Jump to content

PlayStation Portable: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted 1 edit by 68.157.16.223 identified as vandalism to last revision by 72.90.245.219. using TW
Line 195: Line 195:
*3.10 - 30/01/2007 - Added dynamic normalizer as well as conserve memory option, (and "PlayStation®Spot" menu under "Network" for Japanese version only)
*3.10 - 30/01/2007 - Added dynamic normalizer as well as conserve memory option, (and "PlayStation®Spot" menu under "Network" for Japanese version only)
*3.20 - 10/1/2007 - Playstation Network has been added under Network.
*3.20 - 10/1/2007 - Playstation Network has been added under Network.
*3.50 - 10/3/2007 - porn is freeeeeee

== Homebrew development ==
== Homebrew development ==
{{main|PlayStation Portable homebrew}}
{{main|PlayStation Portable homebrew}}

Revision as of 21:51, 10 March 2007

PSP(PlayStation Portable)
File:Sony PSP Logo.svg
File:PSP top.png
ManufacturerSony Computer Entertainment
TypeHandheld game console
GenerationSeventh generation era
LifespanJP December 12, 2004
NA March 24, 2005
KR May 2, 2005
EU September 1, 2005
AU September 1, 2005
Units soldWorldwide: 31.70 million units shipped as of February 28 2006[1]
United States: 11.58+ million [2]
Japan: 8.23+ million, [2]
Europe & Australasia: 11.89+ million [2]
MediaUMDthe games suck
CPUMIPS R4000-based; clocked from 1 to 333 MHz
StorageMemory Stick PRO Duo
ConnectivityWi-Fi (802.11b), IrDA, USB
Best-selling gameGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

The PlayStation Portable (プレイステーション・ポータブル, Pureisutēshon Pōtaburu, officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. Its development was first announced during E³ 2003, and it was officially unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E³ 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, the United States and Canada on March 24, 2005 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005.

Variations and accessories

In Japan a base unit package or Core Pack was available at launch and was later released in North America and Europe.[3] The Core Pack contains the console, a battery, and an AC adapter. The Core Pack retails for USD $199, HKD $1360, CDN $229.99, EUR €199.99, AUD $329.99 and GBP £149.99.[4]

The Value Pack contains everything the core does, as well as a 32 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo, earphones with remote control, a slip-case, a wrist strap, and a Sampler Disc (in some territories). The Value Pack retails for USD $249 after mail-in abate , CDN $279.99, GBP £179.99, JPY ¥26,040, HKD $1660, SGD $455.00, EUR €209, AUD $399 and NZD $429.00. In some areas, the Value Pack has been superseded by the Entertainment Pack, containing the items of the Core Pack plus a copy of ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, the UMD movie Lords of Dogtown, and a 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. The Giga Pack is similar to the value pack, except that the Memory Stick Pro Duo is upped to 1 GB; it also includes a USB Cable and stand. It retails for JPY ¥29,800, USD $299, CDN $349, and GBP £214. The Giga Pack is still available in all territories except North America, as the deal was based on a special offer that ended after the 2005 holiday season. Various other packages also exist.

Optional accessories offered by Sony include the PlayStation Portable headset, carrying case, extended-life 2200 mAh battery, headphones with remote control, battery charger, car adapter, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, AC adapter, and system pouch and wrist strap.

Colors

PlayStation Portable is currently available in six colors: black, ceramic white, pink, metallic blue, silver, and champagne. The ceramic white variation is available in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, while the pink variation is available only in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The silver and metallic blue variations were released on 14 December 2006 and 21 December 2006 respectively in Japan and Hong Kong exclusively. But now technology and gamers have figured out how to take off the faceplate on the PSP and put on different colors in it's place.[5] A "champagne gold" coloured PSP was released in Japan on 22 February 2007.[6]

Features

Games

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable games

In addition to playing PlayStation Portable games, there have been new releases of downloadable PlayStation games that can be played via emulation for the PlayStation Portable. Currently, the only official way to access this feature is through the PlayStation Network service for PlayStation 3. Unofficially, almost any Playstation game can be played without requiring a PlayStation 3 by using a custom firmware.

