Post by: ruby_onix on September 04, 2004, 01:01:36 AM
The PSP will be "almost as powerful as the PlayStation 2," but its "programming would be more comparable to the PlayStation One." Whatever that means.
I take that second part to mean either that the PSP will be as easy to program for as the PSone was, unlike the PS2 (making PSP games potentially look even better than PS2 games), or that it's available software will for the most part look like PSone games, not PS2 games (which would look nasty, but could help with the PSP's apparent financial problems).
The freshly-unveiled PSP Development Kit plays DVD-Rs, because Sony apparently isn't ever going to let anyone get their hands on a UMD burner, not even their own developers, in order to try and maintain some sort of copy-protection (which will probably work as well as the GameCube's disks did, and be "an effective deterrant" to widespread piracy).
As a result, the "Universal" Media Disk is probably only ever going to be a format for PSP games, FF Advent Children, and some Sony-produced movies. Music will need to be imported to the PSP through the Memory Stick, and presumably, only in Sony's own ATRAC form (MP3 support isn't looking very likely).
The PSP's price and battery life are still top-secret, but will supposedly be unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show later this month, along with some actual playable games. However, the PSP dev kit will come with it's own simulated "battery life remaining" indicator, if that tells you anything...
Oh yeah and, some sort of "A/V out" port, to connect a PSP to a TV, was apparently chopped from the system a long time ago.
Post by: nitsu niflheim on September 04, 2004, 03:23:31 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on September 04, 2004, 08:31:11 AM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on September 04, 2004, 10:26:13 AM
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on September 04, 2004, 12:59:06 PM
Post by: Chongman on September 05, 2004, 05:41:03 PM
they're whores...complete....whore...its beautiful really...in a kind of whorish way...
Post by: joeamis on September 05, 2004, 06:58:24 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: ruby_onix
From Gamespot and IGN-PSP.
The PSP will be "almost as powerful as the PlayStation 2," but its "programming would be more comparable to the PlayStation One." Whatever that means.
I take that second part to mean either that the PSP will be as easy to program for as the PSone was, unlike the PS2 (making PSP games potentially look even better than PS2 games), or that it's available software will for the most part look like PSone games, not PS2 games (which would look nasty, but could help with the PSP's apparent financial problems).
Oh yeah and, some sort of "A/V out" port, to connect a PSP to a TV, was apparently chopped from the system a long time ago.
They were talking about the programming being easier like the PS1, I don't see how you get the games looking like PS1 games out of that, especially when they said almost as powerful as PS2. And if you look at the specs it will be very close to PS2, you don't need equal specs when the game is running on a 4 inch screen...
As for connecting to the tv, you can do it through the usb port with your PS2 and I wouldn't doubt PS3, oh and your computers...
As for a stand, I'm glad I have that option. It would be good for watching movies while on airplanes, at home if everyone else is using the other tvs, and on vacation at places with only 1 tv and such, etc... The PS2 stand wasn't pointless if you were someone who utilized it well...
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on September 06, 2004, 12:07:11 PM
Quote
The PS2 stand wasn't pointless if you were someone who utilized it well...
Doesn't the PS2 in the verticle position screw up laser alignment, because my friend got a brand new PS2(network pack) and the game froze while in verticle positioning when twisted metal black was running. Also my PS2 had problems when I had it in verticle position and now its always in horizontal position where Im getting no problems. And the Horizontal stand is pointless
Post by: DrZoidberg on September 06, 2004, 04:36:42 PM
Post by: ruby_onix on September 06, 2004, 07:30:17 PM
Quote
They were talking about the programming being easier like the PS1, I don't see how you get the games looking like PS1 games out of that, especially when they said almost as powerful as PS2.
They didn't specify (or at least the two reports that I read didn't specify) which end of the programming would be more like the PSone. (Although thinking about it, this was a "developers conference", so I guess that says something, doesn't it?)
It's like, how hardware itself doesn't have "graphics". And no game ever proves exactly what a system is capable of.
Quote
And if you look at the specs it will be very close to PS2, you don't need equal specs when the game is running on a 4 inch screen...
Yeah, but making a modern console game is a "major production". Something that handhelds have never really had to deal with until now. And the only playable PSP game shown until now has been a PSone-port (Tales of Eternia). If Sony's only pushing for PSone-level games (with cleaner polygons) for now, it'll relieve some pressure on the developers.
