archives 2004-12-05 2004-12-04 2004-12-03 2004-12-02 2004-12-01 2004-10-29 2004-10-01 2004-09-17 2004-09-10 2004-08-06 2004-06-18 2004-06-05 2004-06-04 2004-05-21

The launch day of the PlayStation Portable in Japan will be upon us in a matter of just 8 days (and for most of our readers looking at your watches now, know that, in Tokyo time, folks in Japan are already feeling several hours closer.) To celebrate the system's launch on 12/12/2004, we've started our countdown of the 12 Days Of PSP -- today's the fifth day of our X-mas exchange of PSP mail. Enjoy!

I was just wondering if there would be any of those great titles on the psp like grand theft auto or final fantasy.I would really love to see that.

-- metalkiller2

Yes, big games that everybody wants would be loved by many. That math's pretty easy. Unfortunately, the variables have not all been introduced yet, so here's the story on the games readers keep asking about:

• GRAND THEFT AUTO - No word yet on a PSP version. Rockstar is doing games for the system, mostly through their new portable team (formerly known as Mobius), and it is unknown what they are working on (their last three games were GBA titles: a baseball game, an original adventure game, and a 'port' of Max Payne, so they've done new stuff and franchise stuff. PSP's foundation technology might make GTA sort of tough to do on the system (PSP looks like PS2, but in good and bad ways, it doesn't always work like one), but this would be a killer app for PSP, so I'm sure they're putting thought into it.
• FINAL FANTASY - There is a new addition to the series called Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. It is an action-RPG game, and is supposed to take place just before FFVII, tracing events leading up to the PlayStation classic. The game is still at least a year away from release. The UMD release of the direct-to-video Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the sequel to that same PlayStation classic, was originally thought to be released at the same time as the DVD, but Square has not clarified since E3 what the plans are as far as possibly putting that video on the handheld. Square (or Enix -- a lot of people seem to like to keep them separate even though they're merged now) has not announced any other games for PSP, but as one of the most active and successful publishers on PlayStation, it would be safe to assume that they will have more to announce in due time.
• SOCOM - Rumors way, way back in the early days of PSP were that Zipper or another designer were in the works with SCEA on a portable version of its successful shooter series. Nothing has come of those rumors since -- Sony has held off on announcing any official titles for PSP until its lauch is ready to be talked about, so we may be hearing news on those rumors in the near future.
• Naughty Dog / Insomniac / Sucker Punch titles - Again, early whispers had it that ND was playing with PSP dev kits, but unlike the SOCOM rumor, this one has been shot down. The developer has said that it is just too small and too busy to churn out PSP product now that it's turned to PS2. Insomniac's plans for PSP are unknown -- Ratchet & Clank 3 is expected to be the last for that series on current consoles, but it is unknown whether the prolific developer will be able to turn out a PSP project while preparing for next-gen systems. Sucker Punch is a small and independent studio who could be up to just about anything -- a PSP game is highly rumored to be next, but there's no clue what that game might be.
• EVERQUEST - EQOA and its expansion on PS2 weren't as successful as hoped, but Sony would love to see the success it saw with the PC game happen elsewhere. PSP's handheld nature might make it tricky to do, but an off-line multiplayer game like Champions of Norath would warm up the audience while Sony gets the WiFi online features together for a possible full MMO like Everquest on PSP.
• Tekken - We have no idea why we're not seeing Tekken yet on PSP...

--NIX

is there an exact price for the PSP at this moment i read in one article its 170-200 but i would like to know if its theres an exact price?

also in my opniong i think the PSP will be better for the fact it will have better games.

Another question: does the PSP play DVD like i read an IGN article that said it would?

-- Alex

You would know if we knew. There's no price for PSP outside of Japan yet. In Japanese money, it's in the $200 range (19,800 yen Standard / 24,800 yen Value Pack), and Japanese products are typically overpriced (typically 20% more than what you'd pay here), but it's only a rough estimate as far as SCE America's plans for PSP to say that it'd be priced between $150 and $200 (we can't imagine them going higher, in any case -- the shocker price in Japan was a shot heard 'round the world, and SCEA will want to make that bang again here.) There is no date yet for the US launch, other than an Q1 2005 release (which would make for a release sometime before the end of March.) Europe will see its release later in 2005 -- Korea is getting the system in Spring 2005, so we would guess the European launch would be around the same time. No word on an Australian launch, and as we said a bit back, a release of PSP in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere would be dicey any time soon. If we learn more, we'll pass it your way.

