Earlier today was an EA press event where they were showing off games for the PSP. This marked the first chance ever to handle the thing. And all I can say is: wow. I mean seriously, wow.
Believe the hype, the thing is indeed magnificent. First off, the unit just feels wonderful in one’s hands. You simply have to handle one to truly appreciate it’s aesthetics. Not only does it look good just sitting there, but the games (even today’s standard EA fare) look incredible; definitely PS2 caliber graphics. Granted first generation PS2 graphics, but given it was a first gen title, my mind boggles at the thought of playing something Snake Eater quality later down the road (or Gran Turisom 4, though that’s actually coming along far sooner I believe… and hope). The screen is fucking intense, I’ve never seen anything better.
The sound is great and the controls are damn near perfect. I must admit that I wasn’t totally comfortable with the analogue stick (or is it button?), but it’s something once can get used to, and all things considered, I’d like to think it was the best execution possible.
I didn’t get a chance to do anything else besides play games, which meant no opportunity to check out the OS or anything, but one of the games featured a music video (this is EA afterall) and the image was super crips, clear, and DVD quality. The clip was mostly dark, with plenty of grays and blacks, and the camera was shaking quite a bit, but never was there any blurring or pixilation. Extremely impressive.
As for the unit’s body and construction, it was very solid, and didn’t feel at all fragile or chintzy. Though… and here comes the negatives…. the face is one whole piece, with no separate screen, meaning no real way to replace the screen if it gets scratched up (and it will, every portable screen gets scratched up, even the GBA SP’s). Also, the reports weren’t lying; the thing gets dirty real quick. When I first picked one up, about fifty distinct greasy fingerprints were quite visible. Then there’s the whole battery life issue. Six hours “at best” is still not so hot.
I know I sound like a total Sony tool for saying this, but after finally handling a PSP, I feel a bit more forgiving all of sudden. The notion of carrying one around as a multimedia gadget… for not just playing games but to watch movies (again, the image quality was insane), or mp3s… just seems totally plausible, and thus far I’ve generally looked down up such “do everything” gadgets. Guess that’s due to being constantly let down by other attempts at convergence devices, like with cell phones or mp3 players.
One of the first things to cross my mind, was “Holy shit, Nintendo is really fucked” Finally, a serious contender to the big N’s untouched handheld crown. It’s not a situation of “who will win?” since it’s clear this early that Sony will take it. The PSP is that amazing.
I don’t mean to diss the DS. I still think its great, but the bottom line is that virtually nothing out there really takes advantage of the second screen, including most titles on the horizon. As predicted, its just the same old games with a separate map screen. As happy as I am to get a new Castlevania (especially since its a direct sequel to the outstanding Aria of Sorrow, which featured a story that really deserves a follow-up), and as nice it will be to not have to pause every three seconds to refer to a castle map, it still feels like a cop-out. I don’t want to play GBA games that also feature touch sensitive features, I want something totally new and different, found no where else. You know, what Nintendo was promising, but isn’t delivering.
Course, the real reason why Nintendo is going to find themselves in dire straits we be entirely due to people’s reaction the Game Boy Next is introduced, which can’t be too hard behind now (I’m assuming that it has to be clear to everyone that DS was simply a testbed of ideas for the next true Game Boy). No matter what it may end up being able to do… it will surely feature a touch-screen as well, though there’ll probably only be one screen… and as I’ve been saying forever know (and others are now also predicting), it will probably play GameCube games… people will not even come near the thing. The idea of purchasing a third handheld from Nintendo (four if you count the original GBA and the SP separately, which is valid since many “had” to buy it the second time around) in just five years time (assuming it comes out next year, to time with Revolution’s release) is fucking insane, and liable to make people completely write off Nintendo in disgust.
Am I completely sold on the PSP? More or less. Though I’ll wait a few good months before getting mine, after the first initial batch of faulty units is out of the way. Hey, it’s a Sony!
My only fear is the types of games that will be available. Almost every title in Japan that has my eye, with the exception of Ridge Racers, will find a rough time coming to the states. Hell, up until today, there was fear that Lumines may not even make it here, despite all the buzz it’s attracted; the lack of any announcement at this point has been worrying to say the least, plus the fact it ended up bombing in Japan (which is quite the shock considering all the hype and it was a launch title) really hurts. But now there’s speculation that Ubi Soft is going to pick it up, though now there’s concern that the soundtrack might be tampered with. And if that happens, I pray to God that the PSP is region free.
Speaking of games, like I said, the ones EA were showing off were just handheld iterations of franchise titles, like Need for Speed Underground (which handled quite nicely I must admit), FIFA, MLB, NBA Street, and NFL Street. The guy who was demoing them for us was pretty cool and had a good sense of humor when dealing with all my questions. After asking such things like…
me: “Given the wireless two player connectivity, is there a chance for more people playing at once, like four? Maybe more?”
EA guy: “It’s not supported now, but we’re looking into that for the next wave of titles.”
me: “Since the PSP can go online via USB, and the system just got its first firmware update in Japan (sorta), is there a chance for downloadable components, like updates, new characters, new levels, and the such?”
EA guy: “Again, we are looking into such things like you mentioned, plus playing online via the same means.”
me: “With EA utilizing the hard drive in Xbox titles to allow custom soundtracks, will the same be possible with the system’s use of memory sticks?”
EA guy: “Again, we are working on it.”
