playable demos @E3 for PSP

[hey69]

Japanese developers' plans for Sony's supposedly godlike portable revealed

16:58 The PSP will generate awesome quality visuals, play mp3s, allow you to watch DVD quality movies; heck, it'll probably make the lame walk and the blind see, if we believe the hyperbole.
Nonetheless, this is a serious piece of kit, and new info is emerging about the initial line-up for Sony's portable handheld, courtesy of Japanese gaming mag Famitsu.

Actual titles are still yet to appear, but Famitsu confirmed what we already knew, that Koei is working on three titles for the console. More intriguingly, Sega will announce its plans for the console at an industry show - supposedly the Tokyo Game Show, rather than E3.

Namco plans to publish two or three titles around the launch time of the PSP, while Capcom and Konami each plan to have a title ready when the console is released later this year.

More surprisingly, Square Enix is still considering whether or not to publish on the PSP, though that could well the Japanese equivalent of a "no comment" - we'd be surprised if the company wasn't impressed by the PSP's potential.

Also in Famitsu, Masatsuka Saeki, executive vice president with SCE stated the company's intention to launch the unit throughout Japan in the middle of December, which contradicts Sony Europe President Chris Deering's earlier assertion (see here for details) that the unit would be released worldwide in November 2004. What we have here is a failure to communicate, people...

source:CVG.com

 

[London Geezer]

I'm still a bit curious of how much i'll have to pay for this PLUS a decent amount of storage for my MP3s, since recordable UMDs are out of the question...

 

[hey69]

could this be some sort of UMD technology ?

HI -Minidiscs...


TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony said it will launch in April high-capacity MiniDisc (MD) products that can store as much as 45 hours of music, text data and photo image files on one disc.

"This is a part of continued evolution of MD. We want to make it a new global standard," Sony Corp. vice president Tadao Yoshida told a news briefing.

The new 'Hi-MD' format would have double the recording capacity of existing MD discs, store computer data and have copyright protection technology.

Sony will also produce a one-gigabyte Hi-MD disc that can store 45 hours of music as well as other data.

source: www.cdfreaks.com

 

[cthellis42]

Doubtful, as to fit into the MD-niche there needs to be no protection features and a disk capable of being burned to by the player itself.

The numbers aren't lining up quite right, though. I spotted this mention earlier (Here's another) and all accounts are saying they're boosting it ~30x.

Lining up to 40 hours. The article you link mentions 45 hours, which is close. But it says 1GB...? Isn't the current storage capacity of regular MD's ~140MB?

They don't mention advanced compression schemes or anything else, but 30x the storage capacity would come to a 4.2GB disk, which I was rather boggling at before.

 

[London Geezer]

And by the way, just to start the speculation,

Demos of what exactly?

Are there any confirmed games for the platform? If it really is coming out in Nov 2004, i guess many devs already well under way to develop games for it...

 

[cthellis42]

Probably some initial gameplay demos. MAYBE a tech demo or two to be flashy, but it's not like those will be particularly amazing or noticable because of its rez. (Though I guess they could blow it up and should what it "can do" from a pure number-crunching standpoint, and have no relevance for developers making games. I'd mainly expect to see announcements from the big guys about their launch titles, with a playable level and maybe some cinematics.

PS3, however, should it show at E3 will all about the tech demo.

 

[London Geezer]

Also i'm curious about those statements by IGN:

Deering hinted at several additional ideas Sony is working to incorporate into the PSP, including GPRS connectivity, GPS positioning systems and messaging services and possible connectivity between the PSP and the new PSX using the Sony Memory Stick.

mmmmmm.... GPRS? Who would be the service provider? How much will it cost? what will it be for?
GPS Positioning System?

I know those are rumours, but i think either Sony are putting a bit too much useless stuff in PSP, or the fanboys are raising their hopes a bit too high...

I'll surely buy it, provided Square RPGs are in with some other gems, and if A LOT of MP3s can be stored without spending too much... But enough is enough...

