The psp resource page

The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP) is a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. The PlayStation Portable was first announced during E³ 2003 and was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E³ 2004. It was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, the United States and Canada on March 24, 2005 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. The PSP offers users games, video, music, photos, as well as internet functionality.

Variations and accessories

In all territories, the PlayStation Portable is available as part of the Value Pack (but no longer due to all value packs being "downgradeable" as they have a low-security motherboard) or Core Pack, and in most territories it is also available as part of a Giga Pack and more recently as an Entertainment Pack. The Value Pack contains the console, battery, a 32 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo, earphones with remote control, a slip-case, a wrist strap, and a Sampler Disc (in some territories), for USD $249.99, CDN $229.99-279.99, GBP £179.99, JPY ¥26,040, SGD $455.00, EUR €209, AUD $399.00 and NZD $429.99.

On July 21, 2005, Sony announced during an event in Tokyo, Japan that there would be a ceramic white version of the PlayStation Portable. This variation is the same as the black PlayStation Portable except that it has a higher D-pad, higher non-clear buttons and an improved volume system. It was released on September 15, 2005 in Japan and was later released in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Europe.

On October 20, 2005, Sony announced the PlayStation Portable Giga pack, which contains a 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, a USB Cable, and a stand. It also contains all of the other accessories found in the standard PlayStation Portable Value Pack, except for the hand strap. The suggested retail price is ¥29,800 in Asia, $299 in the United States, $349 in Canada and £214.99 in the UK. The Giga Pack was released in all territories in between October and November 2005. The pack is still available in all territories except North America, as the deal was based on a special offer that ended after the holiday season.

A base unit package was only available at launch in Japan, although it was later released in the U.S. and Europe on March 22, 2006,^[2] with pricing points set at $199 U.S, $229.99 CDN, €199, $329 AUD and £149.99.^[3]

Optional accessories offered by Sony include the PlayStation Portable headset, carrying case, extended-life 2200 mAh battery, headphones with remote control, battery charger, car adaptor, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, AC adaptor, and system pouch and wrist strap.

On August 21, 2006, Sony announced that a P!NK PSP version, made to appeal to female gamers and P!NK fans alike, will be available only in Europe. The P!NK PSP will be bundled with the white headphones with remote control, pouch, wrist strap and a 32MB Memory Stick Duo and exclusive access to P!NK related downloads through YourPSP.com. Set for release on October 27 in Europe only, the P!nk PSP Value Pack will cost €229, or £169. This release was announced after the pink Playstation 2 was announced for Europe.

In late September 2006, Sony started selling the Entertainment Pack in North America. The Entertainment Pack contains a copy of ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, a UMD movie (Lords of Dogtown), and a 1GB Memory Stick. The Entertainment Pack retails for $249 USD.

On October 18th, a new "Bonus Pack" will be released in Japan in black and ceramic white. This is identical to the Giga Pack except a cleaning cloth nor headphones with remote control will be included but a USB transfer cable will be included instead.

Features

Games

This is a list of games that are available for the Playstation Portable, in which are both released and/or in development. To date, the top-selling game is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. The Sony PSP web site also allows owners to download game demos to the memory stick.

Controls

Despite its movie and music playback capabilities, the PlayStation Portable has primarily gaming-oriented controls (as opposed to the controls typical to television remotes or MP3 players): two shoulder buttons, the PlayStation face buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), start and select buttons, a digital 4-directional pad, and an analog stick. There is also a row of secondary controls along the underside of the screen, for controlling volume, music settings (either switching the audio off and on in games or selecting different equalizer presets), screen brightness, and accessing the system's main menu.

The PlayStation Portable's analog stick, often referred to as the analog "nub", is a circular disc which slides rather than tilts. The PlayStation Portable's analog stick can also be easily removed and replaced with a third party stick.

Demos

The first downloadable demo for the PlayStation Portable was for the game LocoRoco. It can be downloaded and booted directly from the Memory Stick Duo and requires firmware 2.70 for the Japanese version and 2.71 for the European and American version. There are also downloadable demos available for Go! Sudoku, Mercury Meltdown, World Tour Soccer 2006, Bounty Hounds and Ape Escape Racers.

