PSP - The Verdict Review
Chris Leyton
14/02/2005
Sony's handheld is finally here, providing a glimpse of their vision of the future...
Sonys entrance into the handheld market has been widely predicted for a number of years, however after a couple of false starts the wait is finally over and the PSP is now upon us. Should Nintendo have anything to fear a they gear up for their strongest competitor yet in over 15 years of complete domination; well some comparisons never should be made, but...
First impressions are extremely favourable; quite honestly the Sony PSP makes the Nintendo DS look like a toy in comparison, however before we feed the Nintendo fanboys with ammunition, wed like to state that we love our DS, its just immediately evident that both formats are heading into wildly different areas and shouldnt really be put into direct comparison.
So with that off our chests, on to the actual system...
Slick, stylish and oh so 21st century, are just some of the thoughts that mused through our minds when we first got our grubby mitts on the PSP. On first inspection you cant help but be impressed, anybody would be forgiven for thinking that a new-born had arrived in the TVG office, with cries of Isnt it beautiful! The system is slightly smaller then wed expected and fits snugly into your palms with relative ease, allowing easy access to the customary face/shoulder buttons along with the d-pad and analogue nipple.
Concerns have been wide-spread regarding the internal placement of the square button and its different sensation to the other three face buttons, but this is just fanboy condemnation at its worst, nobody could have a problem with it and whilst theres a slight difference in touch its never going to be enough to affect your experience whilst playing a game.
The combination of the face buttons and d-pad lends the PSP a distinctly Playstation flavour, although if we had any gripes it would be that the shoulder buttons look and feel a little cheap in comparison, whilst the sliding nature of the analogue nipple certainly takes some time to get used to. All in all weve not been massive fans of Playstation designs, however the PSP bucks the trend and is honestly the most refreshing and beautiful design weve come to see from Sony in the last decade “ it could even rival the iPod as the sexiest gadget to emerge on this planet within the last decade.
Manufactured from what appears to be a strange substance sent back in time from future Sony operatives, the PSP has that level of prestige when you first marvel upon something distinctly new “ kinda like the apes coming across the monolith for the first time in Kubricks 2001 is how wed describe us when the PSP first arrived. Despite this however youll need to ensure a healthy collection of wipes are ready, as the PSP unit shows up everything dust, fingerprints, condensation, scratches, so you can understand why the early-adopters have become very attached and protective about their new systems.
It is however the 16:9 LCD screen that makes the first impression; crystal clear, sharp definition and just oh so damn brilliant. Users can select between four different backlight settings, and whilst there can be slight issues with strong overhead lighting, its fair to say that the PSP will suit your needs, whether youre spending the rest of your life in a cave or on the bronzed beaches of Rio de Janeiro. The screen is arguably perhaps the main reason why PSP games look so magnificent, enhancing Playstation2 quality visuals with crisp and clear definition that makes a standard TV look positively primitive “ weve never seen anything quite like it, and if youre planning on picking up a PSP then we guarantee that it will be the first thing to have you dribbling all over it..
The Value Pack comes complete with a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, which is used to store everything from game saves and updates to photos and music. Naturally if youre going to be testing the extremes of the multimedia capabilities, the first thing youll need is a bigger Memory Stick, although this has to come from the DUO range currently reaching capacities of 1GB for approximately 129.99.
Theres a surprising lack of input/output options on the PSP, which offers a USB port as the only means to connect the device to your computer and begin transferring music/image/movie files to the PSP. In addition theres an IR port, although uses for this have been on the slim side of non-existent “ Sony have plans to reveal new peripherals that will make use of this, however well have to wait for new information.
Despite looking as fragile as a Ming vase the PSP is surprisingly heavy and has a definite sturdy feel to it, something that we certainly werent expecting. Sure thats not to say it wont be easy to damage and the similarities between the UMD drive and that of a Mini-Disc does create a slight worry in terms of durability, but unless youre a) clinically clumsy, b) an 8-year old or c) planning to take a sledgehammer to the device, then the PSP should last the duration with very few problems. Naturally Sony arent particularly renowned for build-quality, so the true-test will be that of time, were just hoping theres no such thing as a Disc Read Error message on the PSP!!!