Controls

Despite its movie and music playback capabilities, the PlayStation Portable has primarily gaming-oriented controls (as opposed to the controls typical to television remotes or MP3 players): two shoulder buttons, the PlayStation face buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), start and select buttons, a digital 4-directional pad, and an analog stick. There is also a row of secondary controls along the underside of the screen, for controlling volume, music settings (either switching the audio off and on in games or selecting different equalizer presets), screen brightness, and a "Home" button for accessing the system's main menu.

The PlayStation Portable's analog stick, often referred to as the analog "nub", is a circular disc which slides rather than tilts. The analog stick can also be easily removed and replaced with an alternative third party stick.

Demos

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable game demos

Demos for commercial PlayStation Portable games can be downloaded and booted directly from the Memory Stick Duo. Demos are also sometimes issued in UMD format mailed out to certain Playstation Underground (Gamer Advisory Panel) members or packed with some gaming magazines.

Greatest Hits titles

Main article: List of Sony Greatest Hits games

During E3 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that the Greatest Hits range of budget titles were to be extended to the PSP system. On July 25, 2006, Sony CEA released[7] the first batch of Greatest Hits titles. The PSP Greatest Hits lineup consist of games that have sold 250,000 copies or more and have been out for 9 months. Every PSP game in this lineup will retail for $19.99 each.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced at around the same time the availability of a number of titles under the Platinum range for €24.99 each in the Eurozone and £19.99 in the UK.

Internet Access

You can also surf the web using your PSP via a hotspot or access point. Most web pages are designed only for PSP for example if you visit the playstation website (http://us.playstation.com/psp) on your PC it will look different in design from the one on the PSP. To access this feature you must first update to the the appropriate firmware version (system software) or the latest. All this can be done via the playstation website. The internet browser is called netfront which is for portable devices. The PSP uses Wifi to connect to the access point(s) which means if you can't find a hotspot you will have to create your own. (All this information can be found on the playstation website.)

Multimedia and codecs

MagicGate Memory Stick Slot

PlayStation Portable's audio player supports a number of audio codecs, including AAC, MP3, and WMA, and has the option to be played with or without a set of five visualizations. The image viewer will display several common image formats including JPEG and PNG.

MPEG-4 and AVC video formats are also compatible with PlayStation Portable. With reasonable video and audio bit-rate settings (a resolution of 320×240, a video bit rate of 500 Kb per second, and an audio sampling rate of 22050 kHz) a 22 minute video file is roughly 55 MB, enough to fit on a Memory Stick Duo as small as a 64 MB. At the same rate, a hundred-minute feature film can fit on a 256 MB Memory Stick. Many movie files, both free-to-distribute and copyrighted, have been encoded for the PlayStation Portable and are available on the Internet. Game and movie trailers are increasingly available, even from the studio's official site.

There are numerous software applications and hardware devices specifically designed for PlayStation Portable's various media-centric applications.

Camera and GPS

The Chotto Shot Camera and GPS attachment were first announced for the PSP in March 2006[citation needed]. The Quick Shot (ちょっとショット, Chotto Shot) is a camera add-on which supports video and photo taking. The camera was released in Japan on November 1 2006 for ¥5,000 (approximately $42 USD). The GPS receiver features support for GPS-enabled games such as a projected re-release or update of Hot Shot Golf, as well as Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The GPS Receiver went on sale in Japan December 6 2006[citation needed] for ¥6,000 (approximately $50 USD). Sony has not announced plans to release either accessory outside of Japan.

Wireless networking

The PlayStation Portable can connect to a wireless network through Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b which allows it to surf the web and download files to the Memory Stick via the built-in Access Co. NetFront browser and connect to other PlayStation Portable units for multi player gaming world-wide. The Playstation Portable holds the unique distinction of being the first game console to launch with games supporting online game play[citation needed]. Use of wireless network features unfortunately increases the power consumption and results in a lower battery life.[8]

Ad-hoc networks

Ad-hoc wireless networking allows for up to 16 PlayStation Portables within range to communicate directly to each other (typically for multi player gaming). One unit acts as the host for a game, which is available to other PlayStation Portable units within that system's range, and appears in a list when the client PlayStation Portable searches for available hosts. One can also use an Ad-Hoc network to send images from one PlayStation Portable to another by use of the "send" and "receive" functions that appear in the "PHOTO" menu.