Sales and competition

August, 2006, it is estimated that 3.77 million PlayStation Portable units have been sold in Japan through to 2006, compared to 10 million by the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite.[1]^{verification needed]}

As of October 21, 2005, the PlayStation Portable had shipped 10 million units worldwide.^[1] Sony was expecting a large boost in sales by the end of the year with the creation of the PlayStation Portable Giga Pack, which debuted at the start of the holiday season. By hitting 10 million units shipped in 10 months it marked the "fastest penetration speed" of any PlayStation platform.^[4] By December 31, 2005 15 million units had been shipped.^[1] At its E3 2006 press conference on May 8, 2006, Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, announced the company had shipped 17 million units.^[1]

On July 31, 2006, a spokesman announced that over 20 million units had been shipped as of July 24^[1], compared to total sales to retailers of over 21 million for the Nintendo DS.

Nintendo announced September 15, 2006 that its competing Nintendo DS consoles hold a 70 per cent market share in that region for eleven consecutive weeks. ^[5]

Greatest Hits titles

During E3 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that the Greatest Hits range of budget titles were to be extended to the PSP system. On July 25, 2006, Sony CEA released^[6] the first batch of Greatest Hits titles. The PSP Greatest Hits lineup consist of games that have sold 250,000 copies or more and have been out for 9 months. Every PSP game in this lineup will retail for $19.99 each.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced at around the same time the availability of a number of titles under the Platinum range for €24.99 each.

Multimedia and codecs

Because Sony's software is not the only toolset for getting music or movies onto a PlayStation Portable, a cottage industry has grown around offering useful tools for converting and copying files for use on the PlayStation Portable. Some popular alternatives include Media Boss,^[7] PlayStation Portable Movie Creator,^[8] PlayStation Portable Video Express,^[9] Xcopy9,^[10] PSPWare^[11], iPlayStation Portable,^[12]PlayStation Portable Media Studio,^[13] PlayStation Portable Video 9,^[14] 3GP Converter, PlayStation Portable Multimedia Extender^[15] - all simplify the task of converting and transferring files to and from the PlayStation Portable's Memory Stick. Additionally, some FOSS programs, such as FFmpeg can be used to convert video into a properly sized and formatted PlayStation Portable video file. Using these tools, nearly any digital video file (including movie files ripped from DVDs or digital video recorders like the TiVo) can be played on a PlayStation Portable, after conversion to AVC.

Video capture hardware

Alongside the numerous software applications devoted to PlayStation Portable video, there have been hardware devices specifically designed for various PlayStation Portable-centric applications. For example, the Neuros MPEG-4 Video Recorder 2 is an MPEG-4 video recorder specifically designed to put analog video, from standard A/V connections, into a format recognizable by the PlayStation Portable. Rather than simply convert the video file and leave it to the user to transfer the file properly, it records directly into the PlayStation Portable's native file and directory structure, on the memory stick itself. Another example of PlayStation Portable-dedicated hardware units are the various adapters designed perform a reverse process - display the PlayStation Portable's output on a television. These devices have various modes of operation, with some simply using the method of pointing a video camera at the screen. ^[16]

Video file sizes largely depend on the audio and video bit rates. With reasonable settings (a resolution of 320×240, a video bit rate of 500 Kilobits per second, and an audio sampling rate of 22050 kHz) a 22 minute movie file is roughly 55 megabytes. (This is enough for a 30 minute television episode with the commercials removed) This means that a 512 MB Memory Stick can hold approximately nine of these files. A hundred-minute feature film can fit on a 256 MB Memory Stick.

Many movie files, both free-to-distribute and pirated, have been encoded for the PlayStation Portable and are available on the internet. Game and movie trailers, in particular, are increasingly available, even from the studio's official site.

Sony released firmware 2.00 on July 27, 2005 in Japan and on August 24, 2005 in North America. It was also packaged in the retail product for European and Australian PlayStation Portables. The firmware update added the ability to play MP4 AAC audio files, ATRAC3plus audio files from a Memory Stick Pro Duo, MPEG-4 AVC video files (if encoded using a proprietary Sony encoding), as well as view GIF, Bitmap (BMP), and TIF image files. It also added the ability to send photos wirelessly to another PlayStation Portable system and allowed owners to use an image as background wallpaper. The LocationFree Player functionality was first added to firmware 2.50.^[17] Owners of a LocationFree Base Station can play streaming movies over the Internet from anywhere in the world on their PlayStation Portable.

