Hands-On with the PSP

Knight-Dragon

Knight-Dragon

Unhidden Dragon
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http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05/12/news_6097775.html

Sony's new portable appears on the E3 show floor.
Officially unveiled at Sony's E3 press conference yesterday, the PSP is the company's upcoming handheld system. You've certainly read about the specs and seen the videos by now, but now we've actually laid our hands on the new device. Read on for more details.

It's worth saying up front that there aren't any actual playable PSP games on display at E3. Most of the kiosks in Sony's roped-off area are running noninteractive demos. The lone exceptions are Metal Gear Acid and Tales of Eternia from Konami and Namco, respectively. But even these demos don't really qualify as gameplay, as MG Acid merely gives you some basic camera control, and Tales of Eternia is limited to walking or running your character through town and talking to villagers.

Interesting to note is that the device does, in fact, have an analog pad on it. The small disc just below the D pad, once thought to be a speaker, is the PSP's analog pad. It slides around fairly smoothly and, unlike the analog pads on the PS2, can't be pushed in for a button press. The D pad and the system's six main buttons--four on the face and two on the shoulders--are digital buttons. There are also a collection of system control buttons just below the screen, giving you volume control. There is also a "home" button here, leading one to believe that the PSP may have some sort of front-end outside of a game's main menu.

The system's screen is very bright and very clear, making it a nice way to show off the demos currently on display. The system is wide, but not very much wider than, say, the original Game Boy Advance. Though no specifics have been decided in regard to system colors, several different PSP units are on display, including a white unit, some units with Ratchet & Clank decals, and so on.

Examples of UMD discs are also on display. The tops of the discs are every bit as colorful as current PlayStation 2 discs, and the casing that houses the discs looks like it will guard the game discs against scratching. Though Sony wasn't able to demo the disc insertion process for us, it sounds like the back of the unit will open up to reveal a disc slot. A slider on the top of the system, marked "open," will open up the disc slot. Examples of disc packaging were also on display, though nothing has been finalized at this time.

Though interactive contact with the PSP is currently limited, the system has a pretty good feel to it. Expect more on PSP software from E3.
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Games for the PSP...

"Koei: Strategy Game (tentative name), simulation" - Can this be a... Romance game? :jump:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05/12/news_6097859.html

Sony's new handheld will launch with strong support from the developer community and a large catalog at home.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has followed up yesterday's unveiling of the PSP with a press release on its Japanese Web site that lists developers supporting the platform and the PSP games being released in Japan. All told, the list covers 99 firms in Japan, the US, Europe, and Korea and 45 titles for the Japanese market.

JAPANESE GAMES (sorted by publisher)
Capcom: Vampire Chronicle (tentative name), fighting
Capcom: Devil May Cry Series, action
Capcom: Viewtiful Joe Series, action
Genki: Tokyo Freeway Battle, race
Koei: Shin Sangoku Muso (tentative name), action
Koei: Strategy Game (tentative name), simulation
Koei: Table Game (tentative name), table
Konami: Ys: Ark of Napishtim (tentative name), action RPG
Konami: Sports game: soccer (tentative name), soccer
Konami: Sports game: baseball (tentative name), baseball
Konami: Mahjong Challenge Club, table
Konami: Meikyu Tansaku Gata Monster Shooting (tentative name), FPS
Konami computer Entertainment Japan: Metal Gear Acid (tentative name), TBA
Cyberfront: Koron, puzzle/action
Success: Kumo no Furaibo, communication/adventure
Success: Mah Meito, table
Success: Zooo, puzzle
Square Enix: TBA, TBA
Sega: Puyo Puyo Fever, action puzzle
Sega: Project S (tentative name), TBA
Sony Computer Entertainment: Gran Turismo 4 Mobile (tentative name), driving and "car life simulation"
Sony Computer Entertainment: Sarugetchu (tentative name), action -
Sony Computer Entertainment: Tenken Chimon (tentative name), action RPG
Sony Computer Entertainment: Together Everywhere (tentative name), chatting game
Sony Computer Entertainment: Minna no Golf (a.k.a. Hot Shots Golf in the U.S.; tentative name), golf
Taito: Puzzle Bobble, puzzle
Tomi: Action Game, action
Dorasu: Dorasu Slots, pachinko simulation
Now Production: Intelligent License (tentative name), puzzle quiz
Now Production: Onryo no Mura (tentative name), horror adventure
Namco: T.O.E. (tentative name), RPG
Namco: New Ridge Racer (tentative name), racing
Namco: New Puzzle Game (tentative name), puzzle
Nihonichi Software: Devil Wars (Japanese name "Makkai Wars"), simulation RPG
Hudson: Tengai Makyo Series (tentative name), Japanese-style RPG
Hudson: Bomberman Series (tentative name), action
Hudson: The Tower of Purgatory (tentative name), SF action RPG
Bandai: Gagarve (tentative name), RPG
Bandai: Mobile Suit Gundam (tentative name), TBA
Banpresto: Super Robot Wars (tentative name), TBA
From Software: AC Formula Front, mech simulation
Yuke's: Pro Wrestling (tentative name), sports
Work Jam: Tantei Shinguji Santarou, adventure

