Sony plans PSP comeback in America

[Fafalada]

Yes, memory stick costs twice as much as SD.

First, SDs(micros) work just fine in PSPs.
Second, if you MUST have MemoryStick, why buy DUO when M2s are actually much closer to SDHC Micro prices (sandisk for both).

The 8gig ipod nano is $200. Which $30 less than the psp with a 8 gig memory card.

See above, the last 8GB card I bought for PSP cost me ~40$.

Sadly enough, if you want to position PSP as the THING to have with you at all times, you're looking at an iPhone clone.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing because such device could exist paralel to regular PSP. Like you said, there's a market for larger screen portables, but that doesn't mean the different devices couldn't be under a single SW platform.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

First, SDs work just fine in PSPs (micros).

You can get a converter for SD cards, or they plug right in?

 

[Fafalada]

You can get a converter for SD cards, or they plug right in?

Converter of course - a lot like the one that is used for M2s.

 

[patsu]

Cool, Sony needs a proper PSP place to layout the details. I totally forgot about M2 and didn't know about the SDHCmicro adaptor.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I had no idea either. Death to MemoryStick, says I!

 

[eastmen]

Shdc micro adapters are like $15 bucks. But yes you can use them. I've used it on my psp. I found a cheap ebay auction for 6 gig sdhc micro cards and got 4 of them for $15 bucks each.

Very few gaming portables have been comfortably pocket sized. GBA SP and Micro are probably the only ones that don't present as massive unsightly pants bulge. Shrinking PSP down to iPod/Phone proportions would primarily mean reducing the screen size, which to me was a huge perk for the PSP given its media functionality. Sadly enough, if you want to position PSP as the THING to have with you at all times, you're looking at an iPhone clone.

BTW how competitive is the iPhone with PSP hardware-wise? I know it has four times the memory of the original PSP but judging by what I've seen Sony doesn't have much to worry about.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...e_powerful_than_nintendo_ds_psp_combined.html

carmack says its more powerfull than the ds and psp combined. He says its equal to the dreamcast and almost on par with the ps2.

When you shrink the screen its a bad thing really but in the long run it makes it more apealing. You could allways go with 2 form factors. Put a 4 or 5 inch screen model and then the more portable 3 .25 inch one or whatever.

Of course there were/are convergent media players before and after PSP. There will always be new kids on the block, including new PSP hardware and software.

Yes but unlike the psp's first launch what 4 years ago now , the devices around weren't able to compete. You'd have the ipods with the black and white screens or the large pvr's. You didn't have anything like the iphone around.

What you said above can apply to PSP too, may be at better rate.

Processor power is a double-edge sword because it can also be a battery power consumption issue. Ultimately, it's a balance in technology and usage. Moving forward, both PSP and iPhone will have better specs.

As for iPhone usage pattern, I don't think you need to speculate. All I am saying originally is we need to observe iPhone owners to know what will happen. That hasn't changed.

The psp wont get better hardware specs. They may shrink the system and put in 65nm or 45nm versions of the chip but they wont release a new version with better specs because no games will make use of it.

meanwhile apple is increasing production to what 800k a week ?

http://www.macblogz.com/2008/08/04/iphone-3g-production-is-up-to-800000-per-week/

Cool, Sony needs a proper PSP place to layout the details. I totally forgot about M2 and didn't know about the SDHCmicro adaptor.

Sony will never admit that the adaptors work, they loose money when you buy sd cards instead of memory sticks.

 

[patsu]

When you shrink the screen its a bad thing really but in the long run it makes it more apealing. You could allways go with 2 form factors. Put a 4 or 5 inch screen model and then the more portable 3 .25 inch one or whatever.

It depends on how much they shrink it. One of PSP's greatest appeals is the screen size because you can watch subtitled video on it relatively easily. I owned a GBA movie player and gave it back for this reason. iPhone/iPod Touch size looks ok, but I have not tried watching a foreign film on it yet.

The psp wont get better hardware specs. They may shrink the system and put in 65nm or 45nm versions of the chip but they wont release a new version with better specs because no games will make use of it.

meanwhile apple is increasing production to what 800k a week ?

http://www.macblogz.com/2008/08/04/iphone-3g-production-is-up-to-800000-per-week/

The iPhone is definitely something to watch out; but right now, it's not being positioned as a game machine:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/139692/ids_carmack_says_apple_not_supportive_of_iphone_games.html

Someday, Apple may change its mind, or they may be working secretly on it for some unspecified future. I think the battery drain on playing games (with video and audio heavily used) will be rather obvious.

As for PSP getting higher spec... doesn't Playstation hardware evolved from PS1 to PS3 ? If all goes well, even with backward compatibility ?

