Sony exec takes it back, says PSP-3000 battery life "equivalent to current PSP"

We're not sure which part of "you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time" John Koller didn't mean, but evidently we (read: the world) had it all wrong. In a recent posting from the Director, he "clarifies" things by asserting that "the new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP, about 4 to 6 hours for games and about 4 to 5 hours for UMD videos." He continues on to affirm that the new, brighter and altogether lovelier display does suck down more power, but Sony's dutiful engineers apparently managed to "reduce the power consumption of the overall system" in order to counteract that. At this point, we'll just wait for real world battery tests before believing anything.

[Via Joystiq]

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:41PM]

Even if it's true, do you think a 20 minute battery life difference is going to effect anybody's decision to have an infinitely better viewing experience for the duration of their PSP ownership?

In other words, who CARES?

This is the most trivial, overblown "news" I've seen all year on the internet (and not just on Engadget, all over the place). I love crappy little tech tidbits as much as the next guy, but this is just really, really, really ridiculous.

Who.

Cares?

[Fiddlesworth @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:43PM]

Spot on.

[phanbouy @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:11PM]

so in other words NOT really, really, really ridiculously good looking

[Zorque @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:21PM]

It would be trivial if it wasn't yet another Sony "Don't question our products, if they have flaws it's your problem" statement.

I guess if they really have cut power consumption then it's a non-issue, but their hubris about every one of their platforms' shortcomings is astounding and really out of place in a consumer market.

Ken Kutaragi was the worst of the bunch ("You don't tell an architect to move a window just because it's out of place!!"), and these sorts of incidences have slowed since his departure, but it's still ridiculous to shift the blame for their problems to their customers.

[Zorque @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:23PM]

I guess the verbatim quote was “I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect’s blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It’s the same as that.”

Yeah, if Frank Gehry put a gate where it wasn't supposed to go, I'd tell him to move it, especially if it kept smashing windows as it opened.

[tekdroid @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:39PM]

'infinitely better viewing experience' sure sounds like you know something we don't :)

[Kurian @ Sep 4th 2008 12:18AM]

I for one care. I use my PSP for 5-6 hours a day and I'd live to avoid carrying around my extra battery all the time.

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 4th 2008 8:38AM]

" carrying around my extra battery all the time"

LOL. For 20 minutes? Jesus Christ, man.

[Citrico @ Sep 4th 2008 12:14PM]

You don't have a PSP, do you? The battery life on those things is already beyond pathetic, mine is already tethered to the charger almost all the time. Another 20 minutes less it might as well not have a battery at all.

[brandon @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:42PM]

Why not buy an extra battery? And how about some matching PSP headphones? And a case? And screen protectors?.......
Anything to make you buy some useless accessory

[tekdroid @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:40PM]

spare battery ftw.

[Zinger314 @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:46PM]

It still has lower battery life than the iPhone! :D

ALL HAIL JOBS, HE'S THE BEST, SONY CAN GO AND WAX HIS CHEST!

[Osman @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:55PM]

Voted down for being an idiot

Voted up for rhyming, oh wait.....

[zunq @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:58PM]

I for one would love to see a PSP-3000 vs iPhone screen quality showdown. But whichever gets divx playback first gets my money. Maybe I'll just get the Archos 5.

[required @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:19PM]

Nothing has a lower battery life than the iPhone.

[Zinger314 @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:52PM]

A GameGear has lower battery life than an iPhone. :(

[xValentine @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:00PM]

@required

Yes there is.

It's called "iPhone 3G"

:)

[JerkfacedFed @ Sep 4th 2008 12:38AM]

steve jobs is dead (within the next few weeks), ken kutaragi is alive, both are douchebags

[Fiddlesworth @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:47PM]

Far more interesting are the new XMB options for 'Color Space', 'Automatic USB' and 'Video Out Noise Reduction'.

[RD. @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:03PM]

can i buy something that will give me back the 20 minutes i spent reading about this?

[Down @ Sep 4th 2008 9:10PM]

God damn! You're a really slow reader.

[hurricane @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:43PM]

Wow, you are a very slow reader...

[Mental Issues @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:46PM]

You spent 20 minutes on this article? I think I may have just what you're looking for:

http://www.learntoreadfree.com/

[RD. @ Sep 4th 2008 1:35AM]

thanks for the link, but there are now two threads on the topic, not to mention how it ties into the 20 minute battery loss.......... oh well, nerds will be nerds.

[oGMo @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:27PM]

Actually if you don't have an extra PSP battery and charger, you should get one, for whatever model PSP you happen to own. This gives you effectively infinite battery life; batteries charge in like 30 minutes and even the battery-hoggingest game doesn't run it down that fast, and you can just plug it in and swap them out while the game is still running.

(One of the most annoying things about the DS is that whenever I pick it up to play something, the battery is low or dead. Can't just swap batteries .. gotta be tethered. :/ When will people learn, swappable batteries and chargers are a must.)

[Oinquer @ Sep 4th 2008 5:05AM]

yeah like DS ever goes out of battery...lol...since it doesn't support video playback (UMD), 6hours of battery are nice...otherwise go for a better battery i have one and it has about 9-10 hours.....
if you continue spending all your console battery, then you should get a life....go outside, breath some hair...

[vance @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:41PM]

Can anyone please point me to a manufacturer's battery life claims that actually turned out to be true in the real world?

Anyone?

[Kurian @ Sep 4th 2008 12:20AM]

The PSP battery lasts longer than the rated life in most cases. It depends on what speed you run the CPU. At the default 222MHz for most games it gives longer than rated.

[Ridgecity @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:54PM]

Excellent news! too bad I already bought a golden DS today...

[ManekiNeko @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:59PM]

Will the new system be able to run at 333MHz?

[Daniel @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:17PM]

During the Games Convention the head of Sony Europe (David Reeves) told the news site heise-online (a very big german news site for IT news) that the PSP 3000 will get a bigger battery than 1200 mAh because of the increased power consumtionof the improved display.

Quote (german):
"Laut David Reeves, Europa-Chef von Sony Computer Entertainment, benötigt das neue Display etwas mehr Strom. Um dies auszugleichen, wird die PSP 3000 einen Akku mit einer etwas größeren Kapazität spendiert bekommen als die bisherigen 1200 mAh."

Source:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Erster-Blick-auf-die-PSP-3000--/meldung/114603

[The Hedonism Bot @ Sep 4th 2008 6:48AM]

What's a "UMD video"?

[pfromg @ Sep 4th 2008 10:06AM]

maybe it will get an ECO mode , with reduced back light ?
or maybe they are just making it up as they go along.

[ikebana @ Sep 5th 2008 8:47AM]

The new PSP have very low battery juice because of brighter and anti glare LCD.

http://ashopping.biz/

[jeesusfreek @ Sep 5th 2008 11:51AM]

Is it just me or is this officially a load of BS on sony's part..

"The battery life will be less"

"Just kidding, it'll be the same"

Well then where the hell did you get the initial statement from?

Bullshit, all of it.

[wingman7000 @ Oct 10th 2008 9:46PM]

I've read quite a bit about how people are going to wait for a "real" PSP 2, but is there any info out there that they are going to acutally update the whole system? I mean when could such a device be released when they are about to release the 3000?