PSP Specifications Discussion Thread

[GeoDim]

Now, I'm no expert at this stuff, but heres a few spec comparisons just to see wut were dealin w/

.............................PSP.......... DC..........PS2.........XBox..........GC
GFLOPS..................2.6............1.4........ ...6.2..........2.93.........1.94
Polygons M/sec ........33..............3............66........116 .5.........6-12
Main RAM (mb)..........8..............16...........32...... .......64...........24
Bus Band/sec..........2.6gb....800mb.......3.2gb........6.4 gb.......2.6gb

[GeoDim]

looks pretty good to me :D

[Ibanez32]

Sound like the PsP will be pretty damn good.
My only concern is how big is it gonna be?

[AVataRR]

meh. next time u wanna post an article, link it instead of copying and pasting.

[GeoDim]

my bad i didnt realize the specs were already on pspinsider

[Swordmaster Jehuty]

Why will the PSP not have the XDR-Ram?

[stanDarsh]

I dont think XDR will be released until after PSP is available, if memory serves me correctly, and thats why it'll be in the PS3.

[gaming ultima]

i got a few questions
1. dont u mean the memory bus bandwidth not the bus bandwidth science that bus .... could just as easily mean the AGP bus
2. if u mean the mem... bus .... than how comes it says 3.2GB/s when acording to the uk playstation website http://uk.playstation.com/hardware/techspec_ps2.jhtml?generationId=2it is 128bit and of course at 800MHz by my calculations (800 x 16 = 12800MB/s or 12.8GB/s)
oh and by the way u people should be really carful about using b's and B's because b means bit and B means byte and there r 8 bits to a byte
oh and also just out of curisity where did you get the M/sec polygon performance amount for the xbox?

[Omega Blue]

i duno the specs to me are not fully trustable but either way im sitting here stareing at the PSP Slautering the Gamecube. :lol:

[Matt]

We'll just have to wait and see.

[gaming ultima]

We'll just have to wait and see.

what does that mean?

[Matt]

I was answering the above post about the PSP slaughtering the GameCube. Somehow I can't see it happening, but we'll soon see I guess.

[Maxesman]

I doubt it will slaughter the game cube. but at the same time if would be funny if it did :lol:

[Omega Blue]

well just look at those Specs if those are any indication to its power then its possible of happening.

[gaming ultima]

i just discoverd soemthing else that is missleading about the specs - i just looked at the nin.... official website and at the gc official specs and that 6-12 mill is with texture and lighting applied when the ps2 psp and xbox fiques are almost certainly not (if i recall the ps2 and xbox can do slightly above 30 mil with texture and lighting applied)(the xbox can still do more than the ps2 though)

[GeoDim]

yeah they always bend the truth and fail to mention shit when they release specs...ah well

[klaymen]

I dont think XDR will be released until after PSP is available, if memory serves me correctly, and thats why it'll be in the PS3.

get it? ...if memory serves him... get it? get it?

[TEEDA]

But actual ps2 games do between 8 and 15 millions of polygons.

the first title which is giong to be more than 20 millions is killzone .
and maybe in the future , ps2 games will do around 50 millions of polygones if the programmers do well .

[megadrive]

GeoDim when you gave the GFLOP specs for all these machines, you only gave the CPU specs of each machine, not the total GFLOP spec.

that is important because GameCube and XBox do not totally rely on their CPUs to do geometry & lighting like the PS2 does.

Xbox and GameCube's GPUs contain the lions-share of those console's computational power, whereas in PS2, its the CPU.


The total GFLOP rating for GameCube is 10.5 GFLOPs (CPU+GPU)
the GFLOP rating for Xbox, according to Nvidia and MS, is 70-116 GFLOPs however Nvidia counts GFLOPs in a totally different way, and because of that people call it "NvFlops" because only Nvidia counts things in the way they do, so its hard to get the true figure for Xbox, but lets just say it is
2-3 times higher than PS2. remember the 2.93 GFLOPs you put for Xbox is only counting the Intel 733 Mhz CPU, not the GPU. as well as for GC, you counted just the Gekko CPU not the Flipper GPU which does all the polygons.

I have adjusted the specs you put in your post, including the polygon specs because some of them are just theoretical and some are real usable in-game, so thats not fair. The GC game Rogue Leader, a first generation game from 2001, was pushing 15M polygons, and we know Nintendo's 6-12M figure was really understating what GC can do. I also changed the memory amounts to TOTAL memory since that paints a more realistic picture.


.................................PSP.......... DC..........PS2.........XBox...........GC
GFLOPS..................2.6............1.4........ ...6.2.........12-20?.........10.5
Polygons M/sec .......5-10?........3-5........10-20........20-30.........15-20
total RAM (MB)..........12e............26...........40...... .......64..............43
Bus Band/sec..........2.6gb....800mb.......3.2gb........6.4 gb..........2.6gb

[joe]

But actual ps2 games do between 8 and 15 millions of polygons.

the first title which is giong to be more than 20 millions is killzone .
and maybe in the future , ps2 games will do around 50 millions of polygones if the programmers do well .


... Naughty dog und Insomniac mention,that engine used both in JAKII/RaCII has peek performance over 20M+ polys per sec / cca 350 000 per frame/ and 2.5Gpix sec /!!!!/,believe or not.

[megadrive]

Overall the PSP will be less powerful than the PS2 and XBox, but MUCH more powerful than PS1 or N64, and even somewhat more powerful than Dreamcast.

