Video Gaming News - March 2005
Foster City, CA (March 24, 2005) - Sony Computer Entertainment America
announced today that the PSP (PlayStation Portable) portable entertainment
system is now available in North America.
From Sony:
 
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Setting a precedent as the first-ever integrated portable entertainment
system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment
experience including games, music, movies, communication, and wireless
networking, the PSP system builds upon the company's heritage of innovative
products that define a new entertainment landscape to meet consumers'
lifestyles. In anticipation of the overwhelming consumer demand for PSP, there
will be one million PSP Value Pack units available in retail outlets across the
country for today's launch. Extending its consumer-centric approach to the
business, the PSP Value Pack is available for a suggested retail price of
$249.99 US/$299.99 CND, and contains the following:
-- PSP
-- AC Adaptor
-- Battery Pack
-- Memory Stick Duo (32 MB)
-- Headphone with remote control
-- Soft Case
-- Wrist Strap
-- Cleaning Cloth
-- UMD in-pack game/movie/music sampler
-- Spider-Man 2 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (for the first 1
Million PSP Value Packs shipped)
"The launch of PSP in North America marks a new chapter in portable
entertainment, giving consumers the freedom to access the entirety of their
entertainment options without sacrificing quality all through one extraordinary
product," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer
Entertainment America. "As the tremendous response to PSP continues to grow, we
are redefining the marketplace with a comprehensive portable entertainment
system."
Market leading Sony Computer Entertainment America's first foray into the
portable market, PSP allows for the viewing of movies, digital photo display and
supports digital music playback in both MP3 and ATRAC formats. With gaming at
the product's core, PSP features graphics rendering capabilities comparable to
the leading in-home console, PlayStation 2, bringing an unmatched gaming
experience to a portable platform, allowing users to play 3D games, with
full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also comes complete with
built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and input/output
connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, enabling users to
connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network. Up to 16 PSP
systems in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly, allowing
for wireless head-to-head competition. In addition, wireless capabilities allow
software and data to be downloaded to a PSP and saved onto a Memory Stick Duo.
PSP has amassed an unsurpassed line-up of 24 titles from the world's leading
software development firms available in North America during the launch window.
With an additional 23 titles currently in development in North America and 100
titles currently in development world wide, PSP will launch with a broad cross
section of entertainment genres and support from publishing leaders Activision,
Capcom, Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, Koei, Konami, Namco, and Sony Online
Entertainment.
Consumers can find the following titles available during the launch window at
more than 18,000 retail locations: (listed in alphabetical order):
-- Ape Escape: On the Loose, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, Sony Computer Entertainment
America
-- Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, Capcom
-- Dynasty Warriors, KOEI
-- FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts
-- Gretzky NHL, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- Lumines, Ubisoft
-- Metal Gear Acid, Konami
-- MLB, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- MVP Baseball, Electronic Arts
-- NBA, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- NBA Street Showdown, Electronic Arts
-- Need for Speed Rivals, Electronic Arts
-- NFL Street 2 Unleashed, Electronic Arts
-- Rengoku: Tower of Purgatory, Konami
-- Ridge Racer, Namco
-- Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive
-- Spider-Man 2, Activision
-- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, Electronic Arts
-- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision
-- Twisted Metal: Head On, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment
-- Wipeout Pure, Sony Computer Entertainment America
-- World Tour Soccer, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Further validating the multi-media entertainment value proposition of PSP,
several motion picture studios announced feature film support for the platform
with movies being made available on the newly developed proprietary, compact (60
mm), but high-capacity (1.8 GB) optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD), which
PSP utilizes as its main storage medium. In addition to other studio
announcements, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced House of Flying
Daggers, XXX, Hellboy, RESIDENT EVIL: Apocalypse and Once Upon A Time In Mexico,
for release on April 19 with plans to make additional titles available monthly
thereafter. To protect this content, a robust copyright protection system has
been developed for UMD, which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, 128
bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware
unit.
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