Switching on the system carries on the 21st Century look with a slick operating system/interface, neatly presenting the foundations that the PSP is based upon and why Sony is labelling this as the Walkman of the 21st Century.
Broken down into five categories, the interface allows you to jump between Settings, Photo, Music, Video and Game. We may sound like Sony brainwash victims, but just navigating through the menu screens and realising the possibilities of the system, makes us weep like little girls at a Busted farewell tour; theres a satisfying click as you move between menus, whilst little touches such as a small thumbnail of video footage to demonstrate the game currently loaded within the system, continue to embellish the fact that this is the next-generation of handhelds.
Each category is broken down into different areas, with Game allowing you to choose between Game Sharing, Saved Data Utility, UMD, and Memory Stick. Recently revealed by way of Namcos NAMCO Museum, Game Sharing allows your friends to download sample copies on to their unit and play multiplayer without needing two copies of the game, in a similar system to that pioneered on the GameBoy Advance and reiterated on the Nintendo DS. The Memory Stick mode also provides some intrigue, with the possibility of updating games with new content stored on the Memory Stick, along with the recent rumours of downloading trial games.
Its hard not to get enthused when youre holding a PSP in your hands, however its future success as a Walkman of the 21st Century is still in the balance; although its easy to see where games are heading on the format, its presence within the Movie and Music markets is an entirely different prospect. Sony needs to convince other entertainment companies to support the new UMD medium, and if history has proved one thing, its that trying to launch a new format is one of the hardest tasks to face. With consumers having embraced DVD as a standard, and with the impending release of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, its questionable as to whether the market will embrace yet another format this soon.
With ready support from the likes of Columbia Records, Epic Records and Legacy Recordings amongst others, Sony can count on the assistance of artists such as Beyonce, Bob Dylan and Jennifer Lopez to kick-start music on the UMD format, however the need to court rival music labels will be paramount to the PSP succeeding in this area.
Equally with movie studios such as Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures and Screen Gems at their helm, Sony certainly have support from the start, including the popular Spider-Man franchise, but support from outside will be crucial to the UMD format becoming a popular medium for films on the go.
Music
Thankfully its possible right from the start to whack movies and music onto a Memory Stick, whilst we continue to await the future of UMD Music & Movies. Possibly at the insistence of Ken Kutaragi, the PSP doesnt insist on Sonys proprietary ATRAC3 music format, and easily allows the storage, exchange and playback of MP3 files “ a decision that in the past has thwarted Sonys attempts to crack the portable music market.
Transferring music files to the Memory Stick is nice and easy, with a USB connection between the PSP and your computer the only thing needed. Having connected the PSP youll be able to access the Memory Stick from your computer, which youll notice is broken down into different directories for Music, Games, Photos and Save Data “ bizarrely no mention of a Movie directory, but well move on to that later.
Dropping MP3 files to the Music destination directory is about as difficult as playing music on the PSP gets, thanks to the joys of MP3, youll not have to worry about entering track names, artists details and even album art, because the tags are already encoded within the MP3 file “ making organisation of your music a snitch. Your music can be organised into Groups although you cannot arrange these on your PSP, and so must set-up the playlists as you want them on your computer beforehand.
The standard variety of music playback functions and preset equalizers feature within the PSP, whilst the overall sound quality is distinctly impressive (particularly when using the PSP headphones), with a level of clarity befitting a high-end MP3 player.
Storing images and photos is handled in a similar fashion, although remembering to store JPGs into the Photo directory within the Memory Stick; sadly transferring movies is likely to cause a few more headaches “ however with the correct knowledge youll soon have your swanky PSP playing movies on the go.
But How Do I Get Movies On It???
The Sony PSP only features support for MPEG-4 files, whose high compression is especially thankful given the tiny space of the 32MB Memory Stick. As you may remember, we previously touched upon the lack of a Movie directory on the Memory Stick, but unfortunately its a little more complicated then just creating a directory and storing your files. The PSP requires specifically titled MP4 files otherwise it wont recognise them, although thankfully some guys are ahead of the class and you can already get your hands on a nice and easy application that will have you started in minutes.
Firstly youll need to create a directory entitled 100MNV01 on the MP_ROOT directory; this is where youll store your MP4 files to playback on the PSP. It appears that the PSP directory structure and video playback has been lifted straight from Sonys Clie PDA series, and as such has a couple of drawback which well get on to later, but thankfully it gives us enough knowledge to get off the ground.