Sony will never admit that the adaptors work, they loose money when you buy sd cards instead of memory sticks.

Yes, silly me.

Shdc micro adapters are like $15 bucks. But yes you can use them. I've used it on my psp. I found a cheap ebay auction for 6 gig sdhc micro cards and got 4 of them for $15 bucks each.

$6 here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12177~r.96035782

 

[upnorthsox]

Sony will never admit that the adaptors work, they loose money when you buy sd cards instead of memory sticks.

Actually, one was included with my Sony camera so at least division admits it.

Btw, what happens when your 8gb iphone runs out of storage space? Can you just swap out memory sticks?

Other iphone cost you've seemed to have left out:

Phone plan - $60 p/mth
Data Plan - $60 p/mth
Text plan - $20 p/mth
Taxes&Fees - $20 p/mth
--------------------------------
Total $160 p/mth for 2 yrs = $3840 minimum

Misc

Activation fees $60
iphone $199(8gb) or $299(16 gb)
Taxes&fees $26 - $36
Accessories $???????
--------------------------------------
Total $286 to $396 plus the $160 charges = $446 minimum first bill and that doesn't even include a fricken game.

I won't even get into all the hidden charges that AT&T loves to allow be added to your bill by anyone with a web site and a revenue split.

 

[Diamond.G]

Actually, one was included with my Sony camera so at least division admits it.

Btw, what happens when your 8gb iphone runs out of storage space? Can you just swap out memory sticks?

Other iphone cost you've seemed to have left out:

Phone plan - $60 p/mth
Data Plan - $60 p/mth
Text plan - $20 p/mth
Taxes&Fees - $20 p/mth
--------------------------------
Total $160 p/mth for 2 yrs = $3840 minimum

Misc

Activation fees $60
iphone $199(8gb) or $299(16 gb)
Taxes&fees $26 - $36
Accessories $???????
--------------------------------------
Total $286 to $396 plus the $160 charges = $446 minimum first bill and that doesn't even include a fricken game.

I won't even get into all the hidden charges that AT&T loves to allow be added to your bill by anyone with a web site and a revenue split.

Just a small note. In the US (at least) the data is apart of that 70 dollars that you pay per month. You have to add text messaging though. The activation fee is only 36 bucks (18 if you are just changing headsets).


I think GT Mobile needs to come out. With connectivity with GT 5 (or Prologue)...

 

[obonicus]

As for PSP getting higher spec... doesn't Playstation hardware evolved from PS1 to PS3 ? If all goes well, even with backward compatibility ?

Not just PS1 to PS3. In part, the upgrade from PSP-1000 to PSP-2000 involved doubling the available RAM. No game uses it other than to supposedly decrease UMD loading times, but to say that they don't get higher specs is untrue.

 

[eastmen]

It depends on how much they shrink it. One of PSP's greatest appeals is the screen size because you can watch subtitled video on it relatively easily. I owned a GBA movie player and gave it back for this reason. iPhone/iPod Touch size looks ok, but I have not tried watching a foreign film on it yet.

Yes but the psp will allways be hindred by screen size and umd size. I don't know how sub titles look on the iphone however on the zune it looks pretty good and that screen is what 3 inches ?

As for PSP getting higher spec... doesn't Playstation hardware evolved from PS1 to PS3 ? If all goes well, even with backward compatibility ?

I thought u were talking about the current psp after all didn't u say they don't need a new one? The fact of the matter is each year they try relaunching the psp as it is or with changes seen in the psp 2000 model other devices will emerge which chip away at each of its ablitys. I would actually say except for screen size and complex games the iphone has already beaten the psp in everything.

Also sales of monkey ball show that the device can sell games in good numbers. 300k in launch month is great sales for any system. Alot of games for the iphone can also be ported to the ds with reduced graphics.

$6 here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.d...177~r.96035782

cool thanks i bought mine a year ago and it was $15

Btw, what happens when your 8gb iphone runs out of storage space? Can you just swap out memory sticks?

What happens if i loose a memory card ?

Anyway the iphone software allows you to remove things when you sync. You can have your podcasts removed as you listen to them or videos as you play them. 8 gigs of space should be more than enough for 1 days activity.

Other iphone cost you've seemed to have left out:

The itouch can be used for the same apps as the iphone , you just don't have phone or wireless internet.

You also leave out that the psp lacks both of these. You'd have to pay for a phone regardless and if you want mobile internet you have to pay for that too. So for me who needs a phone and wants to surf the web and play games the iphone is cheaper than buying both a psp and a phone that surfs the web.

Both devices need acessorys. I'm not going to just grab a bunch of umds and throw them in a pocket and walk around with my psp uncovered.

