PlayStation Portable

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PlayStation Portable
File:Sony PSP Logo.svg
File:Psp1.jpg
ManufacturerSony
TypeHandheld game console
GenerationSeventh generation era
LifespanJapan December 12, 2004
North America March 24, 2005
Europe
South Korea May 2, 2005
Australia September 1, 2005
Units sold20.02 million units shipped[1]
MediaUMD
Memory Stick PRO Duo
CPUMIPS R4000-based; clocked from 1 to 333 MHz
Online servicesInfrastructure and Ad-hoc through 802.11b Wi-Fi
Best-selling gameGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

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.

Overview

Launches

Main article: PlayStation Portable launches

The PlayStation Portable was first introduced to the public at the Tokyo Game Show 2004[2] and released on December 12, 2004 in Japan. It was later released in North America on March 24, 2005 and in South Korea on May 2, 2005. Ten days later this was followed by a joint launch in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on May 12, 2005.

The European and Oceanian launch took place on September 1, 2005.[3] Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had delayed the launch date originally set for March to meet demand from other regions. This resulted in PlayStation Portables being imported without authorization, from Japan and the United States into Europe.

Sony Europe took legal action against small importers in the UK citing trademark infringement.[4] One such importer, Electricbirdland Ltd., claimed that they had sold several PlayStation Portable consoles to SCEE staff.[5] The UK is the only European country in which Sony has taken any form of legal action against importers of the PlayStation Portable prior to its European release.

From its launch in September to December 10, 2005 in the UK, there have been 610,000 PlayStation Portables sold, with the UK having "performed better than any other European territory".[6].

Variations and accessories

In all territories the PlayStation Portable is available as part of the Value Pack or Core Pack, and in most territories it is also available as part of a Giga 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 $279.99-299.99, GBP £179.99, JPY ¥26,040, €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 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, Hong Kong, Australia, and Europe. Sony has not announced plans to release the white PlayStation Portable in North America.

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 available only in Japan at launch, although it was released on the U.S. and Europe on March 22, 2006,[7] with pricing points set at $199 U.S, $229.99 CDN, €199, $329 AUD and £149.99.[8]

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.

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, x, 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.

Sales and competition

Sony PSP pictured above a Nintendo DS

The PlayStation Portable's major rival, the Nintendo DS, is considered to be in the same market as the PlayStation Portable, even though representatives from both companies have stated that each system targets a different audience.

A lesser rival is the GP2X (having sold only 30,000 units as of May 2006[citation needed]): a Linux-based homebrew console by GamePark Holdings.

As of Friday October 21, 2005, the PlayStation Portable had shipped 10 million units worldwide. 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.[9] 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]

According to Mercury News Research, the PlayStation Portable sold 3.63M in the US in 2005[10] compared to 2.58M by the Nintendo DS in the same period. It is estimated 3.43 million PlayStation Portable units have been sold in Japan through to 2006 compared to 6.49 million by the Nintendo DS, and 1.47 million by the Nintendo DS Lite as of May 14, 2006. [2]

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 is also a downloadable demo available for the Japanese sudoku game "Kazuo".

On 27 July, 2006, Mercury Meltdown was released as a demo in Japan. In Europe and later in the United States, World Tour Soccer 2006 was also made available in demo form, requiring System Update 2.80.

A free demo UMD of Gangs of London will be sent to all Playstation Underground suscribers who request for one on the game's website.

Greatest Hits Lineup

On July 25th Sony Computer Entertainment America announced[11] that the first batch of Greatest Hits titles are availible for purchase. 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.

Multimedia and codecs

MagicGate Memory Stick Slot

UMD movies

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable movies

Because of the UMD's large storage capacity and the PlayStation Portable's large display screen, many film studios have released feature films in the UMD format with pricing comparable to DVD videos. Studios releasing UMD movies include Disney, Warner Bros. Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, and Anchor Bay Entertainment. Anime companies, such as Bandai, Geneon, FUNimation, and Viz Media are planning to release anime series, such as Trigun, and Gungrave, and movies such as Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, the Ah! My Goddess movie, and Ghost in the Shell for the format.

Most releases provide alternate audio languages and content, subtitles, and special features. Japanese releases have been somewhat more eclectic, and include UMD/DVD combination packs[12] and pornography.

Movies on UMD were first made available in April 2005. The initial North American releases included House of Flying Daggers, xXx, Hellboy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spider-Man 2, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse from Sony Pictures, along with Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill Volume 2 from (Miramax) and Pirates of the Caribbean from Disney Pictures.

On June 22, 2005, Sony confirmed that House of Flying Daggers and Resident Evil: Apocalypse have both sold more than 100,000 copies.