 

[cthellis42]

I would assume it would be an attachment like the cell phone accessory. It's to be a fun gadget, so they're throwing fun gadget things into the mix. (And hey, you could make an interesting game or two using GPS functionality of you want. ) I will no doubt shrug at most of it, but it probably doesn't take much to implement, and just their existance can add extra "high tech appeal" to folks. So long as it doesn't adversely affect the machine or bringing forth games, I don't much care what silliness they add on top. Heh...

 

[London Geezer]

Yeah i guess it's all icing on the cake from now on... Still, if it brings the price of the thing up, there's only so much they can cram in it...

Also, i'd have been happy (very happy) if they included mobile telephone capability too... walking around with my phone (funny enough a Sony T610) AND the PSP will be a pain, it would be nice to have it all in one.

 

[Dave Baumann]

mmmmmm.... GPRS? Who would be the service provider? How much will it cost? what will it be for?
GPS Positioning System?

GPRS is a wireless data connection service over the mobile networks - usually used for mobile websurfing / email.

 

[London Geezer]

mmmmmm.... GPRS? Who would be the service provider? How much will it cost? what will it be for?
GPS Positioning System?

GPRS is a wireless data connection service over the mobile networks - usually used for mobile websurfing / email.

Yeah, i know what it is and use it extensively on my T610, but what the "What will it be for?" was more a "If mobile phone connection is not going to be there, whay would one care?"..

or, better, why put GPRS and not mobile phone capabilities? If they make it connectable, they might as well make it completely connectable. To be honest it would be the first thing i would thing of if i were Sony...

 

[Dio]

More surprisingly, Square Enix is still considering whether or not to publish on the PSP, though that could well the Japanese equivalent of a "no comment" - we'd be surprised if the company wasn't impressed by the PSP's potential.

Undoubtedly. The problem may be that they're impressed by its potential to absorb as much money as a full-blown PS2 title . Several game developers have been making worried noises about the cost of developing for the PSP in the industry mags. It may be that even moderately large developers may want to sit on the fence to see how it works out initially.

One particular point I'm interested to see is whether or not Sony will be able to charge a significant price premium (for the games) over the GBA because of the better technology, or if they price-match.

In the latter case the developer's profit margin in PSP games is going to be small compared to any other platform - small target market, expensive cost base and low RRP does not make the economics look particularly attractive.

Of course, Sony may be able to sweeten the pill behind the scenes (outright subsidies or lower platform royalties, for example). There is also the 'early game' factor - the first 15-20 games for a platform tend to ship very well because they are the only games available - but if you don't have product early enough to hit this you can end up in the second wave, which isn't the best place to be on the console curve.

 

[cthellis42]

The problem may be that they're impressed by its potential to absorb as much money as a full-blown PS2 title . Several game developers have been making worried noises about the cost of developing for the PSP in the industry mags. It may be that even moderately large developers may want to sit on the fence to see how it works out initially.

Well, obviously it wouldn't take as much effort to make "acceptable" gaming experiences. They can likely hide more and spend less effort and still have something look good, what with the small, lower-rez (for console gaming, a least) screen. The vast bulk of games don't tax their systems particularly or fill up all the media space, so... <shrugs> For those who want to impress, though, they'll have a lot of headroom. ^_^

Makes me wonder, though. Did they expect handhelds to remain in 2D perpetually? Because the only way they'd retain those low costs is if they stayed 2D or with particularly low-quality 3D in perpetuity.

One particular point I'm interested to see is whether or not Sony will be able to charge a significant price premium (for the games) over the GBA because of the better technology, or if they price-match.

Probably a bit of a premium. The console itself will be at a premium, and of course the games are supposed to get bigger and faster and better and capable of a lot more. Developers will be--as stated--absorbing more development costs as it is, so they'll certainly want to charge more to recoup--and I figure the public will follow to a reasonable degree.

There will probably also be a brace of lower-quality "fun" games that price match or undercut, though. (Puzzle games and things of simple design.) I'm also wondering if anyone would be able to make their own games--ultimately--and distribute them freeware or low cost online, played through Memory Stick.

In the latter case the developer's profit margin in PSP games is going to be small compared to any other platform - small target market, expensive cost base and low RRP does not make the economics look particularly attractive.

