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Sony PSP Black Console
Price Range:
$98.99 to $294.75
Madden NFL 11 is the 22nd version of EA Sports' classic video game football franchise. Featuring cover athlete Drew Brees, Super Bowl...
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Madden NFL 11 is the 22nd version of EA Sports' classic video game football franchise. Featuring cover athlete Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV MVP and quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Madden NFL 11 incorporates a blend of simpler, quicker and deeper new features with time-tested classic features expected from a game in the Madden franchise. Features included in the PlayStation Portable version include Franchise mode, Superstar Challenge mode, Mini-camp Competition mode, the ability to customize your team's playbook and more.
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226 Reviews from Epinions.com
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PSP Black
Here it is, everything you ever needed to know about the PSP and probably some stuff you don't need to know. I know, it's ridiculously long and drawn out, but I have separated the review into different sections, read what you like and skip the stuff you aren't interested in. Hopefully by compiling all possible information on the PSP into one place for those interested in purchasing one and that might not know much about the unit, this review will help make their decision easier.
Playstation Portable
First, the technical stuff. The PSP is a beast, technologically speaking. Here's a quick overview of the inner workings of the system. (Pasted from the Spec sheet on Epinions.com for the convenience of the reader, see now you don't have to click back and forth between this review and the product specs page.)
Technical Features
DVD Movie Playback UMD Movies Playback
Communication Type Infrared • IEEE 802.11b • USB 2.0
Expansion Slots Memory Stick Duo
Input / Output Ports 1 x USB
Main Controls Directional Pad • L/R Buttons • Start/Select Buttons
Wireless Capabilities Infrared • IEEE 802.11b
Storage Type
Optical Drive Type UMD (Universal Media Disc) Drive
Processor
Processor type MIPS R4000
Processor Speed 333 MHz
Audio
Audio Support Stereo Speakers
Audio In Mic In
Audio Out Line Out
Battery
Battery Run Time 2.5 Hours
Battery Type Rechargeable Lithium-ion
Display
Display Type LCD TFT (Active Matrix) • Widescreen TFT LCD
Screen Size 4.3 in.
Max. Resolution 480 x 272
Graphics
Graphic Card Memory 2 MB
Fill Rate 664 Million pixels/sec
Max. Number Of Colors 16.77M Colors
Memory
Installed RAM 36 MB
Other Features
Parental Control With Parental Control
Dimensions
Height 2.9 in.
Depth .9 in.
Width 6.7 in.
Weight .62 lb.
Miscellaneous
External Color Black
Supplied Accessories AC Adapter • Memory Stick Duo (32 MB) • UMD In-pack Sampler
Release Date March, 2005
Product ID 22360348
What it Can Actually Do
Those specs are great and all, but to the majority of people out there, they mean exactly jack. No worries though. Let's go through bit by bit and see just what exactly this sucker can do and how well it does it.
But First...
Let's look at just the PSP itself. Namely the screen, face buttons and overall design of the thing.
The screen, measuring 4 inches by 3 inches and in widescreen format, it's by far, the biggest screen of all the major portables (GBA SP, DS). It uses LCD technology for a bright and vibrant picture with a max resolution of 480x272. It is back lit and has three different settings of brightness as well as an option to turn of the screen all together if you don't need it. The brightest of the settings makes the screen look fantastic, but also sucks up the battery like there's no tomorrow. The screen takes up about 2/3rds of the PSP unit itself and it truly is a beautiful piece of technology.
There are issues though. As with most LCD screens, you will sometimes have what are called dead or stuck pixels. A pixel is what makes up the screen and displays the image on the screen by alternating colors. Thousands of pixels make up the screen. A dead pixel is when a single pixel no longer works and just sits there as a black spec on the screen. A stuck pixel is when a single pixel gets stuck on a certain color and shows up as a colored spec on the screen. This is common with the LCD technology. But upon the PSPs initial launch reports from consumers were coming in that they were receiving units with 20 or more dead or stuck pixels. This is not common and is not good. Sony's official stance on the problem was to play with the unit for 2 weeks and see if the dead or stuck pixels still bother you. They did offer a replacement program for those with 7 or more dead pixels. But for $250 a pop, this should not be an issue. Better quality control should have caught these units with multiple dead pixels. My personal PSP has 3 stuck pixels. I live with them. Do they bother me? Not that much, but it's still annoying to have a big beautiful screen, and then have a green spec in the corner.
Next are the face buttons. Standard Sony fare here, on the right you have the same configuration of buttons as the PS1 and PS2 controllers, x button, square button, triangle button and circle button. The initial Japanese units reportedly had issues with the square button sticking or not being responsive. This was due to the way the handheld was manufactured. In order to fit the size of screen the had on there and all the face buttons and not make the units base size any larger, they had to map out the square button a little off center of the pressure pad it pushes down on when you push the square button. This caused a stickiness or non responsive feeling with that single button. With the US release, it appears that problem was fixed. I have noticed to issues at all with the square button.
On the top side of the unit, you have two shoulder buttons, L and R. They are spaced nicely and are easy to reach while playing a game. Also on the top side is the eject button and the UMD tray. This is where you place the game or movie UMD you wish to play. The UMD slides and clicks into place and the disc tray snaps shut. There were also reports from the Japan units that if the PSP unit was twisted while a UMD was inserted, it would come shooting out like a UMD of death. While true, it takes a great deal of twisting to get it to shoot out, and I for one have never been willing to put that much torque on my precious to try it. For normal game playing, you will never have a UMD just fly out. Also located on the top side is a USB port. This is used to connect the PSP to a computer to transfer files between the two. It uses a standard USB cord like most digital cameras use.
