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Holy crap! I'm so getting me one of these. Doesn't look to dissimilar to the prototype revealed last year, except that it's black, has a proper D-pad and some volume facia buttons. In short, it looks awesome.
The pics I've got from a press site show it with Gran Turismo 4 - not the PS2 version, the PSP version. How the hell did they keep that under wraps?
Sony execs, listen up - as long as you don't charge over £250 for this thing, you're going to make more money than Jesus by selling this sweet baby. Just get it out before summer next year and you'll be laughing. Laughing I tells ya! Compare it to the (let's face it) really dull mock-up of the Nintendo DS (found on Eurogamer.net) and it jizzes right it in its coffee.
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp1.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp2.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp3.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp4.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp5.jpg[/URL]
The pics I've got from a press site show it with Gran Turismo 4 - not the PS2 version, the PSP version. How the hell did they keep that under wraps?
Sony execs, listen up - as long as you don't charge over £250 for this thing, you're going to make more money than Jesus by selling this sweet baby. Just get it out before summer next year and you'll be laughing. Laughing I tells ya! Compare it to the (let's face it) really dull mock-up of the Nintendo DS (found on Eurogamer.net) and it jizzes right it in its coffee.
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp1.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp2.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp3.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp4.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://www.alistairgray.co.uk/psp5.jpg[/URL]
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For the PSP?
It'd be interesting to see the GBA2.....
It'd be interesting to see the GBA2.....
Hahaha, yeah... good job there's so many 3rd party developers lined up then I guess...
No, I said the PSP looks sweet and that it'll do well - but I'd much rather have a DS because Sony can't hold a candle to Nintendo with games.
I just meant that it seems a lot better than a PS2 - portable and clever and gizmo-ey, and if you can pop it on TV, why not dump the PS2?
I just meant that it seems a lot better than a PS2 - portable and clever and gizmo-ey, and if you can pop it on TV, why not dump the PS2?
Is that your way of saving face so you can admit you like it but still diss Sony? :P
Indeed - it seems (to me) it'd be worth having the PSP over a PS2 anyday...
And what's more... video out! I guess you can bin your PS2s if that's your inclination
Could you do a 'Click Here'?
PSP aside, what else is Sony showing off?*
*That's not a dig, that's a question.
PSP aside, what else is Sony showing off?*
*That's not a dig, that's a question.
AfroJoe wrote:
> I'll only buy one if it has some kind of PES game on it.
Get ready to be happy - Konami soccer title in the line-up :D
> I'll only buy one if it has some kind of PES game on it.
Get ready to be happy - Konami soccer title in the line-up :D
E3 2004: PSP Hands-On
It's playable on the floor. Shock of shocks.
After Sony's "Let's watch a movie on our cool new gaming handheld!" conference, we were a little worried about the state of development of the PSP. The portable platform was a showcase of the conference, and many game videos were displayed, but nothing too interactive was running yesterday.
And then, bam -- it's here, it's pretty much playable, and it's already well on its way to making its impact on the handheld market.
With two rolling interactive demos and a PSP gameplay demo, Sony unveiled the PSP the way we've been waiting for. Not much gameplay was there to be seen at the PSP arena, set off to the front corner of the show, but what was there was actual in-game material (unless the show floor walls that the PSP was bolted into contained dev kit servers throwing out simple video feed, but to be honest, the state of the PSP demos led us to believe that a dev kit would be on a different level with the unoptimized early code), and it gave us a feel for how things will work.
First things first -- no more glossing over details or going off of best word from the press sheet ... that little nub in the lower left corner of the system is an analog controller. It is not a trackpoint-type pointer, as some had guessed (OK, I had guessed), but an actual analog switch. It's got a good deal of give and, although it looks awkwardly placed, the heavy ergonomics of the system may end up having you hold the system in a way that this is actually comfortable. In our hands-on, with a unit bolted into the booth, we were not able to wrap our hands fully around the unit, but we were able to get enough of a feel to say that Sony wasn't crazy when they put one of the most vital inputs for the handheld in an odd spot in the corner. It actually felt right.
