Archives by Day

About Judy

As WP's managing editor, I edit review and preview articles, attempt to keep up with the frantic pace of Rainier's news posts, and keep our reviewers on deadline, which is akin to herding cats. When I have a moment to myself and don't have my nose in a book, I like to play action/RPG, adventure and platforming games.

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





North American PSP Release Date Announced

by Judy on Feb. 3, 2005 @ 9:03 a.m. PST

SCEA announced today the North American launch details for its highly anticipated PSP. Available through retail outlets on March 24, the company continues its consumer-centric legacy with the release of the PSP Value Pack for a suggested retail price of $249.99 U.S./$299.99 CND. REad more for details and list of PSP launch titles

In addition to the revolutionary PSP hardware, the PSP Value Pack contains an unprecedented added-value package of accessories and entertainment content, including 32 MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case and cleaning cloth, movie/music/game video sampler UMD disc including multiple non-interactive game demos, and for the first one million PSP Value Packs shipped, a special UMD video release of the feature film Spider-Man 2 from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony Computer Entertainment will manufacture one million units for sale in the North American market by the close of its fiscal year ending March 31. This figure is part of the company's total three-million-unit worldwide PSP system shipment estimate within the same time period. PSP released in Japan on December 12, 2004 and is already a hit, with more than 800,000 units shipped, including a 200,000-unit allocation that sold out on day one.

PSP sets a new standard as the first truly integrated portable entertainment system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment experience including games, music, movies, communication, and wireless networking. Featuring graphics rendering capabilities comparable to the company's leading in-home console, PlayStation(R)2, PSP brings an unparalleled gaming experience to a portable platform, allowing users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality, full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also allows for digital photo display and supports digital music playback in both MP3 and ATRAC formats.

PSP full launch list :

  • Ape Escape: On the Loose (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (Capcom)
  • Dynasty Warriors (KOEI)
  • FIFA 2005, (Electronic Arts)
  • Gretzky NHL (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • Lumines (Ubisoft)
  • Metal Gear Acid (Konami)
  • MLB (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • MVP Baseball (Electronic Arts)
  • NBA (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • NBA Street Showdown (Electronic Arts)
  • Need for Speed Rivals (Electronic Arts)
  • NFL Street 2 Unleashed (Electronic Arts)
  • Rengoku: Tower of Purgatory (Konami)
  • Ridge Racer (Namco)
  • Smartbomb (Eidos Interactive)
  • Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
  • Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (Electronic Arts)
  • Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix (Activision)
  • Twisted Metal: Head On (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
  • Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (Sony Online Entertainment)
  • Wipeout Pure (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

"PSP will evolve and elevate portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music and connect wirelessly on their terms, their time and their place," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "More than ever, today's consumer demands access to entertainment outside the home without compromising quality. With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to digital music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in one package."

PSP features an unmatched 4.3-inch, 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. PSP also comes complete with built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, enabling users to connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network.* Up to 16 PSPs in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly in ad-hoc mode, allowing for wireless head-to-head competition. In addition, wireless capabilities will allow software and data to be downloaded to a PSP and saved onto a Memory Stick Duo.

PSP also adopts a newly developed proprietary, compact, but high-capacity optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its storage medium. UMD is the next-generation compact storage media, only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data -- more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM. A broad range of digital entertainment content such as high quality 3D games, music, movies, video clips and other programs can be distributed on UMD. To protect this content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed for UMD, which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, 128 bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware unit.

Related articles, Click here!

blog comments powered by Disqus