PSP launch details set

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:28 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:MLB is in fact from 989. 989 is releasing 4 sports titles at launch: NBA, MLB, World Tour Soccer, and Gretzky. 5 if you include Hot Shots Golf.

I didn't play Gretzky last year, but I heard good things and portable hockey could be a helluva lot of fun, IMO. If Gretzky and MLB are the same as their console counterparts, I'm sold.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:59 pm

Boom wrote:249.99 really is ridiculous IMO. Especially when the value pack retailed for what equates to 179.99 in Japan. At least I believe that's the skinny.

250 bucks for a portable gaming machine (I wouldn't use it as anything else), is just a whole lot of money IMO.

I've watched a lot of movies lately because I've been getting really excited about this thing, but they just shot me down with this announcement.

The basic unit was around 19000 Yen, which with tax pushed it just over $200 US. The value pack was 24800 Yen plus 5% tax, or $255-260 US based on the exchange rate of the day. If the value pack were $180, it would have been a steal.

Still, it's not a bad buy at $250. The reaction I had to it was the same as I did to the Dreamcast - holy smokes. It's that much of a jump in portable gaming technology. It's been great - play it in bed, play it on the couch, on the plane, while, um, taking a dump...

Rob81Lakes · Post by **Rob81Lakes** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:12 pm

Hey Scoop, have you heard anything recent to confirm that the Gretzky release is still a go? I figured it got canceled since it disappeared from the major retail sites months ago.

I was really looking forward to this...a definite system seller for me.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:17 pm

Rob81Lakes wrote:Hey Scoop, have you heard anything recent to confirm that the Gretzky release is still a go? I figured it got canceled since it disappeared from the major retail sites months ago.

I was really looking forward to this...a definite system seller for me.

This is the press release I read.

Press Release Source: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R) Portable) Amasses Largest Launch Line-Up for March 24th Release
Thursday February 3, 8:08 am ET
More Than 24 Titles From The World's Leading Software Development Firms Expected During Launch Window From All Major Publishers

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- With unsurpassed support from the world's premier software developers, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the groundbreaking line-up of 24 titles for its revolutionary PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R) Portable) handheld entertainment system, available during the North American launch timeframe. With a launch library more than triple that of our closest competitor, Sony Computer Entertainment America further displays the ongoing support for the new platform with an additional 23 titles currently in development. Consumers can expect Sony Computer Entertainment America's software titles to range from as low as $39.99 SRP.

Representing a broad cross section of entertainment genres, the diverse PSP system launch library includes titles from publishing leaders Activision, Capcom, Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, Koei, Konami, Namco and Sony Online Entertainment. Additionally, Sony Computer Entertainment America enjoys unprecedented support for the PSP with over 100 content developers and publishers on board worldwide to create titles for PSP, accounting for most of the software development community.

In addition to the massive gaming software line-up assembled to support the new system, PSP is the first truly integrated portable entertainment system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment experience including music, movies, communication, and wireless networking. PSP features graphics rendering capability comparable to that of PlayStation(R)2, allowing users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality, full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also adopts a newly developed proprietary, compact, but high-capacity optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD(TM)), as its storage medium. UMD is the next generation compact storage media, only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data -- more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM.

"The high profile lineup includes a wide range of products that will appeal to every type of gamer -- from the sports fan to the action enthusiast -- providing consumers with the ultimate entertainment experience in the palm of their hands," said Andrew House, executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Combined with a strong first party lineup, the portable entertainment space will be catapulted to new heights as we engage in the single biggest consumer launch of the year."

"We are pleased to be building franchises for the PSP that will change consumers' expectations of portable entertainment content," said Jack Tretton, executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "PSP has allowed the development teams to create engaging content that is not only fun to play, but shows off the amazing technology of the unit, brining unparalleled visual quality to the portable entertainment arena."

Consumers can find the following titles available during the launch window at more than 18,000 retail locations (listed in alphabetical order):

-- Ape Escape(R): On the Loose, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- ATV Offroad Fury(R): Blazin' Trails, Sony Computer Entertainment
America
-- Darkstalkers Chronicle(TM): The Chaos Tower, Capcom
-- Dynasty Warriors(R), KOEI
-- FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts
-- Gretzky(TM) NHL(R), Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- Lumines(TM), Ubisoft
-- Metal Gear Acid(TM), Konami
-- MLB(TM), Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- MVP Baseball, Electronic Arts
-- NBA, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- NBA Street Showdown, Electronic Arts
-- Need for Speed(TM) Rivals, Electronic Arts
-- NFL Street 2 Unleashed, Electronic Arts
-- Rengoku(TM): Tower of Purgatory, Konami
-- Ridge Racer(TM), Namco
-- Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive
-- Spider-Man 2(TM), Activision
-- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R), Electronic Arts
-- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision
-- Twisted Metal: Head On(TM), Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment
-- Wipeout(R) Pure, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- World Tour Soccer, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Rob81Lakes · Post by **Rob81Lakes** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:09 pm

Thanks, Scoop. Hearing that Gretzky's still alive is good news indeed. Now if they can just give us the option to tone down the speed a little...

Cincinnati_Kid · Post by **Cincinnati_Kid** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:56 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
GTHobbes wrote:Also probably means they will be sold for $199 or so by Christmas. I'm tempted at $249 but will wait to see when MLB is going to be released before I decide to buy. If it's not coming out until July, I may not be in a hurry to pick one up at launch.
Exactly my approach.

same here

Cincinnati_Kid · Post by **Cincinnati_Kid** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:01 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
F308GTB wrote:I'd say it's $100 better than the DS, or more. The graphics alone are a mile apart.
So what? I just already own a DS, so there is no fiscally responsible reason to own both. Especially when I use it three or four times per year. The system may be 100 dollars more, but then the games are 20 dollars more a piece.

this is all very true

however db was lucky enough to get his ds free

and mlb 2006 on psp "could and would" be the one temptation that wins me over

outside of that game i could easily walk away

Cincinnati_Kid · Post by **Cincinnati_Kid** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:08 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
F308GTB wrote:I'd say it's $100 better than the DS, or more. The graphics alone are a mile apart.
So what? I just already own a DS, so there is no fiscally responsible reason to own both. Especially when I use it three or four times per year. The system may be 100 dollars more, but then the games are 20 dollars more a piece.

yeah i never touch my sons gameboy sp

i maybe played madden on it a couple times when i first got it for him

so this whole purchase would hinge on mlb in my world and whether i could justify playing it enough to spend that kind of money on it

thats just to high considering next consoles are around the corner

so im pretty set resigned to the fact that mlb 2006 for the ps2 slim will more than fill the void

and if a unbelievable deal hit down the road i would rethink the whole thing

but by then it would be mid to late football season anyways

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:30 am

I finnaly played with a Nintendo DS yesterday and at $150 it seems a bit more tempting that the PSP at $250.

The DS is one cool device.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 12:40 pm

But NBA Street will probably look a lot better on the PSP than the DS, if they even have a DS version coming.

Of course, the console version will be better with online and 4 shoulder buttons instead of 2.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 1:20 pm

wco81 wrote:But NBA Street will probably look a lot better on the PSP than the DS, if they even have a DS version coming.

Of course, the console version will be better with online and 4 shoulder buttons instead of 2.

Actually NBA Street Volume 3 doesn't use the shoulder buttons like they did the last 2 games. This year they are using the right analog stick for tricks instead.