be released until holiday 2005. Also, the CEO speculates on the price of PSP games.

Another third-party publisher reiterated its full-fledged support for Sony's PSP today: As part of its earnings announcement, THQ revealed that it has no less than four PSP titles in the works. Among them will be an as-yet-untitled game in its MX (motocross) series that will launch alongside the portable early next year. However, the other three unidentified titles will not come until later in the year, perhaps even as late as the fourth quarter.

Speaking to analysts, Brian Farrell, THQ's president and CEO, said that he was "delighted about the PSP pricing in Japan," and said he was "very bullish for the PSP" and its prospects in the North American market.

Farrell also commented on what the cost of a PSP game might be, saying that "$39.99 is a possible price." Responding to an analyst's question about whether the price might edge even higher, Farrell said, "That would be very, very difficult." He expressed similar thoughts about the price for games for the Nintendo DS, which THQ is also supporting.

The CEO also touched on the topic of the availability of PSP development kits. "I'm hearing a lot of moaning and complaining," he said. "Dev kits are hard to come by, but this feels a lot like other launches." In other words, he didn't sound like he was sweating the situation, and was merely allocating resources intelligently by "putting [available] kits on launch titles."

By Curt Feldman, Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot
POSTED: 10/27/04 03:11 PM PST

[Shane R. Monroe]

I'll be TOTALLY honest - I feel the PSP was developed as a personal media player with "gaming thrown in".

People don't typically FLOCK to disc based mediums when it comes to portable equipment. Look at the popularity of MEMORY based MP3 players or HARD DRIVE based MP3 players. Look at the niche market of Sony's own mini-disc music format.

If this unit was open ended; Allowed 3" CD-RWs for playback, I might be a little more receptive. But you KNOW that isn't going to be how it works. Content control has been taken too far - Here is a DISC based system you can do really NOTHING with.

That along with the what-is-sure-to-be-revealed as horrible battery consumption - I just don't want to play.

Now, on a GOOD note - competition ALWAYS rocks and when competition is out there, the consumer ALWAYS wins. Nintendo not literally being the only game in town is a Good Thing(tm). The GBA SP was almost a crime - considering its EXACTLY as powerful as the aged GBA. I believe that Sony's hat in the arena forced Nintendo's hand and I believe the DS will be a kick ass product because of it (provided the developers do the right thing).

Speaking of which ... I'm interested in seeing what developers do with the DS. Let's be honest - there is ZERO room for growth on the PSP. Sure you have the generational changes in games - but for all intents and purposes, its a portable PSONE.5. We're going to see the same games ushered through - the same remakes and rereleases - because there IS no room to move forward with the technology. You have a disc based game system - which inevitably means "More FMV and cutscenes" and "more textures to change out" and of course, some digital audio. Things that Generation Gimmie are ALREADY USED to having now.

I've already seen some damn interesting tech demos on the DS that utilize the touch screen, networking, etc. If Modern Developers(tm) can break out of the shackles that have cursed them to traditional gaming, the DS could have some damn cool innovative titles. Heck imagine even some older mouse games like Lemmings or Quantum with a touch screen.

I could literally spend hours on end coming up with games that use touchscreen, microphone and dual screens all day long. Can you imagine how cool WarioWare could be with a touch screen?

I just see a more innovative and useful entertainment device with a lower TCO than the PSP.

Hell, I don't have a problem with Sony. I own a PS2.

But the PSP looks wrong, feels wrong.

[Chewchilla]

The president speaks! :o

Kutaragi comments on PSP pricing, prospects
SCE's outspoken president speaks out on the PSP for the first time since the price announcement this week.

TOKYO--Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi revealed a great deal of additional information regarding the PSP in an interview with Impress Game Watch today. Kutaragi covered a range of topics including price, cost of goods, and battery life.

On Wednesday, Sony announced that the system would release on December 12 in Japan at an SRP of 19,800 yen ($186). Up until the announcement, analysts in Japan and around the world were expecting that the PSP would be priced around the 25,000 yen range. Any price above that would have given the Nintendo DS, which releases on December 2 in Japan, a price advantage of over 10,000 yen.

“As with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, the PSP's price wasn’t decided until the very last moment,“ said Kutaragi. “The price was kept a secret even to the company. I didn’t even reveal it to my wife. And so, there were actually surprised people inside of Sony.”

200,000 PSP units will be shipped on launch day in Japan, with an additional 300,000 units promised before the end of the year. As Sony's annual manufacturing rate is about 3 million PSP units, the company for the next fiscal year will ship 1 million units each to North America, Europe and Japan. That, says Kutaragi, will be the break-even point for Sony's PSP to start making a profit. (In comparison, Nintendo plans to ship four million units of the DS worldwide in the next five months.) Kutaragi asserted that the main reason why Sony was able to price the PSP below any analyst's speculations is because 50 percent of the components used inside the handheld are produced internally. In particular, said Kutaragi, Sony will be able to massively cut costs by manufacturing the PSP's 90nm CPU at its own fabrication labs.

"People from various sectors were saying that [the establishment of] 90nm fabrication labs would be reckless. But the pricing of the PSP wouldn't have been possible if it we were to outsource its chips," he said. "Our 90nm fabrication labs will all be working at full capacity for the PSP, the new model of the PlayStation 2, and other chips needed by the Sony group. And if it weren't for the investment [in the factories], the PSP’s low price wouldn't have been possible."