The 33M polygon spec for PSP is the raw polygon spec. GC also does about 33M raw polygons (untextured, no features)

The pixel fill rate for PSP is also similar to GC's
668M for PSP, 648M for GC

Just to give some perspective, the Dreamcast's SH-4 CPU can do at least 10 million raw polygons so PSP is more powerful there.

[Maxesman]

wow the same raw polygons as ngc. thats alot.

[Ress Cor]

The total GFLOP rating for GameCube is 10.5 GFLOPs (CPU+GPU)


Naughty dog und Insomniac mention,that engine used both in JAKII/RaCII has peek performance over 20M+ polys per sec / cca 350 000 per frame/ and 2.5Gpix sec /!!!!/,believe or not.

Alright children, you're pretty much on the dot but not quite there. The GC can do up 24 M Polys with everything (gamplay 60fps) at its peak, although with proper pushing it might do more, this is according to Factor 5 when they made the first Rouge Leader, while their game only ran at 14 M polys they figured working on the game for more than 8 months they could push it much further, they had a lot of time for the sequel and I can't wait to see if it really does run at over 20 M poly's.

wuss-Box, with its all its "techie specs" craps out at 10 to 14 M Poly mark, as in the framerate will become unberable.

PS2's chip "emotion" engine, has been labeled by some morons in the press as "a marketing scheme" or something like that, fact is when you program every cpu in the PS2, you will reach %100. Jak 2 is getting there, PS2's is not supposed to do more than 8 M poly's, but by looking at Jak 2, that seems to me like dated information. I'm not sure what Jak 2 rans at, but it seems a lot more than 8 M poly's to me, but that is to be seen when I buy the game and actually play it.

P.S. Gamecube went down in price $99 US, I own a ps2, but adding the GC, ven if only for the star wars games seems like a nice idea to me.

Cheeers!

[Ibanez32]

If i remember correctly the reason why the game cube polly count is so low it because when nintendo did the performance count they used fully rendered and textured pollys. Where as the others elegedly used naked pollys. So i was told

[gaming ultima]

If i remember correctly the reason why the game cube polly count is so low it because when nintendo did the performance count they used fully rendered and textured pollys. Where as the others elegedly used naked pollys. So i was told

yes your right on that
and i carnt be pissed to get into a arguement but some of u people sound like you dont know how various bits of hardware do what and how they work together

[GeoDim]

GeoDim when you gave the GFLOP specs for all these machines, you only gave the CPU specs of each machine, not the total GFLOP spec.

that is important because GameCube and XBox do not totally rely on their CPUs to do geometry & lighting like the PS2 does.

Xbox and GameCube's GPUs contain the lions-share of those console's computational power, whereas in PS2, its the CPU.


The total GFLOP rating for GameCube is 10.5 GFLOPs (CPU+GPU)
the GFLOP rating for Xbox, according to Nvidia and MS, is 70-116 GFLOPs however Nvidia counts GFLOPs in a totally different way, and because of that people call it "NvFlops" because only Nvidia counts things in the way they do, so its hard to get the true figure for Xbox, but lets just say it is
2-3 times higher than PS2. remember the 2.93 GFLOPs you put for Xbox is only counting the Intel 733 Mhz CPU, not the GPU. as well as for GC, you counted just the Gekko CPU not the Flipper GPU which does all the polygons.

I have adjusted the specs you put in your post, including the polygon specs because some of them are just theoretical and some are real usable in-game, so thats not fair. The GC game Rogue Leader, a first generation game from 2001, was pushing 15M polygons, and we know Nintendo's 6-12M figure was really understating what GC can do. I also changed the memory amounts to TOTAL memory since that paints a more realistic picture.


.................................PSP.......... DC..........PS2.........XBox...........GC
GFLOPS..................2.6............1.4........ ...6.2.........12-20?.........10.5
Polygons M/sec .......5-10?........3-5........10-20........20-30.........15-20
total RAM (MB)..........12e............26...........40...... .......64..............43
Bus Band/sec..........2.6gb....800mb.......3.2gb........6.4 gb..........2.6gbas i mentioned, im no expert about this stuff

[joe]

The total GFLOP rating for GameCube is 10.5 GFLOPs (CPU+GPU)


Naughty dog und Insomniac mention,that engine used both in JAKII/RaCII has peek performance over 20M+ polys per sec / cca 350 000 per frame/ and 2.5Gpix sec /!!!!/,believe or not.

Alright children, you're pretty much on the dot but not quite there. The GC can do up 24 M Polys with everything (gamplay 60fps) at its peak, although with proper pushing it might do more, this is according to Factor 5 when they made the first Rouge Leader, while their game only ran at 14 M polys they figured working on the game for more than 8 months they could push it much further, they had a lot of time for the sequel and I can't wait to see if it really does run at over 20 M poly's.

wuss-Box, with its all its "techie specs" craps out at 10 to 14 M Poly mark, as in the framerate will become unberable.

PS2's chip "emotion" engine, has been labeled by some morons in the press as "a marketing scheme" or something like that, fact is when you program every cpu in the PS2, you will reach %100. Jak 2 is getting there, PS2's is not supposed to do more than 8 M poly's, but by looking at Jak 2, that seems to me like dated information. I'm not sure what Jak 2 rans at, but it seems a lot more than 8 M poly's to me, but that is to be seen when I buy the game and actually play it.

