PlayStation Portable: Difference between revisions

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The finished PlayStation Portable, and a variety of accessories.

The PlayStation Portable, officially known as the PSP, is a handheld game console by Sony Computer Entertainment. The PSP was first announced during E³ 2003, and then was unveiled the next year during E³ 2004 on May 11th, at a Sony press conference.

It is intended as a platform for videogames and other entertainment media. With this in mind, the PSP provides various storage formats by supporting Sony Memory Sticks (PRO Duo) and "Universal Media Discs" instead of traditional solid-state ROM cartridges.

Release

The machine was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, with an initial shipment of 200,000 units. Two packs are currently available. The basic package contains the console, battery, and mains adaptor for 20,790 yen including tax (around US$195, EUR 153, £106). The "Value Pack" contains the console, battery, mains adaptor, 32MB Magicgate Memory Stick Duo PRO, headphones, remote, slip-case and wrist strap, for 26,040 yen including tax (around US$245, EUR 192, £133).

As yet, the European and North American release dates have not been announced.

Japanese launch games

Armored Core: Formula Front (From Software)
Mahjong Fight Club (Konami)
Everybody's Golf Portable (SCE)
Ridge Racers (Namco)
Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (Capcom)
Lumines (Bandai)

Games

A variety of first- and third-party games are in development. The PSP's inputs are geared for gaming rather than multimedia, with two shoulder buttons (triggers), the iconic PlayStation face buttons, start and select buttons, a digital directional pad, and an analogue input. There is also a panel of secondary controls for volume, display, and multimedia, along the underside of the screen (see image).

The PSP's analogue input is not a traditional stick, but a sliding flat panel; its odd placement had lead most to believe it was a speaker. Concerns exist regarding the practicality of the input (its position makes it very much secondary to the directional pad), although reports from E³ and the Tokyo Game Show have been fairly positive, mostly stating that it is responsive and comfortable in placement.

For a comprehensive list of PSP titles, please see the List of PlayStation Portable games; for a list of those with Wikipedia articles, please see the PlayStation Portable games category.

Multimedia

The PSP is capable of displaying still image, movie and audio files stored on the UMD disk format or memory stick. The system supports MP3 and Sony's ATRAC-3 plus formats for audio, AVC (h.264) for video, and JPEG images. Sony is reportedly in talks with various studios with regards to producing their content on UMDs; such content is not expected until some time after launch.

Sony have announced that Image Converter 2, a piece of PC software for converting video files to AVC for playback on Clie palmtops, will be available before the end of the year, and may be used with the PSP. A preview version was made available shortly after the PSP launch. It can convert AVI, MPEG1/2/4, Quicktime and WMV movie files to AVG, as well as the "Gigia Pocket" and "Do VAIO" files used by VAIO PCs to record television. It will also convert most common still image files into JPEG format.

Third-party software has been available for some time which is capable of converting video files into the required AVC format, and early PSP adopters have already been able to play back converted video files from memory stick.

As the system firmware is upgradable, Sony has not ruled out support for other audio and video CODECs in the future; these would have to be decoded in software rather than hardware (just as AVC, MP3 and ATRAC decoding are). It is also technically feasible for a third party to release a disk of decoders (on UMD format) to play back unsupported video files (from Memory Stick).

Networking

Wi-Fi support allows the PSP to connect to wireless networks, other PSP units, and according to several industry insiders, Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3.

Ad-hoc wireless networking allows PSPs to communicate with other units within range, directly. Launch titles such as Ridge Racers use this for multiplayer gaming. One unit can act as the host for a game, which is available to other PSP units within that systems range, and appears in a list when the client PSP searches for available hosts.

The PSP's main menu allows the user to configure the system for use across the internet via a wireless connection, known as infrastructure mode. Although no games are available which support this kind of connection, the PSP's menu can nevertheless recognise protected and non-protected wireless networks within its range, and attempt to request a firmware update from Sony's servers. A handful of titles (including an as-of-yet untitled MMORPG) have been announced which use this wireless network functionality, however details are scarce. Packet tunneling systems are in development by third-parties which should allow any Wi-fi game to operate across the internet.

