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IGN.com
One Thousand Words on PSP
SCE keeps talking, and we keep translating.
October 15, 2004 - Yet another PSP-related interview has appeared over in
Japan. This time, the interviewer is Japanese site Impress GameWatch. This
time, the interviewed is Izumi Kawanishi, head of network systems at Sony
Computer Entertainment. This latest interview is actually a full version of
what was shared on Impress AV Watch yesterday. Before reading this, be sure
and check out our summary of that interview.
Starting off the interview, Kawanishi reflects back on the early days of PSP
development. SCE had been looking into the development of a portable game
system for quite some time and even had a framework all set to go, but
actual start on PSP development began just around the time of the system's
announcement at the year 2003 E3 expo. Kawanishii reveals that the reason
for starting development at that time (and not before or after) has to do
with the development team finally being able to create something with the
high specifications they'd initially hoped for.
And the PSP is indeed powerful by design, Kawanishi states. Impress asks
Kawanishi if a change in policy regarding the PSP's development resulted in
the finalized system having power at the level of the PlayStation 2 (The
original announcement of the PSP suggested something that would be at the
level of the original PlayStation). Kawanishi responds that it's not really
possible to say something like "Let's make a portable PlayStation 2" and
then go on to develop such a system. At the other end, developing a portable
with the original PlayStation as its base would be unsatisfying to both the
development staff and to users who'd already grown accustomed to PS2-level
graphics.
Making such a powerful system wasn't necessarily easy. Kawanishi states that
the toughest thing was to get the LCD display, the UMD drive and the system
board together in such a small space and running under such hot conditions.
At the semiconductor level, getting the functionality for so many devices
onto a single chip was very difficult given the short amount of development
time.
Also tough was fitting the controls into a space that's not too much larger
than the LCD display itself. Part of those controls is an analogue thumb
pad, whose inclusion was decided upon because many games have analogue
control in mind from the start of their development. Kawanishi reveals that
the analogue thumb pad has the same sensitivity as that of the PS2
controller. Laughing, he apologizes for not being able to include two thumb
pads, but states that adding a second thumb pad would have made the front of
the system look like it was covered with buttons and confuse users.
Turning to the hot topic of the PSP's battery, Kawanishi reveals that SCE
chose to make a removable battery rather than one that's screwed into the
system (as is the case with iPod or most other mass storage music players)
so that people could easily switch batteries out once the system had run out
of juice. He admits that battery life will depend on how the PSP is used.
SCE is currently working with software makers on how to use the battery
properly, Kawanishi confirms. When asked if spinning the UMD or using
Wireless LAN will result in a shorter battery time, he states that this is
an obvious physical effect.
Kawanishi does reveal one specific bit about the battery. When asked if the
system will be able to play a single movie on one charge, he states, "It
will have enough for more than that." Of course, we're not sure if, by
movie, Kawanishi is referring to a 90 minute Disney movie or the extended
version of Titanic.
Charging the battery, according to Kawanishi, will take more than one hour,
although he's not willing to give an exact number. The system will be able
to charge extremely fast, according to Kawanishi, similar to how cell phones
charge quickly now days (Japanese cell phones charge extremely quickly). As
revealed in our update from yesterday, it's possible to charge while using
the system, as the battery remains in the system while charging. SCE is
currently not planning on offering a separate charger unit.
System heat is surely of concern, at least for the people conducting the
interview for Impress. Specifically, Impress asks Kawanishi if the heat
generated from spinning the UMD around is cause for concern. The problem has
been dealt with, according to Kawanishi. There will be a slight feeling of
heat, but it's not a problem. IGN can vouch for the system's heat being
notable, but not that big an issue.
The interview then goes on to actual details on the UMD drive and format.
Asked if the system can take shakes and impact without trouble, Kawanishi
reveals that the system has a certain level of data caching functionality.
It's similar to what's used in current audio players to prevent skipping.
