Unspectacular PSP-3001 outed by the FCC

We expect a lot when Sony makes a full point update from the PSP-2001. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case as we thumb through the FCC filing for Sony's newest PSP. Then again, it's being pretty tight-lipped with most of the juicy docs well hidden in support of Sony's request for confidentiality. We can tell you that the FCC's tests were all focused on the 2.4GHz spectrum for the PSP-3001's stated use of 802.11b WiFi (nothing new there) -- no GPS, no 802.11 Draft-n, no Bluetooth. In fact, the schematic used to demonstrate the FCC ID placement looks identical to the existing PSP slim -- no evidence of that rumored mic or redesigned Home button. Guess we'll have to wait for this one to walk through the system a bit. Nevertheless, fanboys rejoice, PSP-3001 is real and this close to a formal announcement. See the label placement pic after the break.

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 1:19AM]

So long as they release some sort of mega battery for this like they did with the PSP-2001 (now stupidly discontinued), they just may have me ready to fork up some cash.

Of course they'll need to release a port of PRYZM: The Dark Unicorn for the system first.

I beat that game, by the way. No lie. Great voice acting.

...

: )

[Tonicboy @ Aug 14th 2008 1:22AM]

Holy geez, I can't believe they put the label there. What the hell were they thinking? That's the same place the label was at in the original fat PSP. Where the innovation, people?!?!

[~~Tito~~ @ Aug 14th 2008 2:45AM]

Oh noez! Whats next! Same warranty sticker!

[Sohip @ Aug 14th 2008 3:25AM]

No competence...No innovation
so sad :(

[neofolklore @ Aug 14th 2008 8:54AM]

so sad
so sony



just wanted to complete the slogan you were writing

[xavi @ Aug 14th 2008 1:23AM]

Instead of this we need PSP2!

[gabe @ Aug 14th 2008 1:25AM]

seriously - the psp 1 is a failure with dark alex and free games - and homebrew

be like the nintendo ds

[Colin Potter @ Aug 14th 2008 1:55AM]

the PSP is far better than the DS... unless you like blowing into the tiny built in mic to boost your hovercraft in Diddy Kong Racing, but that aint for me.

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 2:12AM]

@Colin Potter

Yeah. I prefer atrocious load times and Twisted Metal games.

:-|

[gabe @ Aug 14th 2008 2:12AM]

well really give it a go - the games are far better.

- just being unbiased here.

[Colin Potter @ Aug 14th 2008 2:20AM]

I've played my brother's and the only game I would like to see on the PSP is that guitar hero one... on tour or whatever... they could make it work probably

[livefire @ Aug 14th 2008 2:28AM]

Have you ever tried a PSP? They are alot better

[gabe @ Aug 14th 2008 2:35AM]

yes - the games are too involving.

i liked the gta's - hate the analog controls -

hmm - i did like syphon filter 2 - tekken was good - but again the games get old quick.

i have every good game - patapon was a bit overrated IMO - and what the fuk - God of war was BORING!

DS? tetris ds, mario kart ds, osu #$# 1 & 2, pictocross, trauma center 1 & 2, phoenix wright, warioware, professor layton, zelda, brain academy, etc. I can keep mother f'ing going....

[hiko36 @ Aug 14th 2008 2:53AM]

My roommate, who absolutely hates video games, plays God Of War constantly. He even makes little giggly, school girl sounds when he cuts somethings head off.

[deyanimay @ Aug 14th 2008 5:25AM]

@Dan Halen

Use custom firmware and make an iso of your game to run straight fro the ms, it will be a lot faster.

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 9:59AM]

@deyanimay

That's a hack, though. That isn't the system itself, it's you putting in time and effort to improve upon the system. Not really a fair comparison.

[Josh @ Aug 14th 2008 11:50AM]

The DS owns PSP's ass on homebrew, to be perfectly honest.

[Calvin @ Aug 14th 2008 1:25AM]

Hm, I was expecting something more different.

Guess I'll be sticking with my 2001.

[Nacho @ Aug 14th 2008 1:46AM]

I'd imagine this is nothing more than a PSP Slim that is impervious to the pandora battery hack.

They gotta at least make an attempt to put their finger in the dike.