Additionally, the USB connection allows the PSP to connect to the PS2 or PC. Armored Core: Formula Front will allow players to connect their PS2 and PSP versions to share information, such as parts and AI configurations, between the two. Also, users can connect to the internet via a USB or wireless connection to a PC, and copy their vehicles temporarily to other players' PSPs, in order to compete.

Sony have confirmed that it will be possible for hosts of games to transmit playable game files to PSPs lacking that game, in a manner similar to one-cartridge Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS multiplayer.

Power

With the release of the Japanese launch details, Sony released their first figures for battery life. The machine will be capable of 4-6 hours of game play on average, or 4-5 hours of movie UMD playback on average, depending on the screen brightness selected. However, Sony concede that battery life will be heavily dependent on the game chosen; games such as Puzzle Bobble are expected to greatly extend the battery life of the system, with games such as Ridge Racers probably providing shorter battery lifes. Ken Kuturagi has compared the system to the Walkman, in that battery life will be improved with each product revision, and has outlined some steps (switching to a different fabrication process, for example) which will be used to improve the system's endurance.

In practice, early adopters have found the predicted values for game playback to be reliable, with values for launch titles ranging from 4 hours and 20 minutes to approximately six hours on a single charge with reasonable screen brightness and volume levels. MP3 playback from memory stick has been reported to allow 10 hours of playback from a single charge and AVC playback approximately half this. Tests with the demo UMD provided with the system suggest that 4 hours of movie UMD playback will be possible on a single charge.

The PSP's battery is removable for replacement by the end-user. This may be a response to the criticisms which the Apple iPod has recieved regarding its battery. Extra batteries are available as an accessory; at the Japanese launch, they cost 5040 yen including tax (around US$47, EUR 37, £26).

Technical information

The PlayStation Portable's CPU can operate from 1 to 333MHz; the system has 32MB of main RAM and 4MB of embedded DRAM. There are also various co-processors and "Cores" listed in the specifications; it is not clear how many of these are unique systems or how the are considered in programming. These are a second 1 to 333MHz processor ("Media Engine"), two "Graphics Cores", and a "Sound Core". There is also an integral h.264 decoder, although it is not clear whether this is a specific hardware function.

The first of these "Graphics Cores" provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, clipping, morphing, bones in models, texture compression and tessellation. The second provides surface rendering (presumably texture rendering and pixel rendering for the complete display image.)

External links

First Sony PSP™ sample unit [...]: Image Gallery (60+ shots), Impressions, Videos & more – play-asia.com
Official Sony PSP Website (Japanese)
Console Database – Info on both the official and unofficial PSP consoles as well as where to buy them
Sony takes on GameBoy – CNN/Money, 14 May 2003
PSPInsider.com
PSP.ign.com: The PSP FAQ
SCEA PSP Specifications press release
PSP Info and Pictures
PSP Discussion Board
Team XLink packet tunneling project

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 ==Technical information==
-The PlayStation Portable's [[Central processing unit|CPU]] can operate at 1-333[[Megahertz|MHz]]; the system has 32[[Megabyte|MB]] of main [[Random access memory|RAM]] and 4MB of embedded [[DRAM]]. There are also various [[co-processor|co-processors]] and "Cores" listed in the specifications; it is not clear how many of these are unique systems or how the are considered in programming. These are a 1-333MHz "Media Engine", two "Graphics Cores", and a "Sound Core". There is also an integral h.264 decoder, although it is not clear whether this is a specific hardware function.
+The PlayStation Portable's [[Central processing unit|CPU]] can operate from 1 to 333[[Megahertz|MHz]]; the system has 32[[Megabyte|MB]] of main [[Random access memory|RAM]] and 4MB of embedded [[DRAM]]. There are also various [[co-processor|co-processors]] and "Cores" listed in the specifications; it is not clear how many of these are unique systems or how the are considered in programming. These are a second 1 to 333MHz processor ("Media Engine"), two "Graphics Cores", and a "Sound Core". There is also an integral h.264 decoder, although it is not clear whether this is a specific hardware function.
 The first of these "Graphics Cores" provides hardware [[polygon]] and [[NURBS]] [[rendering]], clipping, morphing, bones in models, [[texture compression]] and [[tessellation]]. The second provides surface rendering (presumably [[texture rendering]] and pixel rendering for the complete display image.)