Skipping shouldn't be an issue with games, as the software controls loading
and most software has the functionality to attempt a reload in case data
isn't loaded correctly.
The system will be very flexible with removal of a UMD disk from the drive.
You can remove a UMD from the drive at any time, even when a game is being
played. The software has to decide what to do when the disk is removed. This
is similar to what happens on the PlayStation 2, as most games will still
run even if the disk has been removed.
Kawanishi also reconfirms that UMDs will be a non-recordable format.
Commenting on the possibility of SCE releasing a external drive that can
record to UMD, Kawanishii states that SCE is not considering such a product.
"The UMD standard is being developed as a read only standard," states
Kawanishii.
The UMD will enforce regional limitations for DVD playback, Kawanishi
reconfirms. Unfortunately, he won't state if this is true or not for games.
Connectivity between the PS2 and PSP is brought to the table in the
interview, with Kawanishi revealing that it's technically possible to use
the PSP as a controller for the PS2 (that's not to say that you'll be able
to do this with any game just by plugging the PSP in, though -- we've
wondered for a while what the IR port built into the PSP can do, and the
best guess so far would be that it could signal out to the PS2's DVD remote
unit.) When asked about connecting EyeToy to the PSP, Kawanishi points out
that the PSP has a mini-sized USB port (instead of the full flat USB slots
on PS2) which wouldn't be able to directly connect to the EyeToy. SCE could
make it so that the EyeToy works once an adapter is used, but instead of
doing that, they may as well make a PSP-specific peripheral.
Finally, Kawanishii is asked for some comments on the main means of saving
data: Memory Stick. Memory Stick Duo will actually be the only means of
saving game data on the PSP. You can use either Normal or Pro types, with
pro offering higher speeds. If all you're doing is saving your game data,
the Memory Stick does not need to be Magic Gate compatible. Files from the
Memory Stick can be easily copied to your computer and saved permanently,
however Kawanishi reveals that SCE has safe guards in place to make sure
that you don't alter the files on your PC.
As mentioned yesterday, you'll be able to access the contents of the Memory
Stick stored in the PSP by connecting the PSP to a PC via USB. A computer
will recognize the system as a drive. You can then copy files between the
computer and Memory Stick. PSP-compatible files that have been copied to the
Memory Stick, such as JPEG files, can be viewed on the PSP once this is
done.
The Memory Stick won't be used for actual games initially, it seems. While
it's technically possible to connect to wireless LAN and download files,
including demos of games, to the Memory Stick, SCE wants to show off the UMD
initially, and will make all software come on UMD from the start.
This latest interview seems to offer the greatest number of PSP details per
sentence since the system's specifications were announced many months ago.
All this could only be leading up one thing: an announcement of price and
release date. We're expecting something within the next few weeks (yes, this
is a very safe estimate), so stay tuned to IGNPSP for the latest.
http://ps3insider.com/itex.php?iid=314
Even More Information
Posted By Josh on Oct 15 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continuing on the interview commented on yesterday ("Screens
Protected"), Impress Watch released the remainder of the interview
divulging more information about the workings of the PSP.
There is so much information here, so let's just get to it:
a.. There was talk of having two analog sticks on the system, but
the idea was dismissed because Sony thought that too many buttons on the
face of the machine would confuse users.
b.. The battery will be removable, unlike most electronic devices of
its kind. This will ensure that the battery can be changed on the fly if
needed.
c.. You can actually change the battery while the system is running.
Simply pause what you are doing, and switch batteries.
d.. Charging the battery will take about two hours.
e.. The heat problem has been taken care of. Period.
f.. The UMD can be removed from the drive at any time, similar to
most PS2 games, though it is not advised.
g.. UMD movies will have regional coding. It was not revealed if
games would.
h.. Sony may develop an EyeToy for the PSP, as it uses the small USB
interface which the current EyeToy does not support.
i.. You will be able to play games off of a Memory Stick, but Sony
will not offer that service initially in order to fully support UMD.
j.. Game saves can be transferred to your PC for safe keeping, but
measures have been put in place to prevent editing.
