PSP2 features - the handheld version *renamed

[tangey]

I suppose to try to get this back on topic, assuming that there is indeed a rear touch sensitive area on the PSP2, it might very well result in an entirely more natural way of holding a portable console, i.e. fingers at the rear, thumbs at the front/side.

Apple applied for a patent recently, which was to overlay (or more correctly underlay), faint representations of the finger tips from a rear touch area as part of the picture composition process, and thus allow the user to see exactly where he was touching, which certainly seems to have some useful applications.

 

[mboeller]

I suppose to try to get this back on topic, assuming that there is indeed a rear touch sensitive area on the PSP2, it might very well result in an entirely more natural way of holding a portable console, i.e. fingers at the rear, thumbs at the front/side.

Apple applied for a patent recently, which was to overlay (or more correctly underlay), faint representations of the finger tips from a rear touch area as part of the picture composition process, and thus allow the user to see exactly where he was touching, which certainly seems to have some useful applications.

Microsoft too has this tech since at least 3 years now:

http://www.concept-phones.com/microsoft/microsoft-lucid-touch-concept-the-back-side-of-multi-touch/

 

[MfA]

Have I said before how Apple is a patent troll supreme lately?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

3D discussion moved here.

This thread renamed as it's clearly a general PSP2 thread now and not a discussion in GPU. However, PSP2 discussion is also here in the console forum. I'll leave this one open assuming a more handheld-specific discussion, with talk of GPUs etc. that the console populace won't understand.

 

[Aeoniss]

Sources close to French site 01.net have handed it some information on Sony’s PSP2, based on the handheld’s development kit, and the specs claim the portable will be using almost the same CPU & GPU combination as the rumored next iteration of iPad and iPhone.According to the specs, Apple plans to use ARM Cortex A9 and the PowerVR SGX543 MP2 its next hardware models, and this is the same quad-core GPU size rumored for the PSP2. This would put all three systems on the same footing as the other.Here’s a list of the specs for further clarification, some of these are known already:

Screen: 5″ OLED multi-touch screen
Control: A Multi-touch trackpad (rumored to be on the rear of the unit), four face buttons, two shoulder buttons, two analog sticks, directional pad
Resolution: 960 x 544
CPU: Quad-core ARM Cortex A9
GPU: PowerVR SGX 543 MP4+
RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 in the Debug unit, with 512 MB possible in the retail unit
Storage: 16GB flash internal (like the PSP Go) and an SD slot
Connectivity: Wi-fi, 3G, and Bluetooth

Extras: Accelerometer, GPS, gyroscope, and two cameras: one front-facing and one rear-facing
According to the source, the new PSP will not be as wide, but longer than the current model, and have four times the resolution as the original PSP.The rumors surrounding PSP2 and the PSP Phone are getting more fevered leading up to Thursday’s Sony Meeting in Japan.It would be nice to know all about both rumored systems by the end of the week, however, Bloomberg has reported Sony will announce its PS Phone at the Mobile World Congress in February, so we’ll likely have to wait on that little nugget.Thanks: Industry Gamers, Neo

http://www.vg247.com/2011/01/25/rum...-of-apples-next-gen-iphone-and-ipad/#comments

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I like the SD card support, but wonder if it's SDHC or SDXC.
AAA games for the PSP are almost reaching the UMD 2-layer capacity of 1.8GB.

I imagine some 2015-2016 games reaching ~8GB, so a maximum of 48GB (16 internal + 32 SD) may not be enough for many people.

It also seems the PSP2 will cut the throat at retailers and the whole used game market. Well, I guess that's collateral damage for technology evolution.



Another thing: given the pretty much "standard" internal hardware in the console, I wonder if it'll be "easy" to emulate the console when there are Cortex A15 + higher-end Series 5XT/Series 6 devices out there.

 

[Ailuros]

Another thing: given the pretty much "standard" internal hardware in the console, I wonder if it'll be "easy" to emulate the console when there are Cortex A15 + higher-end Series 5XT/Series 6 devices out there.

Do you mean porting "PSP2" games to other devices or am I understanding you wrong here?

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Do you mean porting "PSP2" games to other devices or am I understanding you wrong here?

No, I mean downright emulating the whole system. For some people, it could be just the 'cause I can factor but it could also mean many piracy-related issues for Sony.