Having created the directory, youll need to download some software which encodes the file and names it accordingly for use on the PSP, which you can find free of charge here.
Upon installing the software youll be greeted with strange fonts and weird characters, but no need to worry, as you only need to select the Customized: MP4 for PSP (Direct, renamed) option and press Apply. Simply select your encoding bit-rate and drag your source video file into the relevant box, and hey presto, bobs your uncle, PSP compliant MP4 movie files are ready to store on your Memory Stick for you to view at your pleasure “ but...
Well there always has to be a but, but this doesnt have a particularly nasty sting in the tail. Because the PSP is essentially based upon the Sony Clie range and presumably to eliminate any competition to forthcoming UMD Movie releases, this method of storing movies to the Memory Stick only allows you to encode to a 4:3 resolution of 320x240, with any attempts to change the resolution to the PSPs native 480x272 met with Incompatible Data or Corrupted Data error messages. As weve said its not a particularly big problem, and for those that arent too retentive about visual quality, you can always use the PSPs video controls to fit the screen albeit in a squashed fashion. More importantly is the need for storage space, as although MPEG4 compression can squeeze a minute of video footage into around 2MB (using the lowest quality settings), youll still need more space for most things then the 32MB Memory Stick that comes with the PSP.
The largest currently available Memory Stick Duo stands at 1GB; given your tastes in picture and sound quality this can either be enough for an two hours worth of footage at 29.97 fps or up to Lord of the Rings length of four hours at 15 fps.
For those a little less-savvy it must be noticed that Sony offer its Image Converter 2.1 application for easy encoding and transferring, whilst wed fully expect more tools and applications to become available upon the systems release in the West.
Despite the issues faced with encoding and transferring movie files, we have to say that having movies on the go is well worth the effort. The movie quality is obviously noticeable when youre hacking around like this, although thats not to say you cant get greater results with enough storage space and a little time on your hands. Certainly demonstrations of the UMD Movies actually in action reveals a distinctive quality bordering on DVD standards, although being able to store 1.8GB on UMDs is certainly easier then trying to cram it on a tiddly Memory Stick in comparison.
But What About the Battery
Much like the Square button, PSP cynics have been quick to jump onto the battery consumption issue and label it as the one reason why the PSP wont succeed. However the truth is an entirely different prospect; sure the battery has a nasty habit of running out when you dont want it to, but a full recharge takes significantly less time then we first feared, with the manual stating 2.2 hours “ although weve noted times of less then 2 hours. A full charge provides varying results dependant upon what youre doing, although weve recorded just over 5 hours of continuous play on Ridge Racers, whilst music is considerably longer and will be enough to sustain virtually any journey. Sadly weve been unable to test its duration while watching movies and will have to wait for the release of UMD titles to gain a better understanding of this.
One thing to note is that its hard to distinguish the difference between powering off the PSP and putting it into sleep mode at first. Simply sliding the power switch will put the PSP unit into sleep mode whatever youre doing, whether youre in the middle of a game or just left in the interface; to properly shut off the system you need to hold the power switch for at least 2 seconds.
Its impossible to get a final verdict on the PSPs battery, simply because its too early to tell; but unless youve got visions of playing an RPG for 10 hours solid, then its unlikely to disappoint, it just requires a little more thought and care then your GameBoy Advance, think more along the lines of a mobile phone.
Wi-Fi You Say
Despite a leaked firmware update appearing last year in Japan, exactly what the network side of the PSP has to offer will remain mysterious for awhile yet. Directly connecting PSP units to engage in multiplayer is a simple as flicking the Wi-Fi switch and selecting the correct mode within the game; but as last weeks report revealed, it wont be long before the first wave of games that allow you to hook up to the Net via a Wi-Fi connection become available.
Within the interface you can also select a Network Update from the Setting mode, which provides a glimpse of the evolution that PSP could undergo over the coming months, with rumours of PDA styled applications to let you browse the web and send e-mails amongst many others.
Whilst weve only got a glimpse of this, its certainly an exciting feature for the PSP and ensures that the format will easily evolve as new ideas and concepts are created, whilst playing multiplayer over the Internet could become as successful and popular as Xbox Live!