A lot of new info, but still no price and no battery life. IGN is
confident we will hear something soon. Let's hope they are right.
| |
| Ice Wipe Inc. 2004-10-20, 9:45 am |
| Can't you TRY posting this only on the Sony groups? You don't see people
spamming your playground with crap.
On a side note, seems the PSP will be a short-life hot bun to me...
"Xenon" <xenonxbox2@xboxnext.com> wrote in message
news:4qCdnVAzN7oX6e3cRVn-tg@comcast.com...
quote:
>
> IGN.com
>
> One Thousand Words on PSP
> SCE keeps talking, and we keep translating.
>
> October 15, 2004 - Yet another PSP-related interview has appeared over in
> Japan. This time, the interviewer is Japanese site Impress GameWatch. This
> time, the interviewed is Izumi Kawanishi, head of network systems at Sony
> Computer Entertainment. This latest interview is actually a full version
of
quote:
> what was shared on Impress AV Watch yesterday. Before reading this, be
sure
quote:
> and check out our summary of that interview.
>
> Starting off the interview, Kawanishi reflects back on the early days of
PSP
quote:
> development. SCE had been looking into the development of a portable game
> system for quite some time and even had a framework all set to go, but
> actual start on PSP development began just around the time of the system's
> announcement at the year 2003 E3 expo. Kawanishii reveals that the reason
> for starting development at that time (and not before or after) has to do
> with the development team finally being able to create something with the
> high specifications they'd initially hoped for.
> And the PSP is indeed powerful by design, Kawanishi states. Impress asks
> Kawanishi if a change in policy regarding the PSP's development resulted
in
quote:
> the finalized system having power at the level of the PlayStation 2 (The
> original announcement of the PSP suggested something that would be at the
> level of the original PlayStation). Kawanishi responds that it's not
really
quote:
> possible to say something like "Let's make a portable PlayStation 2" and
> then go on to develop such a system. At the other end, developing a
portable
quote:
> with the original PlayStation as its base would be unsatisfying to both
the
quote:
> development staff and to users who'd already grown accustomed to PS2-level
> graphics.
>
> Making such a powerful system wasn't necessarily easy. Kawanishi states
that
quote:
> the toughest thing was to get the LCD display, the UMD drive and the
system
quote:
> board together in such a small space and running under such hot
conditions.
quote:
> At the semiconductor level, getting the functionality for so many devices
> onto a single chip was very difficult given the short amount of
development
quote:
> time.
>
> Also tough was fitting the controls into a space that's not too much
larger
quote:
> than the LCD display itself. Part of those controls is an analogue thumb
> pad, whose inclusion was decided upon because many games have analogue
> control in mind from the start of their development. Kawanishi reveals
that
quote:
> the analogue thumb pad has the same sensitivity as that of the PS2
> controller. Laughing, he apologizes for not being able to include two
thumb
quote:
> pads, but states that adding a second thumb pad would have made the front
of
quote:
> the system look like it was covered with buttons and confuse users.
>
> Turning to the hot topic of the PSP's battery, Kawanishi reveals that SCE
> chose to make a removable battery rather than one that's screwed into the
> system (as is the case with iPod or most other mass storage music players)
> so that people could easily switch batteries out once the system had run
out
quote:
> of juice. He admits that battery life will depend on how the PSP is used.
> SCE is currently working with software makers on how to use the battery
> properly, Kawanishi confirms. When asked if spinning the UMD or using
> Wireless LAN will result in a shorter battery time, he states that this is
> an obvious physical effect.
>
> Kawanishi does reveal one specific bit about the battery. When asked if
the
quote:
> system will be able to play a single movie on one charge, he states, "It
> will have enough for more than that." Of course, we're not sure if, by
> movie, Kawanishi is referring to a 90 minute Disney movie or the extended
> version of Titanic.
