Official PSP Thread

that row of people was just insane

 

CXD1 and CXD2.
Do we have any new infos about the nature of thoses two ICs?

 

Hey I posted it and found your comment here

 

Wow, fast answers delivering i see.

 

Hah! I've seen more people queue up for a museum in Paris... wait, ok it is a big row of people.

 

Ridge Racers network play tunneled through internet with Xlink

 

http://www.sonyonline.com/corp/press_releases/010405_Untold_Legends.html

It seems at every possible occasion Xenon can appear Sony is ready to drop PSP materials...

 

Xenon might well not be appearing at CES...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6093

 

I rather assumed they were keeping Japan's initial launch lower to build up a stockpile to launch well in the other territories. If they could deliver 1 million to each region by the end of March, that would actually go over pretty well.

Does anyone know how long PSP units have been in bulk production, though? I thought I'd read earlier that their yearly capacity would be about 3 million (until the fab situation changes, I guess), so that would point at March 2004 start time on it, but the lack of real units to show at E3 and the delay on getting units to developers makes me think that...

Well, offhand I don't know what to think. I may have other details wrong, anyway.

 

US PSP in March
Plus, Ken Kutaragi talks about early sales in Japan.
By Anoop Gantayat

January 5, 2005 - It's now January of 2005 and the PSP is still nowhere to be found. Unless you happen to be at a store when shipments arrive (or you, perhaps, live in the remote "inaka"), you have as much a chance of getting a PSP now as you did at launch: zero.

Did Sony Computer Entertainment screw up and not produce the number of systems it had promised? Apparently not. In comments shared with the press today, SCE president Ken Kutaragi revealed that SCE was able to ship out 510,000 systems by the end of December. This number is 10,000 more than had originally been promised.

While hardware sales were limited by supply, Kutaragi is apparently pleased with sales on the software side. He states, "We expected hardware to be insufficient, but we were able to sell more software than expected." According to Kutaragi, some PSP titles managed to top the 200,000 mark.

Kutaragi comments that the primary reason for hardware shortages was the low supply of the PSP's graphics chip, which is manufactured internally at the company's Japanese fabrication facilities. The PSP chips are produced on a 90 nanometer production line which is at the forefront of technology at Sony's plants, and it was thus difficult to increase production.

Those waiting for the PSP's American launch won't have to wait too long. Kutaragi stated today that the PSP is on schedule to see release in Europe and America some time March. That means just a couple months waiting!

SCE hopes to sell 3,000,000 PSP units worldwide by early April, Kutaragi reiterated today. This number could rise if SCE can increase production at its plant

 

IMO 3 million worldwide by april would be an impressive number.

Perhaps Japan 2 million and the rest of sales split between Europe and the US? Could this possibly be a hint on how many units Europe/US will see at launch in March?

(math: [ 500k in dec (Japan) + 500 x (Jan + Feb + Mar) ] + US + Europe == 3 million)

 

Few PSP details emerge at CES

Kaz Hirai reveals game lineup for the portable's launch, but offers only vague "March" release date, no mention of US price.
LAS VEGAS--When Sony announced it was holding a PSP event alongside the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, many hoped the company would reveal details about the handheld's US launch. Foremost on gamers' minds was the exact American release date and price for the handheld, which is already out in Japan for the price of 19,800 yen ($185).


Unfortunately, anyone wanting concrete details about the US PSP launch was disappointed by today's presentation. After announcing that Sony had shipped 510,000 units of the portable in Japan by the end of December, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Kaz Hirai said that the company will "most likely release the PSP in late March 2005" in North America. The announcement is nothing new, since Sony has always maintained that the PSP would launch during the first quarter of 2005.

Hirai's vague launch-date comment echoes statements made earlier in the day by Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi. Speaking to a group of business executives in Tokyo, he said that the launch date for Sony's portable "will probably be March," according to Reuters. Kutaragi also said that Sony "would like to launch in Europe during March as well," but would not give any concrete dates for either launch.

Meanwhile, back in Vegas, Hirai steered clear of any mention of the PSP's US price. Instead, he focused on Sony's strategy for the handheld and showed off its functionality. After boasting that the "PSP will serve as the disruptor in the portable entertainment space," Hirai said Sony was aiming for the device to have connectivity with the PlayStation 2 much like the Nintendo Game Boy Advance has with the GameCube. He showed a montage of UMD videos from Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox. Included was a trailer for the forthcoming Will Smith romantic comedy Hitch.

Following a slick montage showing off the PSP's hardware functionality, Hirai stated that the PSP will be aimed at males aged 18 to 34. To help woo that much sought-after demographic, he brought out hip-hop star Xzibit to demonstrate how to transfer music from a PC to the PSP. Naturally, the process looked easy, with the album cover art appearing on the PSP's menu screen.

Following a demonstration of how to transfer video from a Sony Cybershot and play it back on a PSP--which also appeared simple--Hirai declared "Now onto games!" That cued a montage of over a dozen games which will be released in the US, including Coded Arms, Twisted Metal World Tour, Dynasty Warriors, Metal Gear Acid, Ape Escape P!, Hot Shots! Golf, Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, Mercury, NBA ShootOut 2005, ATV Offroad Fury, Wipeout Pure, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, and Ridge Racers.

 

CES pictures PSP

 

The CES press conference movie and the official trailer @ GameSpot

 

From the-magicbox:

"Nyco Technologies announced they will release a PSP Charger, which boosts the PSP battery life up to 200%. The charger has a built-in battery, which can provide additional power for the PSP, and the PSP charger itself can also be recharged by AC adapter."

"Nyko Technologies also announced a PSP movie playback stand, which provides "Theater Experience for PSP". The PSP can sit on the stand at a 45 degree angle, and the stand comes with two built-in speakers that provide better audio for movie playback."[/url]

 

Nyko also announced a battery Charger for Nintendo DS, which also boostens battery life.

 

More on the Nyko PSP products from IGN.

The charger is pretty cool, as it's both a hard case and a charge point. ^_^ It won't extend your playtime if you're on a run and playing straight (though I'm not sure why they didn't make the cord longer so that it could more easily), but it makes for safe storage that will will your PSP up for the next time you want to play it. Convenient merging of functions. I wonder what the price points for it and the theater experience would be, as it provides some of the same functionality (minus the overall ruggedness of the other case) plus the funky extras for media playing.

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/13/news_6116292.html more PSP news.[/url]