It will start out small, but handheld gaming is pretty popular, and hasn't gotten anywhere near this kind of tech jump in years. The extra price will certainly ward some off, but it stands a good chance of attracting more folks who would not consider it ordinarily. And unless situation and tech problems particularly conspire against it, Sony certainly has the mindshare to succees in this arena. Even if it's ever only 1/3 to 1/2 as popular as the GBA it would certainly in no way be a "small target market."

It is, of course, a big question mark, which mainly makes me think devs are not going to go into amazing products until it's built up some momentum and proven itself--but I don't think too many major developers will be just sitting on the sidelines doing nothing, as it stands a good chance of taking off--and the earlier one is on board the better.

With possibly lower license fees, the ability to command higher price points, and better documentation and middleware, they can make the PSP attractive indeed.

<shrugs> We'll see as we go.

 

[rabidrabbit]

Will the PSP have Bluetooth?
If so, many of the options such as GPS positioning could be just added afterwards, the same way as it is possible to buy a separate 'GPS brick' for many PDA's (and smartphones) that connects to the PDA via Bluetooth.
BT would not be so good for battery life, though.

Edit: Sony does seem to have a habit of hyping 'features' that basically are possibe through some update, but never materialise. Like PS2 was hyped to be upgradable for web surfing and e-mail (HDD+NA) or you'd be able to use firewire and usb port for various data conectivity features.

Maybe the GPS, GPRS, viewing movies etc.. are just that same, in theory the PSP would be capable of them, but will they ever be available... we'll see. For many a game playing machine with music player would be enough.

 

[London Geezer]

Square and other devs might want to wait until they know their products will sell at least a million copies (arbitrary number, just an example) on the PSP. Therefore they might want to wait until PSP userbase has reached a certain size. Unless, of course, Sony steps in with the big bucks pushing them to release a game that will drive the PSP sales forward, which i see happening with a GT or a MGS or FF game for PSP. You just know that once good quality games of those and other franchises are released, the PSP will become very popular, at least in Japan.

 

[passerby]

The problem may be that they're impressed by its potential to absorb as much money as a full-blown PS2 title . Several game developers have been making worried noises about the cost of developing for the PSP in the industry mags.

Can you elaborate on the cause for the high costs. Difficulty of development? Or hardware that is a little too impressive - making it expensive to exploit the device's potential(art costs, ability to do more but take more manhours, etc.)? Or both? Or whatever.[/quote]

 

[Panajev2001a]

Square is sitting and thinkin how fast they can port their PS2 code over

Seriously, Sony usually does not have huge licensing fees and the UMD format should be cheap for developers, considerably cheaper than similarly sized ROM cartdridges.

Also, the development environment seems to be pretty high level and with a learnign curve for developers that is less steep than the one early PlayStation 2 coders found.

 

[gurgi]

The GPS thingy could be used in a real life simulator. Wherever you are on the globe, is where you are in the game.

Looking forward to the demos. With certain game delays, console announcements and now PSP stuff.. this E3 is shaping up to be a good one.

 

[hey69]

i think the PSP will be to the handheld market what the original playstation was to the console market!

 

[Dio]

The problem may be that they're impressed by its potential to absorb as much money as a full-blown PS2 title . Several game developers have been making worried noises about the cost of developing for the PSP in the industry mags.

Can you elaborate on the cause for the high costs. Difficulty of development? Or hardware that is a little too impressive - making it expensive to exploit the device's potential(art costs, ability to do more but take more manhours, etc.)? Or both? Or whatever.

The latter more than the former. The high capabilities of PSP relative to GBA raise the bar very significantly and require a larger investment in time to generate the assets for the game, most notably in the artwork and design side. However, at the moment GBA games are cheaper than PS2/Xbox/Gamecube.

Economically, the solution is clear and the price will have to rise. However, also economically, Sony can't afford to push the price up too much because new consoles have to build a market quickly or risk stillbirth.

Pulling out the crystal ball, my guess would be:
- initially game prices will be at or close to GBA levels
- there will be 'premium' titles that make better use of the capabilities of the hardware
- in the long term, everything will settle down at the premium price point

Panajev makes a very good point that a pressed disk format will be somewhat cheaper than a ROM which will give a little more headroom. Not much, but £1 might be the difference between profit and loss nowadays.