Gamesharing

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Gamesharing games

Some titles for the PlayStation Portable support a feature dubbed "gamesharing", which facilitates a limited set of multi player features between two PlayStation Portables with only one copy of the game UMD. A reduced version of the game being shared is transferred to the PlayStation Portable without a UMD via the PlayStation Portable's Wi-Fi connection, whereupon it is loaded into RAM and runs.

Such "gameshare versions" of titles usually have their feature set reduced because of technical limitations. This is mainly due to transfer times since data for the game must be transferred to the second PlayStation Portable wirelessly, at a rate of 11 megabits per second.

Infrastructure networks

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Wi-Fi games

The PlayStation Portable's main menu allows the user to configure the system for use across the Internet or an intranet via a wireless connection, known as infrastructure mode. The PlayStation Portable's menu can recognize protected and non-protected wireless networks within its range, and supports connecting to WEP and WPA encrypted networks.

Use of infrastructure networks in PlayStation Portable software began with a small number of titles at the U.S. launch, supporting online play. South Korean PlayStation Portables have shipped with software providing web browsing and multimedia streaming features, but only through company-owned Wi-Fi hot spots, and with a monthly fee.[9]

Sony's LocationFree Player allows users to stream live television broadcasts (or other video content) to their PlayStation Portable, within their WiFi network, or remotely via the internet.

Infrared

The PlayStation Portable features an IrDA port located on the top left of the device. To date, the only games or applications to leverage this feature have been homebrew. This can be used to control many TVs as well as other iR devices.

RSS feeds

The RSS features allow the user to download video web feeds, blogs, or listen to podcasts from websites. RSS or podcast content can be saved to the Memory Stick Duo.

Design and specifications

Technical specifications

The PlayStation Portable was designed by Shin'ichi Ogasawara (小笠原伸一) for the Sony Computer Entertainment subsidiary of Sony Corporation. Early models were made in Japan but in order to cut costs, Sony has farmed out PlayStation Portable production to non Japanese manufacturers, mainly in China.

The unit measures 170 mm (6.7 inches) in length, 74 mm (2.9 inches) in width, and 23 mm (0.9 inches) in depth, and has a mass of 280 grams (a weight of 0.62 lb) including the battery. The SHARP branded TFT LCD screen measures 110 mm (4.3 in) diagonal with a 16:9 ratio and a 480×272 pixel resolution capable of 16.77 million colors. It has four possible brightness settings, the brightest of which is disabled unless on A/C power in normal Sony firmware.

The PlayStation Portable's main microprocessor is a multifunction device that includes a MIPS R4000-based CPU, hardware for multimedia decoding (such as H.264), as well as a vector unit dubbed "Virtual Mobile Engine". The MIPS CPU core is globally clocked between 1 and 333 MHz. During the 2005 GDC, Sony revealed that it had capped the PlayStation Portable's CPU clock speed at 222 MHz for licensed software. Its reasons for doing so are unknown, but are the subject of some speculation. However, recently released games such as Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters use a 266 MHz clock speed. Various homebrew tools enable users to operate at 333 MHz, generally leading to a higher frame rate at the expense of battery life.

The system has 32 MiB main RAM and 4 MiB embedded DRAM. There is no memory management unit for the CPU. No evidence of a TLB has been found. The co processor that normally manages the TLB-based MMU seems to be a custom effort by Sony and has no integrated memory.

The 166 MHz graphics chip has 2 MiB embedded memory and through its 512 bit interface provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, hardware directional lighting, clipping, environment projection and texture mapping, texture compression and tessellation, fogging, alpha blending, depth and stencil tests, vertex blending for morphing effects, and dithering, all in 16 or 24 bit colour. The graphics chip also handles image output. Specifications state that the PlayStation Portable is capable of rendering 33 million flat-shaded polygons per second, with a 664 million pixel per second fill rate.[10]

Optical Drive

See Also: Universal Media Disc The PlayStation Portable uses a drive compatible with Sony's Universal Media Disc format. Use of the drive increases battery drain by approximately 10% and the system has been criticized for having very slow data transfer speeds, translating into load times of more than 2 minutes for some games. For these reasons, alternate firmware releases contain the capability to run games from disc images stored on the Memory Stick Duo instead.