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPERS (By Region) Japan (34 firms):
Idea Factory
Atlas
SNK Playmore
MTO
Electronic Arts K.K.
Gust
Capcom
Genki
Koei
Konami K.K.
Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Konami Computer Entertainment Studio
Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
Cyberfront
Success
Sammy
Square Enix
Spike
Sega
Taito
Tecmo
Dimps
Tomy
Dorasu
Now Production
Namco
Nihonichi Software
Hudson
Bandai
Banpresto
From Software
Marvelous Interactive
Yuke's
Work Jam

US (24 firms)
Activision
Atari
Backbone Entertainment
Bethesda Softworks
EIDOS
Electronic Arts
Factor 5
InXile
Konami Hawaii
LucasArts
Majesco
Midway Games
Namco Hometek
Radical Entertainment
Rockstar Games/Take 2
Saffire
SEGA of America
Snowblind
Sony Online Entertainment
Surreal Software
THQ
Ubisoft
Vicarious Visions

Europe (31 firms)
Acclaim Entertainment
Activision UK
Argonaut Games
Atari Group
BLITZ GAMES
Broadsword Interactive
Codemasters Software Company
Criterion Software
Driver-Inter
Eidos Interactive
Eko Software S.A.R.L
Engine Software BV
Eurocom Entertainmetn Software
Full Fat Productions Limited
Hothouse Creations
Icon Games
Ignition Entertainmentt
Kuju Entertainment
Pocket Studios
Publishing Identity Svenska
Rebellion Developments
Revolution Software Limited
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Leeds
Sidhe Interactive
Tantalus Interactive
Team 17 Software Limited
Torus Games
Ubisoft Entertainment
Visual Impact BVBA
Warthog

Korea (10 firms)
Axis Entertainment
Cinepix
Coong Entertainment
Expotato Corp.
Lions Logics
Neowiz Corp
NEXON Corporation
SEED9 Entertainment
Skonec Entertainment
Zepetto Studios
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Hey Floppa, check this out. :D

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/strategy/metalgearsolid/preview_6097774.html

Though there aren't any actual playable PSP games here at E3, Sony is showing off plenty of game demos at its booth, including Konami's new Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Acid. While the demo isn't very long at all, it does reveal a few tidbits about its gameplay.

The largest revelation to come out of this demo is that Metal Gear Acid isn't an action adventure game like its predecessors. Instead, the game is a turn-based tactical strategy game, with what appears to be some card-battle-like mechanics mixed in. You'll move Snake a certain number of squares around a map as you try to sneak up behind guards and take them out.

The cards are, essentially, your weapons. We saw cards for most of the standard Metal Gear weapons, including silenced rifles, claymores, and the like. The turn-based game also gives you some other options, such as the ability to crouch out of sight, knock on walls, and so on. When your turn ends, the screen moves around to the enemy soldiers on the map, giving them each a turn to act. Actions like moving and putting certain weapons into play have a cost associated with them, limiting the number of actions you can take during one turn.

