PSP release date?
Discussion
Anyone know the release date for this?
I am currently in Asia and they are eveywhere going for about 200 quid. Seem to be only Japanese games about but will investigate. My local boys haven't got a decent chip for the slim PS2 yet which is equally annoying. When I say decent chip, I mean one that doesn't require opening and closing and pressing the power button on and off. Stories of eager chaps coming back with blown up consoles does not inspire. NO BLOODY GAMING FOR ME THEN!
Also, anyone know of any possible probs using a European game on a Japanese system?
MARA
I am currently in Asia and they are eveywhere going for about 200 quid. Seem to be only Japanese games about but will investigate. My local boys haven't got a decent chip for the slim PS2 yet which is equally annoying. When I say decent chip, I mean one that doesn't require opening and closing and pressing the power button on and off. Stories of eager chaps coming back with blown up consoles does not inspire. NO BLOODY GAMING FOR ME THEN!
Also, anyone know of any possible probs using a European game on a Japanese system?
MARA
UK release date is 18 March, though they are expected to be in short supply over here. Supposedly the retail price in Japan is £130.
Japanese PSPs are fully compatible over here - you just need the obvious Japanese 2 pin to UK 3 pin travel adaptor. The PSP is not region encoded for games, but it is region encoded for any films that may be released on UMD in the future. However, both Japan and Europe are region 2, so you are OK there as well.
So if you can get hold of one, I'd go for it and buy. Not sure about whether the Sony warranty would hold up over here, but you could always sell it on eBay prior to UK release - they are going for around £250 - 300 at the moment.
Cheers
Lee
Japanese PSPs are fully compatible over here - you just need the obvious Japanese 2 pin to UK 3 pin travel adaptor. The PSP is not region encoded for games, but it is region encoded for any films that may be released on UMD in the future. However, both Japan and Europe are region 2, so you are OK there as well.
So if you can get hold of one, I'd go for it and buy. Not sure about whether the Sony warranty would hold up over here, but you could always sell it on eBay prior to UK release - they are going for around £250 - 300 at the moment.
Cheers
Lee
I'm not exactly convinced they are on every street corner. Here in Tokyo they are still fairly limited supply (or were last week - I lucked into a few on 19th Dec and a few more the week later, but this was v.lucky).
That said, BUY ONE NOW if you can get one.
Ridge Racer is superb, and you can even rip DVDs to them, along with MP3s, photos etc.
Superb gadget.
There are rumours that the screen supplier will change for the US and UK versions. I cannot see the Japanese ones being bettered.
Also, the language can be changed at any time on the unit. However, not all games are bilingual and the unit does not translate. This matters not on ridge racer. And the plug is on a standard "figure 8, 2 pin" power cable so you could swap for a UK lead in the UK for peanuts.
The standard price in Tokyo is 130 quid for the Value Pack (incl. case, headphones, 32Mb memory stick and strap! 100 quid on its own). Games are about 20 quid.
First thing since the iPod that has made me think "wow". If Sony had put a HDD on it, or even a CF slot rather than poxy memory stick duo, they would have hurt the iPod very badly.
That said, BUY ONE NOW if you can get one.
Ridge Racer is superb, and you can even rip DVDs to them, along with MP3s, photos etc.
Superb gadget.
There are rumours that the screen supplier will change for the US and UK versions. I cannot see the Japanese ones being bettered.
Also, the language can be changed at any time on the unit. However, not all games are bilingual and the unit does not translate. This matters not on ridge racer. And the plug is on a standard "figure 8, 2 pin" power cable so you could swap for a UK lead in the UK for peanuts.
The standard price in Tokyo is 130 quid for the Value Pack (incl. case, headphones, 32Mb memory stick and strap! 100 quid on its own). Games are about 20 quid.
First thing since the iPod that has made me think "wow". If Sony had put a HDD on it, or even a CF slot rather than poxy memory stick duo, they would have hurt the iPod very badly.
heard lots of talk of people using 512MB memorysticks, and having a few episodes of their favourite soap or whatever on them...
it is a really nice bit of kit to hold.. feels heavy, and really solid, and the screen has to be seen! so clear and sharp.
will be very interested what the interpritation of GTA (Liberty City) turns out like... and of course GT4 on the train sounds like a great prospect to me!
it is a really nice bit of kit to hold.. feels heavy, and really solid, and the screen has to be seen! so clear and sharp.
will be very interested what the interpritation of GTA (Liberty City) turns out like... and of course GT4 on the train sounds like a great prospect to me!
murph7355 said:
If Sony had put a HDD on it, or even a CF slot rather than poxy memory stick duo, they would have hurt the iPod very badly.