But I guess we'll find out what PSP games look like soon enough. And it won't matter what anyone said about them. They'll look how they'll look. I was just pointing out that I wasn't clear on what was said.
Post by: joeamis on September 07, 2004, 07:49:12 PM
I don't see how the horizontal stand for the PS2 is useless. If I had one I could fit another system in my entertainment center. (I may do that soon actually). It's useful to people who happen to have such a predicament. I'm sure theres even a minority who only have enough room to fit it vertically, given the setup they have. I've seen one kid do that before actually.
Post by: Deguello on September 08, 2004, 11:00:49 AM
"I have no idea what the battery life is going to be like. It will depend on a lot of factors, like how loud the player has the volume."
Excuse moi? Volume affects battery life. R.I.P. PSP.
Post by: Ian Sane on September 08, 2004, 02:25:02 PM
No kidding. I don't know if the volume affects the GBA's battery life but if it does it isn't noticable. If the PSP is at the point where something that minor is noticable Sony has a HUGE problem.
Note Nintendo has never discussed battery life in specifics like volume, how fast the disc spins (obviously not an issue with the GBA), how "taxing" the game is, etc. That's because it isn't an issue. If Sony has to suggest optimum battery life conditions then obviously the PSP battery life is too short and Sony is making another Game Gear. You figure after like 15 years of hindsight to see why no one has ever beat the Gameboy Sony would have figured that out. This is like the N64 cartridge goof only worse. It's like someone releasing a cartridge console NOW after being well aware of how the optical disc/cartridge issue ended up.
Post by: Deguello on September 08, 2004, 08:23:09 PM
They also aren't pussyfooting around and saying 4 hours here, 2 hours there, 10 hours... for music and and that is if there is no graphics. Damage Control like saying it's meant for the home. Confusing developers on how much battery juice it will pack... and also the actual power of the system is less than they said.
Also notice the contrast in how these respective systems treat the developers. The DS is pretty much anything goes, with options like microphone and stylus input, field programmability (I think that's what the DS media offers, and I hear it's good), (hopefully) no region lockout (good for us, anyway). Whereas the PSP has region lockouts, a real inconvenienve in requiring the developers to burn their game onto a DVD-R and send it to Sony for conversion onto the UMD format. Dev kits that have a battery timer to set a blanket limit on what you CAN do with the thing. It's weird that they want to limit their 3rd Party efforts in such a way. What, are they expecting their 1st party stuff to sell the PSP?
Post by: nitsu niflheim on September 09, 2004, 05:33:59 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on September 09, 2004, 07:18:05 AM
The funny thing is the stuff they do make that's worthwhile (ICO, Frequency) is often too hardcore and completely bombs with their own fanbase. Just though I would mention that while we're all making light of Sony's serious oversight and potential Virtual Boyish disaster.
It's incredibly ironic that Sony took away Nintendo's console lead because they were more third party friendly and are now trying to take away Nintendo's portable lead by being significantly less third party friendly.
I'm happy that Sony may have a dud on their hands. Not so much because I don't like them but because this generation has been way too one-sided and Sony could use a good failure to balance things out more next gen.
Post by: couchmonkey on September 09, 2004, 07:34:31 AM
I agree that it would be nice for Sony to fail (or at least not have much success) with the PSP just to keep things balanced.
Post by: SgtShiversBen on September 09, 2004, 07:37:08 AM
Nintendo is right though. Handheld systems are made to be played in spurts...like in toilets. I couldn't imagine myself playing Metal Gear Solid on the john and then after I'm finished with my business, have to still be waiting for it to load, movies and all that hubbub. On top of that I can't go BUY batteries anymore
Oh well, at least I still have my ORIGINAL GBA.
Post by: joeamis on September 09, 2004, 06:07:19 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Deguello
They also aren't pussyfooting around and saying 4 hours here, 2 hours there, 10 hours... for music and and that is if there is no graphics. a real inconvenienve in requiring the developers to burn their game onto a DVD-R and send it to Sony for conversion onto the UMD format. What, are they expecting their 1st party stuff to sell the PSP?
Eh Nintendo doesn't say different times because they're not having music or movies on their system... It's not a big deal that they have to have Sony do the umd's. No, but their 2nd parties/ 3rd parties that are basically 2nd parties too, will certainly will sell it.