On the left side is the standard D Pad or Directional Pad (or Digital Pad). Next to the D Pad is the analog "nub" as its been dubbed. It is basically a little tiny stick that allows for pseudo analog control in games. Not a true analog control, but it's surprisingly precise and easy to use.
Other face buttons include the start button, select button, volume up and down buttons, amplifier button that allows you to choose the type of equalizer to utilize while playing back music files with headphones attached. The screen light button and the Home button which takes you back to the system menu while playing a game or movie. Also on the face are the little speakers. The PSP has stereo sound without the use of headphones, but the quality of the speakers is not that great. For truly great sound, you need to use headphones.
There is also a WI Fi switch on the left side that when turned on, enables the built in wireless wi fi capabilities of the PSP. Underneath the Wi Fi switch is the memory stick slot. The PSP uses a memory stick called the Pro Duo. It is about half the size of the Pro memory stick and comes in various sizes. More on the memory stick later.
On the right side is the power switch. It slides up to turn the unit on, slide it up once while it is on to place it in sleep mode, hold it up to turn the unit completely off. Slide it all the way down to lock the unit on or off. One would lock the unit on if playing music or what not and does not want to accidentally have the unit power off if placed in a backpack or pocket.
On the bottom of the unit is the battery compartment. This is where the battery is placed. Simple enough. Battery life on the PSP was a huge concern when it initially was released. Depending on the application, the battery will last anywhere from 4-10 hours. Playing a movie will suck it dry pretty fast. The battery will fare much better playing music with the screen turned off. On average, I get about 6 hours use out of each charge, playing games with the screen on full brightness.
On the bottom side of the PSP is where the recharge jack is plugged in as well as a headphone jack. Standard headphones work fine with it as well as headphones with a remote control attached to it. More on that later.
The front of the unit is a nice shiny black. It looks great, but attracts fingerprints if you get within 5 feet of it. The back is a little more forgiving, still black, but a more subdued material that provides a nice grip while holding it and shows little fingerprints.
Overall design of the PSP would get an A- from me. There just isn't too much that isn't absolutely perfect about the design of it. I would like to see a variety of colors available to choose from (there is a white one scheduled to be released in the US in the coming months) and the analog nub can be a bit tricky to get used to. Other than that, perfect.
Now onto what the PSP is capable of.
Plays Games
Shocker! It is first and foremost a portable gaming system, so naturally, playing games on it should be the first priority for anyone looking to purchase it.
The PSP uses a Sony proprietary format called a UMD (Universal Media Disc). But what the heck is a UMD you ask? It is basically a optical mini disc encased in a plastic case. The whole lot slips into the disc tray of the PSP, so you never actually handle the disc itself. The capacity of a UMD is 1.8 GB and can store music, movie or game data. It cannot play standard size cds or PS2 game discs as is the common misnomer made by casual gamers.
As time has proven with past, a gaming system is only as good as its games. With that said, the PSP is severely lacking at the current time for really must have, unique games. This is common place though when a new system is launched, the initial games are usually not that stellar. There are a few great games though despite itself. At the PSPs launch, every major gaming genre was represented, with the majority of the games leaning towards either racing or sports.
US Launch Games List
- Ape Escape: On the Loose
- ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails
- Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
- Dynasty Warriors
- FIFA 2005
- Gretzky NHL
- Lumines
- Metal Gear Acid
- MLB
- MVP Baseball
- NBA
- NBA Street Showdown
- Need for Speed Rivals
- NFL Street 2 Unleashed
- Ridge Racer
- Spider-Man 2
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
- Twisted Metal: Head On
- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
- Wipeout Pure
- World Tour Soccer
The standouts on this list and are must have games and critically acclaimed were:
Lumines- a unique puzzle game with addictive game play and incredible soundtrack.
Metal Gear Acid-Again, a unique take on the massively popular Metal Gear franchise. This time, action takes place in the form of cards. Sounds messed up, but it is incredibly deep and addicting.
Ridge Racer- Takes the best from all previous Ridge Racers. Arcade racing, that is easy to pick up and play, harder to put down.
Those were the best of the best of the launch titles, there were a couple others that were worth picking up, but if you're on a limited budget, those were the must gets with the system.
In the 6 months since it's launch, we have seen very few must have games, which have no doubt caused a lot of early adaptors of the PSP to question their investment. But, on the horizon, looms some really promising games and with Sonys track record of game libraries, the PSP will no doubt, in time, have an amazing library with something for every type of gamer. Burnout Legends was just released and is incredibly fun. A Grand Theft Auto game is slated for release next month, several RPGs loom on the horizon as well, including ports of the cult favorites, Suikoden 1 and 2.
Though early criticism from detractors of the PSP claim that all the games are ports (exact copies of PS2 games). This is the case in many of the launch titles, but there are quite a few original ideas amongst the many ports in there as well (Metal Gear, Lumines)
The prices of games range from $39.99 to $49.99. All first party (games published by Sony) are $39.99. EA and Activision have seen fit to charge $49.99 a piece for their games. Pricey for a handheld game, but the quality of the graphics and sound far outweigh that of previous handheld units, so the production costs of producing a game are bound to be more expensive for the PSP than for the Gameboy Advance, and that rise in cost is passed on directly to us, the consumer.
