PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable, officially known as the PSP, is a not yet released handheld game console by Sony Computer Entertainment. The PSP was unveiled during E3 2004 on May 11th, 2004 at a Sony press conference.
The PSP features 32 MB of main memory, and provides rich storage options by supporting Sony Memory Sticks(PRO Duo) and "Universal Media Discs" instead of cartridges. With USB 2.0 and Memory Stick support onboard, Sony has created a portable sporting enough connectivity to serve as a portable music and video player as well as games machine.
The PSP is expected to cost around $200 when released in North America, although Sony has not released any official pricing details. In mid-September, Sony still refused to give a price for the PSP, saying they wanted to first gauge reaction at the Tokyo Game Show. Some retailers expect a price of about 30,000 yen ($271). SCEE's Chris Deering has stated it will be "closer to "£200 than £300", which would be anything up to £249. Traditionally that would translate to a US price of $200-$249 (XBox and PS2 UK/US launch prices: £299 and $299). The official release dates are late 2004 in Japan, March 2005 in North America and Europe, and mid 2005 in South Korea.
Games
A variety of first- and third-party games are in development. See the "List of PlayStation Portable games" for a comprehensive list. The PSP's inputs are geared for gaming rather than multimedia, with two shoulder buttons (triggers), the iconic PlayStation face buttons, a digital directional pad, and an analogue input. There is also a panel of secondary controls, for volume, display, and multimedia, along the underside of the screen (see image).
The PSP's analogue input is apparently not a traditional stick, but a sliding flat panel; its odd placement had lead most to believe it was a speaker. Concerns exist regarding the practicality of the input (its position makes it very much secondary to the directional pad), although reports from the Electronic Entertainment Expo and Tokyo Game Show have been largely positive.
Multimedia
The PSP will be capable of playing movie and audio files from the UMD disk format. Sony is reportedly in talks with various studios with regards to producing their content on UMDs; Sony Pictures and Sony Music's formidable back catalogues are likely to appear on the system at or soon after launch.
Video and audio files will also be playable from Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Duo PRO memory cards. Sony's recent company-wide policy change has meant that the PSP will support MP3 (but not AAC, also known as M4a) in addition to Sony's own ATRAC for audio. In a surprisingly uncommercial move, it's been confirmed that AVC video files will be playable from memory sticks, with Sony considering providing PC software to convert other files into the format; it had been expected that video would only be playable from UMD to improve software sales. The unit will also display JPEG images. In order to transfer files to the system, it must be connected to a PC via the USB port; the memory stick in the PSP is made available as a generic mass storage device.
Networking
Wi-Fi support allows the PSP to connect to wireless networks, other PSP units, and according to several industry insiders, Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3. It has been suggested that the PSP could link to the PS2 through its USB port. With some games (such as Gran Turismo 4 and Armored Core: Formula Front) appearing on both formats, this could provide functionality similar to the links between GameCube and Gameboy Advance titles. However, no developers have announced such connectivity.
Peripherals like a USB Camera , GPS attachment, and headphones with lanyard are expected.
Power
One of the main concerns regarding the PSP during its development has been that of battery life. The system is one of the first disk-based handheld games consoles, and has high hardware specifications. Sony's apparent reluctance to release solid figures has only aggravated matters. The only actual figures available are an eight-hour battery life for music playback, and a two-hour battery life for movie playback, with games supposedly varying between the two extremes depending on factors such as the amount of disk access and Wi-Fi useage. Sony are reportedly under pressure from movie distributors to increase the battery life for movie playback.
It has been confirmed that the PSP's battery will be removable for replacement by the end-user. This may be a response to the criticisms which the Apple iPod has recieved regarding its battery.
Official Specifications
These specifications were released by Sony Computer Entertainment America in a press release release dated May 11th, 2004.
PSP Console
- Product Name: PlayStation Portable (PSP)
- Color: Black
- Dimensions: Approx. 170 mm (L) x 74 mm (W) x 23 mm (D)
- Weight: Approx. 260 g (including battery)
- CPU: PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1~333MHz)
- Main Memory: 32MB
- Embedded DRAM: 4MB
- Display:
- Speakers: Built-in stereo speakers
- Main Input/Output:
- IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi)
- USB 2.0 (Target)
- Memory Stick™ PRO Duo
- IrDA
- IR Remote (SIRCS)
- Disc Drive: UMD Drive (Playback only)
- Profile: see below
- Main Connectors:
- DC IN 5V
- Terminals for charging built-in battery
- Headphone/Microphone/Control connector
- Keys/Switches:
- Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
- Analog pad
- Enter keys (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
- Left, Right keys
- START, SELECT, HOME
- POWER On/Hold/Off switch
- Brightness control, Sound Mode, Volume +/-
- Wireless LAN On/Off switch
- UMD Eject
- Power: Built-in lithium-ion battery, AC adaptor
- Access Control: Region Code, Parental Control
- Accessories:
Universal Media Disc
Specifications for the Universal Media Disc were released simultaneously.
- Dimensions: Approx. 65 mm (W) x 64 mm (D) x 4.2 mm (H)
- Weight: Approx. 10 g
- Disc Diameter: 60 mm
- Maximum Capacity: 1.8GB (Single-sided, dual layer)
- Laser wavelength: 660nm (Red laser)
- Encryption: AES 128bit
- Profile:
- PSP Game (full function)
- UMD Audio (codec ATRAC3plus™, PCM, (MPEG4 AVC))
- UMD Video (codec MPEG4 AVC, ATRAC3plus™, Caption PNG)
Unofficial Specifications
These are unofficial specifications reported by PSP.ign.com.
PSP Media Engine
- MIPS R4000 32bit Core
- 128 bit Bus
- 1 - 333 MHz @ 1.2V
- Sub Memory: 2 MB(eDRAM) @ 2.6 GB/s
- I-Cache, D-Cache
- 90nm CMOS-
PSP Graphics Core 1
- 3D Curved Surface + 3D Polygon
- Compressed Texture
- Hardware Clipping, Morphing, Bone(8)
- Hardware Tessellator
- [[B%e9zier_curve|Bezier]], B-Spline(NURBS)
- ex 4x4, 16x16, 64x64 sub-division
PSP Graphics Core 2
- 'Rendering Engine' + 'Surface Engine'
- 256 bit Bus, 1-166 MHz @ 1.2 V
- VRAM: 2 MB (eDRAM)
- Bus Bandwidth: 5.3 GB/s
- Pixel Fill Rate: 664 M pixels/s
- max 33 M polygon/s (T&L)
- 24bit Full Color:RGBA
PSP Sound Core: VME
- Reconfigurable DSPs
- 128 bit Bus
- 166 MHz @1.2V
- 5 giga operations/s
- CODEC
- 3D Sound, Multi-Channel
- Synthesizer, Effecter, etc
AVC Decoder
- AVC(H.264) Decoder
- Main Profile
- Baseline Profile
- @Level1,Level2,Level3
- 2 Hours (High Quality) - DVD movie
- 4 Hours (Standard Quality) - CS Digital
UMD (Universal Media Disc)
- Transfer Rate: 11Mbps
- Shock Proof
- Unique Disc ID
See also
External Links
- Console Database - Info on both the official and unofficial PSP consoles as well as where to buy it.
- Sony takes on GameBoy, from CNN/Money 14 May 2003
- PSPInsider.com
- PSP.ign.com: The PSP FAQ
- SCEA PSP Specifications press release
- PSP Info and Pictures
- PSP Discussion Board