Second, lay your fears regarding the directional pad to rest for now -- it feels very, very nice. The rounded corners, recessed center, and separate-but-connected button feel of this pad is actually quite a bit friendlier than the current DualShock. It moved smooth, it was tough to slip off the edges, it felt friendly to fighters (a very good thing, since Capcom has already announced one of its 2D fighter franchises with Darkstalkers Chronicle.) Even the playable game demo was not one to make much use of the analog features (the analog stick was not active), so we weren't able to tell whether the buttons had any extra sensitivity like the DualShock2 (and since Sony's press release makes no mention of such a feature, we'll say now that it doesn't.) Button placement for the Triangle-Circle-Cross-Square buttons was also comfortable. This should make for a nice game pad.
What we're not so sure of so far is the placement and feel of the top triggers. As with the GBA and GBA SP, a solution for triggers isn't as obvious as it seems since you need to hold a portable and support the screen at a different angle than a typical game controller. Without being able to get a full feel for the weight and angle of play, we'll just say that it looks to be that the buttons will be about as awkward and tiring as the GBA series -- not terribly so, but certain hand sizes will have trouble with it, and cramping may be a problem any way you face it with games heavily dependent on these buttons. Also, the triggers look to be the only place Sony caved in to form over function -- the buttons are made out of a clear, hard plastic, raised at a somewhat sharp plastic. It could well be that these were just preliminary button plastics, but this is meant to be the actual unit we'll be playing later in the year (...if you're an import gamer -- otherwise, think 2005 unless something drastic changes.)
The TFT screen that composes the bulk of the unit is crisp and beautiful -- evenly lit across the handhold platform. On the video-out, you could see some of the artifacts of the image (although a good deal of that is rendered by the scanline duping of the video output from the PSP model), but on the machine, games looked well-rendered and clean. Gameplay quality will again depend, just like on PS2, on the engine and the type of game being played -- lush outdoor detail and smooth surfaces tend to come across a lot better than harsh, contrasted images, and before the crybabies complain that nobody told them games would be like this, we'll say it now: some times, you will see aliasing on PSP. However, the small screen and accurate detail make for a much cleaner image, so even the edging seen on some straight corners and lines is so small, you'll actually have to be looking for it to see it. The shimmering on the grass texture in Hot Shots Gold, for example, was more subdued than the PS2 version.
Now that we've gotten our grubby hands on the system, everything looks to be smooth sailing for the handheld unit. A quick fix of the triggers is hopefully in order, but otherwise, this was a fun little unit to hold. Look for more impressions soon.
It's playable on the floor. Shock of shocks.
After Sony's "Let's watch a movie on our cool new gaming handheld!" conference, we were a little worried about the state of development of the PSP. The portable platform was a showcase of the conference, and many game videos were displayed, but nothing too interactive was running yesterday.
And then, bam -- it's here, it's pretty much playable, and it's already well on its way to making its impact on the handheld market.
With two rolling interactive demos and a PSP gameplay demo, Sony unveiled the PSP the way we've been waiting for. Not much gameplay was there to be seen at the PSP arena, set off to the front corner of the show, but what was there was actual in-game material (unless the show floor walls that the PSP was bolted into contained dev kit servers throwing out simple video feed, but to be honest, the state of the PSP demos led us to believe that a dev kit would be on a different level with the unoptimized early code), and it gave us a feel for how things will work.
First things first -- no more glossing over details or going off of best word from the press sheet ... that little nub in the lower left corner of the system is an analog controller. It is not a trackpoint-type pointer, as some had guessed (OK, I had guessed), but an actual analog switch. It's got a good deal of give and, although it looks awkwardly placed, the heavy ergonomics of the system may end up having you hold the system in a way that this is actually comfortable. In our hands-on, with a unit bolted into the booth, we were not able to wrap our hands fully around the unit, but we were able to get enough of a feel to say that Sony wasn't crazy when they put one of the most vital inputs for the handheld in an odd spot in the corner. It actually felt right.
Second, lay your fears regarding the directional pad to rest for now -- it feels very, very nice. The rounded corners, recessed center, and separate-but-connected button feel of this pad is actually quite a bit friendlier than the current DualShock. It moved smooth, it was tough to slip off the edges, it felt friendly to fighters (a very good thing, since Capcom has already announced one of its 2D fighter franchises with Darkstalkers Chronicle.) Even the playable game demo was not one to make much use of the analog features (the analog stick was not active), so we weren't able to tell whether the buttons had any extra sensitivity like the DualShock2 (and since Sony's press release makes no mention of such a feature, we'll say now that it doesn't.) Button placement for the Triangle-Circle-Cross-Square buttons was also comfortable. This should make for a nice game pad.