P.S. Gamecube went down in price $99 US, I own a ps2, but adding the GC, ven if only for the star wars games seems like a nice idea to me.

Cheeers!


... dear son,8M,eh heh,read this.
Jason G Doig
Senior Engineer, SCEE R&D
Dropship

... Ok, so just to finish up I’ll show you again the scan from the very first slide. This is a title which achieves a lot of stuff I’ve talked about today. Notably, for most of the time it’s drawing stuff it’s churning out 10 to 20 million polys. That’s no a random benchmark, that’s physically what the GS starts drawing and like I said during the PA description, it doesn’t count zero-area stuff.
Also, the CPU usage is up at about 50% or more, which is more than double what an average title might see, and better than most good titles by a decent margin. It’s also getting dual-issue for about 80% of the time during the critical processing phases (about half a frames worth).
So good performance is possible, and not only that, but this title was written without the aid of the PA, only using the built in performance counters and a lot of skill. It’s also not perfect and I fully expect to see this developers next title beating this performance on every level. Hopefully you guys can do the same.

... okey.

[Comrade Penguin]

I dont think XDR will be released until after PSP is available, if memory serves me correctly, and thats why it'll be in the PS3.

Also id Imagine price would be a factor as would making it into the correct size for a portable.

[Danji]

XDR memory doesn't start production until 2005, psp comes out 2004. End of that discussion.

On the topic of how many polys the ps2 can actually crank out, I'm sure it's larger than most titles out by a huge margin. Developers aren't as good programmers as they should be or they aren't putting out as much effort as they should be. I could understand for the first two years that they would be tredding into unfamiliar ground and refining the engine but by now most games should have only moderately lower graphics than Jak 2. I know it's a dificult job and that I don't have as much expertise in this area as other people on the forum but as a gamer I have standards and most games for PS2 fall short of them.

BTW: this post does not concern the THQ franchise-based games due to the fact I don't consider them to be actual games. They are rather toys..

[NickSCFC]

I really doubt PSP will handle more polygons than Dreamcast.

[silkMotion]

I really doubt PSP will handle more polygons than Dreamcast.

wow, that's really enlightening .. backed by proof and all

[Kevyn Grams]

Those specs look pretty sweet but they are even sweeter when you and in Nurbs and the new 32 MB RAM

[klaymen]

how is it that the GC's specs can be so much lower than ps2's yet PS2 lags on games where GC stands strong? (and i own both GC and PS2, so i know that this is true) gamecube just feels more powerful to me when i play it.

[SunDevil]

Good Bye

[megadrive]

actually Gamecube and PSP are very close in geometry and fillrate.

GC fillrate: 648M pixels/ sec - 648M texels/sec
PSP fillrate: 668M pixels/sec

GC does about 32 million polygons with limited effects but the most graphically intensive games are pusing 15 million polygons on GC, not 30 million. the raw transform rate of GC might be around 60 million, but not with texture mapping or effects. and in game figures are no where near 30 million

PSP beats Dreamcast in most areas except amount of memory.

compared to GC, PSP is pretty close in raw performance, but again, less memory, and that will be the limiting factor on PSP or any hardware.

[Paul]

PSP beats Dreamcast in most areas except amount of memory.


To be fair though the PSP's e-DRAM is of way higher bandwidth than that of the DC's, PSP is also using a less than 640x320 resolution which will save on memory.

They also plan on saving memory on the footprints aswell.. PSP's memory will go far.

[Danji]

I could see the psp running the original Soul Calibur at a steady 60 FPS so it is my oppinion that it is much better than the DC. Now SC II on the other hand I can' t say, I don't have enough information to make a statement on if it could play it.

[gaming ultima]

check this out
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=2814
wot do ya think?
oh and if your gonna talk about the ram amount specificly and nothing elce could u post here
http://www.ps3insider.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1266

[solidus]

They are right. The Ram is the only thing that is worrying me.
If it would be confirmed by Sony i think we'll be seeing alot of ports.
And again i'll DEFENATLY buy it.
I'm still woried...

[megadrive]

To be fair though the PSP's e-DRAM is of way higher bandwidth than that of the DC's, PSP is also using a less than 640x320 resolution which will save on memory.

They also plan on saving memory on the footprints aswell.. PSP's memory will go far.


true. and now that PSP's memory most likely being increased to 32 MB, it competely surpasses Dreamcast, except in resolution. I would think PSP games will look as good as PS2 games if not better, because of the extra graphical features and better development environment, dispite PS2 having more raw performance.

[solidus]

Don't forget NURBS.

[dryclean only]

yes that you just cannot forget running it with nurbs will make the graphical quality almost deffinatly surpase the DC and rank up to the ps2

[Znegil]

yes that you just cannot forget running it with nurbs will make the graphical quality almost deffinatly surpase the DC and rank up to the ps2


The discussion is very nice to read, but haven´t you forget something...
While the PS2, X-Box... have to do the pictures for TV resolution (max. 720x576 PAL) the PSP will use a 480x272 resolution.
Lets see:
720x576= 414.720 Pixel PAL
480x272= 130.560 Pixel PSP

So this is more then three times less!!!
Shouldn´t that mean, if you want to compare we should expect that the Power of the PSP is about three times bigger then it seems?
It have less Screen to be calculated.

What do you think?

PS: Sorry for posting it in the wrong spot first.

