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Posted by: DivA Jun 28 2003, 01:16 PM

the article is from EGM - August 2003 : Issue 169
page 42

Sony's Pocket Monster
Long-awaited PlayStation Portable announced

Nintendo's Game Boy has ruled the handheld market for well over a decade, but that could soon change. At its annual pre-E3 press conference, Sony announced a challenger to the almighty Game Boy: PSP, or PlayStation Portable.

Billed as the "Walkman of the 21st century" the PSP packs an impressive list of features, including some that may yield non-gaming applications. As Ken Kutaragi, designer of the original PlayStation & president & CEO of Sony CEI, told us, "PSP will have a huge potential for delivering other forms of entertainment, as well as live entertainment through the network anywhere, anytime." Everything from listening to music to browsing the web to watching movies is a distinct possibility. Sony also hinted that PSP could connect to ps2, perhaps in a manner similar to Nintendo's GC-GBA link.

So, is Nintendo shaking in its boots? "We really aren't," says George Harrison, Nintendo's senior VP of marketing, "In some ways, we've been expecting Sony to jump into the portable area since 1989, & for the next couple years (2003 - 2004), we're in very good shape. We've always focused on value & keeping Game Boy under $100, so we're anxious to see what price point they establish & the approach they take."

As we are. But don't write PSP into your christmas list just yet, unless you're talkin' next christmas - it isn't due until the end of 2004 & Sony hasn't announced a price.

Inside the PSP - specs.. ^.-

~display : 4.5 inch widescreen (16:9 ratio) back-lit LCD display [GBA SP's is 2.9 inch]
~resolution : 480x272 pixels [GBA is 240x160]
~disc medium : UMD (Universal Media Disc) 2.4 inch optical secured ROM disc with cartridge (1.8 GB)
~video codec : MPEG 4, delivering high-quality video with smaller file sizes; Sony could potentially put full-length movies on a UMD for PSP playback.
~graphics : 3D polygons using NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) rendering to make smoother rounded surfaces.
~sound : PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) with built-in stereo speakers & stereo headphone output.
~input/output : USB 2.0 & slot for Sony's Memory Stick data storage.
~battery : rechargeable lithium-ion [similar to GBA SP's]


cosmic.. the PSP looks to be an amazing piece of hardware - the EGM article also has schematic diagrams of what this machine could potentially look like; *smirks* though knowing how Sony works, the PSP is most likely already done & just sitting in the lab until the day of its release.. ^.-