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Calvin Chu
Note: This article was based on an Import version of the PlayStation Portable. This may differ with the US/European version. This article will be adopting a more personal approach to give the reader a more in depth insight from an owner’s perspective. Concerning the games’ quality, this is mentioned in more detail within the actual game reviews. The related links will be listed towards the end.
When the PlayStation Portable was first announced it sent shockwaves through the gaming industry. Sony’s declaration of the PSP makes it a new competitor and a first real challenge against the mighty Nintendo in the handheld market. How would it perform in this market? What capabilities can it provide? Can it even be considered a worthy opponent to the long running Game Boy handheld consoles? All these questions remain unanswered… until more facts appeared… more play tests were available… and now, the actual release of the PlayStation Portable, now available in Japan and it’s surrounding Asian countries. With my general interest in the PSP and as a treat to indulge our visitors into the Import world, PSXEvolution took the plunge, and imported a PlayStation direct from Hong Kong. This is our outlook on probably one of the most feared opponents Nintendo has yet to face.
Upon its arrival via DHS my initial impressions of the actual box design for the PSP were very general. The packaging was simple and clean, with no real fancy graphics to catch your attention. A handy “actual size” picture, however, instantly put into perspective of the sheer size of the screen, let alone the console. This is good for new buyers, but as I have previously tried out the PSP before, this was old news. Ridge Racers, the game that was purchased with the PSP, again has a packaging that is very nicely designed, in a distinctly smaller box than the size of a DVD case. On with the unwrapping…
As soon as you grip the PSP you can’t help notice how expensive it feels in your hands. Sony’s build quality has instant appeal on first touch. If there was one word I’d choose for the overall appearance of this system, it would be that this thing is stylish. A deep, glossy black paint job coated by Plexiglass almost makes you feel that you should handle this object with a lot of care. However as soon as I realised how great the thing looks, I knew that this sort of finish meant one thing, and a lot of it – brush marks. Finger prints, sweat marks, you name it. With this sort of finish, it’s bound to stick to these like magnets. However, I will address this issue later on. I inspected the PSP attentively, seeing how many ports it has and what do these ports do. Their positioning seems to be in an all round ergonomic layout. The power switch was located on the right side with a useful “Hold” feature, and the Wireless LAN switch was on the left edge of the console, both of which pose no obstruction to the user. I tested the “Eject” button for the UMD area and couldn’t help but feel that it was the cheapest part of the console. The plastic used seems flimsy and almost too easy to break. However, for the average consumer it serves its purpose. The battery and its cover were easily installed and I proceeded to powering up the handheld console.
As the PSP charged up I turned it on for the first time and was greeted by various menus requiring me to input information. These were the system language, date, time with according time zone, and a Japanese name which acts as your PSP’s ID for multiplayer purposes. After this, I was taken to the main menu of the PSP, which utilises the patented cross media bar or otherwise known as XMB. This similar menu layout was featured on the PSX that was only released in Japan. Looking round the menus gives me a variety of choices of System Settings – Photo Access – Music Playback – Video Playback – Game Access. Within the system options you can perform a variety of things: Security settings, general media playback, USB functionality connection and network settings. The network settings allows you to configure your PSP and its wireless network receiver to your home network, or otherwise. After setting up the type of network and its corresponding encryption key, I was Wi-Fi ready for the world. Although the PSP can’t surf the Internet, its operating system can be updated through this process, and recent reports have suggested a web browser will be implemented, as well as in the future with video games allowing downloadable content, one feature I already like. Intrigued, I proceeded to test the USB connectivity with a PC. The supplied memory stick was brand new which means it requires formatting, a user friendly function that the PSP provides. This can set up the correct folders for your PSP so that you know where to position your media. With this done, my computer recognized the PSP with no problems and I was able to browse my memory stick like a USB pen drive. In terms of file transfer it is simply dragging and dropping like you would in Windows, a relief that Sony doesn’t hassle us into using some new kind of software to upload and download content (e.g. the widely “praised” SonicStage).
I chose what I wanted to put on my PSP according to my memory stick size. In this case being the first time, I tried all 3 formats: picture, music and video. As I returned to navigate through my PSP I find that viewing photos on such a large crisp screen is much better than squinting at a 2 inch digital camera screen in the event you’re no where near a computer. The PSP allows you to rotate the picture or view all the pictures as a slideshow with magnification options available as well. No problems so far, and nice feature that Sony has included.
