"Also, the PSP's wireless connection, which follows the IEEE802.11b standard, can allegedly reach up to 30 meters indoors at 11Mbps, and 91 meters at 1Mbps. Outdoors, it can reach up to 120 meters at 11Mbps, and 460 meters at 1Mbps. The range will decrease if there are obstacles in the vicinity or strong electronic frequencies nearby, such as from microwave ovens or power lines. "

Wonder if it will have any internet access or email? That would just be amazing then!

heck yeah! it's been like that for everything (except the xbox). it kills me what memory cards cost +10% of the console itself.

*perusing* Pretty weak. Certainly no killer aps among this crop. And if you read the original articles they mention that a lot of these won't even be release titles, but will come out in the months following release. Plus, many of these games probably won't make it Stateside at all (I see lots of Japanese table games, dating sims, etc. that rarely cross the pond).

What happened to Tales of Eternia on the release list? The one game I would've gotten.

I was going to get a PStwo for the holiday but with this news. I 'm going to wait til Spring to get my hand on the PSP instead.

I'm sure everyone is aware of this, but I'll say it anyway for anyone who may not of thought about it.

This anouncenment is purely intended to steal some of the DS's thunder. The hype for DS has been increasing more and more even to the point that the DS presales were out selling the PS2 redesign in Japan. Sony had to say something.

Sony is going to sell this at a loss in hopes of taking Nintendo on 1 on 1. Fair deal. The thing to consider is that the PSP software is virtually going to non-existant if this thing does launch in January, simply put the developers do not have the games ready.

Another interesting challenge for Sony is going to be to getting developers to creat unique games for the PSP. There design goal with the PSP was to make it as powerful as the PS2, well congrats to them they may have. Problem is many developers are going to want to simply port over existing titles.

If Sony is truely interested in the PSP they will need to force generation of unique games for the system, otherwise it will fail to challenege the true strength of Nintendo's portables, the games. I for one am interested in the PSP, the question for me is if it is really going to offer anything worth playing.

That $330 Japanese figure is equivilant to the $300 US price. IIRC, the Japanese price includes applicable taxes, so if you add that to the US price, they're the same.

That's the biggie for me as well, as far as picking one up down the road after some price drops.

I don't think 3D gaming will work very well on that small screen to begin with, and I'm not interested in a bunch of PS2 ports as I'd rather play them on my TV on my PS2.

I like the price point, but doing the math it is still a $300 handheld. The extra battery and memory stick are a must and that puts the price back to $300. I will wait and see on this one, if Square puts out a few titles I want I may get one. If I can get a memory stick and put my own movies on there it would be pretty cool as well. No way I buy movies in the UMD format. That battery life is still a killer. 4-6 probably equates to 3 and maybe only 2 if you are using Wi-Fi. I can see this as a device I would always use plugged in.

As when the Dreamcast launched this is Sony's way of destroying the DS before it even launches. It may work in the long run, we will see.

Yeah, and have you seen battery prices for a GBA SP?

The point is, PSP owners are virtually required to shell out another large chunk of change in addition to the base cost of the system just to get it to a level of functionality that it should have included in the first place. As darkside points out, you'll also need a memory stick, and by then you're back to the original $300 estimate. Splitting it up into components lets them put out a press release calling it a "$195 system," but as in the presidential campaign, if you do a little research you'll discover that the truth is much more complicated than the rhetoric spouted to the press.

That price certainly makes it a lot more attractive, but honestly one of the reasons I bought a PS2 was the ability to play DVDs. I certainly don't like the idea of another movie format (unless studios start making DVD/UMD two packs at an affordable price).

And I've yet to see any killer apps. Nintendo already has Animal Crossing, Feel the Magic and the new 2D Mario game (confession time, I hate 3D Mario and Zelda games!)

Maybe I'll reconsider in the spring when some more titles are out.

Regarding the cost of the accessories:

First-party accessories are always overpriced. To find out the "true" cost, we'll just have to see if any third-parties can create decent versions.

I don't agree with the cost of the battery and memory stick bringing it "back" to $300 because it's not like you assumed those would be included back when we thought that would be the price. But I do agree that the true cost of these systems are often forgotten.

Does the DS have a way to save games? I don't remember seeing that now that I think about it....

First off where is the source of these presales rumors? I never heard anything about the DS preselling in mondo quantities.

Secondly I think there are going to be a decent number of games for the Japanese launch (at least games that they like). For the US launch there will be a ton of more games with EA supplying at least 4-6 more, and activision and others in on the game.