[Ibanez32]

Possibly good news the PsP ram may be going up to 32mb. read this http://www.megagames.com/news/html/console/pspheadingfor32mb.shtml it may not be definite but lets hope it is.

[solidus]

The exact same article was posted here before.

[threepac3]

doh they'll probably increase the memory making it more like the ps2 , but the cost will skyrocket. PsP cost will probably be around 400 dollers way out of my money range for a handheld.

[solid_snake]

I doubt the price increase will be significant because if it is then the RAM wouldn't be increased. I believe Sony will try to keep the PSP price at $250-300 at most.

[Ress Cor]

Does anyone know if Sony is gonna bother making the PSP with PDA function? For the price they are gonna charge for it, they should, don't you all agree?

[SunDevil]

Good Bye

[joe]

... the GC´s video processor is not based on ATIs R200,,in fact it use ARTX 200 Mhz /CANADA product/,and its features are used in R2xx and R3xx generation.

[GT4 RULZ]

very reliable sources, whilst not confirmed by Sony, have been reporting that you will be able to save your progress in PSP titles and then continue play on the PlayStation2. It is also being said that Sony are working on various software bundles for titles on both the PS2 and PSP- allowing gamers to play on the move and at home.

i also found some interastinf info on the second site The report was not all positive, however, and some potential subtractions were made. MP3 support and wireless networking may not make the final PSP release. These features could be getting the ax in order to keep the price point affordable ($199 perhaps?). More details will likely surface as Sony prepares to unveil the PSP at this coming E3


http://www.cubed-3.co.uk/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1805
http://www.gigex.com/playstation2/article/?id=5521&source=00001

[Danji]

Old news, check the front page at PSPinsider.com more often.

[SunDevil]

Good Bye

[ultimategamer2004]

Does anyone know if Sony is gonna bother making the PSP with PDA function? For the price they are gonna charge for it, they should, don't you all agree?

I am 99% shore that it will be a PDA.

[NickSCFC]

No. The purpose of PSP is to be a portable entertainment system, not a portable PC.

[gamingmonkey2004]

PDA function would be a waste and not to mention quite stupid

[neptunez]

what do you guys think about battery life?

will there be enough? will you have to play beside wall outlet to get juice?

the specs insed require a lot of juice and I'm not enough going to begin which one's need....

[stanDarsh]

what do you guys think about battery life?

will there be enough? will you have to play beside wall outlet to get juice?

the specs insed require a lot of juice and I'm not enough going to begin which one's need....

If Battery life IS a problem, then perhaps it will come with a battery charger just like a Mobile Phone, and perhaps it will come with more than 1 battery pack. The NEC Video Phone comes to mind, which came with 3 battery packs, because battery life wouldnt last very long!

[megadrive]

30 MB of memory for PSP


PSP specs upgraded: official confirmation from SCEE president


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsurprisingly Reeves came out strongly in defence of the PSP as its own product and not a Game Boy replacement. "It's not, as people have said, a new Game Boy," he said. "There are so many other features that you can add onto it, whether it's GPS or GPRS even." As for games development: "Emulators are out, and I think dev kits will probably go out in March or April - the full dev kits, with analysers and things like that." Asked about concerns over the PSP's memory allocation, Reeves confirmed "it will have 30MB of RAM, now, which it didn't have before." He also admitted that the PSP concept image we've all seen was just that. "I think it was made of fibreglass or something like that. I honestly don't know if it'll look like that or not."

The Sony Europe boss also commented on the power of the handheld, responding, when asked if it would fit between the two existing Sony formats in terms of power, "That's about where it is," before adding "I think what Phil [Harrison] would say is that people who get an early start - probably someone like Square - will take it beyond PS2."

[gamingmonkey2004]

wait...werent we talking about battery life and not memory? o well. i hope that PSP comes with atleast two batterpacks or a long lasting battery. cause on my cell phone the batter lasts for like a whole week and its flip top color and the LCD screen on the top lights different colors and stuff and the battery lasts forever

[Znegil]

[quote="megadrive"30 MB of memory for PSP]

30 MB more than the PSone, so ist is 32 MB...
No one would use a 30 MB Chip :lol:

[gamingmonkey2004]

can you rephrase that dude that made absolutly no sense at all

[gaming ultima]

he meant that he thinks that the president of SCEE meant that there will be 30MB more RAM then the PS and so there will be 32MB, he thinks this because as he quite rightly said 30MB doesnt make any sence, 32 makes a lot of sence, it would also be easyer to put in 32 then 30 belive it or not as the orig specs used sony's new ultra small 4MB eDRAM blockes, i can only think that maybe there will be 32 but 2 of it will be used for non main memory perposes

[joe]

he meant that he thinks that the president of SCEE meant that there will be 30MB more RAM then the PS and so there will be 32MB, he thinks this because as he quite rightly said 30MB doesnt make any sence, 32 makes a lot of sence, it would also be easyer to put in 32 then 30 belive it or not as the orig specs used sony's new ultra small 4MB eDRAM blockes, i can only think that maybe there will be 32 but 2 of it will be used for non main memory perposes

... PSone,2MB+1MB+0.5MB
... PSP old version,8MB+2MB+2MB
... PSP new version,24MB+2MB+4MB /only speculation/,PSP has not ALL memory in ONE chip.