Graphically, Metal Gear Acid looks pretty sharp for a portable game. The demo gets up close and personal with the models for Snake and the genome soldiers he attempts to eliminate, and the models look good, even at close range. The demo is slightly interactive, but it only lets you control the camera during the action instead of letting you control any of the happenings in the game.

Metal Gear Acid seems to be an interesting change of pace for the series, and it will certainly be interesting to see how this game comes together over time.
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All I can say... Wow! :D :jump:

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/finalfantasyviiadventchildren/news_6076405.html

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Backgrounder

Details on Square Enix's upcoming CG movie appear in the Japanese press. Here's what we know.

The first news of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, an upcoming CG movie using characters from the franchise's first appearance, was revealed at a Square Enix press conference during the most recent Tokyo Game Show.

This week, additional information on the game was publicized.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will take place two years after the original PlayStation Final Fantasy VII game. The world looks to be peaceful, having avoided destruction, but inhabitants have begun suffering a new physical malaise called Seikon-Shoukougun.

Cloud has been living alone up to this point. While Sephiroth was seen in promotional footage at the Tokyo Game Show, it is not known if he has been resurrected or if his appearance was a dramatization from Cloud's past.

Two mysterious characters are seen in Advent Children--one is a gray-haired man in a tight black costume (actually seen fighting duels with Cloud during various promotional events at TGS). Another mysterious character is covered in white linen from head to toe, seen sitting in a wheelchair. No hints have been given as to who this character is.

The game's creative staff is listed as the following:

Director: Tetsuya Nomura (Final Fantasy VII character designer, Kingdom Hearts director)
Co-Director: Takeshi Nozue (Final Fantasy IX CG designer, Final Fantasy X animation director)
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase (Final Fantasy X director)
Co-Producer: Shinji Hashimoto (Final Fantasy VIII producer)
Script Writer: Kazunari Nojima (Final Fantasy X script writer)
Art Director: Yusuke Naora (Final Fantasy X art director)
Music Composition: Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy series music composer)
Mech and Creature Design: Takayuki Takeya (Anime "Heat Guy J" mech designer, freelance figure artist)

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is scheduled for release in the summer of 2004.
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Another hands-on, fr IGN...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/514/514135p1.html

E3 2004: PSP Hands-On
It's playable on the floor. Shock of shocks.

May 12, 2004 - After Sony's "Let's watch a movie on our cool new gaming handheld!" conference, we were a little worried about the state of development of the PSP. The portable platform was a showcase of the conference, and many game videos were displayed, but nothing too interactive was running yesterday.

And then, bam -- it's here, it's pretty much playable, and it's already well on its way to making its impact on the handheld market.
With two rolling interactive demos and a PSP gameplay demo, Sony unveiled the PSP the way we've been waiting for. Not much gameplay was there to be seen at the PSP arena, set off to the front corner of the show, but what was there was actual in-game material (unless the show floor walls that the PSP was bolted into contained dev kit servers throwing out simple video feed, but to be honest, the state of the PSP demos led us to believe that a dev kit would be on a different level with the unoptimized early code), and it gave us a feel for how things will work.

First things first -- no more glossing over details or going off of best word from the press sheet ... that little nub in the lower left corner of the system is an analog controller. It is not a trackpoint-type pointer, as some had guessed (OK, I had guessed), but an actual analog switch. It's got a good deal of give and, although it looks awkwardly placed, the heavy ergonomics of the system may end up having you hold the system in a way that this is actually comfortable. In our hands-on, with a unit bolted into the booth, we were not able to wrap our hands fully around the unit, but we were able to get enough of a feel to say that Sony wasn't crazy when they put one of the most vital inputs for the handheld in an odd spot in the corner. It actually felt right.

