Sony’s E3 conference in Los Angeles has drawn to a close, and naturally the talk post-event is focussing on the release of first solid details on its handheld, PSP – what it looks like and what’s on it, and the like.
The machine itself looks very similar to the concept models that have been floating around for a few months. Measuring 170mm by 74mm by 23mm, the PSP weighs in at 260 grams, features a wide, high-quality 16:9 screen measuring 480 by 272 pixels and has a button configuration lifted straight from the Dual Shock controller.
As well as Start/Select buttons, there’s also a Home button (nope, we’ve no idea what that’s for, but we thought we’d mention it as it’s a little unusual), plus there’s a Wireless LAN on/off switch and a UMD Disc Eject Button. Sony plans the release the PSP only in black, but presumably at some point we’ll witness the arrival of a number of wacky-coloured limited edition models.
Additionally, packed in is a brightness control, external stereo speakers, an exterior headphone connector and sound mode selection. PSP is USB 2.0 compatible, and capacity of the UMD Discs for the device is 1.8Gb. 32Mb of memory is accompanied by 4Mb of embedded DRAM and wireless connectivity comes via Wi-Fi 802.11b.
We have to say that PSP’s screen is going to be pretty handy for watching movies, although claimed battery life for films is only 2.5 hours. When playing games, you’ll get 10 hours out of the little beast.
Source : PCPro
Submitted By: svenkat83 Games-wise, Sony showed a number of titles at the conference. Not quite on a par with PS2 visuals but still looking sweet were (and with the Japanese giant banging on about interoperability with PS2 games, expect to see loads of big-name franchise extensions. Metal Gear? We wouldn’t be surprised):
* Hot Shots Golf
* Death Jr.
* Ape Escape
* Wipeout
* an F1 title
* a Frogger-style title
* an ATV title
* an Ice Hockey title
* Spider-Man 2
* Rebirth of Medieval
* Dynasty Warriors (well, a Koei game anyway)
* Ridge Racer
* Tony Hawk.
Sony went on to confirm that it’s iTunes-style Connect download service was in the pipeline, stating that this would arrive in the US first but provided no launch date. PSP’s Memory Stick PRO Duo is the storage device for downloaded software and data.
Mention was also made of a number of peripherals for PSP, including a USB camera, GSP add-on, USB keyboard, a stand, a headphone with remote, a headphone with remote and microphone, an external battery pack, case and strap and probably a cuddly toy. Regional encoding and parental control is also in place.
Sony stated that it expects PSP to launch in Japan at the end of 2004, among the expected launch titles being NBA Street, NFL Street, Tiger Woods and NFS: Underground. North America and PAL territories can expect the handheld to arrive in Q1 2005, while Korea gets it mid 2005.