As of March 2006 at least two studios, Universal and Image Entertainment have stopped support, and others including Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Buena Vista are reconsidering their strategy for the format. Some observers note that having released too many movies in a short period of time saturated the market, that the announcement of iPod Video was unfavorable to the format, and that users prefer "ripping content and sticking it onto the device" instead of buying UMD movies.[13]

In an April 12, 2006 article on the website The Digital Bits, it was revealed that Warner Home Video has quietly cancelled their upcoming UMD Video titles.[14] Warner Home Video joins Universal, Paramount, and Image Entertainment as the companies that have dropped support for the UMD Video format.

In a July 17, 2006 article for HomeMediaRetailing, it was revealed that Target has dropped the UMD Video format from its shelves. This makes Target the first major retailer to have dropped the format from its stores.


Codec Compatibility

  • Audio
    • MP3
    • ATRAC3
    • WMA (requires firmware 2.60 and acceptance of license agreement to activate WMA playback capability via wireless Internet)
    • AAC (requires firmware 2.00. iTunes AAC files are compatible when renamed from .M4A to .MP4. This restriction was removed with firmware 2.70.)
    • WAV (Linear PCM)
    • MP4 (Container format)
      • AAC
      • 3GP (requires firmware 2.80)

Prior to firmware version 2.80, the PlayStation Portable was only capable of playing MPEG-4 Part 2 and MPEG-4 Part 3 from the MP4 container videos they if were located in the /MP_ROOT/100MNV01 directory on the Memory Stick, and be named in the following format: M4V#####.MP4 (where "#" is any digit). Since firmware 2.00, users can upload movies with a Sony proprietary AVC codec encoding, by putting them in the /MP_ROOT/100ANV01 Folder, and named as MAQ#####.MP4. A corresponding thumbnail image file (160x120 pixel JPEG files renamed with the .THM extension) with the same file name (besides the extension) of the movie file can optionally be placed in the same directory. Unlike UMD movies, resolution of movies on a memory stick is limited to 76,800 pixels (320×240, 368×208, 480×160, etc.).

Video Conversion Firmware

Sony has altered Image Converter 2, originally a piece of PC software for converting video files to AVC for playback on CLIÉ PDAs, to be used with the PlayStation Portable. It can convert AVI, MPEG1/2/4, QuickTime and WMV movie files to AVC, as well as the "Giga Pocket" and "Do VAIO" files used by VAIO PCs to record television. It will also convert most common still image files into JPEG format. Sony's SonicStage software can be used to copy MP3 and ATRAC files to the PlayStation Portable as well.

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,[15] PlayStation Portable Movie Creator,[16] PlayStation Portable Video Express,[17] Xcopy9,[18] PlayStation PortableWare[19]], iPlayStation Portable,[20]PlayStation Portable Media Studio,[21] PlayStation Portable Video 9,[22] 3GP Converter, PlayStation Portable Multimedia Extender[23] - 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 [24] 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. [25]

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.[26] 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.

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.

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 Java Script and its inability to handle Java commands. Sony put Java Script on the PlayStation Portable Browser mainly because it was uncertain that the PlayStation Portable could handle normal java and because it could be used as an exploit to run unsigned code on the PlayStation Portable.

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 Ac!d2.

Gamesharing

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Gamesharing games

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

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Wi-Fi games

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.[27]

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.

PlayStation Spot

PlayStation Spot is a new concept of web content on the move, initially marketed towards Western European and Australian residents. Spot units are branded Wi-Fi hotspots, that are available at both static locations, and temporary events and activities. They allow PlayStation Portable users to download game demos, video footage, music tracks and more. There are currently more than 300 units worldwide.

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.

Other homebrew applications use the IR for other purposes such as:

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 colours.

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. It doesn't have 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.[28]

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.

Power

The PlayStation Portable uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power (an AC adaptor is also included). The system's manual states that the PlayStation Portable is capable of three to six hours of gameplay, depending on the screen brightness or volume level selected, along with movie or game selection. On average the battery life is around 4 or 5 hours.

Battery life is heavily dependent on the game chosen; technically simpler games such as Lumines tend to extend the battery life of the system while graphically advanced games, or games that frequently access the UMD drive such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, tending toward shorter battery life. Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, has compared the system to the Walkman, in that battery life will be improved with each product revision, and has outlined some steps, such switching to a different fabrication process, which will be used to improve the system's endurance. Currently the PlayStation Portable's CPU is fabricated using a 90 nm process, but eventually Sony will shift to 65 nm and 45 nm when the technology becomes available.