[gaming ultima]

yea, i forogt that the president of SCEE said RAM and not main memory, woops :lol:
so u think that there will be 6 blocks of 4MB of eDRAM (asuming that they stick with that eDRAM), i wonder what the joint bandwidth for all of them would be

[HOMERUNTPS]

Does any one know if the psp well play mp3 and if it does how big is the hard drive. Thanks

[gaming ultima]

Does any one know if the psp well play mp3 and if it does how big is the hard drive. Thanks
there is a 95% chance that it wont have a hdd
it will use UMD disks and prob memory stickes. and yes i belive that it will use MP3, well we know itle play music so im guessing itle be MP3
and im guessing that the psx might be able to burn to a UMD. and incase your wondering a UMD can hold 1.8GB and memory stickes can hold up 2 1-2GB

[HOMERUNTPS]

Thanks gaming ultima for that information

[ultimategamer2004]

Yes i think it will play mp3's but it wont have a hard drive..

P.S:Welcome to ps3insider HOMRUNTPS

[megadrive]

regardless if PSP has 30 or 32 MB of memory, the fact that it's getting a major increase is very, very encouraging.

slightly off-topic:

I hope that, if developers find that early PS3 dev-kits are lacking enough memory, developers will pressure Sony into also increasing the final PS3's memory to acceptable levels.

i.e. if PS3 dev-kits have 256 MB of external XDR memory plus 64 MB eDRAM split between the CPU and GPU, I hope developers cry out for more memory. like say 512 MB external XDR and 96 MB of eDRAM, at least 8)

especially since PS3 is not going to arrive until 2006, even for Japan.

[KlawHammer]

I dont see the point in having too much RAM (unless ofcourse you can never have too much RAM)

[Ibanez32]

You can never have too much ram, well, you can but one day it won't be too much.

[gamingmonkey2004]

you know when there is to much when you smell smoke

[gaming ultima]

yes the more RAM the ps3 has the better, but i think that 256MB XDR is the most likely thing (with however much embedded RAM)

[Ibanez32]

Is it true that the battery life will be from 3 to 6 hours ??
I'll have to wear a solar panel for a hat.

[ultimategamer2004]

Yes i imagine it will be around that or slightly longer but think how long a mobile battery lasts when you are playing games it is alot longer than that but it wont require half as much energy.

[Crono]

What about the GBA SP? It has a lthium ion battery and it lasts for 10 hrs with the light on and 18 hrs with the light off. Why would the PSP only last from 3 - 6 hrs?

[rev>thanu]

because it takes more electtricity to get better graphics for the chip to process it than a GBA.

[Ibanez32]

Well first I heard this on the tv and then checked the internet about it found the same tihng said. But at the same time I wouldn't call either of my sources realible in fact anything but. With this kinda power it is gonna be a drain on the batteries.

[NickSCFC]

because it takes more electtricity to get better graphics for the chip to process it than a GBA.

Not really, PSP will be far more efficient.

[GT4 RULZ]

the most has to be more effienct considering the things it will be doing

[rev>thanu]

trust me more effecient thanGBA, it won't be. GBA has only one function and it's gaming and it cannot render 3d objects. PSP will have UMD DVD, UMD player and UMD 3d games.it takes more ellectric power to render 3d images, than a 2d image that doesn't even take that much more processing power. i think psp will be effecient for the things it can do and yes it will be energy efficient for a portable that can do games of higher quality than ps2 and xbox.(so yes compare to ps2, gamecube and xbox it will be very efficient) but more energy effient and than GBA is highly doubtfull. also it depends on how long the battery lasts and how much energy the psp can consume from it at a time.

[Ibanez32]

Not mention because the gba uses cartridges it doesn't have to keep a motor spinning when in use.

[hailstorm]

Well the news I saw the other day that some Japanese dude has made electric motors which are 80% more efficient should help then :P

[ultimategamer2004]

Well i hope it will be more efficient somthin like 24hours would do fine..

[Makaveli_786]

This is interesting check it out... I thought it was bullshit but since nothing is concrete about the PSP who knows....

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/345/C2662/

Mobilemag.com > Mobile Gaming

Sony PSP to be released by March 2005

Friday March 26, 2004 8:25 AM EST
By: Fabrizio Pilato

Sony Entertainment has announced the PSP portable entertainment platform is scheduled for release no later then March 31, 2005. This platform will target early adopters and teens, by utilizing some of the most powerful and fastest hardware for gaming we have ever seen, the PSP may very well take over the mobile gaming market, bad news for Nintendo.

The PSP system consists of a 4.5-inch 16:9-format TFT LCD screen with dual microprocessors (two 32-bit MIPS R4000 microprocessors to be exact) and will run almost ten times faster then current PS2 console systems. That’s a heck-of-a-lot of power to be carrying around in your pocket. One of the MIPS CPUs will be dedicated to just graphics and media decoding, and an additional 166MHz 2MB VRAM graphics core for 3D rendering. The system has 2MB of on-board eDRAM submemory and another 8MB accessible memory, but will support Universal Media Discs (UMD) which are mini 60mm disc cartridges with a 1.8GB storage capacity and 11Mbps transfer rate.

Sony’s plans are to keep the PSP on the market for 10 years, hopefully it will be that good or users will dis-N-gage it.

[ultimategamer2004]

I think 10 years on the market is stretched i dont see it keeping on selling for 10 years anyway maybe 5-7years at the most...

[Makaveli_786]

I think 10 years on the market is stretched i dont see it keeping on selling for 10 years anyway maybe 5-7years at the most...

