PSP concept model

[OB1]

From IGN:

November 04, 2003 - In its annual Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting held in New York today, Sony Computer Inc. revealed the first official concept model image of the PSP, its upcoming powerhouse handheld.

As part of its presentation displaying how the IBM/Toshiba and Sony backed Cell chip will connect all future Sony Products -- from the PSP to TVs, computer, video cameras and PlayStation game consoles -- the first official shot appeared for all to see.

Due in the fall 2004, the PSP features an impressive set of specs including wide screen support (480x272; 16:9 ratio) that's will be backlit, the full PlayStation control set, embedded codecs and NURB technology for rendering full 3D polygons.

To get a better look what's under the hood, check these specs.

* UMD or Universal Media Device. This storage media is 60mm, about half the size of the traditional CD and has a capacity of 1.8GB. That's right GB. Expect massively complex, detailed gaming (for your handheld anyway). 2.4 inches.
* ATRAC encoding support (Sony's proprietary sound format used in their minidiscs). This could mean it will be a multi-media device.
* Graphics specs are also impressive: NURB technology for rendering with full 3D polygons.
* The unit's widescreen LCD screen (480x272, that's the coveted 16:9 ratio we all love) will be backlit.
* The unit's sound processing will feature full 3D sound, PCM, and will be "fully reconfigurable."
* MIPS 32-bit processor.
* Also, a secure ROM cartridge for anti-piracy efforts.
* Super-one-chip solution for graphics, sound, etc.
* Memory stick will be used for game saves. Also, for GPS functionality.
* Rechargeable battery.
* CPU: 90 nanometers with a clock speed TBD.
* USB 2.0 connection for talking to your PC, cellphone, even your PS2.
* Embedded RAM.
* Supports additional video codecs (other than MPEG 4.)

If this image represents the final model, then our suspicions about the flip top have been confirmed. We still have questions about the final format of the analog stick and other buttons as well. Will they stand upright, above the surface of the handheld, or not? We'll have more soon. For all things PSP in the future, make sure to check out our handheld site Pocket.ign.com
-- Douglass C. Perry

Very sleek, but kinda weird. Also, there's no analogue stick like Sony announced a month ago so it's definitely not the final model. I love the screen size.

Well, let's just wait until they unveil the final model.

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm... what's the scale of that thing? And that is certainly not final... very strange. I'd think the final one will have real buttons... having 'flat buttons' like that would be a interesting style but I don't know how well it'd work in reality.

Oh, and that well could still be an analog stick... but if that's the design they continue with they might end up with analog and no digital -- something no console has done (well, since before the NES...). And that's not really good.

Oh yeah, and Zodiac released their Tapwave gaming PDA. A great handheld... if you want to spend that kind of money. :)

[OB1]

The Zodiac is a well-designed handheld without any good games. Wee. BTW if Sony makes the analog stick like the Zodiac's then there would be no need for a d-pad. The Zodiac's stick is an analog stick but almost as flat as a d-pad.

[A Black Falcon]

No games? But it runs a version of PalmOS compatible... that has a lot of games. :)

Oh, and what do you mean by 'flat'? Is it more precise?

[OB1]

No good games. Deifinitely not ones worth the $300-400 pricetag of the handheld.

Here's what the analogue pad looks like:

[A Black Falcon]

Well at least the Tapwave is well designed. And looks cool. :)

Games... I think that for the very limited market they're aiming at that's less important for now, since it does work with palm games. Not as good? True. But they're something... and I'm sure some games will come. Will the thing be successful as a standalone gaming platform? At that price probably not. But still... for people who like gaming and want a PDA it seems like a good in-between hardware.

Oh, and that seems like a nice solution for a analog pad on a system like that.

[Dark Jaguar]

Ya know, I've been thinking, and I realize now that having pressure sensitive version of a d-pad means the same level of accuracy, I think. I though "okay, so speed would be fully controllable, but what about angle?" until I realized something so obvious it's BRILLIANTLY idiotic! Simply put, angle is determined by the difference in pressure between two directions on the pad!

Yes yes yes yes I feel it now! Hmm, wonder if Sony will do that...

[A Black Falcon]

Well you COULD do a pressure-sensitive D-Pad, but analog sticks just work better for gradient-movement controls... flat ones like the Tapwave if you want it low, but a stick. :)

[A Black Falcon]

http://www.digitalbackspin.com/adm/templ...&zoneid=14

Hmm, it'll have multiple versions and a cell-phone?

[Great Rumbler]

Looks pretty nice, except for those flat buttons which look like they would be a pain to use.

[OB1]

Yeah hopefully that'll change, which I'm pretty sure they will.

[A Black Falcon]

shoulder buttons on a console that is shaped like that.... sounds like the most fun since the square NES controller! :D

[OB1]

It's going to be pretty small. Look how big that keychain hook is compared to the size of the system. Also, I don't even see any shoulder buttons there. Remember that this is not the final model.

[Dark Jaguar]

How about just putting them on the BACK of the system? That's what all shoulder buttons should have always been like!