Battery life

PlayStation Portable's default battery life varies widely depending on application from less than 3 hours while accessing a wireless network and having screen brightness on its highest setting to more than 10 hours during MP3 playback with the screen turned off.[11] An extended-life 2200 mAh battery will increase this by approximately 20%. A sleep mode is also available that uses minimal battery power to keep the system's RAM active, allowing for "instant on" functionality. A system in sleep mode starting with full battery will drain the battery below functioning levels in approximately 48 hours.

Interface

The PlayStation Portable's main menu interface is the "Cross Media Bar". (XMB) used by recent Sony TVs, the PSX (DVR) hardware, and the PS3. It consists of a horizontal sequence of icons, in this case Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Games, and Network, which show a vertical sequence of sub-icons when highlighted.

The main menu system allows the user to, amongst other things, adjust settings such as date, time, and the PlayStation Portable's nickname for wireless networking, play video or audio files from the memory stick, load games or movie UMDs, check on estimated battery life, and set the PlayStation Portable into a "link mode" which makes the inserted memory stick available to a PC via USB. The XMB may be accessed at any time in a game by pressing the "Home" button on the console.

The PlayStation Portable's default background color changes depending on the current month of the year, as follows:

Month Color
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December


The user may also manually pick a specific color theme or specify a background from any stored image on the PlayStation Portable memory stick using firmware version 2.00 or newer, or specific homebrew.[12]

Firmware

Each PlayStation Portable runs a particular version of the PSP firmware, which comprises the device's operating system and additional core functionality. Firmware updates can be obtained in three ways:

  • Direct download to the PSP over Wi-Fi. This can be performed by choosing "Settings", "Network Update" from the XMB.
  • Download to a PC, then transfer to the PSP via a USB cable or Memory Stick.
  • Included on the UMD of some games. These games may not run with earlier firmware than the version on their UMD.
  • Download from a PS3 to a PSP system via a USB cable. [Japanese Version Only]

While firmware updates can be used with consoles from any region, Sony recommends only downloading firmware updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase. Firmware updates have added various features including. a web browser, Adobe flash support, additional codecs for images, audio, and video, PlayStation 3 connectivity, as well as security against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs.[13] If the power supply is lost while writing to or updating the firmware, the console will no longer be able to boot. The current firmware version is 3.11.

Firmware update history

Sony firmware Editions

  • 1.00 - 12/12/2004 - Original Release, did not have any content authorization system yet (initial Japanese release)
  • 1.50 - 24/03/2005 - Added support for new video codecs as well as content authorization (initial North American release)
  • 1.51 - 18/05/2005 - Added a security update
  • 1.52 - 15/06/2005 - Added a security update and support for UMD music (Initial UK Release)
  • 2.00 - 01/09/2005 - Added Web Browser and support for Tiff image format, PNG support expanded to user images
  • 2.01 - 03/10/2005 - Added a security update to fix Tiff Exploit. Security update was later found not to work correctly in every version through 3.03
  • 2.50 - 13/10/2005 - Added LocationFree Player
  • 2.60 - 29/11/2005 - Added support for Audio RSS feeds
  • 2.70 - 25/04/2006 - Added support for Adobe flash player
  • 2.71 - 30/05/2006 - Added support to download Demos from the Web Browser
  • 2.80 - 27/07/2006 - Added support for Video RSS feeds
  • 2.81 - 07/09/2006 - Added a security update to fix libtiff exploit and support for memory sticks with a capacity of greater than 4GB
  • 2.82 - 26/10/2006 - Added a security update
  • 3.00 - 21/11/2006 - Added support for PlayStation 3 Remote Play, PlayStation Network Titles Support and a Music Visual Player
  • 3.01 - 22/11/2006 - Added support for extra PlayStation for PSP games
  • 3.02 - 06/12/2006 - Added support for extra PlayStation for PSP games
  • 3.03 - 20/12/2006 - Added support for extra PlayStation for PSP games
  • 3.10 - 30/01/2007 - Added dynamic normalizer as well as conserve memory option, (and "PlayStation®Spot" menu under "Network" for Japanese version only)
  • 3.20 - 10/1/2007 - Playstation Network has been added under Network.

