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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

We first caught wind of a slightly revamped PSP months ago, and the long-awaited handheld — complete with a new, fancier and in some cases more dreadful display — finally hit US shelves this month. For those that picked one of these up and have spent some quality time digging into the latest firmware, how are you liking things? Particularly for those that upgraded, are you pleased with the new build? Are you being plagued with those mysterious screen problems features? Could you stand to see a few more things tweaked for the PSP-4000? We suspect there will be quite a few mixed messages flying in this one, so let’s get those comments rolling.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We always thought that the RIAA’s first-ever filesharing trial victory against Jammie Thomas was a little suspect since the labels weren’t required to prove that Thomas even had Kazaa installed on her machine or was the person using the account in question, and it looks like the court agrees — it’s just declared a mistrial and set aside the $222,000 judgment on the grounds that simply making copyrighted works available for download does not constitute copyright infringement. That’s a huge decision — the “making available” theory is the basis for most of the RIAA’s legal arguments — and it means that the RIAA will now have to prove the unauthorized transfer of each song it wants to collect damages on at the new trial. We’ll see what effect this has in the broader sense — we’ve got a feeling we’re in for a slew of appellate decisions on both sides of the “making available” debate — but for now it looks like the good guys are finally starting to score some points.

[Via ZDNet, thanks JagsLive]

Read - Wired article
Read - Decision [PDF]

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Source: Nilay Patel

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Filed under: Gaming

According to a GameSpot interview with Sony’s US director of hardware marketing John Koller, that new PSP-3000 screen may look a bit better… but it’s going to cost you about 20 minutes of battery life. Luckily for you gamers with endless pockets out there, Koller assures that minor wrinkle be offset because, “We’re going to have the extended life battery that’s still available for consumers, so we’re still going to get the eight-to-ten hours out of that battery.” So just to make that clear, the regular battery life will be diminished, but you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time. Got that? Good. Watch him say it for real in the video after the break.

[Via T3]Continue reading PSP-3000 battery life diminished by new screen, Sony suggests buying a bigger battery

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/playstation/Sony_busts_Out_Metallic_Blue_Madden_09_PSP_Entertainment_Pak’; If dreams of a possibly redesigned PSP don’t have you waiting, you’re a sucker for the Madden football, and the color blue gets you going, Sony has the package for you. The Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack includes a metallic-blue PSP, Madden NFL 09, 1GB Memory Stick Duo, In Just One Play movie on UMD (apparently they’re still pressing movies on UMD), and a voucher for a free download of Beats from the PSN. It runs $199 like other PSP packs, and is available…now. Question is: who’s the Jets’ starting quarterback?

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Source: Joshua Fruhlinger

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Filed under: Gaming

We got a chance to sit down with Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s CEO Jack Tretton, who gave us the lowdown about a few things we’ve had on our minds.

PS3
On backwards compatibility: Jack explained that Sony looked at how to “not take a greater hit on production cost, without losing PlayStation’s heritage … Hardware / software for backwards compat wasn’t all that expensive. … but we’re selling PS2 software to PS2 customers, and selling PS3 software to PS3 consumers.” Still, Jack seems to feel like it may have been the wrong move. “I would like to have had it in there, but Sony’s collective strategy determined we could afford to lose it. We’ve now gone down that road, and we’re not going back.”

On DRM and the video store: As of right now, Tretton is a firm supporter of the need to DRM content on the PlayStation platforms, and Sony believes that “the drm for a song maybe isn’t as important for a movie and a game… this is way too hard a business to make money in to allow people to own multiple copies for the price of one.” (That’s what they all say!) “I’m all for allowing an individual consumer having the freedom to do with their content what they want,” but Sony has no intention of opening its video up any more than it has to.

PSP
On drive or flash storage: Sony has “definitely thought about storage on the PSP,” and understands the inevitable “march towards digital content delivery device.” But in terms of a drive-based PSP, they have “nothing that’s imminent.” (Read: don’t hold your breath.)

On how downloadable video affects the already sad state of UMD: UMD “has struggled, and it wasn’t handled effectively from the beginning. … I firmly believe in a digital model” as they’re rolling out, but Sony is “still going to support UMD” as a device for movies.

What’s preventing PSP software sales: Three things. Title ports from PS2 games (people don’t want to buy the same title twice), and the PSP’s media functions. But Jack put the most emphasis on “piracy in the hundreds of thousands of units are preventing software sales. it’s a problem that affects our software sales right now.”Continue reading SCEA CEO Jack Tretton dishes: DRM is in, backwards compatibility is out, and video UMD lives on

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Source: Ryan Block

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Filed under: Gaming

Proving once again that old gadgets die hard (some, at least) Sony Japan is introducing fancy new paint jobs for two of its oldest — and most successful — products. Come July 3rd, the venerable PS2 will be hitting shelves with a new job, a new outlook on life, and a “red cinnabar” paint job. The refreshed system will run you about ¥16,000 (or around $153). Meanwhile, that metallic blue PSP we’ve seen is making its way to Japanese gamers on July 17th, sans Madden ‘09, for ¥23,800 (or $227) for the Value Pack, or ¥29,800 (or $284) for the a decked out bundle including a 1seg tuner, 1GB Memory Stick, and handsome matching carrying case. Check out a closeup of the handheld after the break.

[Via Impress]

Read - PS2 “red cinnabar” press release
Read - PSP “metallic blue” press releaseContinue reading Sony intros red PS2 and metallic blue PSP for Japan

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video

It’s been a while since the PSP Slim got all up on your TV, but Sony wasn’t going to leave you hanging forever without a slick docking solution — say hola to the new PSP Cradle. Apart from some of that old-time Sony design flair, there’s not much else to it: you dock your PSP, images show up on your TV, and you control things with the included remote. On sale April 24th in Japan for ¥4,800 ($46), or ¥6,500 ($62) bundled with a D Terminal AV cable.

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Source: Nilay Patel

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Filed under: Gaming

Look, we understand that different people have different tastes, but bronze and gold gadgets have have always been a novelty and never sold that well — so we’re totally confused by Sony’s decision to release a limited-edition “matte bronze” PSP. That’s right, it’s not even shiny, it’s basically beige — like, aggressive, 1950s-kitchen beige. Only 60,000 of these abominations are set to be released in Japan, for ¥23,800 ($230), and the bundle includes a TV-out cable for the first time. Of course, we recommend that you pop the extra $29 or whatever to pick up that cable separately and buy a PSP that doesn’t immediately call to mind the phrase “nude hose,” but if you gotta do it, we’ll still be here for you. Just, you know, not when anyone else can see us around that thing.

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Source: Nilay Patel

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