Second, lay your fears regarding the directional pad to rest for now -- it feels very, very nice. The rounded corners, recessed center, and separate-but-connected button feel of this pad is actually quite a bit friendlier than the current DualShock. It moved smooth, it was tough to slip off the edges, it felt friendly to fighters (a very good thing, since Capcom has already announced one of its 2D fighter franchises with Darkstalkers Chronicle.) Even the playable game demo was not one to make much use of the analog features (the analog stick was not active), so we weren't able to tell whether the buttons had any extra sensitivity like the DualShock2 (and since Sony's press release makes no mention of such a feature, we'll say now that it doesn't.) Button placement for the Triangle-Circle-Cross-Square buttons was also comfortable. This should make for a nice game pad.

What we're not so sure of so far is the placement and feel of the top triggers. As with the GBA and GBA SP, a solution for triggers isn't as obvious as it seems since you need to hold a portable and support the screen at a different angle than a typical game controller. Without being able to get a full feel for the weight and angle of play, we'll just say that it looks to be that the buttons will be about as awkward and tiring as the GBA series -- not terribly so, but certain hand sizes will have trouble with it, and cramping may be a problem any way you face it with games heavily dependent on these buttons. Also, the triggers look to be the only place Sony caved in to form over function -- the buttons are made out of a clear, hard plastic, raised at a somewhat sharp plastic. It could well be that these were just preliminary button plastics, but this is meant to be the actual unit we'll be playing later in the year (...if you're an import gamer -- otherwise, think 2005 unless something drastic changes.)

The TFT screen that composes the bulk of the unit is crisp and beautiful -- evenly lit across the handhold platform. On the video-out, you could see some of the artifacts of the image (although a good deal of that is rendered by the scanline duping of the video output from the PSP model), but on the machine, games looked well-rendered and clean. Gameplay quality will again depend, just like on PS2, on the engine and the type of game being played -- lush outdoor detail and smooth surfaces tend to come across a lot better than harsh, contrasted images, and before the crybabies complain that nobody told them games would be like this, we'll say it now: some times, you will see aliasing on PSP. However, the small screen and accurate detail make for a much cleaner image, so even the edging seen on some straight corners and lines is so small, you'll actually have to be looking for it to see it. The shimmering on the grass texture in Hot Shots Gold, for example, was more smooth than the jaggy PS2 version.

Now that we've gotten our grubby hands on the system, everything looks to be smooth sailing for the handheld unit. A quick fix of the triggers is hopefully in order, but otherwise, this was a fun little unit to hold. Look for more impressions soon.
Click to expand...
 
Some specs...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/513/513479p1.html

E3 2004: Sony Officially Unveils the PSP
System images, detailed information, and more from Sony's slick portable.

May 11, 2004 - To say that Sony's PlayStation Portable handheld system dominated the company's E3 2004 press conference would be an understatement. Officially unveiled approximately 20 minutes into the presentation, the new game system was a big hit with the crowd and finally answered several of questions that most of us have been asking in the year since the hardware was first announced.

Scheduled to be launched in Japan at the end of the year (North America and Europe get it in the spring of 2005), The PSP is available in PlayStation 2 black with a 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD display that boasts over 16.7 million colors and a resolution of 480x272. Dimensionally, its numbers are 170mm x 74mm x 23mm with a weight of 260 grams. Basic portable functions like built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector, brightness control and sound mode selectors are among the lineup of features, and the buttons mirror that of a PlayStation 2 controller almost exactly (Square, Triangle, X, and Circle face buttons, a digital pad, start, select, and an analog thumb stick populate the face, with two shoulder buttons on the top).

Additionally, the new system comes standard with USB 2.0 and 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless LAN connectors that allow for multiple PSPs to be simultaneously connected to one another. Data and software can then be downloaded either by using the wireless LAN connections or through the use of a Memory Stick Pro Duo. The PSP also adopts the small high-capacity optical medium Universal Media Disc, the UMD. This format not only allows for 1.8 GB of space, it also provides an extremely versatile format for games, music, and video. The press conference demo showed off the trailer for Spider-Man 2 (the movie not the game) as well as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children which is coming to both the DVD and UMD formats. To protect the content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, a 128 bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware unit.
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I really feel odd saying this to a mod, but this really should have been in the E3 2004 thread... :ack:

Anyway, the PSP looks awesome in terms of looks, graphics, and specs. Games? Not so much, most seem to me to be PS2 ports, other than the new Metal Gear Card-Based game (not a bad thing, mind you).