Speaking of the graphics, they are high quality, make no mistake. Better that PS1 and not quite on par with PS2. That said, they are closer to PS2 than PS1. It handles full 3D with little effort. The sense of speed conveyed in games like Wipeout and Burnout Legends is incredible. Particle effects, lighting, character and environment models can be richly detailed and animated with the PSP. Really, there is no other portable unit on the market today that has the capabilities that the PSP does.
The PSP also has a WI FI adapter built into the unit. This allows for online play via an internet hotspot or a wireless home network against other PSP gamers around the world. Not all games have this feature, in fact the only launch title that did was Wipeout Pure, but it seems, more and more upcoming games will support online play. The WI FI adapter also allows gamers in the same vicinity of each other (same room) to compete against each other wirelessly, with no internet connection required. That means you and a buddy can race against each other in the same room, if you each have a PSP and a copy of the game that is. Some games only require one copy of the game, you then upload a portion of the game to other PSPs in the same vicinity. It's a neat idea and one that will only get better in time as more and more games are released that support it.
Overall right now, the games portion of the PSP would score a C from me. There just haven't been enough new games coming out. In 3 months, that will likely change but for now, that's what I'd have to rate it. There are a few great original games, but far too many sports games and mediocre ports to warrant anything higher right now.
Plays Movies
The UMD can hold movie data as well. This means another way for Sony to sell you stuff! Sweet! Sony has put a lot of effort into having movie studios release their movies on the UMD format for use with the PSP. At first, the pickings were slim, but now, walk into any Best Buy or Circuit City and you will see a ton of movies available on UMD for the PSP. Well over a hundred movies are out now. Prices range from $14.99 up to $34.99. The quality of the transfer is on par with DVD standards and they look great on the PSPs widescreen. The drawback to the movie UMDs is that they are as expensive as DVDs, they generally do not have much in the way of extra content on them like DVDs, and they can only be played on the PSP as there is no other external UMD player available.
Given the range of titles available and the coolness factor of being able to watch a movie on the PSP on the go, I would have to give the UMD movie portion of the PSPs capabilities a B. There are other, cheaper ways to watch movies on the PSP though, such as placing them on a your memory stick. The PSP is capable of playing back MPEG4 video files off the memory stick. It's not as complicated as you might think to put a movie on the memory stick, but it does take some knowledge. For a rundown on how to do this, I recommend you check out 1UP.coms feature on how to add movie files to the memory stick located here: http://psp.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3138994
Plays Music
The PSP is capable of playing back music that is in MP3 format and thanks to the new update version 2.0 of the firmware, it now supports ATRAC3 (a Sony proprietary format similar to MP3 but takes up much less memory space as it produces high level sound quality in a smaller file size). Adding MP3s or ATRAC3s to your PSP is a simple matter of hooking up the PSP to a computer via a USB cable sold separately for about $10.00 and dragging and dropping the music files you want from the PC to the PSP. How many songs you can store on the PSP is determined by how big a memory stick you have and how big the song files are.
Playback is a simple affair as well. Just go into the music portion on the main menu of the PSP and choose what song you want to hear. There are different options such as shuffle, repeat and loop available. The basic remote control the PSP comes with does a decent job. There is no display on the remote, which can make it tough if you are storing the PSP in a backpack or pocket and want to hear a specific song, but the remote does allow you to skip, pause, stop and adjust the volume without touching the PSP.
The sound quality on the playback is determined by the quality of the music file and the quality of your headphones. Overall though, it reproduces the music file with zero problems and is one of the neatest features of the PSP and the one people will use the most initially.
A
Picture Viewer
The PSP out of the box supports JPEG format pictures. If you update to the 2.0 Firmware (more on that later) you will also be able to view images in TIFF, GIF and BMP format. You can download images directly onto the PSP from your digital camera via a USB cord as well. There is a nifty slideshow feature to tool around with as well. The image quality is pretty decent, though sometimes, thanks to the PSPs widescreen format, the picture gets a little squished. There is a pretty decent zoom feature that lets you zoom in up to 200% and move around via the analog nub. All in all, not a bad picture viewer and a nice added feature. A
Firmware 2.0 Features
As mentioned earlier, the PSP is WI FI enabled out of the box. If you have a wireless network in your home or venture out into the world to use a hotspot, you can go online with the PSP. Sony has deemed it fit to release firmware updates via download from either the official sony website and then transferring the update to your PSP via a USB connection, or by simply updating directly with the PSP by accessing the Network Update feature in the PSPs browser menu.
A lot of debate rages in message board land about the updates, I will not get into that with this review. Rather, I will outline the key features in the latest 2.0 firmware update from Sony that adds quite a bit of functionality to the PSP.
Internet Browser
The update installs an internet browser that allows you to surf the net on your PSP. It does a decent job of it to! The browser supports standard 4.01 HTML, but will not support Flash. You can bookmark web pages for one click access as well as enter web address using the on screen keyboard that pops up on the PSPs screen when prompted. You can save pictures off the web directly to the memory stick as well. Overall, a really nice addition that adds even more functionality to the PSP. A
Wallpaper Function
This addition allows you to customize your PSPs main menu screen with any photo you choose. Simply choose Set as Wallpaper and your done. A
Video Upgrades
A whole host of new video functionality and playback options were added. Here's the rundown:
- Jump Feature in UMD Video/Music - A new skipping feature in UMDs, making navigation of UMD movies easier.