Firmware version 2.60 also added new multimedia functionality and codecs, the main features being streaming of podcast audio directly from the web using an RSS feed and the playback of the WMA audio format (this requires online activation). Firmware 2.70 includes a Macromedia Flash player in the Web Browser, as well as upgraded RSS features.

Camera and GPS

A camera and GPS attachment were first announced for the PSP in March 2006. More details are set to be released during Tokyo Game Show 2006.

The GPS reciever will feature support for GPS-enabled games such as a projected re-release or update of Hot Shot Golf, as well in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The GPS is set to be priced around ¥6,000, appx. $54 USD.

The “Chotto Shot” (Quick Shot) camera add-on will support a new video and VoIP chat service, as well as photo taking. Both the camera and service are slated for release in Japan in December 2006 for around ¥5,000, appx. $44 USD.[2]

Wireless networking

The PlayStation Portable can connect to a wireless network through Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b which allows it to surf the web or connect to other PlayStation Portable units for multiplayer gaming world-wide. Use of wireless network features increases the power consumption and lowers the battery life of the system.^{citation needed]}

Firmware 2.00 was released on July 27, 2005 for Japanese PlayStation Portables, and August 24, 2005 for North American PlayStation Portables. The update included a web browser and support for connecting to networks with WPA and WEP encryption. Although the web browser works fine in most cases, it has many problems that need to be sorted out, this is mainly due to the use of JavaScript and its inability to handle Java commands. Sony put JavaScript on the PlayStation Portable Browser mainly because Java could be used as an exploit to run unsigned code on the PlayStation Portable.^{citation needed]}

Sony has stated that the PlayStation Portable will be able to connect and interact with the upcoming PlayStation 3. Details on link-up features are slim, however Hideo Kojima has discussed the possibility of a link-up between Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Acid².^{citation needed]}

Gamesharing

Some titles for the PlayStation Portable support a feature dubbed "gamesharing", which facilitates a limited set of multiplayer features between two PlayStation Portables with only one copy of the game UMD. A reduced version of the game being shared is transferred to the PlayStation Portable without a UMD via the PlayStation Portable's Wi-Fi connection, whereupon it is loaded into RAM and runs.

Such "gameshare versions" of titles usually have their feature set reduced because of technical limitations. This is mainly due to transfer times since data for the game must be transferred to the second PlayStation Portable wirelessly, at a rate of 11 megabits per second. Also, since the game data is stored in the PlayStation Portable's RAM, there is a storage limit of 32 MB.

Ad-hoc networks

Ad-hoc wireless networking allows for up to 16 PlayStation Portables within range to communicate directly to each other (typically for multiplayer gaming). One unit acts as the host for a game, which is available to other PlayStation Portable units within that system's range, and appears in a list when the client PlayStation Portable searches for available hosts. Hosting a game in this manner increases power consumption and reduces battery life by as much as thirty-five percent, depending on the complexity of data transfer. With the update of 2.00 or higher the PlayStation Portable can use the Ad-Hoc technology to digitally send pictures from one PlayStation Portable to another by use of the "send" and "receive" functions that appear in the "PHOTO" menu.

Infrastructure networks

The PlayStation Portable's main menu allows the user to configure the system for use across the internet or an intranet via a wireless connection, known as infrastructure mode. The PlayStation Portable's menu can recognize protected and non-protected wireless networks within its range.

Use of infrastructure networks in PlayStation Portable software began with a small number of titles at the U.S. launch, supporting online play. South Korean PlayStation Portables have shipped with software providing web browsing and multimedia streaming features, but only through company-owned Wi-Fi hotspots, and with a monthly fee.^[18]

Sony's Location-Free Player allows users to watch television on their PlayStation Portable over the internet. Through the Location-Free Player, users can view and control their TV from anywhere they have access to a wireless network.

Infrared

The PlayStation Portable features an IrDA port located on the top left of the device; however this is not currently used by any games.

