PSP...

[Asayyeah]

: : :

[Ally Graham]

The European date is not confirmed as of yet, and has been said that they may launch only a few countries in April and others in June because of stock problems.

The UK is on that list for possible April.

By the way, this came from the head of Sony.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Sorry to drag up an old topic (well, not too old) but this needs to be shared.

If anyone has a Computer Exchange near them, they're selling import PSP value packs off the shelf. Yep, no wait for import and delivery, you can walk out with a brand new Japanese PSP in your hands. That is, if you're willing to pay the low, low price of.....


wait for it.....


£315!!!

What the hell do they think they're playing at? I've never really liked CEX, but this takes the piss. Even after import costs, that's still horribly overpriced! This country had better not even THINK about selling the PSP anywhere near this! :

[Thruster2097]

Last I heard from the local game store for a psp release date was july-august.
And possibly a shift into early '06.

It either means that my local store have little to no idea what theyre talking about and it will be available mid april, or something has caused a horiffic delay.

[Ally Graham]

I can not think of anything that waould cause a major delay like that!

I think we will be expecting it late April - early May.


Do we have any dates for PurE release?

[Rapier Racer]

I can not think of anything that waould cause a major delay like that!

How about Japanese incompetence?? Sony has shown plenty of it recently, July? 2006? That’s not good enough someone needs to slap some sense into those morons, if the PSP is delayed here (beyond apr 29th) so will pure be, imports would definitely be on the cards if that were to happen

[Thruster2097]

you never need to ask me twice...
I am hunting down the uk release date for myself, so far all I have got is "somewhere between march and april, possibly may" which isnt good enough.
I want a date.

ops:
errr.... let me rephrase....
I want an exact time and day for the psp to be released.


The important thing is that no matter where I look, no-one is mentioning anything beyond june, thus proving the incompetence of the staff in my local store.
Damn, I really should apply for a job there and/or kick some sense into them!

[stin]

Now this is getting ridiculous over release dates! But I knew they were not making enough handheld consoles and they should have set the dates for us so we can enjoy for ourselves and PSP will become a best seller.

stevie :x

[Ally Graham]

And now they have upped the launch units to 1m for the US, so that leaves that already short demand even smaller.
This means that Europe really is 3rd place for Sony, giving all the stock they have to the US.

I say that they should share that out 3:1 with Europe, 750,000 for US, 250,000 for Europe.

Why have they not done this? Some excuse about Europe being harder to set up for due to the large number of languages.
I say that that excuse is a really, really bad one.

[Salt|Ultra]

Some excuse about Europe being harder to set up for due to the large number of languages.
I say that that excuse is a really, really bad one.

Huh is that really what they are saying? You would think they would be tripping over themselves to sell to you guys over there since you all ways end up paying more

Now I did hear one good piece of news, in that Sony was able to produce ~400,000 PSPs in Feb. Hopefully that means that they are going to have a large enough stockpile to launch in Europe soon.

[yawnstretch]

This place was in stock a few days ago and Id say they'll have them in another few days.

They're both good deals but that's a bit of a jump for the val pack. Seeing as how most people will buy a large memory stick anyway maybe the regular option is a good one.

[Hybrid Divide]

Lucky...

We here in the USA don't get a choice. All we get is the value pack...

Something I'm NOT happy about at the least...

The only thing REMOTELY worth it is the 32 MB Memory stick. But 32 megs is NOT ENOUGH SPACE!

[xEik]

I saw a PSP for the first time yesterday. It's smaller than I thought but since the screen takes almost all the space, it's kind of OK. My hands aren't really big. But ol' Thruster2097 may be in trouble if his hands are as big as he says.
Another thing I noticed is that the front looks like it gathers tons of fingerprints and dust due to being so shiny.

In the shop they told me probable release date is end of April, probably the value pack (which is said everywhere not to be so valuable) will be the only available option and probable price is around 250 €.

All in all, I'm not too happy with the European release plans: late, no options and more pricey.