Ian Sane: "No kidding. I don't know if the volume affects the GBA's battery life but if it does it isn't noticable."
Hmm, you must not have had many experiences with your batteries low on power. I've had the volume on my original gba be a significant factor at times. When the batteries got low, (I did tests over time) if I put the volume all the way down to where I could barely hear it/or on mute sometimes I got over an extra hour of battery life, and that was only when the battery went low. If I had kept it on mute or close to it to begin with when using fresh batteries, than I could've easily gotten many more hours of battery life. Same deal with my cd players.
Post by: oohhboy on September 10, 2004, 08:43:20 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on September 10, 2004, 09:48:58 AM
"Playing the old GBC/GB games on the GBA increaes battery time. Also playing certin games on he GBA changes how uch play time you have."
I'm sure that's the case and I know my friend kept near dead batteries in his old Gameboy for the longest of time and played Tetris on mute. There are factors that affect the GBA's battery life but it's insignificant. It's only a big deal if you're low on batteries. The battery life for the GBA is regardless of what game you play or volume still a perfectly acceptable length. The way they talk about the PSP it's like even with a fully charged battery playing with a lower volume would be a good idea. Sony talks about PSP battery power conservation as if it's a really big deal. There's a difference between playing in mute to get a few more minutes out of near dead battery and playing in mute to get a few more minutes out of a fully charged battery.
Post by: joeamis on September 10, 2004, 06:49:28 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on September 10, 2004, 09:21:19 PM
Post by: Deguello on September 11, 2004, 12:02:26 AM
I dunno. What's to stop Sony from "losing" your DVD-R and then strangely have it show up when it doesn't compete with their own games, or worse, releasing an eerily similar game? Or what if you wanna work your own debugging on an actual PSP like you can with the GBA and possibly the DS?
It's kinda shaky to have Sony do the Conversion. What if there is a problem? What if the developer wants to be absolutely certain what goes on each UMD and leave nothing to chance? On the GBA, you have the Matser Rom Cart, and on the GC I think you have Gold Master GODs. Both of these are hard copies of your game, and I know for a fact the Master Rom can be played, so you are damn sure what goes one each cart/disc. Having your final product need conversion onto another format that they won't let you have access to throws a little uncertainty into the mixture for absolutely no reason.
Post by: joeamis on September 11, 2004, 07:00:09 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Deguello
"It's not a big deal that they have to have Sony do the umd's."
I dunno. What's to stop Sony from "losing" your DVD-R and then strangely have it show up when it doesn't compete with their own games, or worse, releasing an eerily similar game? Or what if you wanna work your own debugging on an actual PSP like you can with the GBA and possibly the DS?
The DVD-R's will basically be the game 'gold'. And they will easily make them not rewritable when they've gone gold. To think that Sony will intentionally lose the copies of a game gone gold to them, for production, is beyond ludicrous.
KDR: "Adding an hour to a ten hour battery life isn't that big of a deal, at least not compared to adding two hours to a two hour battery life."
I said adding an hour when the system battery light went on. I then said and quote: "If I had kept it on mute with a fresh pair of batteries it would translate into probably almost double the amount of playtime."
Post by: KDR_11k on September 11, 2004, 09:42:01 PM
Post by: PaLaDiN on September 11, 2004, 10:14:02 PM
You all know these PSP things are going to sell no matter how crappy they are.
For better or for worse, Nintendo isn't "cool" anymore... that belongs to Sony now.
I mean, come on. I have a friend who has replaced and cleaned his PS2 lens no less than ten times, and it's acting up again.
I'm fully expecting the PSP to sell more than the DS, but I'm also fully expecting that I'll be enjoying the DS more.
Post by: Deguello on September 12, 2004, 01:09:51 AM
No they won't. The UMD disc that Sony converts for you will be the game "gold" i.e. printing disc. Which means at that point in time, Sony has complete control of your product. Hopefully they will be kind enough to send you a copy of your own game for your archives.
"To think that Sony will intentionally lose the copies of a game gone gold to them, for production, is beyond ludicrous."
I am in no way insinuating they would. But it's possible, and the only reason it's possible is because Sony wants 3rd Parties to send in their games so they can convert it. I mean Hey, this is the company that blocks games from North America just because they don't sport "cool" graphics, usually 2D.