Lastly since when do the games have to be "unique" to sell well and be popular? What unique games does the GBA SP have? A bunch of SNES remakes that sell like hotcakes all over again. The DS has some games with interesting control schemes I guess but tthen they also have more remakes as well. Mario 64 with a map for the lower screen?? Not very innovative if you ask me. My point is that the DS still has not really produced a killer app for the touch screen interface (Metroid DS is said to be clunky to play using one hand on the d-pad and the stylus on the tough screnn). I don't think Sony needs unique titles for this to be a hit. They could remake the PS1 library and I think people would still buy it like SNES remakes on the SP.

ps. Regarding accessory pricing. Fist people said it can't cost less than $300. Now that it costs less than $200 people are saying you HAVE to buy an additional battery. 6 hours is plenty and you can buy another one if you want. I think the price is right on the money (pun intended)

DS games are ROM based, Nintendo is requiring all games to have battery or flash RAM for saving.. no extra cost to the consumer there.

..and third party accessories are garbage. They cost less for a good reason.

All companies make huge money from the uplifts on accessories...NOT just Sony's PSP.

Actually, I did assume (hope?) it would have acceptable battery life and a way to save my games for the price of the system. Maybe that was naive.

As far as I know they'll write to the games themselves, as they always have. There's also a significant amount of onboard memory, so it may use that. It won't use removable media, however.

how soon until this is hacked?

No, but Nintendo doesn't require me to shell out extra cash just to have a way to save my games or to enjoy more than 5 hours of portability. Sony could compensate by charging less for their software due to the fact that you have to buy save media separately, but I think we all know they won't.

All companies make huge money from the uplifts on accessories...NOT just Sony's PSP.

I'll just say it again

The only thing you need to buy is the memory card....which isn't too unacceptable...

You have to buy a battery pack. No way you can get by on just the included one unless you will always be near an outlet when using it. Another thing I will probably end up buying is a separate charger for the extra battery.

I think Sony has the price of the handheld right. The accessories are not a deal killer to me, but I did want to point out that the handheld is more than just $199. With the DS you get everthing you need in the box for $149. With the PSP you are going to have to spend a bit more than the $199, there is just no way around that fact.

The battery life is just a reflection of the limitations of lithium ion batteries. We really need some kind of advancement in this technology. The PSP battery is a big one for portable devices so Sony pretty much put in the biggest one possible for the size of the handheld.

http://www.joystiq.com/entry/7816036482524569/

Funny how you ask for sources but fail to provide your own. Please show me some links for confirmed games that will be out within the first 2 months.

There are tons of unique games that are made specifically for the GBA architecture, virtually all of them.

Sure Nintendo releases their "classic" hits or whatever and they sell, they are tapping into a nostalga factor that Sony simply does not have yet. PS1 games might hold some appeal, I agree to that, but I don't feel they carry as much weight. As far as PS2 ports go maybe in a few years people will want to bring GTA:SA with them, but for right now most people are content playing it at home. It would be one thing if you could carry your saves with you and play the game on the go, but you can't.

There is more in that game then simply an added map. I'll let you do your research. In addition, the game was named "Best game of all time" by several publications, there is likely some crowd out there willing to relive the memories of the first ever true 3d analog controlled adventure game.

I agree, I havn't seen anything yet that makes me say "OMG", however with the intersting hardware capabilites, Nintendo's proven track record, and buzz from developers, I think the DS has a real chance to deliver some innovative and unique gaming experiences.

Metroid: Hunters may indeed suck with a stylus, I don't know. The fact is that Nintendo is the company that is always looking for better ways to control games, this is good and bad, sometimes they will have a hit, sometimes a miss. Time will tell.

Definitley possible. Question to gamers everywhere should be is will Sony also deliver new and innovative content to the system or are we going to only see ports and sequels to our current favorite PS2 titles? I fully realize that many people are and would be completely happy with this, so yes it could be a success even without truely unique and innovative offerings.

Sony is pulling a Sega here. Back at the release of the Saturn Sega launched the system with only one controller and no game. A bare bones system. Both Sony and Nintendo followed suit to stay competitive in cost. In years prior all systems launched with at least a game and most with 2 controllers.

It's very effective strategy as the end consumer usually only debates the cost of the unit and rarely has the forsight to look at the whole picture. The TCO (total cost of ownership) for the PSP will no doubt be much higher overall.

Actually, Sony has been notoriously bad in this respect. Even on the PS2 they neglected to include built-in four player support, forcing gamers not only to invest in additional controllers but a MultiTap as well. Nintendo's not blameless (the whole GBA/GCN connectivity thing), but at least they've allowed for no-hassle multiplayer since the N64.

I will give Sony props for making PS1 titles playable on the PS2, which adds value and shows concern for your core gamers. But Nintendo's been doing that for years with the Game Boy.

Funny, the ONE game I was interested in was a port of a PS1 game.

Guess I got to eat my words because I thought there was no way in hell that it could get that cheap.