When planning for the PS2, Sony aimed to make a profit on the long term while gradually dropping the console's price. But for the PSP, the company hopes to start turning a profit in the short term with the handheld released at a low price starting from its launch day.

Thus, said Kutaragi, it is essential that the handheld expands into the market as quickly as possible so that it will have a large library of games at an early stage. That, in return, will raise the demand for the PSP and make it possible for Sony to order the components that are outsourced, such as the liquid display panels from Sharp, in large volume, which will cut manufacturing costs even more.

Kutaragi also revealed that other sectors in the Sony group are looking forward to the PSP and hoping to expand on the handheld's functions, although whether that will happen is still up in the air. One of the examples given by Kutaragi was an idea suggested by Sony's broadband sector, in which PSP users can connect to their TV sets at home via online connection, and watch live shows and taped recordings over the PSP's screen.

Finally, Kutaragi touched on the PSP's rechargeable battery, which is purported to last between four to six hours on average for games, and four to five hours for movies.

"The battery consumption changes depending on the memory and processor usage, aside from disk access," he said. "It'll run for a long time when playing puzzle games, but shorter when playing Ridge Racer, for example. Using the wireless LAN also affects the battery consumption […] I think that there's still some room left for power consumption improvement through software.

"In the future, we’re hoping that the PSP can last without a recharge [during a full flight] between Narita [Tokyo international airport] and New York," said Kutaragi.

“The Walkman only ran for about two hours when it first came out, too.”

By Staff -- GameSpot
POSTED: 10/29/04 10:12 AM PST

[Chewchilla]

Can't we all just get along? :(

Nintendo and Sony execs trade barbs over PSP/DS battle
Bloomberg Japan quotes high-ranking company officials, industry analysts on the handheld wars.

The ink's not yet dry on the PSP price tags, but the fallout from yesterday's surprising announcements has already begun. Bloomberg Japan reported today on Nintendo's reaction to Sony's price point for the PSP, which was far lower than any analyst or industry insider prediction.

"That's not a game machine," said Yasuhiro Minagawa, head of PR for Nintendo Co., Ltd. "They showed it at the [Tokyo] Game Show without any fundamental game software, and you can tell that it's not yet complete."

For a reaction to the reaction, Bloomberg went to SCE's Ken Kutaragi. "People who want to play with Pikachu will need Nintendo's new-style DS machine," he said, "but those who want to play our racing game Gran Turismo 4 will need a PSP, right?"

Bloomberg also quoted JP Morgan Securities analyst Masaru Onishi, who told the news service, "By announcing an unexpectedly low price for the PSP, Sony has raised the chances that it will fully expand into the market. Many game publishers are now saying, 'At that price, we'd seriously like to make games for the PSP.'"

By Chris Kohler -- GameSpot
POSTED: 10/28/04 03:17 PM PST

[Bryan 'KidHype' Smith]

I say if the DS fails, we'll be playing Super Mario 99 on the PS3 in 2008 :)

[Shane R. Monroe]

This all goes back to what I've said before .. the PSP has been typically shown and presented as a "media first, game second" machine.

Don't forget - we're talking a good year (right?) between DS hitting the states and the PSP.

I can't get a grasp on the human race these days - but nothing makes sense that the PSP will be the #1 handheld.

Then again, people don't make sense.

[WorknMan]

I think the PSP will be the most successful handheld since the N-Gage ;)

[Chewchilla]

A sneak peek at the Sony PSP (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/05/news_6114458.html)

[Bloodcat]

It just doesnt look that cool. Ugly design and a bit too large. The DS is about as big as a portable can get before being "slacks pocket handy" is no longer correct.

I need a system I can take to work and play on my breaks. The PSP seems to be the polar opposite of my needs.

[Bryan 'KidHype' Smith]

Heh...its a ****ing Atari Lynx. We'll see what happens.

[Shane R. Monroe]

It just doesnt look that cool. Ugly design and a bit too large. The DS is about as big as a portable can get before being "slacks pocket handy" is no longer correct.

I need a system I can take to work and play on my breaks. The PSP seems to be the polar opposite of my needs.

Sums it up...

[allenfrisch]

I wonder in what format movies will be viewed on the PSP? I'm guessing it'll be some new Sony-exclusive (proprietary) video format. Does anyone have more info on this? BTW, in the latest RGR show Shane pondered about what AC3 was. It's an exclusive audio format made for Sony devices. I have a Sony MiniDisc player and that's the format it likes best--though it also reads all the other formats (MP3s etc.). I wonder if the PSP will be similar in regards to video? I would LOVE to be able to view the buzillions of AVI files in my possession while I'm on the go. My Pocket PC is capable, but it just isn't quite powerful enough to keep up with the rigorous nature of video files. They stutter and skip every so often.

[Shane R. Monroe]

Well, I can only speculate ... But here are my thoughts ...

1) There will be NO commercial films on UMD. You MIGHT get some shorts; kiddie stuff like GBA has, maybe promos like music videos. Video playback will require an external device (namely a Sony Memory Stick). Playback will be limited to certain imbedded codecs and will likely NOT be upgradable. Xvid might make it - I expect MPG1, but not MPG2 (maybe MPG2 - my money is no MPG2). I expect a proprietary Sony codec to be included on some software disc that you can 'recode' stuff to.

2) They will TRY commercial audio on UMD, but it will never take off ... some big names will try it - but it will fizzle out like a bad fart. Sony proprietary music format (again, you'll have to convert everything you own again) and some DRM laced technology for shopping online (again, Sony memory Stick will be required).

Just my .02 on the matter ...