What we're not so sure of so far is the placement and feel of the top triggers. As with the GBA and GBA SP, a solution for triggers isn't as obvious as it seems since you need to hold a portable and support the screen at a different angle than a typical game controller. Without being able to get a full feel for the weight and angle of play, we'll just say that it looks to be that the buttons will be about as awkward and tiring as the GBA series -- not terribly so, but certain hand sizes will have trouble with it, and cramping may be a problem any way you face it with games heavily dependent on these buttons. Also, the triggers look to be the only place Sony caved in to form over function -- the buttons are made out of a clear, hard plastic, raised at a somewhat sharp plastic. It could well be that these were just preliminary button plastics, but this is meant to be the actual unit we'll be playing later in the year (...if you're an import gamer -- otherwise, think 2005 unless something drastic changes.)
The TFT screen that composes the bulk of the unit is crisp and beautiful -- evenly lit across the handhold platform. On the video-out, you could see some of the artifacts of the image (although a good deal of that is rendered by the scanline duping of the video output from the PSP model), but on the machine, games looked well-rendered and clean. Gameplay quality will again depend, just like on PS2, on the engine and the type of game being played -- lush outdoor detail and smooth surfaces tend to come across a lot better than harsh, contrasted images, and before the crybabies complain that nobody told them games would be like this, we'll say it now: some times, you will see aliasing on PSP. However, the small screen and accurate detail make for a much cleaner image, so even the edging seen on some straight corners and lines is so small, you'll actually have to be looking for it to see it. The shimmering on the grass texture in Hot Shots Gold, for example, was more subdued than the PS2 version.
Now that we've gotten our grubby hands on the system, everything looks to be smooth sailing for the handheld unit. A quick fix of the triggers is hopefully in order, but otherwise, this was a fun little unit to hold. Look for more impressions soon.
Mr Snuggly wrote:
> I'm going to Uni in September and am not taking my PS2 with me.
> However, I'll buy one of these and still enjoy PES, Metal Gear, Gran
> Turismo et al. The DS, while it has interesting features, doesn't
> interest me at all. I still haven't seen a genuinely
> innovative use for the two screens or touchpad yet in any games, all
> the screenshots from the E3 presentation have had lame little map
> screens which are pointless.
>
> And it looks gay. Sorry, couldn't help it.
Yes, maybe it does look gay... but I believe the DS has more of a future than the PSP. £100 - come on, that's amazing. Plus PSP is going to be mainly suited to people such as yourself. You've listed your reasons for wanting one above, but I doubt there will be that many people who aren't going to buy any more PS2 games while they still own their console. DS, however, is aimed at everyone, and with such a promising price, it's a must for so many more.
Nintendo themselves have just given us titles thusfar. They haven't actually shown any in action, or listed exactly how they'll make good use of the dual-screen technology. However, this is Nintendo - there's bound to be some innovation along the way.
> I'm going to Uni in September and am not taking my PS2 with me.
> However, I'll buy one of these and still enjoy PES, Metal Gear, Gran
> Turismo et al. The DS, while it has interesting features, doesn't
> interest me at all. I still haven't seen a genuinely
> innovative use for the two screens or touchpad yet in any games, all
> the screenshots from the E3 presentation have had lame little map
> screens which are pointless.
>
> And it looks gay. Sorry, couldn't help it.
Yes, maybe it does look gay... but I believe the DS has more of a future than the PSP. £100 - come on, that's amazing. Plus PSP is going to be mainly suited to people such as yourself. You've listed your reasons for wanting one above, but I doubt there will be that many people who aren't going to buy any more PS2 games while they still own their console. DS, however, is aimed at everyone, and with such a promising price, it's a must for so many more.
Nintendo themselves have just given us titles thusfar. They haven't actually shown any in action, or listed exactly how they'll make good use of the dual-screen technology. However, this is Nintendo - there's bound to be some innovation along the way.
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