Really though, why don't they trust 3rd parties with a UMD burner? Do they think letting their 3rd parties have access to their format is piracy?
Post by: Ymeegod on September 12, 2004, 07:48:27 AM
And two, why the hell would developers care? Would you like to spend $50,000 for a burner? That's how much it's going end up costing ya for a GC burner. :0.
Post by: joeamis on September 12, 2004, 07:06:45 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Deguello
No they won't. The UMD disc that Sony converts for you will be the game "gold" i.e. printing disc. Which means at that point in time, Sony has complete control of your product. Hopefully they will be kind enough to send you a copy of your own game for your archives.
I am in no way insinuating they would. But it's possible, and the only reason it's possible is because Sony wants 3rd Parties to send in their games so they can convert it.
Really though, why don't they trust 3rd parties with a UMD burner? Do they think letting their 3rd parties have access to their format is piracy?
I said basically gold, not it is the definite gold disc. Basically gold is close enough anyways, atleast it is for GC development. Like they won't send the developers/publishers who made the game a copy... seesh.
In no way insinuating they would? Then why did you say, "I dunno. What's to stop Sony from "losing" your DVD-R and then strangely have it show up when it doesn't compete with their own games, or worse, releasing an eerily similar game?"
No they don't think it's piracy, but when preventing piracy for system developers is such a crucial issue (it costs them atleast double digit, if not triple digit millions per year), they take every logical step they can (Nintendo does the same). You did see how easy it was for the Half Life 2 source code to get out right?
Post by: Deguello on September 12, 2004, 10:15:25 PM
"And two, why the hell would developers care?"
Some do. Like EA. They are HUGE control freaks.
"In no way insinuating they would? Then why did you say, blah blah"
I'm not insinuating that they are going to do it or would do it. I'm insinuating that it is possible and that they CAN do it. This might worry more 3rd parties that you think.
"No they don't think it's piracy, but when preventing piracy for system developers is such a crucial issue (it costs them atleast double digit, if not triple digit millions per year), they take every logical step they can (Nintendo does the same). You did see how easy it was for the Half Life 2 source code to get out right? "
Half-life Source was hacked by taking the keystroke logs and running it on a PC. I fail to see where that factors in with Console/handheld piracy. I think they should take appropriate measures to stop piracy, but shouldn't having a proprietary medium be enough? Why be so restrictive?
Post by: KDR_11k on September 12, 2004, 11:37:50 PM
Post by: ruby_onix on September 21, 2004, 01:18:24 PM
Quote
The PSP's price and battery life are still top-secret, but will supposedly be unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show later this month, along with some actual playable games.
Gamespot
Quote
Surprisingly, SCE did not use the conference to announce the price of the hardware. Sony won't be announcing it at the Tokyo Game Show either--the official rationale is that the company will be using the reactions of the visitors to its PSP booth as one of the yardsticks by which it will determine the handheld's price. The handheld's release date hasn't been fixed either, although it's slated for release some time in winter.
By the way, there's a new PSP game list in the link, and some other stuff too...
Post by: Bill Aurion on September 21, 2004, 03:17:35 PM
This made me laugh...But then I realized that he was being serious and I felt an incredible urge to throw up...
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on September 21, 2004, 03:41:08 PM
Then we'll have strap-on consoles and soon we'll all be walking around like Ghostbusters with rediculous electronics on our backs, slaving our humanity away to give rise to a race of robot puppies and ASIMO humanoids.
Post by: KDR_11k on September 21, 2004, 10:50:51 PM
Post by: Mario on September 21, 2004, 11:57:56 PM
I just had to get that out...
Post by: ruby_onix on September 22, 2004, 12:27:58 AM
If the PSP crashes and burns early enough so that the PS2 is still considered a viable release platform, any PSP games that aren't PS2-ports already are almost certainly going to get ported to the PS2.
"Metal Gear Acid: Substance" Only for PS2! (And maybe XBox Live)
Post by: KDR_11k on September 22, 2004, 04:33:01 AM
Post by: joeamis on September 23, 2004, 06:46:18 PM
And Xbox game lineup being 75% PC ports? More like the XB gets great 3rd party support, exclusives, many PS2 ports, and a decent amount of PC ports. I speak objectively, I won't be buying an XB unless it goes to $50 before next gen.
Post by: MaleficentOgre on September 23, 2004, 06:54:44 PM