That should be a concern to Sony, to use the same architecture as many other consumer-oriented devices wih open-source OSs and development.
If the PSP2 is really coming with a quad-A9 + SGX 543MP4, I'd say a higher-clocked quad-A15 + SGX554MP8 (let's say, a high-end handheld launching somewhere in 2014), sporting a 720p resolution, should be able to fully emulate the system. Such hardware wouldn't have to spend extra clock cycles to process any PSP2 task, because the instruction set would be 100% compatible.

 

[Ailuros]

Albeit I can't know what SONY actually plans, if it should be true that in the future they'll have mostly or only (?) on-line games for download, I guess that if SONY really wants to they could find a way for those games to correspond only to specific hw. If in theory such a hypothetical hw check is locked on a hw level, it'll be quite difficult to break that one.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

So the presentation has ended.

Quad-core Cortex A9, SGX543MP4. No word on clocks for either one, though.
Almost all the rumoured specifications are confirmed.
Except for the SD compatibility, which is after all a proprietary flash card. Sony will be friendly to retailers after all.

Does anyone know what the "+" in the SGX543MP4+ means? Is it a clock reference?

 

[Lazy8s]

The plus sign has no context for clockspeed; it's their way of saying that the core is somewhat custom to them, enhanced in some way.

Hopefully, the enhancement serves as at least some consolation for the missing 543s "Hydra" should've had. I knew they were going quad A9, and I was fine with that as long as they didn't short change SGX as a result. As is, they weren't quite as aggressive in silicon budget for NGP's GPU as they were with that of the PSP1's. I blame ARM.

Still, the graphics are going to embarass IMR's at a level up or two, as it should.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

As a side note, they also announced the Playstation Suite for Android.


From what I could tell, in its first form this is just a Playstation One emulator for selected hardware (I'd say anything with multi-touch and an ARMv7 should be more than capable for that).

In the future, it could mean porting maybe some less demanding PSP games, but for now it doesn't seem to be more than an official (and of course, more "legit") version of PSX4Droid.

BTW, the Playstation Phone seems to be just a phone made for the Playstation Suite, that replaces the onscreen controls with actual buttons.

P.S.: kick in the nuts for Apple?

 

[Rob Evans]

I believe the '+' in SGX543MP4+ refers to integrated 128MB RAM - presumably for improved performance over unified memory.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Can anybody explain what the "Near" service does actually?

 

[Deleted member 13524]

The NGP/PSP2 is HUGE.
These dimensions are way off the smartphone size and it's more comparable to a slim 7" tablet.

I wonder if the overheating rumours were true and they had to pump up the console's volume in order to fit a heatsink for the quad-A9 + SGX543MP4.
(Yeah I know, the idea of a heatsink in a portable console sounds nuts, to say the least).

One thing's for sure, this thing won't fit a pants' pocket. At most, it may fit in a jacket.

Can anybody explain what the "Near" service does actually?

Here:

Sony will be implementing a service alongside the new handheld called LiveArea, which in conjunction with an "app" called Near is able to detect at all times other PSP2 (or NGP) owners in your area. It'll show what people around you are playing, chat with NGP owners in the area, display rankings for games based on who's around, etc.

.


The 3DS has a similar service. Kinda weird IMO. I wouldn't start a conversation with someone just because he/she's using the same gaming console as me..

 

[RenegadeRocks]

*NEAR is supposedly a NGP app that acts as a NGP radar, detecting where you’ve been, what other NGP devices are near you, and what they are playing. you can buy and demo these games from these near by devices on the fly!

This website says this. "Buy and demo games from nearby devices " ! How will that work? Or is it just fake stuff, probably he misunderstood something.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

This website says this. "Buy and demo games from nearby devices " ! How will that work? Or is it just fake stuff, probably he misunderstood something.

The 3DS can be used as a WiFi repeater for other 3DSs. Perhaps that's the logic behind it.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

The 3DS can be used as a WiFi repeater for other 3DSs. Perhaps that's the logic behind it.

You mean I can download stuff from nearby PSP2 rather than connecting to PSN for it. Nice!

Thats fine for demos, but how about payments that are involved in buying a game ?

 

[Gitaroo]

the PowerVR SGX 543 MP4+ use shader model 4.1 or higher right? Does that mean similar effect like fur shading, motion blur etc will look better on it than on Ps3?

 

[Farid]

Even if its name hasn't, the console itself has been announced! So it's time for a new thread, folks!

http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=59424