And no, we never said PSP would play DVDs. Just look at the system -- it's not even as big height-wise as a DVD, so how would you jam a DVD in? The system will play DVD-quality video on UMD, maybe that's what you mistook from what we have said.

--NIX

just wanted to know if i buy my psp imported would be able to USA games???????????

--margil

Yes, it will be able to play games from the USA -- Sony has decided not to use region coding on its games. However, there are still two things to remember. First, there are certain concessions that Sony had to make as far as region coding to more professional needs -- the movies will carry the same region system as DVDs (it's the exact same system, approved by the same commission), so unless most discs are released as Region 0, you will not be able to play all video releases; at the same time, there may be some networking and multiplayer features that an import PSP may not be configured for. And two, this system's freaking sold the f' out in in Japan already before its release and will be in unfulfilled demand long after, so your chances of even trying to get an import anytime soon or possibly even before the domestic release may be a giant waste of time...

--NIX

Hi Just wondering other than the original Japanese language in the main hardware, will they have other languages such as english? You mentioned that games rarely do but fail to mention if the system does. Im importing one so I would like to know. Ive imported a japanese ps2 and it has optional english in it. And my last question is: are avi files(mpeg4) files playable? Thanks for your time.

-- Takumi

Yep, we just found out today for sure in our Hands-On PSP feature that, yes indeed, the Japanese PSP will have features in the options menu to use English or any of several other languages -- the firmware is pretty standard worldwide, like PS2 before it. Games themselves, however, will depend on the development house, and like on consoles, it's extremely rare for games to feature language outside of their original nation of origin (except in Europe, where developers are forced to produce every language over on that side of the world -- but that's just a rule and a convenience for shipping to the dozens of European nations, and you still won't see Japanese or some other language thrown in for fun ... you also won't see don't get to European games for a while, since the extra development time is one of the big reasons why devs don't bother, besides the many other obvious reasons.) So yeah, don't expect many Japanese games to have English. If you're importing one, and if you're worried about being able to get through the easy-to-use menu, maybe you should think twice about importing? You'd be missing out on some cool games for a while, but you might also get stuck with a few that'll be tricky to figure anything out in -- if you're really, really into the Japanese games so far, you can always pick up the imports later and play them on a system from over here.

As for video, it is unknown if regular MPEG4 that you can make today will be playable on PSP. Sony will utilize the standard MPEG4 AVC codec, an advanced version of the emerging format that should be the big thing in video in the next year or two, but they may utilize a special Sony wrapper around the video (similar to how QuickTime or Real Media use standard codecs but still have their unique formats.) It's fairly difficult to make AVC right now anyway, so most won't have any video to worry about yet (it is highly unlikely that PSP will be able to play other codecs unless somebody makes a 3rd party app), but we hope that the videos are open so that people can start making those clips. We will be testing its ability to playback various media formats as soon as possible.

--NIX

Global Positioning System on PSP?

At E3, they had pictures of the psp with a gps perhipial. Will that become reality?

--TDOG

How come you didn't ask about the color and themed PSPs? In answer to your question (and also the themed PSPs at the same time ... two birds, one stone), everything shown at E3 2004 was officially a concept demo. Nothing was official -- it was all to show what the PSP could do, not exactly what it will. But, much of that will eventually see production. There has been no word yet on any of these items -- which include a GPS Adapter, a Docking/Charging Station, an EyeToy cam, a Microphone & Headphones combo, an External Battery, and a mini Touch Panel, amongst others. All but the battery (not as useful now that PSP's battery can be swapped) have a good chance of seeing production. The Mic, we would expect around the online launch; the EyeToy has actually been talked about many times since E3 and could be released as early as Christmas if there are games that use it (or if they can make a digital camera out of it ... or if it factors into their online plans); the Dock may be left to 3rd parties for a while (although Sony sure does love to sell stands, and this is a stand that's actually useful), the Touch Panel were more experimental in nature and may not happen until Sony finds good use for them; and the GPS, which is one of the most well-received PSP peripherals from E3 and yet also one of the least understood (everybody thought it was cool, but nobody knew how this type of device could be used to make cool games yet), will also take Sony and other game makers some time to figure out (besides GPS Tag, of course), and we don't expect them to release it for a bit until it's good and ready.

As for the question that you didn't ask but that just about everybody else did, color and themed PSPs will likely the regular PSP follow in maybe a year -- we could see them sooner (GT4 Mobile would be my guess as the first to be a featured theme), but Sony will probably try to hold onto the original for a good deal of time so they don't get marked out as marketing a gimmick (or spoil a perfectly good gimmick before PSP needs it.)

--NIX

We didn't answer many letters today, so instead, enjoy this chick Santa!