>
> Charging the battery, according to Kawanishi, will take more than one
hour,
quote:
> although he's not willing to give an exact number. The system will be able
> to charge extremely fast, according to Kawanishi, similar to how cell
phones
quote:
> charge quickly now days (Japanese cell phones charge extremely quickly).
As
quote:
> revealed in our update from yesterday, it's possible to charge while using
> the system, as the battery remains in the system while charging. SCE is
> currently not planning on offering a separate charger unit.
>
> System heat is surely of concern, at least for the people conducting the
> interview for Impress. Specifically, Impress asks Kawanishi if the heat
> generated from spinning the UMD around is cause for concern. The problem
has
quote:
> been dealt with, according to Kawanishi. There will be a slight feeling of
> heat, but it's not a problem. IGN can vouch for the system's heat being
> notable, but not that big an issue.
>
> The interview then goes on to actual details on the UMD drive and format.
> Asked if the system can take shakes and impact without trouble, Kawanishi
> reveals that the system has a certain level of data caching functionality.
> It's similar to what's used in current audio players to prevent skipping.
> Skipping shouldn't be an issue with games, as the software controls
loading
quote:
> and most software has the functionality to attempt a reload in case data
> isn't loaded correctly.
>
> The system will be very flexible with removal of a UMD disk from the
drive.
quote:
> You can remove a UMD from the drive at any time, even when a game is being
> played. The software has to decide what to do when the disk is removed.
This
quote:
> is similar to what happens on the PlayStation 2, as most games will still
> run even if the disk has been removed.
>
> Kawanishi also reconfirms that UMDs will be a non-recordable format.
> Commenting on the possibility of SCE releasing a external drive that can
> record to UMD, Kawanishii states that SCE is not considering such a
product.
quote:
> "The UMD standard is being developed as a read only standard," states
> Kawanishii.
>
> The UMD will enforce regional limitations for DVD playback, Kawanishi
> reconfirms. Unfortunately, he won't state if this is true or not for
games.
quote:
>
> Connectivity between the PS2 and PSP is brought to the table in the
> interview, with Kawanishi revealing that it's technically possible to use
> the PSP as a controller for the PS2 (that's not to say that you'll be able
> to do this with any game just by plugging the PSP in, though -- we've
> wondered for a while what the IR port built into the PSP can do, and the
> best guess so far would be that it could signal out to the PS2's DVD
remote
quote:
> unit.) When asked about connecting EyeToy to the PSP, Kawanishi points out
> that the PSP has a mini-sized USB port (instead of the full flat USB slots
> on PS2) which wouldn't be able to directly connect to the EyeToy. SCE
could
quote:
> make it so that the EyeToy works once an adapter is used, but instead of
> doing that, they may as well make a PSP-specific peripheral.
>
> Finally, Kawanishii is asked for some comments on the main means of saving
> data: Memory Stick. Memory Stick Duo will actually be the only means of
> saving game data on the PSP. You can use either Normal or Pro types, with
> pro offering higher speeds. If all you're doing is saving your game data,
> the Memory Stick does not need to be Magic Gate compatible. Files from the
> Memory Stick can be easily copied to your computer and saved permanently,
> however Kawanishi reveals that SCE has safe guards in place to make sure
> that you don't alter the files on your PC.
>
> As mentioned yesterday, you'll be able to access the contents of the
Memory
quote:
> Stick stored in the PSP by connecting the PSP to a PC via USB. A computer
> will recognize the system as a drive. You can then copy files between the
> computer and Memory Stick. PSP-compatible files that have been copied to
the
quote:
> Memory Stick, such as JPEG files, can be viewed on the PSP once this is
> done.
