News - Sony unveils slimmer, lighter PSP
Posted by
Ash Paulsen
at 06:46:35 PM EST on 7.11.2007.
It had been rumored for awhile, but now it's real: Sony unveiled a new, redesigned model of their PlayStation Portable handheld this morning at their pre-E3 press conference.
Dubbed simply "the new PSP" for now, the focus of the redesign focuses on making the handheld lighter and slimmer than the current model.
According to Sony's press release, while the new PSP will feature the same 4.3-inch widescreen as the current model, the unit itself is 33 percent lighter and 19 percent slimmer than the original model. Specifically, the redesigned PSP weighs in at a tiny 189 grams (compared to the current model's 280 g) and is approximately 18.6 millimeters thick (compared to 23.0 mm).
The new PSP isn't just slimmer and lighter, however -- it also features a new video-out port, allowing users to play and view PSP games and UMD video, pictures, and movies on their home televisions.
Sony also claims that the new PSP comes equipped with the new feature to "temporarily store game data from UMD," which will purportedly reduce load times. The company is also reporting that the new PSP will sport better battery life than its predecessor.
Finally, the new PSP can be charged through your PS3 or PC via USB cable during data transfer sessions.
The new PSP will come in three colors -- Piano Black, Ceramic White, and Ice Silver. The Piano Black replaces the current Core pack and will retail for the same price of $169.99, available in September. Ice Silver is the Daxter pack, coming with a copy of the
Daxter PSP game and will be available in September. Ceramic White will be the Star Wars Battlefront pack (guess what it comes with) and will go to retail in October.
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sirusd 7.14.2007 at 12:28:31 PM
"the focus of the redesign focuses on"
HA!
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morzas 7.12.2007 at 10:51:34 PM
"The problem with the PSP games thing on TV, all the games on PSone or PS2 ports anyway, or near facsimile of them (GTAs, Metal Gear, etc.), so, really, what's the point?"
Hey, that's not true. Playing Cave Story on a big screen TV would kick major ass.
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wolvenone 7.12.2007 at 08:39:45 PM
Oh, so the black version is still 169. Well that makes it a lot more likely that I'll get it then. Granted, not so fond of the color, but at least I wont have a picture of Darth Vader on the back.
*Side note: Still not in all THAT big of a hurry though. I mean, I have a ton of other game consoles to keep me busy.
Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS, Sega Saturn, still a lot of games on these systems I haven't gotten around to finishing yet.
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scarecrow9 7.12.2007 at 12:06:49 PM
soul4ger
Well the DS has all the Gamecube franchises ported over as you put it(Metroid, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Zelda, etc.)
So many PlayStation1 games I want to get.
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morzas 7.12.2007 at 09:37:50 AM
No IR port? I like using my PSP as a remote. I'm not getting this gimped revision.
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soul4ger 7.12.2007 at 09:00:31 AM
The problem with the PSP games thing on TV, all the games on PSone or PS2 ports anyway, or near facsimile of them (GTAs, Metal Gear, etc.), so, really, what's the point?
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scarecrow9 7.12.2007 at 01:37:26 AM
"Being able to play your PlayStation(1) and PSP games on your tv"
I'm SOLD! C'mon man, I wanna get this.
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oystergod 7.11.2007 at 11:16:20 PM
Some websites sell a 3rd party thing that hooks up the PSP with a TV (not wireless though). I think it's pricey, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a PS3.
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soul4ger 7.11.2007 at 10:48:52 PM
CONNECTIVITY IS COOL NOW.
I like that one better.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 10:27:28 PM
Sony hopes so, Justin. They really do.
I'm just waiting for the "FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE DOLLAR LINK CABLE" comments.
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unforgivingedges 7.11.2007 at 10:22:24 PM
"So, to output PSP video to your TV, you need a PS3."
*cash register noise*
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soul4ger 7.11.2007 at 08:59:21 PM
Looks like poo on a stick.
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thehawk 7.11.2007 at 07:50:47 PM
Dangit! I was hoping it actually would've had a TV-Out port. I guess it's still an improvement over the last version.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 07:36:21 PM
Okay, I did some investigation. The PSP outputs video wirelessly, but only to DLNA-enabled technology. There are very, very few DLNA-certified products out there.
The most prominent DLNA-certified product available is this thing called the Playstation 3.
So, to output PSP video to your TV, you need a PS3.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 07:26:04 PM
"Did Sony actually release that you can play games on your tv through the link? I watched the press conference and I only heard that you could watch videos."
Yes, they specifically said the PSP can output an image to a monitor or TV. They mentioned PSP-PS3 game connectivity as the reason they included the feature. And yes, this means you can now display PSP games on your TV screen or computer monitor.
The only question is HOW, because there is no new port on the PSP redesign. In fact, they ditched the infrared port, which is going to render a couple of accessories useless.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 07:21:41 PM
Sony claimed during the presentation that it wasn't a redesign, only a modification. And they're correct. The point was to add features, not create a new form factor.
"Maybe (hopefully) it'll be more apparent when I actually hold the new PSP. Maybe."
Given that it's 33% lighter, yeah, it will be more apparent when you hold it.
Also, the $199 price point is a bundle that includes a copy of Daxter, a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, and the UMD Family Guy collection. The bundle only includes silver and black; the white version is included only with a Star Wars bundle pack.
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proppat 7.11.2007 at 07:19:56 PM
Did Sony actually release that you can play games on your tv through the link? I watched the press conference and I only heard that you could watch videos. It would only make sense that you could also play games, but I'm not assuming anything until it's actually announced.
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z 7.11.2007 at 07:18:44 PM
Well, the video output makes me happy, since I'm not much of a handheld gamer, and there are a few PSP games I really want to play.
...But I was really looking forward to the supposed built-in 8 GB NAND flash memory. I thought Memory Sticks were supposed to be a thing of the past with the redesigned PSP.
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MegaManX 7.11.2007 at 07:18:26 PM
Yeah it does. Color me disappointed, too -- the difference is hardly even noticeable in pictures. Maybe (hopefully) it'll be more apparent when I actually hold the new PSP. Maybe.
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soul4ger 7.11.2007 at 07:13:04 PM
WOW. It looks almost identical. Disappointment am total.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 06:53:55 PM
Oh, and we don't actually know HOW the thing outputs video. Looking at the photos on Engadget, all of the PSP's original input slots are still there: the mini-USB jack at the top, accompanied by the attachment holes for add-on devices; the headphone jack and remote control port on the left underside; the power adapter plug on the right underside.
It's possible that video out is accomplished via a USB device that only works with the new PSP for whatever reason.
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terpfen 7.11.2007 at 06:50:43 PM
Pictures are up at Engadget. Here's a link:
ttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2777zh
Also, the redesign features improved battery life, for those of you who are still complaining about that.
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soul4ger 7.11.2007 at 06:48:47 PM
I'm excited to see some pictures for this.
digg this story!
