This review covers the Sony PSP Portable Play Station.

Sony is trying to break the dominance of Nintendo in the gaming arena, and this is their serious attack on the Nintendo hand helds.

The graphics on this 4.3'' diagonal 16:9 sceen TFT display with 480 x 272 pixels is breath taking. Viewing angle is great. Hold it next to an IPaq and you will find it outshines it, hold it next to an entry level color Palm with a CSTN display and you will be tempted to throw the latter away.

I got this unit on Ebay from Singapore.

The box includes the unit, a pouch, a roughly 3 hour battery,ear phones, wired remote control and the game Ridge Racer as well as a (somewhat bulky) universal voltage power supply. The latter you better plan on carrying with you. 3hours of gaming go very fast on this unit. When you plug it in, it hinders your right hand operating freedom a bit.

The game is supposedly in English (it is for the voice comments and part of the menus, but not all).

The unit can be switched from Japanese to English, which takes some trial and error digging in the menus, but I got it to work.

Sony has put tons of interfaces on this devices. MD drive (Sony proprietary 1.8 GB universal disk with protective cover)
USB, Wireless B, Sony memory stick PRO DUO slot (not compatible with Sony memory stick PRO) and an infrared port

What's to like:

Sony design rules, this is a classy black design and well rounded package

Display: WoHAAA, not seen in a gaming device so far and even if the resolution is lower then old VGA, the graphics are absolutely stunning. RidgeRacer packs lighting effects into this unit that 5 years ago you would have needed a 1000 USD graphic card to run on your home PC). See the raindrops running of the hood. Right now you can get the bundle for some 399 USD with Ridge Racer in selected webshops.

Volume controls and typical gamepads right on the unit
Display button toggles between bright,low and no backlight

At the top of the unit are two clear buttons in the corner, that give the unit a very uniform front appearance.
The unit is very balanced and lays well in your hands. It is heavy enough though, that you would like to rest your wrists after a while.

The unit also has a joystick type of 'round knob' on the lower left side. I found it less convenient to use then the gaming pad buttons, but that might just be getting used to it.

Sony has finally given in. This baby plays MP3. Would I recommend it? Sound is decent, but the media is expensive. Memory Sticks Pro Duo run you roughly double of what you pay for other flash memory. If you are planning on a large number of MP3's that cost will override the 'savings' of having a 'free' player quite readily. The UMD format is not available in a write-to for consumers. So check your memory pricing. I would not factor the MP3 playing capabilities into the buying decision. The unit is a bit heavy and bulky for that purpose. You are way better off with an IPOD or another player. Nice to have for the music inbetween games, but certainly not the lead feature.

Photo and Video capabilities: Same deal. Nice to have, nice for show off but come on... the media is WAY to expensive to use it.
I took by Sony T1 memory stick and had a look at the pictures. Firstly, pictures are in 4*3 format mostly, so you don't use the entire 4.3 inch screen. Picture size goes down to the equivalent of an 3 inch screen, if you want to see the full picture at once. Still very nice and a little bigger then on my Sony T1, but not as big as you think.
Use PSP as a picture storage tank? Why? If you have a Sony camera with memory pro duo sticks, well then why transfer it on another for PSP. If you have another media such as SD or Compact Flash, then why transfer to the way more expensive memory pro duo stick for backup?

Video I haven't checked yet. I could imagine it being quite nice with this high a resolution, but inferior to a dedicated portable DVD player. The only reasonable way to get video on this unit would be to use the proprietary Sony UMD format, which means you have to BUY it, but can't record it. Sony has access to plenty of movies, so there should be quite some releases. Downside is the proprietary 1.8 GB UMD format, that basically dictates, that the ONLY unit you can use the movie for is going to be your PSP. They will have to make compromises on picture quality or compression algorythm. So about 20 movies later you could have afforded your own portable DVD player for regular DVD's and come out ahead.

Memory sticks with your favorite shows ? Not unless you are obscenely wealthy, or you plan long range for the stick pricing to come down. Figure a 2GB stick for some decent video which will set you back over 200 USD right now, even a 500 MB is still quite pricey.

Things not to like:
- Bulky power adaptor (since you carry it all the time)
- Size: definitely not for your pocket, more for your backpack
- Screen smudges easily and fingerprints are readily seeable on the black background
-Ruggedness, if this unit drops, you might have to kiss it good bye, definitely recommend the wrist strap (and I don't volonteer drop tests to support my statement)
- On this Japanese sourced unit not all menus converted to English, sometimes there were Kanji characters left.
- Left side cross button somewhat sticky.(worked itself out over extended use) I observed it a few times when playing, subsequently scouring the internet I found extensive comments about the quality of that button, mostly unfavorable. Expect to see it fixed in the next version of the PSP, but certainly not in the current US release.

Verdict:

The graphics make you salivate, unseen before in a portable gaming device.
This unit is not for careless use by a kid, but more targeted at the wealthy grown up kid.

Should you buy?

Oh well, that is hard to answer before the next games are out. This is an ultimate gaming machine, so games will be the deciding factor. Don't try to supplement that fact for all the other neat features. They are nice to have but won't entice you to use the PSP for those reasons. It is to big and heavy to warrant use as a stand alone MP3 player or 'Photo IPOD' surrogate.
The wireless features are very nice and I wish I had someone to play a wireless Ridgeracer match against. Now that is ULTRA cool, if your buddies are not into Nintendo DS.

On the other hand. 250 USD targeted retail including a game. Sony is selling this unit under cost, so you get a machine worth it's money. Just about right to talk yourself into it, despite the current lack of games, as long as you like the one that it comes with.

The following are announced, but as the machine not available.(Update, more of the following are becoming available, now that the machine has launched as of TODAY Mar. 24 in the US)

Titles I think are interesting are:

Colling McRae Ralley 2005
Grand Theft Auto PSP (that should look really sweet on this platform)
NBA Shootout
NBA Street
Need for Speed Underground (The PC version is my personal favorite for networked gaming)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour
Spider Man 2
World Tour Soccer 2005

Previews are available at www.gamespot.com
Titles are scheduled for middle of March release in the US

Before you do so, look at this review on the Memory Pro Duo and it's price tag though:


http://www.epinions.com/content_168500629124

Would I buy again? Hmmm.. I need someone to ridge race against with the wireless feature.... The machine will connect in ad hoc fashion (i.e. one to one) or several via a wireless router. Internet connection is built in, so I forecast they will also have multiplayer games coming for worldwide play. Online Role playing would be my bet, although I can't find any substantiated news about a release.

Sony certainly has a grander vision for this platform, then 'just' gaming. For now they will have to prove that they can deliver on the games. The hardware is top notch and has legs to move. Rumor has it Nintendo is preparing a similar device, which tells you how serious they take the PSP.



Recommended: Yes