Sony's thinner, lighter PSP first hands-on
By Ryan Block 
posted July 11th 2007 4:37PM
posted July 11th 2007 4:37PM
posted July 11th 2007 4:37PM
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If Sony added a 2nd analog stick for FPS games, then I would definately trash my old PSP for this. Life continues to disappoint.
I had an impossible time with handcramps playing my psp. I dont have massive meat paws either. So slimmer and smaller? Do they want us to NOT play the thing?
They should come out with a "two-thumbstick" version of the PSP. Then people like me would actually go out and buy another PSP, give their old one to someone else -- would would then feel compelled to spend money on games. Everyone wins.
Any improvement on load times, or are they still unbearable?
"Considering that the manufacturing of a piece of film-coated plastic disc is generally much cheaper than silicon memory, they really could have pushed UMD as a form of floppy disc replacement. Whether it could successfully compete with USB memory, (re)writeable DVDs and simple network transfer, all depends on how cheap and how ubiquitous they push the format."
They actually tried this in a way. Hi-MD. It's an evolution of Minidiscs that gives you 1GB of space on a single ~$6 disc. It was too little too late. It works well enough (just pop a disc into your Hi-MD compatible Minidisc recorder, and plug it into you PC and BAM, connected, just like a flash disk. But as you might guess, Sony f'd it up again.
You still had to use Sonic Stage to put music on them, there was no native (internal)PC drive available, and being 'floptical' technology they were fairly slow as far as far as read/write times went.
Sony had basicaly made all these same mistakes before with 2 generations of Minidics, but had the opurtunity to NOT repeat these mistakes when they introduced UMDs. The fact that they made the same mistakes with UMDs as they did with MDs pretty well shows they will likely NEVER change their ways. There's just too much pressure from Sony's media divisions (music/movies) to 'protect' their IP for Sony's products to ever reach their full potential...the technology will always be crippled by the business...
Within another year 2GB flash disks will probably be under $10. Hi-MD (which I actually think was a really cool product in concept) and UMDs won't have a chance once that happens...
Add a phone, a camera and a second mem slot and I am in - again.
Is that Ryan Block's hand?
Why didn't they fix the D-pad? Or the general control lay-out?
Most uncomfortable handheld I've ever used.
and make it $600.00...
Uhh... it dosen't look different.
plus sony should be showing the PSP2 soon, not a rebuild.
just curious ? what should sony replace umds with ????
I thought they said, "Once you go black you never go back"? I don't like the white plastic look!!
what the hell kind of 'hands on is this?' how about telling us any of the follow:
do the buttons feel better/different, is the d pad more comfortable, does the nubstick feel easier to use, etc.
I bet they followed SE's stupid idea and replaced it with the m2 stick and stuck it behind the battery.
Why is everyone wining about the UMD format? Nintendo is using proprietary cartridges and nobody is complaining about that. What difference does it make what media is used, it's the content that counts. With about 5 really good games out, it's easy to carry your favourites around. I would love to have the problem of too many games but I guess it's not going to happen on the PSP. The analog stick should be redesigned because it's really giving me thumbcramps.
Every is upset because the UMD format and sony in general had a truly unique oportunity to do something extraordinarily special with the PSP. Give me GPS, give me video out, and give me a hard drive and this machine will be truly kick-ass am i right? Please, list any others. And the first two could be easily done with the regular orignal psp's! Come on sony, keep it simple and give the community what it wants!
i dont see a memory stick pro duo slot there?
looks like they took away the infared sensor... put speakers up top...
video connection where is it? hopefully i wont have to buy a freakin 40 dollar cable.
internal memory of at least 1 gig??
built in camera???
faster refresh screen???? so i can actually see what im doing when playing a game.
come on sony!?
hopefully they wont change the price because people arent gonna buy it becuase theyll look at the original one and the new one and be like wtf? whats the difference?
o my god this is what I am waiting for: TV out.
i think i will sell my old ones...
well. will we get a brighter LCD? or....it have been changed to LED?!
a) it doesn't look much smaller, certainly not enough to justify calling it "slim"
b) the D-pad and analog stick remain the same, which is disappointing as they always seem to be a sore spot (literally) for extended play.
c) by all appearances no memory card slot. I can only hope that it is cleverly hidden. Without one, the device has even less usefulness than it previously had.
d) the change in speaker location is appreciated, as sound is likely to be somewhat clearer. Seriously though, the built in speakers suck, and for any serious movie watching or game playing you need headphones. Plus, any old cases are going to block the new speaker holes rendering them near useless.
e) adding new case colors a la Nintendo isn't cutting it. Nintendo has a much lower price point, which might actually entice people to buy a slightly updated version of their handheld platform in a new color. The PSP is too expensive for its heavily restricted use and extremely narrow game selection.
f) MAKE A COVER FOR THE SCREEN
I really wish Sony would just fold up and die already. How can company with this much disregard for what their customers want continue to make money? It's almost as if they actively despise the people who buy their products. Do they really expect people to go out and buy this when older models are available for under $150?
The homebrew/mod community has done more the psp than Sony has. The psp is essentially a dead platform. With no UMD movie titles coming out (and price son existing ones still generally more expensive then they need to be) and game selection as poor as it is, it's time they scrapped this piece of junk.
Microsoft needs to get to work on their Xbox handheld. I really can't see what's holding them back. They certainly have very few technical limitations to overcome, with so much tech at their disposal...
i does have a memory stick slot. Go to my myspace to see the PSP pics http://www.myspace.com/remember_my_ppl
for everybody who thinks theres no memory card slot.. obviously u weren't paying attention to the press conference. the psp package will include a 1gb memory stick.