Homebrew development

Main article: PlayStation Portable homebrew

In May 2005, it was found that PlayStation Portables using the 1.00 version of the firmware (meaning original, first launch Japanese-only PlayStation Portables) could execute unsigned code. What this meant in practice was that these PlayStation Portables could run homebrew software, as the mechanism for checking to make sure that software has been approved by Sony had not yet been activated. Later exploits have allowed for PlayStation Portables using later versions of the firmware to run homebrew applications, and development of both new exploits to bypass restrictions and new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs is ongoing.

While not all versions of the PlayStation Portable firmware have an exploit at any given time, the versions have been quickly decrypted and rewritten by programmers, allowing for the creation of custom firmware that lacks the prohibition on running unsigned code. Not all firmwares need an exploit, as you can upgrade to the next firmware.

Controversial advertising campaigns

  • Sony admitted in late 2005 to hiring graffiti artists to spray paint advertisements for the PSP in seven major U.S. cities including New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The mayor of Philadelphia has filed a cease and desist order and may file a criminal complaint. According to Sony, they are paying businesses and building owners for the right to graffiti their walls.[14]
  • News spread on in July 2006 of a billboard advertisement released in the Netherlands which depicted a literally white colored woman holding a similarly literally black colored woman by the jaw, saying "PlayStation Portable White is coming." Some found this to be racially charged due to the portrayal of a white woman subjugating a black woman. Two other similar advertisements also existed, one had the two women facing each other on equal footing in fighting stances, while the other had the black woman in a dominant position on top of the white woman. Sony claimed that the purpose of the advertisements was to contrast the white and black versions of its game console available for sale. These ads were never released in the rest of the world, and were pulled from the Netherlands after the controversy was raised.[15]
  • Sony came under scrutiny online in December 2006 for a guerrilla marketing campaign hoping to go viral, for the console, with advertisers masquerading as young bloggers who desperately want a PSP. The site was registered to and created by youth marketing company Zipatoni on behalf of Sony before it was taken down. A mirror of the blog can be found here.[16][17][18][19]

References

  1. ^ "Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)". Sony. Retrieved 2007-2-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Sony Beats Q3 Expectations; Game Losses Mount". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  3. ^ Jeff Haynes (15 March 2006). "PlayStation Portable Price Lowered to $199:New basic bundle for Sony hand held due later this month". IGN.
  4. ^ Chris Roper (14 March 2006). "PS Biz Brief 06: New PlayStation Portable Package, Pricing, More: US and Europe to see reduced-cost packages; more white PlayStation Portables in Japan". IGN.
  5. ^ "2 nouvelles couleurs pour la PSP !". Kingplayer. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  6. ^ "Champagne Gold" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  7. ^ "SCEA announces that PSP Greatest Hits are available for purchase". SCEA. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  8. ^ "The System".
  9. ^ "Online-enabled PlayStation Portable to hit Korea in May". Gamespot. 28 March 2005.
  10. ^ Mark Hachman. "Sony Details PlayStation Portable Chip Specs". Extreme Tech. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  11. ^ Nix. "Hard Charging: PSP Battery Life". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
  12. ^ "PS Meeting 2005: PSP 2.00 Details". IGN.
  13. ^ "Sony releases anti-piracy PSP update". The Inquirer. 3 October 2005.
  14. ^ Sony Draws Ire With PSP Graffiti
  15. ^ Owen Thomas and Oliver Ryan (2006-07-05). "Sony PSP ads spark cries of racism". CNN. Retrieved 2006-07-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Blake Snow (2006-12-11). "Sony marketers are horrible liars, pretend to run fansite". Joystiq. Retrieved 2006-12-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Andrew McMaster (2006-12-12). "PSP X-Mas Blog Spoof Video Appears". Retrothinking. Retrieved 2006-12-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Brendan Sinclair (2006-12-13). "PSP hype site draws backlash". Gamespot. Retrieved 2006-12-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Holkins, Jerry (2006-12-13). "The Inevitable Next Step". Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2007-02-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Official sites

Unofficial sites

Reviews

Template:Link FA

-->

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PlayStation_Portable&oldid=114148886"