In practice, tests using 'Ridge Racer' have given between three and a half and slightly less than six hours of continuous gameplay, depending on screen brightness and volume. In one test,[29] this dropped to approximately two and three quarter hours when using Wi-Fi multiplayer continuously. The system is capable of approximately ten hours of MP3 playback from memory stick and around half this for AVC playback. While full-length movie UMDs were not available for this test, a repeating loop of the demo UMD bundled in the Value Pack provided a little over four hours of playback on a full charge.

The PlayStation Portable can estimate its remaining battery life. With full charge and the screen brightness on the lowest setting, estimates can reach 10 hours. With the highest brightness, the estimates (with full charge) are around 3-5 hours.

The PlayStation Portable's battery is removable for replacement by the end-user. One is thus able to purchase extra batteries as an accessory; at the Japanese launch, they cost ¥5,040 including tax (around US$47, €37, £26, AU$62). A Sony high-speed charger is available as an optional accessory. There is also a variety of third-party batteries that have more than twice the battery life compared to the standard Sony battery. In late 2005, Sony released a battery that has a 20% higher charge capacity. It is available in Japan, the U.S., and Europe.

The system ships with a multivoltage power supply for recharging the battery, allowing it to be charged in any country with the appropriate power lead. This multivoltage power supply is internally and externally similar to but not compatible with similar ones used with Sony's CLIÉ PDAs, and the power lead is a standard figure-of-eight cable similar to the power cable used with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The PSU itself is a bit smaller then a deck of cards.

A number of companies are now offering other chargers for the device. These are typically either USB charging cables that allow the PlayStation Portable to charge from any PC with a USB port or are simply a series of AA batteries with a voltage regulator. These are similar in concept to the cheap battery life extenders available for mobile telephones.

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:

File:Xbar1 0003.jpg
PSP blue Cross Media Bar
  • January – Silver
  • February – Yellow
  • March – Green
  • April – Pink
  • May – Dark Green
  • June – Purple
  • July – Aqua
  • August – Sky Blue/Blue/Dark Blue
  • September – Violet
  • October – Gold
  • November – Light Brown
  • December – Red

Firmware 2.00 and greater allows the user to manually pick a color theme (though you 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

The PlayStation Portable's firmware is updatable via Wi-Fi infrastructure connection to a Sony server, by downloading the update application with a PC and transferring to the PlayStation Portable via USB, or from a UMD disk (allowing games to provide the update so that the player does not need to download anything). 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 2.80. Various updates have included WPA-PSK encryption; a built-in web browser; the ability to stream audio using RSS; Location Free player, keyboard input mode for Web input; AVC video playback from memory stick; audio switch function and 4:3 mode for memory stick video; GIF, BMP, PNG, and TIFF image viewing; AAC, ATRAC3plus, WAV and WMA audio playback from memory stick; the ability to set wallpaper; an image sharing feature and higher security for various exploits and vulnerabilities.

On April 25, 2006 Sony Computer Entertainment Japan launched version 2.70 of their PlayStation Portable's firmware, which includes Macromedia Flash Player 6 among other new features, including the ability to download from RSS Channels and download game demos as well. [3], previously announced at the PlayStation Briefing conference on March 15, 2006.

On June 1, 2006 Sony Computer Entertainment Japan launched firmware 2.71. This allows Game Demos to be downloaded from the Internet Browser and Saved onto the Memory Stick, also Video Output is now Displayed correctly with Location Free Player.

On Thursday, July 27 2006, Sony launched firmware 2.80. This update included the ability to save RSS video and RSS photo to the memory stick, but unlike the 2.60 firmware update you can not stream these to the PSP from the Internet. Firmware 2.80 also enables the user to view videos of any file name from the memory stick in a VIDEO folder, much like photos (PHOTO folder) and music (MUSIC folder). Users now also have the ability to play AAC music files with the .3gp file extension. [4]

Future updates are expected to add Video and Voiceover Communication via IP support, using the upcoming PlayStation Portable EyeToy Camera. Other additions will include GPS receiver support, Camera support and additional language fonts.[30]

File:Coming Up For PSP.jpg
PSP Firmware Timeline

One of the main reasons for an increase in firmware updates is to prevent homebrew or home-made programs for the PlayStation Portable. Some of these programs encompass ISO loaders as well as emulators for older consoles such as the Super Nintendo or the Sega Genesis which could lead to the threat of legal action from software developers and a cut into Sony's profits.


Homebrew development

Main article: PlayStation Portable homebrew

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, both of new exploits to bypass restrictions and new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs, is ongoing.

