PSP Official Discussion thread.

[Gabe Q]

Does anyone know if they're going to release any good strategy RPGs on the PSP?  I'm talking about games like Disgaea, Shining Force, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Nothing's been announced for sure, but Atlus and Square have both announced PSP support. I'm hoing for a MegaTen game, myself.

Thanks. I think it'll be a while before we see anything good.

[JB0]

I'm pretty sure the fixed square buttons are official, at least it was reported fixed on both gamespot and ign.

Disc Cannon! Can't wait. As if mp3s, movies and games weren't enough...

Yeah, the announcement of the square button fix came after Kutaragi's infamous speech comparing the PSP to the work of a brilliant architect. Sony is now repairing PSPs in Japan with square button issues, and the US release is supposed to be free of said square button issue.

Nice to know.

I should keep up closer with the game news...

As for the the UMDs popping out, yeah, that's still a problem... if you like strangling your handhelds as you play them.  From what I read, it's not like a bomb ready to go off if you touch it the wrong way, you really have to twist something that you really shouldn't have been twisting in the first place.

Some people get... shall we say... excited during game play.

Personally, I don't think it should BE physically possible to deform to any signifigant degree. But it is(which concerns me), so they need to rework the latch so it doesn't affect the disk drive.

And I've heard it varies greatly and that while some units have a pretty good lockdown, others ARE like a bomb ready to go off.

[Valkyrie Nut]

I'm pretty sure the fixed square buttons are official, at least it was reported fixed on both gamespot and ign.

Disc Cannon! Can't wait. As if mp3s, movies and games weren't enough...

Yeah, the announcement of the square button fix came after Kutaragi's infamous speech comparing the PSP to the work of a brilliant architect. Sony is now repairing PSPs in Japan with square button issues, and the US release is supposed to be free of said square button issue.

As for the the UMDs popping out, yeah, that's still a problem... if you like strangling your handhelds as you play them. From what I read, it's not like a bomb ready to go off if you touch it the wrong way, you really have to twist something that you really shouldn't have been twisting in the first place.

First hand view on square button and umd ejecting: No issues with the button sticking on mine. Tis a tad more clicky when pressed than the other buttons but nothing severe. UMD ejecting? Hasn't happened once. I reckon I'd practically have to break it to make that happen and I'm definately not doing that!

[mikeszekely]

Some people get... shall we say... excited during game play.

That's true. But, take my wife for example. She likes Mario Kart. When she plays it on the Gamecube, she leans and waves the controller in all sorts of directions. But not so on the GBA version. I think even the mist exciteable people will hold handheld more carefully because they need to keep the screen steady.

[mikeszekely]

I'm pretty sure the fixed square buttons are official, at least it was reported fixed on both gamespot and ign.

Disc Cannon! Can't wait. As if mp3s, movies and games weren't enough...

Yeah, the announcement of the square button fix came after Kutaragi's infamous speech comparing the PSP to the work of a brilliant architect. Sony is now repairing PSPs in Japan with square button issues, and the US release is supposed to be free of said square button issue.

As for the the UMDs popping out, yeah, that's still a problem... if you like strangling your handhelds as you play them. From what I read, it's not like a bomb ready to go off if you touch it the wrong way, you really have to twist something that you really shouldn't have been twisting in the first place.

First hand view on square button and umd ejecting: No issues with the button sticking on mine. Tis a tad more clicky when pressed than the other buttons but nothing severe. UMD ejecting? Hasn't happened once. I reckon I'd practically have to break it to make that happen and I'm definately not doing that!

Did you import one, or find a retailer that broke the street date? I REALLY want a PSP NOW...

[Hikuro]

Chill bro chiiiiillllllll....only 2 days and X amount of hours to go...chiiilllll you get first dibs so just chiiilllll..

[Jemstone]

I'm still not getting one as of yet . I'll wait till everyone's had there's at least 2 weeks and watch the complaints about problems/malfunctions or whatever come in. Then I will determine if I want one for sure. I wasn't happy about the button complaints and Sony's irresponsible attitude so I expect there to be lots of problems down the line.

BTW are they still available only as bundle packs? Or has that since changed?

Edited March 22, 2005 by Jemstone

[mikeszekely]

I'm still not getting one as of yet . I'll wait till everyone's had there's at least 2 weeks and watch the complaints about problems/malfunctions or whatever come in. Then I will determine if I want one for sure. I wasn't happy about the button complaints and Sony's irresponsible attitude so I expect there to be lots of problems down the line.

BTW are they still available only as bundle packs? Or has that since changed?

So far, just the bundles. I've thought about it, and I think it's because a lot of the people picking one up are mostly going to be interested in the games, and not so much the other multimedia functions. So, most people are going to just want a smaller Memory Stick... and AFAIK, the smallest sold in America is 64mb.

Well, whatever the case, I'll be happy to let you know how I think about it later. I'll also post if Sony is going with a 90-day or 1-year warranty.

[mikeszekely]

Chill bro chiiiiillllllll....only 2 days and X amount of hours to go...chiiilllll you get first dibs so just chiiilllll..