There are homebrew applications which use PlayStation Portable as a TV remote controller, such as PSP IR Remote, PSP Universal Remote, PSP Phillips Remote, Sony Wega TV Remote, iR Commander, iR Shell.

Design and specifications

Technical specifications

The PlayStation Portable was designed by Shi Ogasawara [小笠原氏] for the Sony Computer Entertainment company. Early models were made in Japan but in order to cut costs, Sony has farmed out PlayStation Portable production to non Japanese manufacturers, mainly in China.

The unit measures 170 mm (6.7 in) in length, 74 mm (2.9 in) in width, and 23 mm (0.9 in) in depth, and has a mass of 280 grams (a weight of 0.62 lbs) including the battery. The TFT LCD screen measures 110 mm (4.3 in) diagonal with a 16:9 ratio and sports a 480×272 pixel resolution capable of 16.77 million colors.

The PlayStation Portable's main microprocessor is a multifunction device that includes a MIPS R4000-based CPU, hardware for multimedia decoding (such as H.264), as well as a vector unit dubbed "Virtual Mobile Engine". The MIPS CPU core is globally clocked between 1 and 333 MHz. During the 2005 GDC, Sony revealed that it had capped the PlayStation Portable's CPU clock at 222 MHz in software. Its reasons for doing so are unknown, but are the subject of some speculation. Various homebrew tools enable users to operate at 333 MHz, generally leading to a higher framerate at the expense of battery life.

The system has 32 MiB main RAM and 4 MiB embedded DRAM. There is no memory management unit for the CPU. No evidence of a TLB has been found to date. The Coprocessor 0 that normally manages the TLB-based MMU seems to be a custom effort by Sony and has no integrated memory.

The 166 MHz graphics chip has 2 MiB embedded memory and through its 512 bit interface provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, hardware directional lighting, clipping, environment projection and texture mapping, texture compression and tessellation, fogging, alpha blending, depth and stencil tests, vertex blending for morphing effects, and dithering, all in 16 or 32 bit colour, along with handling image output. Specifications state that the PlayStation Portable is capable of rendering 33 million flat-shaded polygons per second, with a 664 million pixel per second fill rate.^[19]

Unlike Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the GPU (PS2 Vector Unit equivalent) is not programmable, meaning that many effects that the PS2 can resolve in hardware must be implemented in software on the PlayStation Portable. Nonetheless, the implementation of a GPU in the PlayStation Portable is still a significant technological advance, in that it implements robust hardware-rendering for 3D graphics in the handheld market. The PlayStation Portable was preceded in this regard by the Tapwave Zodiac and the Nintendo DS.

Interface

The PlayStation Portable's main menu interface is the "Cross Media Bar" (XMB) used by recent Sony TVs, the PSX (DVR) hardware, and the upcoming PS3. It consists of a horizontal sequence of icons (Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Games, and Network which, when highlighted, show a vertical sequence of sub-icons (for example, selecting Games allows the memory stick or a UMD to be selected).

The main menu system allows the user to, amongst other things, adjust settings such as date, time, and the PlayStation Portable's nickname for wireless networking, play video or audio files from the memory stick, load games or movie UMDs, check on estimated battery life, and set the PlayStation Portable into a "link mode" which makes the inserted memory stick available to a PC via USB. The XMB may be accessed at any time in a game by pressing the "Home" button on the console.

The PlayStation Portable's default background color is defaulted to change depending on the current month of the year, as follows:

Firmware 2.00 and greater allows the user to manually pick a color theme (though one can still set it to change color by month) or specify a background image from any stored photo on the PlayStation Portable memory stick. A variety of homebrew programs allow users of older firmwares to change the PlayStation Portable's background image but only of a limited dimension.

User skins for the UI may also be made available through online downloads or on UMDs as extras.

Firmware

Each PlayStation Portable runs a particular version of the PSP firmware, which comprises the device's operating system and additional core functionality. Firmware updates can be obtained in three ways:

While firmware updates can be used with PlayStation Portables from any region, Sony recommends only downloading firmware updates released for the corresponding region. The current firmware version is 2.81.