[A Black Falcon]

On the back? That'd be quite odd... and how would that be comfterble? No, shoulders are better... though of course triggers are the best. :)

[Dark Jaguar]

... THAT'S WHAT A SHOULDER BUTTON ON THE BACK IS! IT'S A TRIGGER! I mean something like the buttons on the Virtual Boy's back or the Z trigger on the N64 pad. Probably more like the VB. Those were VERY comfortable trigger buttons.

[alien space marine]

Cool !

I wonder what games will be on it?

list.

1.Rock'in Roll racing
2.Lost Vikings
3.Blackthrone
4.Final Fantasy 3
5.GTA original.

[A Black Falcon]

But triggers require a grip... and I don't see how that could possibly work on a handheld. Unlike gamepads handhelds want to be a uniform, square/rectangular shape... that and triggers isn't really compatible.

[Dark Jaguar]

What's the difficulty? Just place them where one's index fingers rest naturally! Not that hard.

[A Black Falcon]

Huh? Buttons on the bottom or something? I don't get it... you can't have a thing underneath for a trigger to be on since its a handheld -- buttons have to be flat on the system. A button on the bottom? That sounds quite uncomfterble...

[OB1]

I just wanted to mention that this fish game looks like crap. :D

[Dark Jaguar]

Bottom? No, on the back! Right under one's index fingers. I'd think that would be plenty comfortable myself, about a billion times better than on the top at any rate. Just use the middle finger to support it. The button doesn't have to really stick up out of hte back or anything, just be there where one can feel it. I don't see the difficulty here...

[A Black Falcon]

It still sounds pretty strange... I'm not so sure that that could at all work. On the back... might be okay for some people, but I don't know.

Oh yeah and they probably wouldn't really be triggers since 'trigger' implies a trigger-ish grip, like the N64 has... that would just be a funny-placed button that would take quite a bit of getting used to.


Oh yeah, and scale... what I've heard is that its 3"x7", since those UMD things are 2.4" square. A open GBA-SP is for comparison 3"x6". And of course that doesn't include thickness. :)

[OB1]

Here are some great comparison pics from Magic Box:

http://www.the-magicbox.com/Nov03/6750.jpg

http://www.the-magicbox.com/Nov03/pspc06.jpg

As you can see, the screen is almost twice as wide as the GBA's. That's going to be perfect for watching movies.

[OB1]

Crap, links won't work. Try here http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

[A Black Falcon]

Huh... interesting, not hugely large. Bigger than a GBA, definitely, but not as big as I'd think it would be... that's probably good for Sony.

Now for the battery life... and the price... with all those extras (cell phone, MP3 player, etc) I can't imagine the price being low. Or the battery life really being long enough to satisy people.

But how about those UMDs? They look kind of fragile... can they stand up to being in a pocket, knocked around, etc? I doubt it... not good for a portable. :)

Oh yeah... and where do those stats stand to land the system, graphically?

Also... region coding. Not surprising at all, but that's one thing the GBA has a clear win in...

[OB1]

Unless you plan on using the UMDs for baseball practice then durability shouldn't be a problem. They're like minidiscs.

[Private Hudson]

Originally posted by A Black Falcon
Now for the battery life... and the price... with all those extras (cell phone, MP3 player, etc) I can't imagine the price being low. Or the battery life really being long enough to satisy people.

All depends on how much they want this market. Apparently, they intend for this machine to be the next Walkman, so they are going to be extremely agressive. I saw one news report stating that it was rumoured to be as low as $60..

But how about those UMDs? They look kind of fragile... can they stand up to being in a pocket, knocked around, etc? I doubt it... not good for a portable. :)

Really shouldn't be a problem. MD's are durable enough. Plus you could always get a case. ;)

Oh yeah... and where do those stats stand to land the system, graphically?

Think somewhere between a PSX and a Dreamcast. Though, in some ways it appears to be more powerful than a DC. I guess we'll find out. On paper, it looks to be quite incredible.

Although for the record, I don't think that design looks all that comfortable. Looks cool, though. Stylish.. :)

[A Black Falcon]

All depends on how much they want this market. Apparently, they intend for this machine to be the next Walkman, so they are going to be extremely agressive. I saw one news report stating that it was rumoured to be as low as $60..

I'd say $300, minimum. With all that stuff no way it could be lower...

However, they did say that they'll have different models with different features. The ones without mp3 or cell phone or whatever abilities should be less expensive...

Really shouldn't be a problem. MD's are durable enough. Plus you could always get a case.

I was just comparing them to the nearly indestructible GB carts. :)

Think somewhere between a PSX and a Dreamcast. Though, in some ways it appears to be more powerful than a DC. I guess we'll find out. On paper, it looks to be quite incredible.

Although for the record, I don't think that design looks all that comfortable. Looks cool, though. Stylish..

Dreamcast-Plus, huh? That is what I've heard... quite powerful. Far, far stronger than any other handheld ever released... it is a good technical achievement, if nothing else. Their problem now will be convincing people that the tradeoffs (price, battery life (which IS a problem, especially with all those features! Just look at what people thought of the N-Gage's batt life!), etc) are worth it... but given Sony's marketing I think they well might be able to do that. We'll see.