[hiko36 @ Aug 14th 2008 2:14AM]

Gross... just... gross...

[The Little Dutch Boy @ Aug 14th 2008 7:33AM]

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/little_dutch_boy.html

[ZeroCorpse @ Aug 14th 2008 11:45AM]

Dike: A structure, usually a wall, which holds back water.

Dyke: A slang term for a butch lesbian.


The more you know...

[The Beef Machine (lala lala la) @ Aug 15th 2008 2:34AM]

... the easier it is to distinguish between your aunt and your mother!

[Colin Potter @ Aug 14th 2008 1:54AM]

Sooooo glad I didn't have money to replace my PSP with the one that comes bundled with Madden, I was waiting til payday, but now I'll wait for this bad boy!

[Aggierandy @ Aug 14th 2008 1:59AM]

Ok improvements that aren't out of the question, R2 and L2 buttons, clickable analog stick(s) (L3) A second analog stick. Abandonment of UMD for a flash alternative with faster load. Touchscreen?

Just some thoughts. They'll throw in the touchscreen just to compete with the DS a la the motion sensing 6 axis knockoff of the wiimote.

Or i'm completely wrong

[Chris Dunning @ Aug 14th 2008 2:06AM]

I'm pretty sure you're right... About being completely wrong.

[v3xx @ Aug 14th 2008 2:44AM]

wait what? sony would copy nintendo? no way man i dont believe you.

http://warehouse.nn45.com/data/media/3/Sony-thief.jpg

[tekdroid @ Aug 14th 2008 5:20AM]

Consequences of abandoning UMD:

1) Stop selling UMD software around the world in hundreds of thousands of retailers
2) pay a crapload more for the privilege of publishing their software on more expensive solid-state media to reach retail chains
3) face the inevitable 'this only works with the new one, these UMDs work with the old one' confusion. Confusion does not work for Joe User and it won't do anything favourable to the PSP's sales.
4) solid-state media would cut into their profits like an axe, or worse still, force Sony to up the price of games even further.

People with existing PSPs....
They'll suffer the consequences of less and less UMD selling for what...an internet access alternative? What if they don't buy over the internet (and lots don't) What then? Shocking business decision.

Abandoning UMD makes no business sense whatsoever.

Touchscreen
Adding touchscreen means any new titles developed for touchscreen would ALSO have to work on older hardware (adding costs and development time), or again face the 'this works with the new one, this other stuff works with the old one' scenario. Creating more confusion. Not gonna happen. Perhaps in PSP2, but sure as hell not now.

Sometimes you just gotta look at things from a business and end-user perspective rather than a purely technology-related one. Sony are not gonna be revolutionising the console mid-way through its life like an enthusiast would perhaps want. Their bread and butter is the Average Joe.

[SoloSalsa @ Aug 15th 2008 4:07PM]

Not touchscrren, but how about LED backlight? And maybe ditching the power plug for only USB (and including a USB power cable in the box)? I hate holding the PSP while it is plugged in.

[giantenemycrab @ Aug 14th 2008 2:06AM]

worse kept secret ever..

[Ridgecity @ Aug 14th 2008 2:06AM]

It was rumored that the 3001 model will be changing the Cross head screws with short flat head screws... take this with a grain of salt since it's just a rumor... What we can confirm is that the box will feature screenshots of a few best sellers in the back...

[giantenemycrab @ Aug 14th 2008 2:09AM]

I bet that it's the same as the PSP-2001, but has some hardware change that makes it tougher to use homebrew and pirate games.

[nDee @ Aug 14th 2008 2:16AM]

More light?

[Blastar @ Aug 14th 2008 2:30AM]

Not even wifi g or n (The same limited distance)?
No Blue tooth (Cant connect a BT keyboard or speakers)?
Boy.. doesn't seem anything new too me.. the same old SO LIMITED PSP
only a bit faster probably.
It would be nice to me if it has something more like TV at least not that difficult.
Thanks D.Alex and all Home brew firmware makers that make the console a bit more interesting.. and I personally believe that IF the new PSP isn't possible to be cracked its not going to sell as its ancestors.
Well maybe games but not as many consoles.. ;-)))

[~~Tito~~ @ Aug 14th 2008 2:42AM]

They are probably using the new one as a front to make people think Sony has gave up and are just using this for new colors and a new rearranged MoBo to thwart homebrewers. Then a month or two later they might release the one people were expecting giving the psp a chance to revive its self for a bit then die again of cardiac arrest(people interested then loose interest). Don't make a big deal about this one when it comes out. Just is probably gonna be new colors and a rearranged MoBo.