[Thruster2097]

My problem is not essentially big hands, it's more of a over-rounded fingertip thing.
Ever seen the simpsons episode where homer mashes the telephone keypad and has to request a dialling wand? :

I'm just a bit concerned that it might be too small and have a tendency to break under pressure.

[Lance]

.
hm.. yes, the well-known Wipeout Accelerator Crushgrip. i broke a MadCatz Dreamcast controller in a similar way while playing F355, but a PSP would be a lot harder to replace. a lot
.

[G'Kyl]

My worries get even worse when thinking about how I got used to teh neGcon... ;)
Seriously, though, I too have doubts about me being able to handle the PSP properly. The rather long distance between D-Pad and buttons gives an awkward feel to the entire thing, I'm afraid. I once held a GBA (first release), and THAT was strange. Now the PSP is even wider...?

Ben

[Ally Graham]

PSP Must HaveUK Gadget of 2005

Sony's Playstation Portable is the top UK gadget for 2005, according to a round-up of ultimate gizmos compiled by Stuff Magazine.

It beats the iPod into second place in the Top Ten Essentials list which predicts what gadget-lovers are likely to covet this year.

Owning all 10 gadgets will set the gadget lover back £7,455.

That is £1,000 cheaper than last year's list due to falling manufacturing costs making gadgets more affordable.

High street habits

Portable gadgets dominate the list, including Sharp's 902 3G mobile phone, the Pentax Optio SV digital camera and Samsung's Yepp YH-999 video jukebox.


TOP 10 GADGETS
Pentax Optio SV digital camera
Sony PSP
iPod Photo 60GB
Sharp 902 3G mobile phone
Pentax Optio SV digital camera
Sony VAIO VGN-T2 laptop
Samsung Yepp YH-999
Philips 32PF9986 Home Cinema
Pentax Optio MX4 tapeless camcorder
Blaupunkt Chicago IVDM-7002 satellite navigation
BT Aviator 10M DAB radio

"What this year's Essentials shows is that gadgets are now cheaper, sexier and more indispensable than ever. We've got to the point where we can't live our lives without certain technology," said Adam Vaughan, editor of Stuff Essentials.

The proliferation of gadgets in our homes is inexorably altering the role of the high street in our lives thinks Mr Vaughan.

"Take digital cameras, who would now pay to develop an entire film of photos? Or legitimate downloads, who would travel miles to a record shop when they could download the song in minutes for 70p?" he asks.

Next year will see a new set of technologies capturing the imaginations of gadget lovers, Stuff predicts.

The Xbox 2, high-definition TV and MP3 mobiles will be among the list of must-haves that will dominate 2006, it says.

The spring launch of the PSP in the UK is eagerly awaited by gaming fans.

[uberweng]

I
Another thing I noticed is that the front looks like it gathers tons of fingerprints and dust due to being so shiny.
.

It is hard to describe the amount of fingerprints they pick up. I had to buy a cloth for cleaning glasses and carry it.

On the subject of the value pack, its not that bad. I use most of the stuff that came with it except the 32 meg stick. I reccomend buying a 512 meg one as soon as possible so you can have a decent amount of music and still have space for all the downloadable wipeout content they keep promising.

[yawnstretch]

I bought a cleaning cloth too. It made it look all nice and sparkly

- but if you dont worry about fingerprints and keep using the case you'll notice something sort of useful... gradually it just loses the sheen (when you dont wipe it) and it has a sort of uniform dullness which makes it look not as sparkly for thieves.

So if you leave the polishing out for a week or so you'll see this and on special occasions you can buff it up to show off! ...Or maybe they just shouldn't have made it so damned shiny. 8O

[Ally Graham]

Another Friday passes with no Europe PSP date :cry:

I can't decide if I want to risk getting a PSP now incase they decide to region lock the games.
PurE would be my number 1 game, so until then, I would not really be playing.
I don't know if the risk cons outweighs the pros.