- A-B Repeat Mode - A handy feature for watching clips you like, this feature allows UMD Video, Music or Memory Stick videos to repeat your favorite scenes
- 4x3 Video Mode of Memory Stick Video
- Audio Adjustment Function of Memory Stick Video
- MP4 (AVC) Playback -The PSP is finally allowed to branch out and play more complex, high-quality video from the memory stick.
Overall, not really anything you couldn't live without. C
Music Upgrades
The music playback portion also received a nice update. The PSP now supports the ATRAC3 format, which is basically Sonys version of the MP3. The ATRAC3 takes up less space than an MP3 of the same quality. A nice memory stick space saver, but requires you to use Sonic stage (Sonys music player/service a la Napster) to convert to ATRAC3 format, but the player is free, so really not a big deal. A
Those are the most notable of the new features the update brings to you. Should you choose to update or not is up to you. I can say that I have, and I don't regret it. Overall Firmware 2.0 scores a A- from me. If nothing else, the web browser alone makes it worth it. It should also be noted that many of the new games coming out require a mandatory upgrade of the firmware to play the game. There are of course ways to circumvent this mandatory update, but in the end it really depends on what you want to do with your PSP that will guide your decision to upgrade or not. A non updated PSP (v 1.51 or lower) is capable of playing homebrew games and emulators of the NES and SNES. The quality of these emulators is questionable, but if that's what you're into, you probably should stay away from the updates as security measures put in place by Sony in the later updates makes these emulators useless.
PSP Value Pack
So now that you know what the PSP can do, just how much will it set you back and what do you get with it? Right now, the only way to buy a PSP is in a Value Pack bundle. Sony has seen fit not to offer just the base unit for sale without the added extras in the bundle pack and have not released any information that they plan to anytime soon. The value pack costs $249.99 (US).
What's Included
-Ear buds and remote control for Ear buds. Not the best quality Ear buds you can get and they get pretty uncomfortable after extended periods of time wearing them. They are white in color, mimicking the Ipods. The remote control is pretty basic, but does allow you to stash the PSP in a pocket or backpack and still be able to adjust the volume or skip tracks, play, pause, rewind or stop music.
-Dust cloth. Just a little piece of cloth that you use to wipe down the PSP and keep it clean. Nothing to write home about.
-32 MB Pro Duo Memory Stick. More than big enough to use for game save files, but hideously undersized for just about every other feature you might want to utilize on the PSP.
-UMD Sampler disc. A bunch of non interactive videos of upcoming games, music and movies. Not very useful.
-Soft case. A basic slip on case to carry the PSP in. It doesn't protect it very well at all actually.
Spiderman 2 UMD Movie. Only the first million PSP units shipped with the full length UMD version of Spiderman 2 the movie. You'll be hard pressed to still find one of these in a retail store, but you never know. This was the only real good thing in the value pack.
What You Will Want to Buy With Your PSP
So as the items included in the PSP value pack are pretty much useless, you will want to purchase some necessary items with your PSP in order to take full advantage of all it can do.
-Good quality headphones. First things first, you're going to want to ditch the included Ear buds and pick up something a little better quality.
-Memory Stick. If you plan on using your PSP to play any music at all, you will need a larger capacity memory stick. I recommend at least a 512 MB. Sandisk makes an excellent memory stick and is a fraction of the price of the official Sony ones. Being diligent and keeping your eye out for deals, you could pick up a 512 for about $70. If you get real lucky, you may even catch a deal on a 1 Gig stick for under $100. The larger the memory stick, the more files you can put on it. A 512 stick is even large enough to put a few video files on the PSP.
-A travel case. The soft case the PSP comes with just doesn't cut it. I recommend picking up the Logitech Playgear hard case. It's pretty sleek and sexy like the PSP and allows you to prop up the unit to view movies and has cutouts for all the buttons to allow you to play games without taking it out of the case. It's only $19.99 most places and is well worth it.
With just those things and a game or two, you'll be ready to rock with your new PSP.
Final Thoughts
So you're still undecided on if the PSP is for you. You wonder if the Nintendo DS would be more suited to your needs. $250 seems a bit steep for a little handheld gaming unit. I hear you, and I understand your pain. Ask yourself these simple questions and it might help to make your decision a little easier.
1. What type of gamer are you? Do you like traditional games (sports, racing, puzzle)? Or do you enjoy quirky non traditional games? If you are more of the first and less of the second, the PSP would suit you well. If you are more of the later, then you should look into the Nintendo DS a little more.
2. Would you utilize all the features of the PSP like music and movie playback? Is it important to you? Do you need another MP3 player? If yes, then a PSP would be good for you.
3. Are you willing to make the initial investment of over $300 for just the PSP and a game?
4. Do you like the latest technology and just have to have it?
Sure these are basic questions, but it boils down to this. Is the PSP worth your money? I have had it since launch day and honestly, I say yes. Definitely. Sure, the games have been lacking for it lately, but the potential is there for some truly great games to be developed. In the meantime, there are a ton of other uses for the unit. I get a ton of use out of the MP3 player and even have a few movies for it. It is pricey, but you do get what you pay for. Considering everything the PSP can do (MP3 player, game player, movie player, picture viewer, web browser etc.) $250 is not a whole lot of money.