[DudeManDude @ Aug 14th 2008 2:43AM]

PSP with Dark Alex is the only way to go with the thing.. I can't even imagine owning and really enjoying my PSP if it was stock. Sony had an amazing idea but just didn't implement it well. Hindsight is 20/20 of course. But with millions of dollars on the line you'd think they'd research more, ie dual analogs, R2 L2, etc.

I don't own a DS, I'm sure it's great, but I can't see myself giving up my PSP, flaws and all, for a long time. Playing Ps1 classics on the go, having several games on the memory card for selection, online play (albeit limited), the good games were awesome and I think have a high replay value. I think there are quite a few reasons to have a custom firmwared PSP, but cut that by 2/3 if it's stock.

This 3001 update is probably an update to take this essential element or reason for owning a PSP away. If so, you can count me out!

[XIYL @ Aug 14th 2008 4:10AM]

I completely agree with you on this, I own a PSP Slim and I used to own a Phatty. Dark Alex really improves the PSP a ton, I have a pandora battery that I use with Time Machine and I think its great. It gives the PSP so many more features. Plus I have TVersity on my computer so that I can stream music to it anywhere it gets WiFi, including shoutcast.

[yui @ Aug 14th 2008 2:50AM]

give me full screen TV out and I will purchase immediately.

[deusfaux @ Aug 14th 2008 2:53AM]

current PSP video output SUCKS. I hope it's fixed with this model.

Covered in depth here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWJnFHmKzQ

[GSK @ Aug 14th 2008 3:12AM]

Looks like the image I reported on a while back actually became reality. Awesome XD


- GSK
www.gameshowkid.com

[jed @ Aug 14th 2008 3:40AM]

remember when the first psp came out, like 4 years ago? wow, that sure was a different machine way back then. We were all playing our xbox's and playstation 2's, and game boy advances, and apple was still selling us ipods the size of dvd burners. remember what we wanted, right away? we wanted a usable browser, a microphone, and a second analog stick, etc.

well here we are, fast forward to the future. jetpacks are in testing, and there is more than one electric car model out there. ipods are as small and light as a few business cards, and they can play hours and hours of video, and run safari almost natively. game boy advance is now the ds, has a touch screen and is in its 3rd revision, and has a microphone and a browser. xbox is now xbox360, and has arguably the best online capabilities of any console of all time. pc's are lightning fast and don't seem to be slowing down in speed or in terms of new ideas. you can now have a gaming laptop that will run 90% of the games out there in a tiny, lightweight package.

isn't it great, in this brave new world, that sony has really remade the psp? it has evolved to the point that its unrecognizable, so much innovation has been applied. i mean slightly thinner, and lighter? catch me, i'm disoriented. I'm especially glad they immediately made the browser so usable, and took advantage of modern t9 and/or touchscreen methods. remember when only 1 video codec was supported? a thing of the past! now you can drag any old xvid, avi, vob, etc into the mem card and you are set! glad they got right on that codec thing, its a computer after all, it can be updated however they like. and of course, who could forget the right analog stick. so many people cheered for it, and sony listened. and the microphone. sony made it so simple to either buy a psp original and use your remote with it for skype, or buy a psp 2001 with INCLUDED remote, and get right on speaking. beautiful. the psp has evolved so organically, with such subtlety, you almost can't tell it's changed at all. Bravo sony. bravo.

[jas0nuk @ Aug 14th 2008 3:54AM]

lmfao :D

[XIYL @ Aug 14th 2008 4:13AM]

Haha, that's the dream...

[tekdroid @ Aug 14th 2008 5:42AM]

frankly I think Sony have done great work on codecs:

1) MP4 used to be resolution-limited, no longer are.
2) AVC now available, previously wasn't
3) supporting AVI, VOB, etc means millions per year in additional royalties that have to be paid. I'm sure if you were in charge of Sony's operations you would be thinking twice about this for the few enthusiasts that might buy your console for this functionality.