Hmm, as always with these crafty beggars, that will be in the second version more likely than not. I remember thinking "wish Apple would give the mini ipod a more useful amount of Gigs so Idon't have to lug the big ipod around". 20gb mini out soon, bastards.
Are you due in Tokyo at all Mara? Quit the US for a while?
Definitely get a PSP. Great piece of gear. It's worth the price of the machine for Ridge Racer alone, and GT4 Mobile looks even better!
The multi-player mode is great - 7 of us getting together next week to really put it through its paces over a few beers
I'm not sure Sony can do one with a HDD built in now as they've plumped for the UMD disc for games. It'd get in the way of the loading slot for the drive on anything compact.
The Mac Mini is a nice bit of kit. If it would drive the 30" cinema display I'd buy one tomorrow. I was also a bit disappointed that the PSU is so big too.
20Gb iPod mini? Not sure how they'll do this. Biggest CF card I've heard of to date is 12Gb and that was experiemental.
Definitely get a PSP. Great piece of gear. It's worth the price of the machine for Ridge Racer alone, and GT4 Mobile looks even better!
The multi-player mode is great - 7 of us getting together next week to really put it through its paces over a few beers
I'm not sure Sony can do one with a HDD built in now as they've plumped for the UMD disc for games. It'd get in the way of the loading slot for the drive on anything compact.
The Mac Mini is a nice bit of kit. If it would drive the 30" cinema display I'd buy one tomorrow. I was also a bit disappointed that the PSU is so big too.
20Gb iPod mini? Not sure how they'll do this. Biggest CF card I've heard of to date is 12Gb and that was experiemental.
[quote=Pierscoe1]heard lots of talk of people using 512MB memorysticks, and having a few episodes of their favourite soap or whatever on them... /quote]
Have been playing with this a fair bit.
3hrs of decent quality video on a 512Mb memory stick, plus a bit of room for some game saves.
Compromising a bit on quality you can even get better than this.
Have a bout 20 movies in the right format thus far and am now looking to move further away from work so I can watch them on the train Or fly home for some reason or other...
Have been playing with this a fair bit.
3hrs of decent quality video on a 512Mb memory stick, plus a bit of room for some game saves.
Compromising a bit on quality you can even get better than this.
Have a bout 20 movies in the right format thus far and am now looking to move further away from work so I can watch them on the train
Or fly home for some reason or other...Nope, they haven't.
They've used the H264/AVC version of Mpeg4. The PSP is quite particular about the filetype and won't tolerate anything not in exactly the right format (incl. things like frame rate, image size etc). And the files have to be named very specifically and put in an unusual directory structure that isn't automatically created when formatting the memory stick. But there are no copy restrictions.
Sony sell some image conversion software, but there's plenty available as shareware on the net and the instructions for the complete steps are readily available (for both PC and Mac, I use the latter).
Conversion speeds aren't exactly lightning, but the software is improving. From sticking a DVD in, to having it playing on the PSP can be done in fractionally over real time (which includes decrypting, conversion and USB transfer). This on a Powerbook G4, 1.5Ghz with 1.5Gb RAM.
I haven't actually converted another Mpeg clip to this format, but I believe this is would be a lot faster.
If you're a PC user, take a look here:
www.engadget.com/entry/1234000980024404/
And if you're a Mac user, have a look here:
http://homepage.mac.com/major4/download.html
or here (this latter software is less customisable, but does much more with the PSP - amazing how quickly the developers get onto this!):
http://kaisakura.com/iPSP/
This feature to me is the killer for the PSP. The screen quality is great and it really turns the machine into full portable entertainment centre.
They've used the H264/AVC version of Mpeg4. The PSP is quite particular about the filetype and won't tolerate anything not in exactly the right format (incl. things like frame rate, image size etc). And the files have to be named very specifically and put in an unusual directory structure that isn't automatically created when formatting the memory stick. But there are no copy restrictions.
Sony sell some image conversion software, but there's plenty available as shareware on the net and the instructions for the complete steps are readily available (for both PC and Mac, I use the latter).
Conversion speeds aren't exactly lightning, but the software is improving. From sticking a DVD in, to having it playing on the PSP can be done in fractionally over real time (which includes decrypting, conversion and USB transfer). This on a Powerbook G4, 1.5Ghz with 1.5Gb RAM.