But there are two major flaws that I think will most likely keep me from possibily getting this:
1) Battery Life. A direct quote from Sony Entertainment of America CEO Kaz Hirai:

So, what is the battery life going to be on PlayStation Portable? It will be on par with traditional handheld systems, or approximately 10 hours. It is comparable to an ATC [ATRAC] portable music player, or approximately 8 hours. Or, it will be comparable to portable DVD players, which, in many cases, is about 2 and a half hours.
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Source: http://psp.ign.com/articles/513/513734p1.html

Hmm... 2.5 - 10 hours? Makes no sense to me. I'm *guessing* that games will have about 8-10 hours of battery life and DVDs take about 2.5 hours of battery life. Given the new *cough* FFVII "movie" I think that will be a problem. Well, it's no worse than the FFVII mobile phone game... :crazyeye:

2) Cost. Everything concerning the costs of the two are going to be purely speculation at this point. But most people are guessing about $250 for the PSP and maybe $150 for the DS. One thing I know for sure is that the DS will be cheaper than the PSP, as Reggie said himself that another strong point of the DS is that it will be at an "affordable price."

As of right now, it looks like DS will be released in both American and Japan this FALL. I actually don't know when the PSP will be released, but I think I recall it will debut in Japan this fall and US release will be later, but I'm not sure.
 
Silverflame said:
But there are two major flaws that I think will most likely keep me from possibily getting this:
1) Battery Life. A direct quote from Sony Entertainment of America CEO Kaz Hirai:

Source: http://psp.ign.com/articles/513/513734p1.html

Hmm... 2.5 - 10 hours? Makes no sense to me. I'm *guessing* that games will have about 8-10 hours of battery life and DVDs take about 2.5 hours of battery life. Given the new *cough* FFVII "movie" I think that will be a problem. Well, it's no worse than the FFVII mobile phone game... :crazyeye:

2) Cost. Everything concerning the costs of the two are going to be purely speculation at this point. But most people are guessing about $250 for the PSP and maybe $150 for the DS. One thing I know for sure is that the DS will be cheaper than the PSP, as Reggie said himself that another strong point of the DS is that it will be at an "affordable price."

As of right now, it looks like DS will be released in both American and Japan this FALL. I actually don't know when the PSP will be released, but I think I recall it will debut in Japan this fall and US release will be later, but I'm not sure.
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I have the fullest confidence Sony will rectify the problems. There's time yet - we'll see.

Even if it's more expensive or out later, I'll probably still go for it, if it has my type of games. :D
 
XIII said:
I have the fullest confidence Sony will rectify the problems. There's time yet - we'll see.

Even if it's more expensive or out later, I'll probably still go for it, if it has my type of games. :D
Click to expand...

Probably, although Sony has a habit of making things look better than they actually are. The specs of the PSP are actually half as much as they said last year. For the PSX, they cut out like half the abilities it could do right before launch, which might be one reason why it completely flopped.

And you seem to have an endless pile of cash for games, so I can see why cost wouldn't affect you. :p
 
Silverflame said:
I really feel odd saying this to a mod, but this really should have been in the E3 2004 thread... :ack:
Click to expand...
Oh, what spam! ;)

Deffinately the PSP for me after reading this thread. I wasn't sure when I posted in the DSP thread but if KOEI is making a strat game, I am there. I just hope it doesn't have a horrible story like Mystic Warriors. KOEI needs to stick to strat games or at least hire an American firm for the sotry of a game they plan on releasing in America.
 
KOEI did fairly well in action games too - hceck out their Dynasty Warrior games. :D

I hope the mysterious strat game will be a sequel to Nobunaga's Ambition, or some other old classic. The Romance line is getting a little tiring... :lol:
 
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