Im surprised at the ten times faster.. didnt see that coming.

Also they said its going to be like a walkman so im guessing there are going to be different versions over the years, I think they mean theyr going to keep the concept going for that long.

[Ibanez32]

Its enough ahead of the competition to last that long.

[gaming ultima]

Is it true that the battery life will be from 3 to 6 hours ??
I'll have to wear a solar panel for a hat.
that was the n-gage
even though the psp will be a lot more power hungery then the n-gage i belive it will have better battery life then the n-gage because sony seem to be good with that sot of thing, sony-ericssons as my example their with their massive talk time

[Makaveli_786]

Yeah all the Sony Erisons had amazing battery life, how did they pull that oiff?

[gaming ultima]

Yeah all the Sony Erisons had amazing battery life, how did they pull that oiff?
well i dont know for certain but im guessing that they all use advanced low power consunption tech, that would be quite easy for sony, also they might use simply better more advanced batteries but i dont know for sure. i dont have 1 at the moment but i think il get a T630 soon and then il be able to say hello to 14 hrs talk time :D

[Makaveli_786]

Man i had a TINY Sony Ericson back in the day, color screen and everything and it lasted like 72 hours on battery, another color phone i had way back had half as many colors and no games but died in several hours, Sony are onto something.

[NickSCFC]

Yo could at least name the model of the phone or give a source praising its impossible battery time.

[Makaveli_786]

LOL, get yourself an Sony J70 and check the battery life on that, they only cost like 5-15 pound and youll get an idea of it.

I dont have a link I had the phone itself.

Oh yeah by the way I was talking about standby time not talk time, I wouldnt have anybody to talk to for 72 hours on end :cry:

[NickSCFC]

Well PSP will be much different to phones. With phones they're constantly on standby, on average it's only in operation for 1% of the time. With PSP it's eaither in full use or switched off.

[Makaveli_786]

Well PSP will be much different to phones. With phones they're constantly on standby, on average it's only in operation for 1% of the time. With PSP it's eaither in full use or switched off.

WOW we didnt know that :roll:

[gamingmonkey2004]

plus a cell phone is much differnet PSP has a bigger screen and like Nick said its either in constant use or off

[Makaveli_786]

http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/images/sonyercissonp900.jpg

This is a Sony Ericsson p900 with 15 days standby with 65000 colors, its specs are:

65,000 colour screen
bluetooth technology
colour touch Screen Display
downloadable gaming
downloadable ringtones
GPRS technology
infrared data link
integated aerial
Integrated digital camera
java enabled
MP3 player
Multimedia Messaging (MMS)
picture messaging
polyphonic ringtones
view video clips and Photos.
Voice dialling so you can make calls without touching your phone
voice memo recorder
************************************************** ***********************************

It comes with a built in video camera for making clips and another one for taking photos with 15 days standby, half a month.

:D

[NickSCFC]

The latest model also has a Memory Stick slot, currently only available in Japan though.

[Makaveli_786]

Man im going to get one of those phones, its one very sexy dime piece the P900.

[NickSCFC]

Much prefer the look of this one.

http://www.thelink.com/images/950788_01_huge.jpg

[Makaveli_786]

LOL, that phone is much bigger though.

[ultimategamer2004]

There is now a later version of that phone but it still looks nice..

[Matt]

LOL, that phone is much bigger though.

The above phone is about half the size of the P900, and the P900 has a memory stick if I remember rightly.

[Makaveli_786]

Damn R U foreal?

I thought the P900 was tiny, maybe im confusing it with something else though :shock:

[Matt]

Here's the dimensions (w x d x h):

P900: 57 x 24 x 115

T610: 44 x 19 x 102

Not quite half the size, but still, a fair bit smaller.

[klaymen]

the phone i would get (http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,54665,00.html)

better than the n-gage :lol:

anyways, back on topic:

[Makaveli_786]

Damn thats a bad ass phone!

Anyway I think the PSP will easily reach 24 hours battery life.

[CrumCon]

Sony is not that stupid to release an handheld that would compete with other handhelds to have a battery life of 3-6 hours.

Even mini-disc player uses 1 (ONE) AAA-battery has over 23 hours of play time

[NickSCFC]

Damn R U foreal?

I thought the P900 was tiny, maybe im confusing it with something else though :shock:
You've not seen the advert? The guy flipping it up off the sofa? The lady tripping up as she comes out of the elevator, dropping it and the guy catching it?

Where've you been the past year, America?

[KlawHammer]

I hate cellular devices so much. I understand their use as a communications device though. I just cant play those little Java games, or some of htose 3D games like they have on N-Gage.

[gamingmonkey2004]

I hate cellular devices so much. I understand their use as a communications device though. I just cant play those little Java games, or some of htose 3D games like they have on N-Gage.
i played a little bit on a N-gage in GameStop and the game was red faction and the graphics were not that great and where do the games go or are they hiding behing the little black thing in the back that prevents you from stealing it

[Matt]

Damn R U foreal?

I thought the P900 was tiny, maybe im confusing it with something else though :shock:
You've not seen the advert? The guy flipping it up off the sofa? The lady tripping up as she comes out of the elevator, dropping it and the guy catching it?

Where've you been the past year, America?

That's not the P900, that's the T610.

http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/images/sonyercissonp900.jpg

P900

http://www.phoneschat.com/t610.gif

T610

Now lets try and get back to the subject.

