Sony adds four new PSP "Carnival Colors" to worship
By Thomas Ricker 
posted January 26th 2009 3:22AM
posted January 26th 2009 3:22AM
[Via Akihabara News]
posted January 26th 2009 3:22AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I kind of like the blue, even though I don't usually go for anything other than black/white/silver electronics.
Yeah it's pretty, but is the screen still absolute shit?
As usual, Japan only. *yawn
They think this will pick up PSP sales?
Wherever i go i am seeing PSP games for $20 and under while DS games still fetch an average of $50 which tells me the PSP isnt doing well.
Sony need to revise the PSP, addressing its REAL problems. Switch to 100% flash memory, add another thumbstick and revise them to be more ergonomic, and other things which i have now forgotten.
100% flash memory? Every time I hear that argument, nobody backs it up with any sort of realistic business sense.
@tekdroid
Well the DS seems to be coping with flash memory cartridges just fine.
It may not be the PERFECT solution due to the fact PSP games are larger, but UMDS are a terrible format for a portable system.
This won't pick PSP sales up since I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that these are 3000 models.
Sony still does not get that it will lose the battle with home brew coders. There are too many people interested in actually owning their electronics 100% and not having a locked in, DRM laden, restricted device.
You can argue about Piracy and the arguments regarding locked hardware and home brew rights, but the people at large have spoken:
We WILL have our hardware free. Period.
Now considering all that, why on Earth would I be interested in purchasing a new model that has not been through the process of being unlocked by the community at large?
I would purchase one without hesitation if the process of removing Sony's totalitarianism was easily repeatable and well known.
AFAIK, it is not. Which means sales will be stagnant with people like me.... and We Are Legion.
Increase PSP sales? These are Japan only, where the PSP is doing fairly well.
I think this may pick up PSP sales to some extent. Kids/teens love the color options and will save up all their hard earned dollars for that new yellow PSP to match their new yellow iPod Nano (which they replace every generation). Either that or they'll bitch and moan until their parents buy it for them. Regardless, this means sales for Sony which they need to keep the portable device alive at this point.
Red one is hot.
The blue one is cool.
The yellow one is... chicken.
The green one is......the Hulk
* snif * no more colors left. :(
I like how they put "Carnival" in the name. It's like a preemptive strike to stop people from making fun of it.
All of those are pretty good colors.
Feels good, man.
That's what she said.
More software less colors please
uh... we dont need psp's in new colors... we need GAMES dammit! lol
hell yeah we do lol
Thats the most sane thing that has been said regarding the PSP in months.
Great colours! I still haven't witnessed the current model's famed scanline issues with the new screens:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=psp&thread.id=3398529
but this is a nice bunch of colour.
MOM!!!!!! a clown just threw up on my PSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ugh. When will Sony get the hint that their current tactics in the video game industry AREN'T WORKING!
**insert xbox360 / wii / ds / PC praise**
which tactics do you refer to?
Targeting the premium market and offering little to differentiate them from the rest of the herd.
The PSP is significantly more expensive than the DS yet the only real thing it has over the DS is graphics, which people dont seem concerned with.
The PS3 is significantly more expensive the the 360, yes the only thing it has is a Blu Ray player, which i personally cannot see ever overtaking DVD in sales.
The Vaio P is significantly more expensive than the other netbooks, yet it only offers a smaller form factor.
Couple that with the "recession" and well...it becomes even harder to justify spending the extra.
@Adderz:
The ONLY thing the PSP has over the DS is graphics? I think you need to look again.
The ONLY thing the PS3 has over the XBox is the Blu-Ray player? I think you need to look again.
And if you don't think Blu-Ray won't eventually surpass DVD sales, you may want to review your VHS collection. Every new format eventually takes over the old. It's just a question of how long it will take.
well the psp is superior to the ds as far as hardware is concerned, as well as the ps3 is FAR superior to the xbox360 hardware-wise.
the PSP's huge screen, analog stick, web browser, and multimedia functions make the system software better than the DS.
however, i will say that the DS is better because the games available are better, and when it comes down to it- that's all that matters
the PS3 is the most advanced system and has the best video game console OS ever made, its almost as versatile as a computer- it plays Blu-Rays, only system that can stream true 1080p videos over your home network, it can play any media, accept any USB device including external HDD's, you can save your files internally, on a SD card, a Memory Stick, a USB flash drive, just about anything. And the games may be worse for now compared to the xbox 360, but GTA:San Andreas was close to reaching the limitations of the 360 so soon enough games will be too big for DVDs, and games will become exclusive for PS3- and xbox owners will have to wait for the xbox 720
Yawn, how many $ were spent on making these.