>
> The Memory Stick won't be used for actual games initially, it seems. While
> it's technically possible to connect to wireless LAN and download files,
> including demos of games, to the Memory Stick, SCE wants to show off the
UMD
quote:
> initially, and will make all software come on UMD from the start.
>
> This latest interview seems to offer the greatest number of PSP details
per
quote:
> sentence since the system's specifications were announced many months ago.
> All this could only be leading up one thing: an announcement of price and
> release date. We're expecting something within the next few weeks (yes,
this
quote:
> is a very safe estimate), so stay tuned to IGNPSP for the latest.
>
>
>
> http://ps3insider.com/itex.php?iid=314
>
> Even More Information
> Posted By Josh on Oct 15 2004
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Continuing on the interview commented on yesterday ("Screens
> Protected"), Impress Watch released the remainder of the interview
> divulging more information about the workings of the PSP.
> There is so much information here, so let's just get to it:
>
> a.. There was talk of having two analog sticks on the system, but
> the idea was dismissed because Sony thought that too many buttons on the
> face of the machine would confuse users.
> b.. The battery will be removable, unlike most electronic devices
of
quote:
> its kind. This will ensure that the battery can be changed on the fly if
> needed.
> c.. You can actually change the battery while the system is
running.
quote:
> Simply pause what you are doing, and switch batteries.
> d.. Charging the battery will take about two hours.
> e.. The heat problem has been taken care of. Period.
> f.. The UMD can be removed from the drive at any time, similar to
> most PS2 games, though it is not advised.
> g.. UMD movies will have regional coding. It was not revealed if
> games would.
> h.. Sony may develop an EyeToy for the PSP, as it uses the small
USB
quote:
> interface which the current EyeToy does not support.
> i.. You will be able to play games off of a Memory Stick, but Sony
> will not offer that service initially in order to fully support UMD.
> j.. Game saves can be transferred to your PC for safe keeping, but
> measures have been put in place to prevent editing.
> A lot of new info, but still no price and no battery life. IGN is
> confident we will hear something soon. Let's hope they are right.
>
>
>
| |
| BelPowerslave 2004-10-20, 9:45 am |
| "Ice Wipe Inc." wrote:
quote:
> Can't you TRY posting this only on the Sony groups? You don't see people
> spamming your playground with crap.
>
> On a side note, seems the PSP will be a short-life hot bun to me...
>
Xenon is a piece of shit with a vein...just enough blood to power his hands,
that's about it...*of course* he's not intelligent enough to just post to
relevant groups...
Bel
[vbcol=seagreen]
>
> "Xenon" <xenonxbox2@xboxnext.com> wrote in message
> news:4qCdnVAzN7oX6e3cRVn-tg@comcast.com...
| |
| Ice Wipe Inc. 2004-10-20, 5:45 pm |
| Unless its official, I wish he would just piss off til then... *sigh*
"BelPowerslave" <belpowerslave@ev1.net> wrote in message
news:4170B512.A13F8F8@ev1.net...
quote:
> "Ice Wipe Inc." wrote:
>
>
> Xenon is a piece of shit with a vein...just enough blood to power his
hands,
quote:
> that's about it...*of course* he's not intelligent enough to just post to
> relevant groups...
>
> Bel
>
>
| |
| BelPowerslave 2004-10-20, 5:45 pm |
| "Ice Wipe Inc." wrote:
quote:
> Unless its official, I wish he would just piss off til then... *sigh*
I agree with you there....in fact, I'd go so far to say that I wish some
deranged ape would escape from a lab where they make him play Parappa the Rappa
all day and only feed him Crunch Berries loaded with olestra, so he could not
only shit all over Xenon's house, but break his hands in the process once he
found him...
Bel
--
Whip XXX Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/
or http://users2.ev1.net/~belpowerslave/
"Suddenly aware of my presence, the Elder Gods transformed me into their
servant and gave me a new purpose: To prevent the Dragon King from merging the
realms."
- Scorpion, Mortal Kombat: Deception
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