Next I moved to playing my MP3 files. Pressing circle simply plays the song, but with triangle you canup more features in a PlayStation 2-like menu system. Different play modes and extra information display, it’s all here. The music played through the speakers however, was great for their size, although there was no noticeable bass. Upon further investigation of the Japanese manual I encountered an option that I didn’t expect Sony to include. When you plug in the bundled in-line remote (as part of the Value Pack) whilst listening to music the PSP can allow the user to select from 4 different equalizer settings: Heavy, Pops, Jazz and Unique, each of which affects the audio quality of the music. These equalizer settings can be used with or without the bundled remote (for the Value Pack). After listening to each of these settings on the same songs I can honestly say the audio quality is of a superb standard, something I’d expect from Sony to deliver with ease especially with its experience in the portable audio industry, but that’s not all. When listening to the music I was using the bundled earphones, again were of a better than average standard comparing with the majority of bundled earphones these days. When you plug in better quality earphones, in this case I used my Sony Fontopia in-ear earphones the difference is quite significant, making it a joy to my ears. As an audio player, this has definitely satisfied me, although a draw back here is that the amount of music you carry is limited by the size of your memory stick. I will be getting a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, but they are approx. £90 these days, so that is something that not all people might not be happy with.
Video playback is where everything went wrong. The PSP only supports the new Mpeg-4 format… a format which my video wasn’t in. On top of this, the video has to be placed in an oddly series of folders which I happen to find the instructions for on the Internet during my search for an MP4 video sample. Fortunately I came across one, and hastily placed it onto my memory stick. The video quality ultimately depends on its source, and how you encode it. I compared a non-DVD rip file to a DVD rip file using different encoding methods, and they all appeared different, but not something that is terribly poor. A user who just wants to watch videos cannot complain in my opinion. Of course as a result of different encoding methods determines the file size of the MP4 video itself. During my testing at times the encoded MP4 file can almost half the size of the original file, which is quite impressive. Using the right encoding and ripping method, a movie can be squeezed onto a 512MB Memory Stick, and easily placed on a 1GB one.
In a nutshell, the PSP’s graphical capabilities lie between the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. Technology wise it is superior to any other handheld model in the market, including the newly released Nintendo DS. The aspect ratio is set in a 16:9 format which compliments the use of widescreen media for the PSP.
Battery life is what many gamers are concerned about. Though various tests I have put the PSP through several stages in order to give a more clearer impression of how the PSP performs in its portable state. The overall battery consumption is determined by the usage of the PSP, ranging from hardcore gaming action to subtle music playing. On a full charge, for Ridge Racers we were able to squeeze 3 and a half to 4 hours of pure gameplay with the WLAN switch turned off and speaker volume set to maximum. I believe that this figure is more than fitting for an average gamer especially for a game of this calibre (Ridge Racers is the most graphically intensive game out for the PSP at this current point in time). However, for music playback, we used one song on repeat with the WLAN switch turned off and speakers set to maximum and left it alone. The PSP eventually died at around 11 to 12 hours, which is definitely acceptable for a portable music player. Many websites still claim that overall the PSP battery life is inadequate, but from what we have derived from the tests we think its fair to say that for an average gamer it suits its purpose, and does it superbly.
Good things aside, there are a few criticisms that I can identify with the product. As mentioned earlier, although its design is superb, it's also a drawback. It's a pain the see it dirty, which means an urge to polish it. However, if you play this alot (and you probably will) your hands may get damp from the action, making the staining worse. Not a major problem, but something that is a persistent issue. Since the PSP has such a great screen, it would be nice to be able to set a custom wallpaper or choose which colour you want as your background. The PSP has set colours for the background, and changes every month. Each colour of course can be viewed just by changing the month. Although not a necessity, when playing music visualizations would be a unique feature. Choosing either viewing the track information or a blank screen doesn't necessarily leave the user with too much choice, however like I said, it isn't a necessity.
On the Internet, there are already reports of faults with the PlayStation Portable. The UMD ejection fault is one which only occurs when the PSP is twisted with force, and goes to show that when playing the game innocently the UMD disk will not eject during use. Dead pixels and the sticky square button were other faults that seemed to have surfaced. The model PSXEvolution received had no faults whatsoever, and have discussed the same issues with at least 20 other import PSP owners, all of which had no faults either. This comes to the conclusion that the number of faulty PSPs was just unlucky and makes up for a small percentage of the entire stock. We have still yet to see any fault appear with our PSP.
So, in conclusion: Is it worth it? The answer: If you have the money and can cope with certain language barriers associated with the launch titles then by all means Yes. We received our model from Hong Kong direct, not from a supplier, which means prices over there range from £150 to £200, whereas for an import model in total it could come up to £300 (based on value pack, one game and overseas shipping). However, no matter how much I write about the PlayStation Portable, no words or pictures will do the PSP justice – it is something you have to experience for yourself. A near perfect handheld console for the future, and we proudly award it the Editor’s Choice label. Well done Sony for a first try!
Editor’s Choice Award - As Recommended By the Editor-In-Chief
Related Links:
Full PlayStation Portable Media
Ridge Racers Review
Lumines Review
AC Formula Front Review
GT4 Mobile Preview
| Graphics: |  9 | | Sound: | 10 | | Overall: | 9 |
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