Also those plans are expensive. I'm on sprint sero and get 500 minutes , 4gb/s data and unlimited texting for $30 a month. Thank god I hate apple products and didn't buy the iphone and jump to at&t

Not just PS1 to PS3. In part, the upgrade from PSP-1000 to PSP-2000 involved doubling the available RAM. No game uses it other than to supposedly decrease UMD loading times, but to say that they don't get higher specs is untrue

Yes but that didn't affect older psps from playing the game. If however you decided to drop in a new version of the gpu in a new psp the old psps wont be able to play games designed for use with the new gpu. That is what i'm getting with. If they did that they might as well call it a psp2 as it will confuse costumers.

 

[patsu]

Yes but the psp will allways be hindred by screen size and umd size. I don't know how sub titles look on the iphone however on the zune it looks pretty good and that screen is what 3 inches ?

3 inch is the same as DS's screen size, which is too small (I tried with the GBA movie player). But the higher resolution may have made up for it. In any case, as long as they find an acceptable way around it (larger subtitles ?), I should be fine.

I thought u were talking about the current psp after all didn't u say they don't need a new one? The fact of the matter is each year they try relaunching the psp as it is or with changes seen in the psp 2000 model other devices will emerge which chip away at each of its ablitys. I would actually say except for screen size and complex games the iphone has already beaten the psp in everything.

No, I said they should not release a new hardware unless they are "ready" (i.e., they have some major enhancements). Incremental fixes are not going to make any big difference.

I don't think iPhone beat out PSP in "everything". iPhone still lose out to PSP in games (It is not "casted" as a game console).
But in overall software integration and casual user experience, even without iPhone, PSP is considered subpar. We don't need iPhone to tell us that.

Also sales of monkey ball show that the device can sell games in good numbers. 300k in launch month is great sales for any system. Alot of games for the iphone can also be ported to the ds with reduced graphics.

There are people who are curious about gaming on iPhone too. Again, I'd wait for the trend to pan out. Afterall, we waited 2 years to get the Wii numbers. 300K @ $10 is certainly a respectable number. This is similar to the Wii vs 360 3rd party support thread. But as pointed out, they could be different markets and different developer base.

Porting from iPhone to DS should be interesting to watch.

Yes but that didn't affect older psps from playing the game. If however you decided to drop in a new version of the gpu in a new psp the old psps wont be able to play games designed for use with the new gpu. That is what i'm getting with. If they did that they might as well call it a psp2 as it will confuse costumers.

Yes, this is what I meant. Sony will keep revving PSP specs based on demand and product needs. But right now, assuming they have nothing major yet, they stand to gain more by focusing on the software integration and exclusive hit games.

 

[eastmen]

I don't think iPhone beat out PSP in "everything". iPhone still lose out to PSP in games (It is not "casted" as a game console).
But in overall software integration and casual user experience, even without iPhone, PSP is considered subpar. We don't need iPhone to tell us that.

Re-read what you quoted , I mentioned everything but screen size and complex games. The iphone is more than enough to play a monkey ball level game or a geo wars level game. Not so much a god of war game.

There are people who are curious about gaming on iPhone too. Again, I'd wait for the trend to pan out. Afterall, we waited 2 years to get the Wii numbers. 300K @ $10 is certainly a respectable number. This is similar to the Wii vs 360 3rd party support thread. But as pointed out, they could be different markets and different developer base.

Oh certianly , but it shows that there is a market there and yes the iphone primarly being a phone first and game platform 3rd or 4th will hinder the sales it could have. But the psp2 being a game platform first and other thigns second and third would change that.

Yes, this is what I meant. Sony will keep revving PSP specs based on demand and product needs. But right now, assuming they have nothing major yet, they stand to gain more by focusing on the software integration and exclusive hit games.

Right now if Sony focused on a new psp for next holiday they could step into a new market. They can completely redesign the psp with new tech and fix many of the problems that people agree on. They can also introduce software like the iphone store along with an itunes like program. Launching both at the same time would give them a massive amount of momentum. If they wait too long they will get lost in the shuffle of new devices.

A psp with xbox graphics a smaller form factor , no umd and a bettery battery life that had a great service for music , movies/tv , games and other things woudl be a hot item. This is what i'm hoping for with a zune 3. I'm hoping they make a zune 3 that does all the ipod touch does but with xbox level graphics and the ability to get on live when wifi is avalible. Something the size of the iphone would fit in my pocket and I wouldn't mind carrying it with my mogul (or at that time my diamond) and it would replace my need for my zune or psp or ds. Sometimes i need all 3 of those.