OMfg... most of what I hear are complaints from ppl who are nintendo fanboys. This thing is thinner like the DSL is compared to the Phat and it got rid of a useless thing (ir port). kinda like how the DSL has a brighter screen compared to the Phat, so you all act as if the DSL was such a revolution. Just appreciate the PSP for what it is, a little better than what it was...
Nice, all we need now is the PSP2
i know, does anyone know what the PSP 2 will look like?
im sure all of us are curious, lol
Looks like they relocated the speakers too! A good replacement for the PSP I just broke... =)
Note to hand model: stop biting your nails, dude.
I don't understand the point of this new PSP at all. Whoever came up with this redesign should be fired immediately!
All the PSP needed to make it a DS, I-Pod, Zune, etc. killer was 3 things.
1. Internal 80gb hard drive
2. Right thumbstick
3. Video Out
So they got 1 out of 3 and it was the least important one.
I don't understand why these big companies can't just make a device that does everything. Why they keep releasing junk after junk that's always missing "that one or 2 things" that keeps it from being the be all end all.
Sony, kill yourselves, now. Thank you.
Wow... a lot of comments and not a lot of common sense...
1) The PSP has close to 300 games in release on the UMD format. There's no way Sony was going to release a PSP without a UMD drive because any new user would have to start from scratch and any existing user wouldn't be able to play their current games.
Would a xx GB hard drive be nice? Sure. But I'm not losing the ability to play my existing games for one.
2) The Memory Stick slot is on the left hand side under a flip cover, just like the current PSP. Whoever took the pictures took 3 shots of the right hand edge and none of the left hand edge. Since we don't see a video out I'm betting that's where it is as well.
3) You don't need dual analog sticks to play good games! Back in 1995 when the original Playstation first came out it had ZERO analog sticks. The Dreamcast only had one analog stick and it had the highest rated game of last generation (Soul Calibur). The Nintendo DS Lite has NO analog sticks.
Alright.. that pisses me off.. alot... i was hoping for a new design.. why would they keep it the same.. i say a pic on google.. just search psp2 and go to the images... the 1st one.... now that would of been an amazing psp2... sony... yet another disapointment
Alright.. that pisses me off.. alot... i was hoping for a new design.. why would they keep it the same.. i say a pic on google.. just search psp2 and go to the images... the 1st one.... now that would of been an amazing psp2... sony... yet another disapointment
wow this is such a fucking monumental let down was expecting alot more in the way of a new design or new features but this is all those "professionals" over at sony come up with wtf?
Be happy with what you get!
like it.
I wouldn't pay more than $79 for it.
The games load slow, aren't very well-rounded, and cost too much for what they are. The screen is too sensitive. The controls suck if your hands aren't dainty.
NOBODY has gotten the portable format down yet. The best ever was the TurboExpress (you could play the same console carts on the go). Since then, instead of being smart and giving us the home experience in a portable, they've decided to make portable "versions" of everything with dumbed-down controls (or gimmick controls, in the case of the DS) or chintzy games.
Look, guys. Give me a portable that lets me play THE EXACT SAME GAMES I'M PLAYING AT HOME when on the go. Not new versions so I have to purchase the game again, but the EXACT same game I purchased for my home console. If I buy a 360 game, for example, I should be able to transfer it to a portable device and play it whenever I want. Same for all the major consoles.
Sony makes us double-dip. Buy it on PS2 and buy it on PSP. Nintendo does the same. The only ones who ever figured out what is best for this sort of device were NEC and Sega (TurboExpress and Nomad) and those were battery-eaters and too expensive for the time.
SOMEBODY please get this right next time! Sony! Nintendo! Microsoft! If you want to have a wildly successful portable, we have to be able to play the SAME MEDIA on the go. Not a new format, not another, smaller disc or a cartridge port of a game on the home console-- THE SAME MEDIA.
I won't bother with a portable until they figure this out. I had them all, and they all disappointed me.
Wasn't that the Nomad and didn't that eat batteries like the Dickens?
I hope Sony does not make any blunders with regards to the reliablity of it's batteries. Just remember Sony made the biggest battery recall in history.
look people dont we all know that the next update is going to provide a chache memory so that when you have to load the second time its already on the psp so it doesnt have to load at all
plus what did the ir port do to begin with i have never used it or was that what i used to trade pictures with i dont think so i dnt know
did you notice that every one who is complaining about the old and the new PSPs ARE NINTENDO DS MANIACS!!!!!!!! APRECIATE WHAT YOU GET!!! i WENT TO DS LINK AND I DIDNT SEE ANYONE COMPLAINING ABOUT THEM!!! CAUSE NO ONE ON THIS PAGE LIKES THE DS. WE DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS SO WE WOULD REALLY APRECIATE IF YOU DIDNT COMPLAIN ABOUT PSPs !!!
...and make sure you turn down the volume of your speakers before you go to that page, lol
People. this might be a little bit off topic, but on my old PSP that i got last year. one full line of pixels burnt out. I still have my warranty activated but the phone # they tell you to call is fake. when you call it. they give you some other # and when you call that one, some porno bullshit is comming up. do any off you have the REAL number? Pleez. while my warranty lasts. i want to exchange my broken PSP for the new(old version)PSP, then sell it on eBay or somewhere for some cash so i can buy that slim one.
please, help me out people. :(
Well they have successfully managed to not fix any of the problems that ruin the PSP. The screen is the same slow one that blurs on the original, the screen also has the same ultra reflective surface that makes the original impossible to play outside and very difficult inside in bright lighting conditions, they have not redesigned the layout to stop my hands hurting (easily the most uncomfortable handheld I have played) and finally they decreased the power usage and also reduced the battery capacity so that is still has the same battery life as the original!