Criticism and Controversy

  • In February 2005 Wired Magazine criticized the short battery life, use of expensive memory sticks and complained that loading MP3s to the device was "nightmarishly hard" but directly compared to Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable won score 4 and Nintendo DS score 3.[31] In a later article, they criticized the expensive games and the lack of a second analog nub.[32]
  • In March 2005 G4TV reported that several of the initial units were shipped with dead pixels and defective square buttons. They also declared that several of the features of the PlayStation Portable, such as mp3 playback, were weak offerings. Finally, they complained that the requirement of a larger memory stick to use the devices full capabilities was a large hidden cost.[33]
  • In March 2005 IGN cited battery life and load times as its primary criticisms of the PlayStation Portable.[34]
  • 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."[5] 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[6], and the other had the black woman dominant on top of the white woman.[7] 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. [35]


References

  1. ^ a b "Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)". Sony. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  2. ^ "Tokyo Game Show 2004 (Sept 24-26, 2004)". Eurotechnology. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  3. ^ "PlayStation Portable European launch in September". BBC News. BBC. 2005-04-26. Retrieved 2006-03-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Nic Hopkins (June 17, 2005). "Sony issues writ in battle with retailers over parallel imports". Times Online. The Times. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  5. ^ Ellie Gibson (2005-06-03). "Sony staff defy policy on import PlayStation Portables". Eurogamer. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Ben Parfitt (December 22, 2005). "New milestones for Sony's PS2 & PlayStation Portable". MCV.
  7. ^ Jeff Haynes (March 15, 2006). "PlayStation Portable Price Lowered to $199:New basic bundle for Sony handheld due later this month". IGN.
  8. ^ Chris Roper (March 14, 2006). "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.
  9. ^ David Jenkins (October 21, 2005). "PlayStation Portable Worldwide Shipments Hit 10 Million". Gamasutra.
  10. ^ "Corrected Year End Sales Numbers: Fixing Bad Math Day". Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  11. ^ "SCEA announces that PSP Greatest Hits are availible for purchase". SCEA. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  12. ^ Anoop Gantayat (April 18, 2005). "Bandai Bundles DVDs and UMDs:New anime to be released on DVD and DVD and UMD. Trust us, that makes sense". IGN.
  13. ^ Thomas K. Arnold (March 30, 2006). "UMD losing H'wood game". HollywoodReporter.
  14. ^ "My Two Cents". The Digital Bits. April 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-13.
  15. ^ "Media Boss - Bring your PlayStation Portable to life". Media Four. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
  16. ^ "PlayStation Portable Movie Creator". PQDVD Software. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  17. ^ "PlayStation Portable Video Express". PQDVD Software. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  18. ^ "Xcopy9". Xcopy. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  19. ^ "PlayStation PortableWare". Nullriver. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  20. ^ "iPlayStation Portable". Kaisakura. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  21. ^ "PlayStation Portable Media Studio". Mayayama. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  22. ^ Sajeeth Cherian. "PlayStation Portable Video 9". pspvideo9. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  23. ^ "PlayStation Portable Multimedia Extender". Sourceforge. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  24. ^ "Neuros Video Recorder 2". Neuros Technology. Retrieved 2006-07-24.
  25. ^ "PlayStation Portable on TV Review". PSP world.
  26. ^ "LocationFree Player". Sony. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  27. ^ "Online-enabled PlayStation Portable to hit Korea in May". Gamespot. March 28, 2005.
  28. ^ Mark Hachman. "Sony Details PlayStation Portable Chip Specs". Extreme Tech. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  29. ^ "Hard Charging: PlayStation Portable Battery Life - Stats and figures on exactly how long power will last on Sony's powerful handheld". IGN. December 20, 2004.
  30. ^ Anoop Gantayat (March 15, 2006). "Sony Outlines PlayStation Portable Future - New peripherals, new updates and new games, straight from Japan". IGN.
  31. ^ Chris Baker, Tim Rogers (February, 2005). "The Handheld Wars". Wired 13.02. Conde Nast. Retrieved 2006-03-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Brendan I. Koerner (July, 2005). "Wired Test:Mobile Media". Wired 13.07. Conde Nast. Retrieved 2006-03-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ Shane Satterfield (March 18, 2005). "Sony PlayStation Portable vs. Nintendo DS". G4TV. G4 Media. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  34. ^ Chris Roper (March 28, 2005). "Sony PlayStation Portable vs. Nintendo DS". IGN. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  35. ^ Owen Thomas and Oliver Ryan (July 05, 2006). "Sony PSP ads spark cries of racism". CNN. Retrieved 2006-07-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Official sites
Unofficial sites
Reviews
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