Overall score for the PSP: A-
Everything You Need to Know About the PSP
| Author's Rating: |
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Pros: Multiple applications and uses.
Cons: A bit pricey.
The Bottom Line:
The PSP is a slice of tech heaven that is well worth the hefty price tag.
Here it is, everything you ever needed to know about the PSP and probably some stuff you don't need to know. I know, it's ridiculously long and drawn out, but I have separated the review into different sections, read what you like and skip the stuff you aren't interested in. Hopefully by compiling all possible information on the PSP into one place for those interested in purchasing one and that might not know much about the unit, this review will help make their decision easier.
Playstation Portable
First, the technical stuff. The PSP is a beast, technologically speaking. Here's a quick overview of the inner workings of the system. (Pasted from the Spec sheet on Epinions.com for the convenience of the reader, see now you don't have to click back and forth between this review and the product specs page.)
Technical Features
DVD Movie Playback UMD Movies Playback
Communication Type Infrared • IEEE 802.11b • USB 2.0
Expansion Slots Memory Stick Duo
Input / Output Ports 1 x USB
Main Controls Directional Pad • L/R Buttons • Start/Select Buttons
Wireless Capabilities Infrared • IEEE 802.11b
Storage Type
Optical Drive Type UMD (Universal Media Disc) Drive
Processor
Processor type MIPS R4000
Processor Speed 333 MHz
Audio
Audio Support Stereo Speakers
Audio In Mic In
Audio Out Line Out
Battery
Battery Run Time 2.5 Hours
Battery Type Rechargeable Lithium-ion
Display
Display Type LCD TFT (Active Matrix) • Widescreen TFT LCD
Screen Size 4.3 in.
Max. Resolution 480 x 272
Graphics
Graphic Card Memory 2 MB
Fill Rate 664 Million pixels/sec
Max. Number Of Colors 16.77M Colors
Memory
Installed RAM 36 MB
Other Features
Parental Control With Parental Control
Dimensions
Height 2.9 in.
Depth .9 in.
Width 6.7 in.
Weight .62 lb.
Miscellaneous
External Color Black
Supplied Accessories AC Adapter • Memory Stick Duo (32 MB) • UMD In-pack Sampler
Release Date March, 2005
Product ID 22360348
What it Can Actually Do
Those specs are great and all, but to the majority of people out there, they mean exactly jack. No worries though. Let's go through bit by bit and see just what exactly this sucker can do and how well it does it.
But First...
Let's look at just the PSP itself. Namely the screen, face buttons and overall design of the thing.
The screen, measuring 4 inches by 3 inches and in widescreen format, it's by far, the biggest screen of all the major portables (GBA SP, DS). It uses LCD technology for a bright and vibrant picture with a max resolution of 480x272. It is back lit and has three different settings of brightness as well as an option to turn of the screen all together if you don't need it. The brightest of the settings makes the screen look fantastic, but also sucks up the battery like there's no tomorrow. The screen takes up about 2/3rds of the PSP unit itself and it truly is a beautiful piece of technology.
There are issues though. As with most LCD screens, you will sometimes have what are called dead or stuck pixels. A pixel is what makes up the screen and displays the image on the screen by alternating colors. Thousands of pixels make up the screen. A dead pixel is when a single pixel no longer works and just sits there as a black spec on the screen. A stuck pixel is when a single pixel gets stuck on a certain color and shows up as a colored spec on the screen. This is common with the LCD technology. But upon the PSPs initial launch reports from consumers were coming in that they were receiving units with 20 or more dead or stuck pixels. This is not common and is not good. Sony's official stance on the problem was to play with the unit for 2 weeks and see if the dead or stuck pixels still bother you. They did offer a replacement program for those with 7 or more dead pixels. But for $250 a pop, this should not be an issue. Better quality control should have caught these units with multiple dead pixels. My personal PSP has 3 stuck pixels. I live with them. Do they bother me? Not that much, but it's still annoying to have a big beautiful screen, and then have a green spec in the corner.
Next are the face buttons. Standard Sony fare here, on the right you have the same configuration of buttons as the PS1 and PS2 controllers, x button, square button, triangle button and circle button. The initial Japanese units reportedly had issues with the square button sticking or not being responsive. This was due to the way the handheld was manufactured. In order to fit the size of screen the had on there and all the face buttons and not make the units base size any larger, they had to map out the square button a little off center of the pressure pad it pushes down on when you push the square button. This caused a stickiness or non responsive feeling with that single button. With the US release, it appears that problem was fixed. I have noticed to issues at all with the square button.
On the top side of the unit, you have two shoulder buttons, L and R. They are spaced nicely and are easy to reach while playing a game. Also on the top side is the eject button and the UMD tray. This is where you place the game or movie UMD you wish to play. The UMD slides and clicks into place and the disc tray snaps shut. There were also reports from the Japan units that if the PSP unit was twisted while a UMD was inserted, it would come shooting out like a UMD of death. While true, it takes a great deal of twisting to get it to shoot out, and I for one have never been willing to put that much torque on my precious to try it. For normal game playing, you will never have a UMD just fly out. Also located on the top side is a USB port. This is used to connect the PSP to a computer to transfer files between the two. It uses a standard USB cord like most digital cameras use.