[NickSCFC]

Dimensions: Approx. 170 mm (L) x 74 mm (W) x 23 mm (D)
Weight: Approx. 260 g (including battery)
CPU: PSP CPU
(System clock frequency 1~333MHz)
Main Memory: 32MB
Embedded DRAM: 4MB
Display: 4.3 inch, 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD
480 x 272 pixel (16.77 million colors)
Max. 200 cd/m2 (with brightness control)
Speakers: Built-in stereo speakers
Main Input/Output: IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi)
USB 2.0 (Target)
Memory Stick TM PRO Duo
IrDA
IR Remote (SIRCS)
Disc Drive: UMD Drive (Playback only)
Profile: PSP Game
UMD Audio
UMD Video
Main Connectors: DC IN 5V
Terminals for charging built-in battery
Headphone/Microphone/Control connector
Keys/Switches: Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
Analog pad
Enter keys (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
Left, Right keys
START, SELECT, HOME
POWER On/Hold/Off switch
Brightness control, Sound Mode, Volume +/-
Wireless LAN On/Off switch
UMD Eject
Power: Built-in lithium-ion battery, AC adaptor
Access Control: Region Code, Parental Control


Accessories: Stand Headphone with remote commander
Headphone with remote commander and microphone
External battery pack
Case
Strap
E3 Prototype Exhibition: USB Camera for PSP
USB GPS for PSP
USB Keyboard for PSP


UMD (Disc) specs
Dimensions: Approx. 65 mm (W) x 64 mm (D) x 4.2 mm (H)
Weight: Approx. 10g
Disc Diameter: 60 mm
Maximum Capacity: 1.8GB (Single-sided, dual layer)
Laser wavelength: 660nm (Red laser)
Encryption: AES 128bit
Profile: PSP Game (full function)
UMD Audio (codec ATRAC3plus TM , PCM, (MPEG4 AVC))
UMD Video (codec MPEG4 AVC, ATRAC3plus, Caption PNG)

[Matt]

I was expecting it to be a lot heavier than that actually. That's not too bad.

[NickSCFC]

Like I always said, ATRAC3, not MP3.

[the legendary ice man]

Accessories: Stand Headphone with remote commander
Headphone with remote commander and microphone
External battery pack
Case
Strap
E3 Prototype Exhibition: USB Camera for PSP
USB GPS for PSP
USB Keyboard for PSP


Now they are the kinds of things that DS owners will miss out on!

Camera - about time we got that.

Any info on the case yet?

[Matt]

Probably just so that you don't scratch the screen in your pocket or something.

[brownbeaner2]

Like I always said, ATRAC3, not MP3.

ATRAC 3 is mp3 but more compressed
i have the software in my pc for it so you can create a ATRAC3 Mp3-cd.
so it will still support mp3.

[klaymen]

[quote=NickSCFC]Camera - about time we got that.

the original game boy had a camera.

[Matt]

I think that this one will be a little bit better than the GameBoy one though :)

[elheber]

Doesn't it scare you that Sony wouldn't reveal battery life at E3, as if they're hiding the stupid brother at a fancy party?

Some of the posts on battery life on this thread made me question the fate of humanity. 24 hours with todays technology on a handheld device that doesn't use stand-by. I mean seriously: it uses a backlit screen (whereas GBSP has frontlit) much like a PDA, it uses 3D hardware and faster CPUs than PDAs, and as trivial as it could be it has moving parts. Imagining it uses up more energy than a PDA with an efficient 3D accelorator, having a bigger battery than a PDA, and giving Sony a little slack so i don't look like an idiot if i'm wrong... i could guestimate the battery lasting around 5 hours for games, 2 hours playing WiFi games, 8 hours playing movies, and more than 18 hours playing music. Still, this is optomistic.

The fact that they didn't reveal battery-life specs (or estimated price) still scares me though.

[klaymen]

I think that this one will be a little bit better than the GameBoy one though :)

yes, but will it have its own printer? :lol:

[gamingmonkey2004]

i reme3ber the camera part but what i dont remeber if it was an add on? was it...back to more reading

[the legendary ice man]

Doesn't it scare you that Sony wouldn't reveal battery life at E3, as if they're hiding the stupid brother at a fancy party?

Some of the posts on battery life on this thread made me question the fate of humanity. 24 hours with todays technology on a handheld device that doesn't use stand-by. I mean seriously: it uses a backlit screen (whereas GBSP has frontlit) much like a PDA, it uses 3D hardware and faster CPUs than PDAs, and as trivial as it could be it has moving parts. Imagining it uses up more energy than a PDA with an efficient 3D accelorator, having a bigger battery than a PDA, and giving Sony a little slack so i don't look like an idiot if i'm wrong... i could guestimate the battery lasting around 5 hours for games, 2 hours playing WiFi games, 8 hours playing movies, and more than 18 hours playing music. Still, this is optomistic.

The fact that they didn't reveal battery-life specs (or estimated price) still scares me though.

Sony did release the Battery specs, but not fully. The specs were released to high-recognition companies, and announced away from camera's etc.

The specs follow as:
upto 17 hours - Music
6 hours - Movie playback
4-6 hours - Game life (est.)

The game life is variable, depending on what type of game you are playing. Games that are memory heavy or save consistent are goign to be at the lower end of the life, whereas GT style games will be at the middle and FPS' at the top end of the life.

[Matt]

I wonder if you'll be able to charge the PSP whilst playing, like with the GBA/SP.