MP4 is great. They paid the license for it and I don't feel they should be paying additional millions in royalties per year just to get some more codecs on the PSP, unless they are open-source (FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, OGM, MKV as a container format).

Comparing past and current products with 'jetpacks are in testing' sure sounds high-tech, but they've been in testing for many years. Who cares. You also ignore the fact that the DS hasn't had any major changes, either... but conveniently ignore it. It was *designed* with the mic and touchscreen from the get-go, but you make it sound like they *added* them in your argument. Nope. No major changes with DS either. Better screen, smaller size...

Compatibility means a LOT in the console world. Development time targeting two very different consoles and compatibility when big changes are made is something both of these companies want to avoid. Sure Sony can improve the browser with no big impact to their games, and perhaps they will...but c'mon, expecting big changes to core functionality is silly and counter-productive to their interests (compatibility). Those core hardware decisions are made before the console is released. Improvements are in the form of tweaks here and there.

[Christian @ Aug 15th 2008 10:12PM]

Just as a comment to what you said about computers running lightning fast, you seem to have forgotten the computers running on Vista XD.

[primax @ Aug 14th 2008 4:28AM]

played sir

[Cougar @ Aug 14th 2008 7:55AM]

PSP, the little hand held that could be.

Sony could make the PSP a LOT better, just by implementing some software features, but they don't.

On the hardware side, a jump to PSP-3001 should result on a bigger hardware changes.

Hopefully they still have something up their sleeves. A touch screen would have me :D

[Tubalcain @ Aug 14th 2008 9:28AM]

Sony simply can't add a second analog stick to the PSP. They will have to release a whole new product and face it they won't at least not any time soon. Nintendo let Sony do all of the fancy footwork, they are in the best position to release a new handheld which will leapfrog Sony's in terms of graphics, sound and other capabilities should they chose to. Time has passed, mobile graphics have improved, so has battery life, wireless,etc. they must have one hell of an R&D team. The Wii & DS sells like hot cakes, period. Look at their history, gameboy, gameboy pocket, gameboy color, gameboy advance, gameboy advance SP, micro then finally the DS with backward compatibility of gameboy advance carts. Their next handheld will most likely have..gasp...DS compatibility. I own a PSP fat since it came out and is now relegated to playing emulators and other homebrew apps because the games pretty much suck with very few exceptions. I bought my daughter a DS lite and frankly its pick up and play for anyone who touches it, that says quite a lot about which one is better.

[ZeroCorpse @ Aug 14th 2008 11:43AM]

They could certainly add another analog stick and make all new software take advantage of it. They did this very thing with the PS1.

First we had no analog sticks at all. Then they introduced the dual shock late in the console's life, and from that point on the games changed.

You can't make the old games use the stick, but you can certainly allow new software to take advantage of it. So we stop playing the older ones and shell out the bucks for some FPS games that use two sticks.

That's the only reason I'd consider getting a PSP again. I had one at launch (won it from 1UP) and got bored with it. `Bought one a little over a year later, and still found it dull. Now, my iPod touch handles all the audio, video, and a ton of other things via the App Store... I can even get some pretty decent games. For me to want a PSP, I'd have to have a superior GAMING experience, and that would require decent controls.

Right now, it's like playing PS2 games on an original PS1 controller with a hacked-on analog nub. I really don't understand how Sony could drop the ball with their best technological advance in gaming-- Dual analog sticks are the way it's DONE now, and yet the company that made that configuration popular is the one who doesn't even incorporate it in their premier handheld system that they keep kicking out the door with minor upgrades.

It's time for the PSP2, dammit.

[Mike @ Aug 14th 2008 2:50PM]

Wow, I see a lot of liars saying that the PSP is limited. What other handheld can do the things that the PSP can do out of the box? Surely the DS can't. While the DS definitely has a much better game support, the PSP is simply a better machine. What you DS lovers are confusing is the game support with pure hardware specs. Just because you can list twice, or even three times, as many good games on the DS than the PSP doesn't mean that the PSP is a worse machine. A worse gaming platform, but not a worse machine. I can do so many more things with my PSP than a DS...except play more interesting UMD games.