One of the possible reasons for an increase in firmware updates is to prevent homebrew programs for the PlayStation Portable from being executed.^[21] Some of these programs encompass ISO loaders as well as emulators for older Nintendo^[22] or Sega consoles.

Homebrew development

In May 2005, it was found that PlayStation Portables using the 1.00 version of the firmware (meaning original, first launch Japanese-only PlayStation Portables) could execute unsigned code. What this meant in practice was that these PlayStation Portables could run homebrew software, as the mechanism for checking to make sure that software has been approved by Sony had not yet been activated. Later exploits have allowed for PlayStation Portables using later versions of the firmware to run homebrew applications, and development of both new exploits to bypass restrictions and new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs is ongoing.

Criticism

Design problems

Ad campaign

On July 5, 2006, news spread out that an ad released in the Netherlands showed a white woman holding a black woman by the jaw, saying "PlayStation Portable White is coming."[3] Some found this to be racist because of the physical violence and portrayal of a white woman subjugating a black woman in the ad, reminiscent of slavery. There were two other variants of this ad that negated charges of racism. One had the two women facing each other on equal footing in fighting stances [4], and the other had the black woman dominant on top of the white woman. [5] Sony claims that the point was to contrast the white vs. black versions of their machine available for sale. Critics claim that these alternative advertisements were created for plausible deniability, and that Sony was counting on the free publicity the "racism" charges would stir up. Sony had stated that these ads will not be released in the rest of Europe nor North America. Sony has recently announced that the controversial ads that have so far only been released in the Netherlands will now be pulled from that country. ^[26]

PSP in popular culture

Notes and references

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PSP® (PlayStation®Portable). Sony. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ Jeff Haynes. "PlayStation Portable Price Lowered to $199:New basic bundle for Sony handheld due later this month", IGN, March 15, 2006.
^ Chris Roper. "PS Biz Brief 06: New PlayStation Portable Package, Pricing, More: US and Europe to see reduced-cost packages; more white PlayStation Portables in Japan", IGN, March 14, 2006.
^ David Jenkins. "PlayStation Portable Worldwide Shipments Hit 10 Million", Gamasutra, October 21, 2005.
^ Matt Martin. "10 million DS sales in Europe by end of 2006 - Nintendo", GamesIndustry.biz, September 15, 2006.
^ SCEA announces that PSP Greatest Hits are available for purchase. SCEA. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.
^ Media Boss - Bring your PlayStation Portable to life. Media Four. Retrieved on 2006-03-16.
^ PlayStation Portable Movie Creator. PQDVD Software. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ PlayStation Portable Video Express. PQDVD Software. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ Xcopy9. Xcopy. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ PSPWare. Nullriver. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ iPlayStation Portable. Kaisakura. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ PlayStation Portable Media Studio. Mayayama. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ Sajeeth Cherian. PlayStation Portable Video 9. pspvideo9. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ PlayStation Portable Multimedia Extender. Sourceforge. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ PlayStation Portable on TV Review. PSP world.
^ LocationFree Player. Sony. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ "Online-enabled PlayStation Portable to hit Korea in May", Gamespot, March 28, 2005.
^ Mark Hachman. Sony Details PlayStation Portable Chip Specs. Extreme Tech. Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
^ Anoop Gantayat. "Sony Outlines PlayStation Portable Future - New peripherals, new updates and new games, straight from Japan", IGN, March 15, 2006.
^ "Sony releases anti-piracy PSP update", The Inquirer, October 3, 2005.
^ Game Boy emulator for the PSP. Engadget. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
^ Brendan I. Koerner. "Wired Test: Mobile Media", Wired 13.07, Conde Nast, July, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
^ Shane Satterfield. "Sony PlayStation Portable vs. Nintendo DS", G4TV, G4 Media, March 18, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
^ Chris Roper. "Sony PlayStation Portable vs. Nintendo DS", IGN, March 28, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
^ Owen Thomas and Oliver Ryan. "Sony PSP ads spark cries of racism", CNN, July 05, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.

External links

Official sites

Unofficial sites

Reviews

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Sony Corporation

Products

Annual Revenue: $63.98 billion USD (2006) | Employees: 158,500 (2006)
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