[the legendary ice man]

Lithium Ion batteries are used in laptops and are unable to be 'over-charged' due to some mechanism which alters the current flow...

anyway, I should think so, It will be pretty rubbish if not.

[richjwild]

it must be cos u can use an in car charger for it, which is meant for playing n chargin at the same time, isnt it?

it wud be teribble if u couldnt

[Matt]

Would be a bit annoying having to switch the thing off every couple of hours to charge it. Would rather just be able to play it non-stop for ages.

[richjwild]

its a lithium ion battery, and all things like laptops and mobiles that use them can be used while charging, so i doubt ud hav to switch it off to charge it

[solidus]

I think it's a bit obvious you could. It would be strange you can play with the external battery but you can't charge while playing. Lithium battery's can be charged while using it. Look at cell-phones as example. Oh yeah, iceman, the Movie playback was announced to last 2.5h-3h. But with the external battery pack everything will be doubled. Gaming: original 6h-8h, extra battery: 14h-16h. Movies: 2.5h-3h, extra battery: 5h-6h.
And for the music it's long enough without the external battery.

[ultimategamer2004]

The real bad thing about the psp is the battery life i heard that it was going to be 2 and a half hours which wont do for me..

[DGKAMD]

dude, are u retarded.......we have told you several times that the GAMING time wont be 2 hours!!!!!!! The movie playback will. Jesus how many times do we have to tell you! ok ?do you get it? ill gladly tell u again if u dont understand, just pm me :lol:

[vulcan4d]

All these figures are rumours so far, but no one is stupid enough to make a handheld with only 2 hours of gameplay. Okay maybe Sega was with GameGear, cough 30min lol cough, but the fact is it's too early to tell. Clearly Sony has not decided yet on the size of the battery, at the E3 conferense presentiation the screen on stage showed 1,800mAh or above. This alone shows that they are considering beefing up the battery, and taking critisims from Nintendo at it's conferense just might have done it.

It's impossible to get a good estimate on how long the handheld will last when playing games, there are just too many variables. It depends on serveral things,
-brightness of screen
-frequency of UMD spin ups, for loading
-sound level
-speed of CPU, it was showed 1~333mhz meaning it's probably software adjustable
-even temperature

Put all these together and anyone would have a problem getting a general estimate. People want numbers, and I'm sure Sony will give it to us when they are confident enough to do so.

[Jerry]

Sound like the PsP will be pretty damn good.
My only concern is how big is it gonna be?


The PSP is going is going to be 170mm long, thats about 5 1/2 inches.

[netee]

guys come on, we dont need to worry about battery life. I mean nomatter how long or short the battery life will be im buying the psp no matter what. I have full confidense in sony's abillity in making hardware. They are the number one home electronics manyfacturer in the world. They are industry leaders, i mean cut them sum slack. First the main concerrn from u people where wheter the graphics would be any good or if it would be big or not,,, concerns that where crushed at E3 this year so have some faith hu,,,?
Sony has this covered to battery life wont be a seriouse issue, like how lond where you guys actually thinking of playning on this thing? days? a handheld is meant to keep you busy until you can park you behinds infront off a tv in your home on a couch playing your playstation2/xbox or whatever,, so lets leave this discussion behind us,,, sony has everything sorted out :roll:

[ultimategamer2004]

No sony have said they will have to do somthing to battery life if you have read any of the forum you will know that the life is a serious issue and it is a short 2 and a half hours.

[games_ fan]

How long will it take to charge because that could be a big problem if it takes too long.

[ultimategamer2004]

I am not too sure i wouldent say it would be that long you could always have it on charge other than when you are using it.

[alternate_ending]

ultimategamer2004: specify what you are talking about when you say 2.5hrs. I hope you realise that is for movies, because DGKAMD specifically told you so....

I think maybe you don't read posts that are long, and when you do you don't take in any of the info.

Also, if you are that worried about battery life, just buy 2. Or more. You can always charge up a bunch of them at a time and then go on a road trip. Problem Solved.

[ultimategamer2004]

DGKAMD doesent know everything any way i know what i am on about and i think 2.5hours is quite poor..

and i also know about the booster batterys that are available.

[alternate_ending]

yes, 2.5hrs is poor. But that is only the battery life for movies. Gameplay is more like 10 hours, which i think is acceptable. So when you say "the battery life of the PSP is 2.5hrs" you are incorrect. Specify what you are talking about.

[aaronaja]

I just want this stupid argument about the battery to stop.
This is the link to a quote of what Kaz Hirai said about the battery life.
www.pspinsider.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album02&id=aau&op=modloa d&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

[ultimategamer2004]

I think that this one will be a little bit better than the GameBoy one though :)

yes, but will it have its own printer? :lol:

It would be a nice edition to have a printer. like the cannon 1 that you can get now.

[megadrive]

indeed PSP beats out Dreamcast, in every area I know of.


some of the basics:


textured fillrate

PSP: 332M pixels/sec (664M pixels/sec untextured) vs DC: 100M pixels/sec (200M pixels/sec factoring in deferred rendering)

geometry

PSP: 35M pps vs DC: 10M pps (both are peak transform figures)
PSP will prolly end up at around ~10M pps with everything in game - DC could do 3-5M pps with everything in game but often did only 1M pps or less.

RAM memory

PSP: 32 MB external RAM + 4MB eDRAM vs DC: 26 MB external RAM