 

[wco81]

I think any money the iPhone makes from games is just found money -- nice but not the main reason people buy iPhones.

Obviously is not designed for games. The processor and graphics were intended mainly for a flashy UI. It's a bonus that you can make better-looking games than on most other cell phones.

Or else they'd have to make other concessions, like beefier battery, maybe more buttons, larger screen, etc.

iPhone as a games device is like electric cars or even golf carts people are using for commuting. It'll meet everyday needs in less-intensive uses but if you want a car which can take you hundreds of miles away for a weekend trip as well as serve your daily commute, you have to buy a gas engine car.

 

[upnorthsox]

I think any money the iPhone makes from games is just found money -- nice but not the main reason people buy iPhones.

Obviously is not designed for games. The processor and graphics were intended mainly for a flashy UI. It's a bonus that you can make better-looking games than on most other cell phones.

Or else they'd have to make other concessions, like beefier battery, maybe more buttons, larger screen, etc.

iPhone as a games device is like electric cars or even golf carts people are using for commuting. It'll meet everyday needs in less-intensive uses but if you want a car which can take you hundreds of miles away for a weekend trip as well as serve your daily commute, you have to buy a gas engine car.

Your points are spot on and I particularly like your electric car analogy.

 

[eastmen]

I think any money the iPhone makes from games is just found money -- nice but not the main reason people buy iPhones.

Obviously is not designed for games. The processor and graphics were intended mainly for a flashy UI. It's a bonus that you can make better-looking games than on most other cell phones.

Or else they'd have to make other concessions, like beefier battery, maybe more buttons, larger screen, etc.

iPhone as a games device is like electric cars or even golf carts people are using for commuting. It'll meet everyday needs in less-intensive uses but if you want a car which can take you hundreds of miles away for a weekend trip as well as serve your daily commute, you have to buy a gas engine car.

Well first off the same can be said about the psp and its other media functions. I.e music , video and websurfing. As for the electric car , if you were to buy something like a volt you can do both.

 

[patsu]

That's right, they are relatively well differentiated. The PSP is primarily a game console and portable movie player, the iPhone is well.. a communication device.

 

[eastmen]

That's right, they are relatively well differentiated. The PSP is primarily a game console and portable movie player, the iPhone is well.. a communication device.

I don't agree. The iphone excels at video. It has a 3.5inch screen with a 480x320 res screen. The psp is a 4.3 inch 480x272. The iphone has a smaller higher res screen and the psp has a bigger lower res screen. The iphone also has great audio ablitys with its link to itunes.

The only thing the psp consistantly out does the iphone on is complex gaming.

 

[Entropy]

Obviously is not designed for games. The processor and graphics were intended mainly for a flashy UI. It's a bonus that you can make better-looking games than on most other cell phones.

Well, according to Carmack, on stage at QuakeCon, the iPhone is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined,".
The limitation vs. the PSP and DS is rather that the iPhone doesn't have a plethora of control buttons. You use the built in gyro, and the (multi-)touch sensitive screen for input.

It occupies a different market niche than the portable game consoles, for sure, but it does compete for developer attention, and it has a completely different distribution model for games that is arguably more developer friendly than the PSP/DS one and vastly so for smaller scale developers. It is also extremely accessible for consumers - all users have the entire application library of the platform a couple of finger taps away for browsing and purchase. Awesome.

For the immediate future, the iPhone probably won't directly affect the PSP/DS markets. But it supplies a few seeds for thought regarding the future of handheld gaming devices and it is definitely going to be a gaming platform in its own right.

 

[patsu]

I don't agree. The iphone excels at video. It has a 3.5inch screen with a 480x320 res screen. The psp is a 4.3 inch 480x272. The iphone has a smaller higher res screen and the psp has a bigger lower res screen. The iphone also has great audio ablitys with its link to itunes.

Yes, I love the larger PSP widescreen [Widescreen movies appear smaller or truncated on iPhone because of the screen ratio and physical size]. You have to own one to appreciate the difference.

Now that you reminded me, iPod is a great video player too. I never use it for real that way (again because of battery life concerns). The key differentiator is the iTunes Music Store and its portable DRM, which allows you to continue watching a rented video on-the-go. On the PSP, you can watch movies from the PS Store but the selection is much smaller. The UMD movies are now retailing for $10 or less (like $3 in Fry's sometimes), but they are not as well used.

Both allow some digital copies from Blu-ray, but I think iPod/iPhone has more official support from Fox.
Both also have free movie conversion software support. The storage size doesn't bother me that much since I don't carry movies around.


I'd give the edge to iPod/iPhone for its overall experience. But I actually use PSP more in real-life, and I hope for a better user experience everytime I use it.