On the left side is the standard D Pad or Directional Pad (or Digital Pad). Next to the D Pad is the analog "nub" as its been dubbed. It is basically a little tiny stick that allows for pseudo analog control in games. Not a true analog control, but it's surprisingly precise and easy to use.
Other face buttons include the start button, select button, volume up and down buttons, amplifier button that allows you to choose the type of equalizer to utilize while playing back music files with headphones attached. The screen light button and the Home button which takes you back to the system menu while playing a game or movie. Also on the face are the little speakers. The PSP has stereo sound without the use of headphones, but the quality of the speakers is not that great. For truly great sound, you need to use headphones.
There is also a WI Fi switch on the left side that when turned on, enables the built in wireless wi fi capabilities of the PSP. Underneath the Wi Fi switch is the memory stick slot. The PSP uses a memory stick called the Pro Duo. It is about half the size of the Pro memory stick and comes in various sizes. More on the memory stick later.
On the right side is the power switch. It slides up to turn the unit on, slide it up once while it is on to place it in sleep mode, hold it up to turn the unit completely off. Slide it all the way down to lock the unit on or off. One would lock the unit on if playing music or what not and does not want to accidentally have the unit power off if placed in a backpack or pocket.
On the bottom of the unit is the battery compartment. This is where the battery is placed. Simple enough. Battery life on the PSP was a huge concern when it initially was released. Depending on the application, the battery will last anywhere from 4-10 hours. Playing a movie will suck it dry pretty fast. The battery will fare much better playing music with the screen turned off. On average, I get about 6 hours use out of each charge, playing games with the screen on full brightness.
On the bottom side of the PSP is where the recharge jack is plugged in as well as a headphone jack. Standard headphones work fine with it as well as headphones with a remote control attached to it. More on that later.
The front of the unit is a nice shiny black. It looks great, but attracts fingerprints if you get within 5 feet of it. The back is a little more forgiving, still black, but a more subdued material that provides a nice grip while holding it and shows little fingerprints.
Overall design of the PSP would get an A- from me. There just isn't too much that isn't absolutely perfect about the design of it. I would like to see a variety of colors available to choose from (there is a white one scheduled to be released in the US in the coming months) and the analog nub can be a bit tricky to get used to. Other than that, perfect.
Now onto what the PSP is capable of.
Plays Games
Shocker! It is first and foremost a portable gaming system, so naturally, playing games on it should be the first priority for anyone looking to purchase it.
The PSP uses a Sony proprietary format called a UMD (Universal Media Disc). But what the heck is a UMD you ask? It is basically a optical mini disc encased in a plastic case. The whole lot slips into the disc tray of the PSP, so you never actually handle the disc itself. The capacity of a UMD is 1.8 GB and can store music, movie or game data. It cannot play standard size cds or PS2 game discs as is the common misnomer made by casual gamers.
As time has proven with past, a gaming system is only as good as its games. With that said, the PSP is severely lacking at the current time for really must have, unique games. This is common place though when a new system is launched, the initial games are usually not that stellar. There are a few great games though despite itself. At the PSPs launch, every major gaming genre was represented, with the majority of the games leaning towards either racing or sports.
US Launch Games List
- Ape Escape: On the Loose
- ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails
- Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
- Dynasty Warriors
- FIFA 2005
- Gretzky NHL
- Lumines
- Metal Gear Acid
- MLB
- MVP Baseball
- NBA
- NBA Street Showdown
- Need for Speed Rivals
- NFL Street 2 Unleashed
- Ridge Racer
- Spider-Man 2
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
- Twisted Metal: Head On
- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
- Wipeout Pure
- World Tour Soccer
The standouts on this list and are must have games and critically acclaimed were:
Lumines- a unique puzzle game with addictive game play and incredible soundtrack.
Metal Gear Acid-Again, a unique take on the massively popular Metal Gear franchise. This time, action takes place in the form of cards. Sounds messed up, but it is incredibly deep and addicting.
Ridge Racer- Takes the best from all previous Ridge Racers. Arcade racing, that is easy to pick up and play, harder to put down.
Those were the best of the best of the launch titles, there were a couple others that were worth picking up, but if you're on a limited budget, those were the must gets with the system.
In the 6 months since it's launch, we have seen very few must have games, which have no doubt caused a lot of early adaptors of the PSP to question their investment. But, on the horizon, looms some really promising games and with Sonys track record of game libraries, the PSP will no doubt, in time, have an amazing library with something for every type of gamer. Burnout Legends was just released and is incredibly fun. A Grand Theft Auto game is slated for release next month, several RPGs loom on the horizon as well, including ports of the cult favorites, Suikoden 1 and 2.
Though early criticism from detractors of the PSP claim that all the games are ports (exact copies of PS2 games). This is the case in many of the launch titles, but there are quite a few original ideas amongst the many ports in there as well (Metal Gear, Lumines)
The prices of games range from $39.99 to $49.99. All first party (games published by Sony) are $39.99. EA and Activision have seen fit to charge $49.99 a piece for their games. Pricey for a handheld game, but the quality of the graphics and sound far outweigh that of previous handheld units, so the production costs of producing a game are bound to be more expensive for the PSP than for the Gameboy Advance, and that rise in cost is passed on directly to us, the consumer.