I haven't actually converted another Mpeg clip to this format, but I believe this is would be a lot faster.
If you're a PC user, take a look here:
www.engadget.com/entry/1234000980024404/
And if you're a Mac user, have a look here:
http://homepage.mac.com/major4/download.html
or here (this latter software is less customisable, but does much more with the PSP - amazing how quickly the developers get onto this!):
http://kaisakura.com/iPSP/
This feature to me is the killer for the PSP. The screen quality is great and it really turns the machine into full portable entertainment centre.
thanks for that lot.. quite interesting.
shame about the format niggles.. otherwise seems pretty good!
was playing RidgeRacers yesterday.. and while the handling is as atrocious(sp?) as always.. it's quite a polished little game.. and quite an experience playing something so good looking on a handheld!!
shame about the format niggles.. otherwise seems pretty good!
was playing RidgeRacers yesterday.. and while the handling is as atrocious(sp?) as always.. it's quite a polished little game.. and quite an experience playing something so good looking on a handheld!!
Once you know what to do, the formatting thing isn't an issue at all. You can get great quality video on there easily enough.
Agree with you on the dynamics of Ridge Racer, but it's a very playable game that can keep you at it for ages! And it's not really meant to be realistic in the usual sense (I mean, PacMan driving a prop drive car? A lego car?).
GT4 is due out in a few months, as is Colin McRae Rally. Equally pleasing to look at and I'd guess the handling will be more real life.
Agree with you on the dynamics of Ridge Racer, but it's a very playable game that can keep you at it for ages! And it's not really meant to be realistic in the usual sense (I mean, PacMan driving a prop drive car? A lego car?).
GT4 is due out in a few months, as is Colin McRae Rally. Equally pleasing to look at and I'd guess the handling will be more real life.
murph7355 said:
Are you due in Tokyo at all Mara? Quit the US for a while?
20Gb iPod mini? Not sure how they'll do this. Biggest CF card I've heard of to date is 12Gb and that was experiemental.
I could be in Tokyo in a few weeks. I was there on December 29th (albeit for 2 hours). Coming in to land the pilot informed us a tyre was very low on pressure and the "tyre would probably explode apon landing"..............."but we should be okay". Classic. The following plane to HK couldn't leave as the planes were frozen.
I am going to get a PSP at the end of this week. I have been bitterly disappointed by the lack of phones though. I am a complete phoneaholic and always have 3 phones with me when I travel. The size and crap design of the new batch is really upsetting. That Noka 7280 I've waited over a year for really pissed me off. User interface is an absolute disaster and I am shallow enough to put up with dodgey controls if it looks good. Still can't bring myself to cough up for one.
I still think the good old 8890 was the sweetest phone in design terms. Clean, good weight even if the software was old. Now the 9500 seems to be calling but they want too much for it. Bah, completely off topic but had to get it off my chest.
New stuff found here http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handphones/
P.S Read about the 20gb in an HK electronic magazine. Said release was meant to be for summer 2005. I assume the normal sized ipod will go up a few gigs otherwise there won't be much point having the big ones on the shelf.
>> Edited by maranellouk on Tuesday 1st February 15:32
Drop me a PM when you're here and I can show you around if you want (assuming you don't know the place).
It's not the place for you if you like phones though. Only a few on the market here that will work elsewhere. The rest are shockingly bad!
Can't see the normal iPod going more than 100Gb any time soon as I'm not convinced there are drives available (60Gb only just out). And the Mini uses Compact Flash, and these don't go higher than 8Gb commercially.
Still plenty of other amusement over here.
It's not the place for you if you like phones though. Only a few on the market here that will work elsewhere. The rest are shockingly bad!
Can't see the normal iPod going more than 100Gb any time soon as I'm not convinced there are drives available (60Gb only just out). And the Mini uses Compact Flash, and these don't go higher than 8Gb commercially.
Still plenty of other amusement over here.
Cheers mate. Always had a driver the few times I've been to Tokyo and only ever stayed 6-8 hours in the studio before buggering off again.
Would be a good time to get some hard to get things though. Still got my Neo Geo (cartridge version) which bankrupted me as a youngster. Would like to add to the 8 games I have been playing on it since 1994! FFs at 220 a go though it really was a piss take.
Will have a look for mini ipod info.
Would be a good time to get some hard to get things though. Still got my Neo Geo (cartridge version) which bankrupted me as a youngster. Would like to add to the 8 games I have been playing on it since 1994! FFs at 220 a go though it really was a piss take.
Will have a look for mini ipod info.
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