I know... but see, I've been wanting one since I got a taste of the Japanese unit. I got nothing for Christmas, nothing for Valentine's Day, and nothing for my birthday, except money or gift certificates to use toward my PSP. By now, I've also traded in most of the games I'd picked up and finished since Christmas, including Ace Combat 5, Star Wars Republic Commando, Mercenaries, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, etc, so I could afford more PSP games. So even though we're down to just about 39 and a half hours until I can pick mine up from work, I don't have a hell of a lot to do for that time. Sure, I'll sleep for part of it, and work for part of it (which, when you get down to it, work doesn't do much to alieviate boredom).

I do plan to see the Ring Two before work tomorrow. But that still leaves me with tonight and tomorrow morning to entertain myself. (And, my wife is out preparing taxes for Jackson Hewitt tonight, and she'll have to go to her regular job tomorrow morning...)

[Gunbuster]

Here's another one for those who have time and money

http://www.pspvideo9.com/

[mikeszekely]

I downloaded it... I'll wait to install it and run it until after I have the PSP, and a bigger Memory Stick. I still want to get a gig, then I'll start converting Gundam Seed Desinty to mp4.

[Britai 7018]

I use RaPIZ PSP Video Convertor, it starts off in spanish, but you can change the language to english, and its pretty easy to use. Has all the usual bells and whistles, change sound quality, volume, video quality, etc.

[Hikuro]

lol I'm in the same boat as you Mike, I REALLY want this, waited an extremely long time since I even heard of the PSP and its then release in Japan and how quickly the American one was coming.

My day pretty much works like this.

6AM wake up

6:20 AM, go to work

7:20 AM Start actually working

11 AM - Go to lunch for 10-20 minutes.

11:30AM - Back to work

11:30AM-5PM sit on my ass hoping to god I'll sell a 1,000 dollar part, or parts.

5PM - Clock out and begin my hour trip home in traffic.

6PM - Get home, bitch about my day.

7PM - Old man gets home and THEN contemplate dinner

8PM - Have dinner.....

9PM - Thinking "God....hmmmmm what to do...sleep? Naaaaah Anime!"

10:30 - Pass out......

RINSE AND REPEAT!........DAILY!

So basically from 7-11, then 12-5 I sit on my butt and get bored or fight with a specific co-worker cause he thinks badmouthing and teasing me is funny till I punch him, kick him, or do something horrible like shove him when he's in the restroom doing his thing to then look like he peed on himself.

OR Throw a pen at him and hope to god it hits him in the eye... I came close today.

[JB0]

Some people get... shall we say... excited during game play.

That's true. But, take my wife for example. She likes Mario Kart. When she plays it on the Gamecube, she leans and waves the controller in all sorts of directions. But not so on the GBA version. I think even the mist exciteable people will hold handheld more carefully because they need to keep the screen steady.

Hmmm... interesting case.

On the other hand, my sister clutches SNES pads so tightly you can hear the plastic creaking across the room(thankfully she got over jumping with Mario). You don't have to sling it around to be rough on it.

[Britai 7018]

I'm kinda worried about how the PSP will be able to hold up to shock, say, if i was to run with it, jogging while playing mp3s. 2 more days... 2 long days. I'm just sitting around at home reading all the game sites, looking at my Hori screen protectors, imagining the psp behind it. It gets even worse at work when I get to see the actual boxes and games...

[bandit29]

The Best Buy near my work still doesn't have any games out. I went back to Walmart and they had even more games than the night before. Picked up Ridge Racer. They had Wipeout Pure and pretty much every other launch game there.

[Hikuro]

I think what best buys is really doing is just waiting till the system comes out cause they have that strange sense of logic which many actually share, "Why get the game when you can't play it?"

It's sorta like getting an Xbox game without the Xbox itself...or getting DSL without the computer or modem to use it.

So I can see why they don't sell the games right away. Walmart however just wants your cold hard earned cash with their 1-10 cent lower priced items from everyone else....which really you only save when you buy more then 1 thing, otherwise it was stupid to just save 10 cents.

But here in the Westcoast, 26 hours and 15 minutes to go! If I had the persausion kills of a gamer and not of a womanizer, I'd probably get the PSP today

[bandit29]

I think what best buys is really doing is just waiting till the system comes out cause they have that strange sense of logic which many actually share, "Why get the game when you can't play it?"

It's sorta like getting an Xbox game without the Xbox itself...or getting DSL without the computer or modem to use it.

So I can see why they don't sell the games right away. Walmart however just wants your cold hard earned cash with their 1-10 cent lower priced items from everyone else....which really you only save when you buy more then 1 thing, otherwise it was stupid to just save 10 cents.

But here in the Westcoast, 26 hours and 15 minutes to go! If I had the persausion kills of a gamer and not of a womanizer, I'd probably get the PSP today

Ya like Best Buy doesn't want your money. Please. Some PSP games are already shipping or available for store pick up if you preordered them on BestBuy.com

The Best Buy by my work usually puts out small quanities games and holds the rest in the back. And says they don't have anymore.

Hardly stupid of me to pick up a few games before launch. Piss off.

[Hikuro]

I was reading my Game Informer mag this morning, there's a nice lil article of the comings of the PSP tomorrow. It appears that some stores are going to open up at midnight.