One imagines you'd be spending those dollars on reducing the cost, not fragmenting the production line to increase the cost of production.
Especially when losing huge dollars and your lead products are struggling.
Then again, its this kind of decision (at this time) that demonstrates why Sony is hurting. I loved them for so many years :`(
Love the green one: it will fit right in with Go!Explore in my electric green Mustang
The fact that it comes with a new battery, makes me think its probably an anti-piracy measure from Sony.
what pretty colors
Sony need to sell these things unlocked. They're still yet to realize that no-one actually buys these things to play commercial games on. I would have got one if I hadn't heard how much of a nightmare it is to hack the new ones. Piracy is the least of their concerns right now I'd say.
That, and a smaller screen of the same resoloution and I'm sold. These things are just too chunky as it is. Though UMD might be half the problem there. (Though I'd advocate keeping it somehow.)
Unlocked? Sony doesn't even bother to release these outside Japan. To Sony, non-Japanese markets are secondary, only releasing half-assed bundles and whatever 1 or 2 colors they have overstock in the factory.
that is, perhaps, the stupidest suggestion i've seen yet.
if ANY system manufacturer was to sell their hardware "unlocked" and primed for game piracy, they'd be writing their suicide notes. what game developer is going to spend their time and dollars making games that are going to be stolen and distributed for free? with sony already having a hard enough time with the UMD, it's in their best interest to keep things strapped down as tightly as possible.
pffft. the audacity...
@mrChin
Sega? Oh yeah, that didn't work out too good.
To Asians of a certain age, the colors are recognizable as the colors of hard candy from Japan that came in a flask shaped tin. The missing color is white.
Mmmm… I like the green and red ones. But I hardly play my PSP anymore, and there are annoying things like how with Tekken 5 DR you have to start over again if you change your PSP. Ridiculous.
Cool invention Sony! That proves again that you patiently listen and try to appeal to your customer!! Because colors were precisely the most requested feature... NOT REALLY.
Ditch the darn UMD. UMD games should be downloadable. Add more internal flash. Add second joystick. Well, like ... make PSP more suitable for games.
The green one looks nice.
those look much hotter than previous colors.
Colors are:
Lockout Blue
Firmware Revision Red
Yowch-I-Can't-Run-Homebrew Yellow
and
Gosh-I-Just-Spent-Too-Much Green
Hmm... This reminds me how much I like my Nintendo DS.
Green and yellow are pretty nice. Are these glossy finishes?
Makes me nostalgic for some Voltron (Lions of course)
Yawn. Let me know when the PSP 2 is released. Hey Sony, ever heard of Android? It's OPEN SOURCE. How about taking a cue from the other major developers that are actually promoting owners and fanboys to personally invest in their devices, instead of just treating them like a piggybank?
Why wait for Sony to release a PSP2 if you want homebrew? Get a Pandora or a Wiz or something that is made for this purpose. Pandora will have everything that everyone complains that the PSP doesn't have (dual analog sticks, touchscreen) as well as things that people don't even realize that they want (qwerty, bluetooth, full linux pc functionality with Firefox). Wiz will really only be good for gaming but it's tiny and will easily fit in your pocket. There's supposed to be a really good AMOLED screen on it too. These two systems will be out in the next few months which will be years before any PSP2 comes to the market and they are 100% open source with full access to all of the hardware. If that is what you are looking for then, at least, think about supporting the companies that are catering to your wishes instead of berating Sony for their very standard business practices. I'm not being mean, just pointing out that there are alternatives or at least there will be very soon.
maybe because it's a video game console and the whole idea is to make money?
great colors, how about some more games, I want to have more games, is Patapon2 out yet?
Am I the only one to see the Voltron theme there... Throw a black PSP up there and poof! You've got them all!
Yes but it has to be an old PSP 1000 model since it is the body and head. :)
+1 (I didn't even notice that until you said something)