After a bunch more questions such as those (which no one ever expects from a writer from Nickelodeon Magazine of all places), he asked, “Another good question… you know, you should be a game designer!” And with that, my editor Carmen replied with “Well it’s funny you say that, because…”
Yeah the guy was much cooler that the person demoing Sims 2 University from yesterday (EA was in town for two days, and the day before was a preview of their console releases). I asked the guy if new Simlish was once again created for the game and proceeded to do a lame interpretation of the Sims’ native tongue very briefly, which immediately infuriated the guy. “Sim-lish is not just garbled nonsense, it’s a unique language that allows for expression of a wide range of emotional responses.” Christ…
Also, and I’m extremely embarrassed to admit this, but I had just one glass of wine during the event (all these things take place at ritzy hotels, with plenty of catered food and fine wines) and totally messed me up. And I had a huge lunch that day to boot! I admit that I’m a lightweight (hey, I’m Asian) but at least there was enough sense enough left in me to keep quiet and not make a spectacle. Though I forget roughly 90% of my conversation with the producer of NBA Street Vol. 3.
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Well after three weeks of sporadic digging around the usual places, I think I’m finally “caught up” in the world of gaming. Much of the big news has been, not surprisingly, more EA hijinks (them buying a controlling stake of Ubi Soft, their 15 year deal with ESPN, the interactive Sims TV show). Maybe now’s a good time to post random stuff from under the radar that caught my eye (hey, it’s late Friday night and I’m home doing nothing else really, except avoiding work… which happens to be playing video games and making comics)…
- I mentioned Lumines, so let’s talk about Mizuguchi’s other new game Meteos, which is apparently inspired by, among many other things, the show 24. Well the guy is a major 24 nut. If I’m not mistaken, shortly after quitting/getting fired from UGA/Sonic Team, all he did the first few weeks was just sit around at home watching reruns of the show.
And here’s the opening movie to the game. Mizuguchi’s collaborator on the project, Masahiro Sakurai, is easily felt. Those who are familiar with Super Smash Bros (he created that, and Kirby) will know what I mean.
- Here’s another game intro, this one for Gran Turismo 4. I’ve always been a super fan of the GT series’ openings and this one doesn’t disappoint. Though as much as I like Moon Over the Castle, the official GT theme, I do love the one used for GT4 Prologue. At any rate, I hope Sony sticks with it for the American release and don’t replace it with Lenny Kravtiz again, or something equally lame (though their choices for replacements for parts 1 and 2 were actually pretty good, so there is hope).
- Regarding the aforementioned PSP firmware update, the story behind it is a bit of the mess. As far as I can tell, a firmware update was made available on an official PlayStation site (I think) last weekend which gives the PSP, aside from bug fixes, a web browsers, an email client, text messaging, voice messaging, a calculator, and a word processor/spread sheet program. And as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
A few thought it was bogus, but others counter that a keyboard was shown at this past E3. More curious has been Sony’s staunch “no comment.” The theory is that it’s an updater that got leaked well ahead of schedule. More than likely, it will be an updater for the Japanese market to get their units “up to speed” with the US ones; American PSPs will probably come with all the extra stuff pre-installed, sorta like how American PS2s already had their DVD drivers right out of the box.
And as is often the case with things like these, it’s been strongly advised that if downloaded, it should not be applied.
- I know everyone must have seen it by now, but what the hell… here’s a video of some Japanese kids destroying a PSP.
- Actually, here’s a much better vid, from the disastrous French PS2 launch. It’s both hilarious and scary.
- It’s really long, and unless you know Japanese you won’t know what the hell is going on, but watch the GameCube, N64, Saturn, and Dreamcast all fight along side each other, RPG style, in Sega Fantasy V. In addition to fighting the Xbox and PS2 together, with the aide of the Jaguar and the Lynx, the original Konami logo even gets some action. And watch just to find out that the 3DO isn’t so bad after all.
Christ, I really wish I could find out what everyone is saying.
- Sticking with old school consoles, anyone who was lucky to have a Neo Geo console can attest to how godly the controllers were. Well, its back, courtesy of Sega, and for the PS2. It’s part of SNK’s 10th anniversary of King of Fighters. I like this much better than KOF: Re-Bout, that’s for sure.
- Remember that Pac Man lottery ticket I got while back in Washington? Well, here’s one involving Tetris.
- The World Hobby Fair took place in Japan recently, and here’s some pics from DDR featuring Mario:
I still have a very hard time believing it’s real.
- Plus here’s a pic of the Katamari booth:
- And here’s a Katamari hat that was handmade and sold on eBay for $130.00. When I first heard of it, I immediately envisioned something like what the prince has on his head. Not quite the same, but still sorta neat.
But am I wrong, or does she look like Gum from Jet Set Radio Future?
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One final non game related note: yesterday was the Presidential Inauguration. At this point, and for a variety of reasons, I just don’t have the interest, or energy, to bitch about Bush… I’d much rather others do the talking.
A fine example would be Judy Bachrach, a contributor to Vanity Fair, who’s summed everything up quite perfectly on a recent appearance on Fox News.
EDIT – 1/24/05: Damn… should have known that the video from France would be popular, it’s been downloaded like crazy over the weekend (well, thanks to the blizzard, many people were stuck at home and perhaps starved for entertainment). So much so that I’ve exceeded my bandwidth, meaning I will have to yank the vid until another place to host it is found (if anyone can spare the space, please drop me a line).