Speaking of the graphics, they are high quality, make no mistake. Better that PS1 and not quite on par with PS2. That said, they are closer to PS2 than PS1. It handles full 3D with little effort. The sense of speed conveyed in games like Wipeout and Burnout Legends is incredible. Particle effects, lighting, character and environment models can be richly detailed and animated with the PSP. Really, there is no other portable unit on the market today that has the capabilities that the PSP does.
The PSP also has a WI FI adapter built into the unit. This allows for online play via an internet hotspot or a wireless home network against other PSP gamers around the world. Not all games have this feature, in fact the only launch title that did was Wipeout Pure, but it seems, more and more upcoming games will support online play. The WI FI adapter also allows gamers in the same vicinity of each other (same room) to compete against each other wirelessly, with no internet connection required. That means you and a buddy can race against each other in the same room, if you each have a PSP and a copy of the game that is. Some games only require one copy of the game, you then upload a portion of the game to other PSPs in the same vicinity. It's a neat idea and one that will only get better in time as more and more games are released that support it.
Overall right now, the games portion of the PSP would score a C from me. There just haven't been enough new games coming out. In 3 months, that will likely change but for now, that's what I'd have to rate it. There are a few great original games, but far too many sports games and mediocre ports to warrant anything higher right now.
Plays Movies
The UMD can hold movie data as well. This means another way for Sony to sell you stuff! Sweet! Sony has put a lot of effort into having movie studios release their movies on the UMD format for use with the PSP. At first, the pickings were slim, but now, walk into any Best Buy or Circuit City and you will see a ton of movies available on UMD for the PSP. Well over a hundred movies are out now. Prices range from $14.99 up to $34.99. The quality of the transfer is on par with DVD standards and they look great on the PSPs widescreen. The drawback to the movie UMDs is that they are as expensive as DVDs, they generally do not have much in the way of extra content on them like DVDs, and they can only be played on the PSP as there is no other external UMD player available.
Given the range of titles available and the coolness factor of being able to watch a movie on the PSP on the go, I would have to give the UMD movie portion of the PSPs capabilities a B. There are other, cheaper ways to watch movies on the PSP though, such as placing them on a your memory stick. The PSP is capable of playing back MPEG4 video files off the memory stick. It's not as complicated as you might think to put a movie on the memory stick, but it does take some knowledge. For a rundown on how to do this, I recommend you check out 1UP.coms feature on how to add movie files to the memory stick located here: http://psp.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3138994
Plays Music
The PSP is capable of playing back music that is in MP3 format and thanks to the new update version 2.0 of the firmware, it now supports ATRAC3 (a Sony proprietary format similar to MP3 but takes up much less memory space as it produces high level sound quality in a smaller file size). Adding MP3s or ATRAC3s to your PSP is a simple matter of hooking up the PSP to a computer via a USB cable sold separately for about $10.00 and dragging and dropping the music files you want from the PC to the PSP. How many songs you can store on the PSP is determined by how big a memory stick you have and how big the song files are.
Playback is a simple affair as well. Just go into the music portion on the main menu of the PSP and choose what song you want to hear. There are different options such as shuffle, repeat and loop available. The basic remote control the PSP comes with does a decent job. There is no display on the remote, which can make it tough if you are storing the PSP in a backpack or pocket and want to hear a specific song, but the remote does allow you to skip, pause, stop and adjust the volume without touching the PSP.
The sound quality on the playback is determined by the quality of the music file and the quality of your headphones. Overall though, it reproduces the music file with zero problems and is one of the neatest features of the PSP and the one people will use the most initially.
A
Picture Viewer
The PSP out of the box supports JPEG format pictures. If you update to the 2.0 Firmware (more on that later) you will also be able to view images in TIFF, GIF and BMP format. You can download images directly onto the PSP from your digital camera via a USB cord as well. There is a nifty slideshow feature to tool around with as well. The image quality is pretty decent, though sometimes, thanks to the PSPs widescreen format, the picture gets a little squished. There is a pretty decent zoom feature that lets you zoom in up to 200% and move around via the analog nub. All in all, not a bad picture viewer and a nice added feature. A
Firmware 2.0 Features
As mentioned earlier, the PSP is WI FI enabled out of the box. If you have a wireless network in your home or venture out into the world to use a hotspot, you can go online with the PSP. Sony has deemed it fit to release firmware updates via download from either the official sony website and then transferring the update to your PSP via a USB connection, or by simply updating directly with the PSP by accessing the Network Update feature in the PSPs browser menu.
A lot of debate rages in message board land about the updates, I will not get into that with this review. Rather, I will outline the key features in the latest 2.0 firmware update from Sony that adds quite a bit of functionality to the PSP.
Internet Browser
The update installs an internet browser that allows you to surf the net on your PSP. It does a decent job of it to! The browser supports standard 4.01 HTML, but will not support Flash. You can bookmark web pages for one click access as well as enter web address using the on screen keyboard that pops up on the PSPs screen when prompted. You can save pictures off the web directly to the memory stick as well. Overall, a really nice addition that adds even more functionality to the PSP. A
Wallpaper Function
This addition allows you to customize your PSPs main menu screen with any photo you choose. Simply choose Set as Wallpaper and your done. A
Video Upgrades
A whole host of new video functionality and playback options were added. Here's the rundown:
- Jump Feature in UMD Video/Music - A new skipping feature in UMDs, making navigation of UMD movies easier.
