News: Sony unveils the PSP with Metal Gear too!
As the handheld wars heat up, Sony has finally debuted the PSP to the world. The full spec sheet is very impressive, the parts of it I could understand anyway. A beautiful widescreen display, a 1.8 GB propietary cartridge/disc system called UMD (Universal Media Disc). The discs will be 60 mm wide, or roughly the size of a GameCube mini-disc. The UMD discs allow crystal clear full motion video so movies can easily fit onto the discs making the PSP a perfect on-the-go movie player/game machine hybrid.
The system is built for wireless play and wireless integration with other devices. The PS2 perhaps? But if wireless isn't your thing, data can also be transferred between devices with a Sony Memory Stick. The Memory Stick will also act a memory card for the system.
Konami also dropped a bombshell when they announced that Metal Gear Acid would be one of the first games to come to the PSP. They didn't reveal any more besides the title, and nothing resembling a release date.
And for tech junkies that need to see the full specs, here those are:
PSP Product Specifications
Product Name: PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Color: Black
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 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 Specifications
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, PCM, (MPEG4 AVC))
UMD Video (codec MPEG4 AVC, ATRAC3plus, Caption PNG)