And as I said several times, I agree -- it looks stylish in a way, but also looks very uncomfortable. And impractical with the flat buttons and stick...

[OB1]

I'd say $300, minimum. With all that stuff no way it could be lower...

Don't forget that both MS and Sony sold their systems for lower than they costed to manufacture. They each lost a pretty penny per console that they sold. If Sony wants to take over the handheld industry badly enough then I can see them biting the bullet, so to speak. $60, no way. But $200? I can see that happening.

I was just comparing them to the nearly indestructible GB carts.

That was one of the arguments Nintendo fanboys such as myself used against PSX fanboys back during the N64 days.

And again, people complained about the N-Gage's battery life because of how crappy everything else was with the system. They even complained about Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk, even though they are good ports.

[A Black Falcon]

Don't forget that both MS and Sony sold their systems for lower than they costed to manufacture. They each lost a pretty penny per console that they sold. If Sony wants to take over the handheld industry badly enough then I can see them biting the bullet, so to speak. $60, no way. But $200? I can see that happening.

Hmm... maybe. But not for the one with all the features, I am sure... $150-$200 for a baseline one (assuming that they do indeed release multiple versions of the thing at the same time)? Maybe. But not with the cell phone and all that... even they wouldn't take a loss that big... MS might, but Sony wasn't losing $100 on each PS2 I believe. Wasn't it like $80 or something? :)

That was one of the arguments Nintendo fanboys such as myself used against PSX fanboys back during the N64 days.

And again, people complained about the N-Gage's battery life because of how crappy everything else was with the system. They even complained about Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk, even though they are good ports.

True... but I like N64 carts too... :)

Yeah, yeah, I know Nintendo should have gone with CDs because it lost them the console race... but still. I like N64 carts! They look nice, are solid and hard to damage, and the N64's design is great... the curves in the thing look very nice, especially with a cart in it.

[OB1]

Cell phone?? Where on earth did you hear that the PSP was going to be a cell phone? That's the N-Gage, ABF.

[Great Rumbler]

Cell-phonage:

Reuters reported that Sony intends to put PlayStation Portable in more than one market, the system can be used as a cellular phone

I got that from The Magic Box, btw.

[OB1]

That's crazy.

[Great Rumbler]

I know! They must be on crack!

[OB1]

Crazy crack!

[A Black Falcon]

Actually, shockingly, I got it from the link I posted early in the thread... I'm SO suprised that no one bothered to click it!

Lazy people...

http://www.digitalbackspin.com/adm/...d=467&zoneid=14

During a corporate Strategy meeting today, Sony president Ken Kutaragi showed off the first look at the upcoming PSP. Since the "Transform 60" meeting was about general corporate planning and not specific products or services, few additional details or specifications on the device were revealed beyond the design which was characterised as "a work in progress".

Kutaragi-san did offer two new insights into the unit, one being that cell phone capabilities were being planned for the device. The second revelation was that PSP will not be a product so much as a product line, with various configurations of the device selling at different price points.

While it's by no means certain that this will be the final form the PSP takes, it does give a good bit of insight into the thinking behind the device. The central area on the "back" of the device(where the logo sits) is the UMD disk drive. It's hard to tell from these images were the memory stick slot would be placed.

The official prototype won't be seen until E3 2004, so it's safe to assume that many design elements will change between now and then. But we think Sony is definately on the right track!

Now do you see what I was talking about here? Go read my responses again now and they might suddenly make sense now... :)

[-_____-]

Originally posted by A Black Falcon

I was just comparing them to the nearly indestructible GB carts. :)

From what i understand they're gonna be discs inside a case that you dont remove...so in a way its like the BG carts, but it has a minidisc inside of it. If im pulling this out of my ass, please, let me know.

[A Black Falcon]

There are pictures of the things at both the link I gave and Magicbox you know. :)

And yes, they do have a kind of 'cartridge' over the disc... semitransparent in the pics we've seen so far.

[A Black Falcon]

http://pocket.ign.com/articles/445/445564p1.html

Hmm, I don't know what to think...

Oh yeah, except this -- if the PSP honestly does compare nicely with the PS2 (but with only 8mb of RAM), then your protests that it won't be a PS2-In-A-Box with 95% ports will prove false.

[OB1]

I seriously doubt it'll be as powerful as the PS2. These gaming companies always overhype their consoles. Well, except for Nintendo with the GC.

[A Black Falcon]

That's what they are saying, though... and they're telling game companies to make games with under that assumption... though I agree, it'll probably end up not as powerful. But that still won't stop ports.

[OB1]

Even if it were as powerful as a PS2... only 8 megs of ram?

[A Black Falcon]

Sony is brilliant! So much RAM, they're true innovators...

Oh wait, this is 2003 we're talking about, not 1993, sorry... :D

[alien space marine]

Sony is the best for blowing it ,

[A Black Falcon]

And selling it anyway because of marketing, forcing people to develop for bad hardware as their main platform.

[OB1]

Yet they're still number one. And why is that? Superior marketing and the best third-party support.

[A Black Falcon]

Isn't that what I said?

[OB1]

Not really.

[A Black Falcon]

Yes it is!