- A-B Repeat Mode - A handy feature for watching clips you like, this feature allows UMD Video, Music or Memory Stick videos to repeat your favorite scenes
- 4x3 Video Mode of Memory Stick Video
- Audio Adjustment Function of Memory Stick Video
- MP4 (AVC) Playback -The PSP is finally allowed to branch out and play more complex, high-quality video from the memory stick.
Overall, not really anything you couldn't live without. C
Music Upgrades
The music playback portion also received a nice update. The PSP now supports the ATRAC3 format, which is basically Sonys version of the MP3. The ATRAC3 takes up less space than an MP3 of the same quality. A nice memory stick space saver, but requires you to use Sonic stage (Sonys music player/service a la Napster) to convert to ATRAC3 format, but the player is free, so really not a big deal. A
Those are the most notable of the new features the update brings to you. Should you choose to update or not is up to you. I can say that I have, and I don't regret it. Overall Firmware 2.0 scores a A- from me. If nothing else, the web browser alone makes it worth it. It should also be noted that many of the new games coming out require a mandatory upgrade of the firmware to play the game. There are of course ways to circumvent this mandatory update, but in the end it really depends on what you want to do with your PSP that will guide your decision to upgrade or not. A non updated PSP (v 1.51 or lower) is capable of playing homebrew games and emulators of the NES and SNES. The quality of these emulators is questionable, but if that's what you're into, you probably should stay away from the updates as security measures put in place by Sony in the later updates makes these emulators useless.
PSP Value Pack
So now that you know what the PSP can do, just how much will it set you back and what do you get with it? Right now, the only way to buy a PSP is in a Value Pack bundle. Sony has seen fit not to offer just the base unit for sale without the added extras in the bundle pack and have not released any information that they plan to anytime soon. The value pack costs $249.99 (US).
What's Included
-Ear buds and remote control for Ear buds. Not the best quality Ear buds you can get and they get pretty uncomfortable after extended periods of time wearing them. They are white in color, mimicking the Ipods. The remote control is pretty basic, but does allow you to stash the PSP in a pocket or backpack and still be able to adjust the volume or skip tracks, play, pause, rewind or stop music.
-Dust cloth. Just a little piece of cloth that you use to wipe down the PSP and keep it clean. Nothing to write home about.
-32 MB Pro Duo Memory Stick. More than big enough to use for game save files, but hideously undersized for just about every other feature you might want to utilize on the PSP.
-UMD Sampler disc. A bunch of non interactive videos of upcoming games, music and movies. Not very useful.
-Soft case. A basic slip on case to carry the PSP in. It doesn't protect it very well at all actually.
Spiderman 2 UMD Movie. Only the first million PSP units shipped with the full length UMD version of Spiderman 2 the movie. You'll be hard pressed to still find one of these in a retail store, but you never know. This was the only real good thing in the value pack.
What You Will Want to Buy With Your PSP
So as the items included in the PSP value pack are pretty much useless, you will want to purchase some necessary items with your PSP in order to take full advantage of all it can do.
-Good quality headphones. First things first, you're going to want to ditch the included Ear buds and pick up something a little better quality.
-Memory Stick. If you plan on using your PSP to play any music at all, you will need a larger capacity memory stick. I recommend at least a 512 MB. Sandisk makes an excellent memory stick and is a fraction of the price of the official Sony ones. Being diligent and keeping your eye out for deals, you could pick up a 512 for about $70. If you get real lucky, you may even catch a deal on a 1 Gig stick for under $100. The larger the memory stick, the more files you can put on it. A 512 stick is even large enough to put a few video files on the PSP.
-A travel case. The soft case the PSP comes with just doesn't cut it. I recommend picking up the Logitech Playgear hard case. It's pretty sleek and sexy like the PSP and allows you to prop up the unit to view movies and has cutouts for all the buttons to allow you to play games without taking it out of the case. It's only $19.99 most places and is well worth it.
With just those things and a game or two, you'll be ready to rock with your new PSP.
Final Thoughts
So you're still undecided on if the PSP is for you. You wonder if the Nintendo DS would be more suited to your needs. $250 seems a bit steep for a little handheld gaming unit. I hear you, and I understand your pain. Ask yourself these simple questions and it might help to make your decision a little easier.
1. What type of gamer are you? Do you like traditional games (sports, racing, puzzle)? Or do you enjoy quirky non traditional games? If you are more of the first and less of the second, the PSP would suit you well. If you are more of the later, then you should look into the Nintendo DS a little more.
2. Would you utilize all the features of the PSP like music and movie playback? Is it important to you? Do you need another MP3 player? If yes, then a PSP would be good for you.
3. Are you willing to make the initial investment of over $300 for just the PSP and a game?
4. Do you like the latest technology and just have to have it?
Sure these are basic questions, but it boils down to this. Is the PSP worth your money? I have had it since launch day and honestly, I say yes. Definitely. Sure, the games have been lacking for it lately, but the potential is there for some truly great games to be developed. In the meantime, there are a ton of other uses for the unit. I get a ton of use out of the MP3 player and even have a few movies for it. It is pricey, but you do get what you pay for. Considering everything the PSP can do (MP3 player, game player, movie player, picture viewer, web browser etc.) $250 is not a whole lot of money.
Overall score for the PSP: A-
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