Doubtful GS is doing it.

[Valkyrie Nut]

First hand view on square button and umd ejecting: No issues with the button sticking on mine. Tis a tad more clicky when pressed than the other buttons but nothing severe. UMD ejecting? Hasn't happened once. I reckon I'd practically have to break it to make that happen and I'm definately not doing that!

Did you import one, or find a retailer that broke the street date? I REALLY want a PSP NOW...

I imported. Had mine for about 2 months now

You don't have long to wait though do you? The rest of my fellow europeans have to wait till june/july

[mikeszekely]

First hand view on square button and umd ejecting: No issues with the button sticking on mine. Tis a tad more clicky when pressed than the other buttons but nothing severe. UMD ejecting? Hasn't happened once. I reckon I'd practically have to break it to make that happen and I'm definately not doing that!

Did you import one, or find a retailer that broke the street date? I REALLY want a PSP NOW...

I imported. Had mine for about 2 months now

You don't have long to wait though do you? The rest of my fellow europeans have to wait till june/july

It seems like an eternity now.

Anyway, we're opening my GS at 8:00, and I still plan to buy mine, then open the doors. I also picked up a 512mb Memory Stick Duo Pro until we start getting gigs in, and by now I've got 7 of the 8 games I preordered (Tiger Woods still isn't in for some reason, but no biggie... it's Wipeout I really want to play).

[areaseven]

I won't buy a PSP until the following happen:

1. All the bugs on the first release are fixed.

2. The price drops to around $150.

3. Anime companies start releasing titles on UMD.

[sabretooth]

that will take a while...

sony is real bad about fixing things that should'nt had made it past qc tests.....

[ComicKaze]

I'm not buying this until the analyst speculated 50GB harddrive version in 2006. It'd be a total waste of money at the current time since I have much more interest in it as a portable media player and homebrew software/games player than playing official PSP games.

[Ghadrack]

I just picked mine up an hour ago at EB here in Chattanooga, and I have to say that is it bar none the neatest piece of handheld electronic gadgetry I have ever had the pleasure of touching.

Wipeout Pure is crisp and beautiful, I have a meeting, but I will throw in Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer and MG after lunch.

[eugimon]

I'm not buying this until the analyst speculated 50GB harddrive version in 2006. It'd be a total waste of money at the current time since I have much more interest in it as a portable media player and homebrew software/games player than playing official PSP games.

while a HD would be very cool, I wonder what that would do to the battery life... I imagine that given how short it already is, a hard disk would shorten the usable life considerably....

[Hikuro]

Guys at GS called me over before I left work (forgot to mention this lastnight) and I went over there and met up with a SONY rep. She had a PSP there and oooohhhh it looked nice. Its very shiny glossy block cover and the light grey-ish tone on the back was a neat touch. She was playing some sampler movie which had some Pixar stuff on there and the screen resolution was fantastic, very crisp looking images though I was lookin at some distance cause I didn't wanna be to spoiled.

Sean told me GS is opening an hour early, so I'm heading out of work at 8:45 which is almost an hour from now to atleast have a fighting chance.

[Zentrandude]

I'm not buying this until the analyst speculated 50GB harddrive version in 2006. It'd be a total waste of money at the current time since I have much more interest in it as a portable media player and homebrew software/games player than playing official PSP games.

while a HD would be very cool, I wonder what that would do to the battery life... I imagine that given how short it already is, a hard disk would shorten the usable life considerably....

hoping for the tech to advance enough that with a super small 50 gb hdd in a handheld will have an advance micro fusion generator or atleast a small hydro fuel cell generator in itl

[UN Spacy]

Well. I'm off to Wal Mart in a couple of minutes.

Wish me luck.

[NSJ23]

If I can find one later this afternoon then I'll get one, and I'll buy darkstalkers or NFS for it.

[bandit29]

Got mine this morning at Best Buy at 8AM. They said they had about 250 units. Picked up a 512 MB memory card too. Been playing Ridge Racer and Darkstalkers. Pretty cool. I'll probably pick a few more games soon.

No problems to report. The PSP is pretty cool but it is kinda heavy for a portable system.

[Gunbuster]

no lines at Walmart and there's a ton of them (like 50 units in their glass case)

[bandit29]

no lines at Walmart and there's a ton of them (like 50 units in their glass case) 

There were around 20-25 people waiting this morning at Best Buy. I wasn't expecting huge lines since its been so cold here(Chicago area). And also its a portable system. If it was the PS3 or another home console I'd expect longer lines.

Edited March 24, 2005 by dejr8bud

[rkiyo]

For those of you who have one, was the retail box sealed at purchase? Was there supposed to be a plastic film on the screen of the PSP? Looks like the one I bought from Game Stop was tampered with but I just want to be sure.

Thanks in advance!

Oops! Forgot to ask if the battery was pre charged as well.

Edited March 24, 2005 by rkiyo

[Dangard Ace]

Wooo! Went to a Superstore and didn't buy one! Got a free PSP tee-shirt though. Now everyone at work is asking where my PSP is. One guy even started rummaging through all my drawers!!