PSP Serves Up Games, Audio and Video

[OGPackin]

Ohhh boy i cant wait for it to come out!! Maraxus, dont forget to hook a brudda up...

OG

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=570484

[bor]

Yeah I'm also think it could be d@mn good

[Elysium]

Theyve been out for a while... You can purchase imported versions off ebay.

[Maraxus]

imported versions cant play US games...

[Elysium]

imported versions cant play US games...

Actually they can as they'll use NTSC format, its the people in the UK who wont be able to use their games.

[Maraxus]

Now that Friends is off the air, the biggest cliffhanger of the season has been over whether or not the PlayStation Portable is a region-free system. The PSP was first announced to have full region protection available on all of its UMD formats (Music, Video, and Game), but executives and representatives from Sony have since said in various forums that the region system would not be turned on for videogame releases. The fear struck back, however, when the initial Japanese PSP games released with a DVD-style region markings on the package. Would Japanese and North American systems, as Sony initially led us to believe, still be able to get along and play each other's import games?
While absolutely definitive proof that PSPs games are open for games of all regions to play will have to wait until US-edition PSP systems are available, we can finally confirm that US games play just fine on Japanese PSPs. We received our first retail copy of a US game -- EA's Need For Speed Underground: Rivals, which we will have further coverage of next week -- and found that it played just fine on the PSP we picked up months ago in Akihabara, Japan. Aside from having to know that Japanese game systems use the circle button to make menu choices instead of the westernized X (which was no longer an issue once we were in the game, as it's only global menus that have this import quirk), there was no evidence when we jumped into the game that our system was bought in Japan instead of in America.





It is still unknown how region systems will work with any of the forthcoming UMD Video releases (although, considering these are the DVD people we're dealing with here instead of Sony, chances are the locks are locked up as expected.) Importers should be aware that, as with any other game system, you should not expect import and domestic versions of games to link multiplayer together -- the systems should connect just fine, but because the US and JPN editions have a different code base because of all the language and tweaks and other edits that go on when localizing a title, the two versions are technically two different games. (We have already tested the US and Japanese editions of Lumines, and unfortunately, they won't link together -- on the other hand, our version eliminates the slowdown and in-game loading that disrupted the Japanese game's rave, so it's a fair fix.)

We'll be putting more discs to the test on PSPs from different regions as the games and systems come in, but as it stands now, the locks are unlocked for import fans to get their game on.

[PiecinItUp]

Will PSPs ever be able to be modded like the PS2?

[Maraxus]

Will PSPs ever be able to be modded like the PS2?

Anything is possible to be honest with you.

[OGPackin]

Ohhh i cant wait...

OG

Now that Friends is off the air, the biggest cliffhanger of the season has been over whether or not the PlayStation Portable is a region-free system. The PSP was first announced to have full region protection available on all of its UMD formats (Music, Video, and Game), but executives and representatives from Sony have since said in various forums that the region system would not be turned on for videogame releases. The fear struck back, however, when the initial Japanese PSP games released with a DVD-style region markings on the package. Would Japanese and North American systems, as Sony initially led us to believe, still be able to get along and play each other's import games?
While absolutely definitive proof that PSPs games are open for games of all regions to play will have to wait until US-edition PSP systems are available, we can finally confirm that US games play just fine on Japanese PSPs. We received our first retail copy of a US game -- EA's Need For Speed Underground: Rivals, which we will have further coverage of next week -- and found that it played just fine on the PSP we picked up months ago in Akihabara, Japan. Aside from having to know that Japanese game systems use the circle button to make menu choices instead of the westernized X (which was no longer an issue once we were in the game, as it's only global menus that have this import quirk), there was no evidence when we jumped into the game that our system was bought in Japan instead of in America.





It is still unknown how region systems will work with any of the forthcoming UMD Video releases (although, considering these are the DVD people we're dealing with here instead of Sony, chances are the locks are locked up as expected.) Importers should be aware that, as with any other game system, you should not expect import and domestic versions of games to link multiplayer together -- the systems should connect just fine, but because the US and JPN editions have a different code base because of all the language and tweaks and other edits that go on when localizing a title, the two versions are technically two different games. (We have already tested the US and Japanese editions of Lumines, and unfortunately, they won't link together -- on the other hand, our version eliminates the slowdown and in-game loading that disrupted the Japanese game's rave, so it's a fair fix.)

We'll be putting more discs to the test on PSPs from different regions as the games and systems come in, but as it stands now, the locks are unlocked for import fans to get their game on.

[bor]

How much will it cost?

[OGPackin]

How much will it cost?

Less then $200. if i remember correctly...

OG

You can pre-order it at Amazon...Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) Bundle 5 Games Price: $449.99

Also, this site has them from $250.+ http://www.psp4.us/

OG