Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - Posts

A Ton of E3 Show Floor Pics

PSPUpdates' editors have taken a ton of photos from the show floor and around E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo...

Check them out here!

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Sandisk Announces RapidGX "Gaming Memory Stick" for the Sony PSP

SanDisk Introduces RapidGX, World's Fastest Dedicated Memory Stick PRO Duo Gaming Card for the Sony PSP

(MicroMate Card Reader and PSP Conversion Software -- a $40 Value -- Will Be Bundled for a Limited Time With SanDisk Performance Game Card)


SanDisk(R) Corporation introduced RapidGX, a high-performance Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) Game card that offers a quick and easy way to capture and store movies, TV shows, games, digital images and music to the Sony PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R) Portable). The announcement was made at E3, where SanDisk is showing its new line of gaming products in Meeting Rooms 6809 and 6811, Kentia Hall, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The SanDisk RapidGX card offers a complete content solution for owners of the popular handheld gaming and video device. It comes with software that allows PSP owners to convert and transfer a host of multimedia files from a personal computer to a PSP, through a simple drag-and-drop interface. It also comes with SanDisk's new MicroMate(TM) high-speed Memory Stick PRO Duo card reader, which is optimized for the RapidGX to achieve maximum transfer speeds.

The SanDisk RapidGX card initially will be sold in a single capacity of 1 gigabyte (GB)(1) for a suggested retail price of $84.99. The PSP software and the reader, available for a limited time, represent a $40 value-add over the price of the individual components included in the package. Shipping to retailers is expected in early summer.
"Research has shown that millions of PSP owners are enjoying non-gaming entertainment features, such as watching movies, viewing digital photos and listening to music," said Christina Day, SanDisk's senior product marketing manager for gaming. "The RapidGX game card, which incorporates technology similar to that of SanDisk's Extreme(R) III flash card line for pro photographers, simplifies and accelerates the process of converting content to the PSP format."

With the MicroMate reader, a PSP user can transfer data at read/write speeds of up to 15 megabytes (MB) per second(2), about twice the read/write speeds of the PSP when the device is hooked up directly to a computer. The reader contains a slot for the card and a USB connector that allows it to be plugged into a PC's USB port. Since there is no accessible on-board memory in the PSP, all content must be stored on removable Memory Stick PRO Duo cards.

"Also, the speeds afforded by the SanDisk RapidGX card are up to three times faster than those of a standard Memory Stick PRO Duo card, making RapidGX the world's fastest gaming flash memory card," she said.

Support for the notion that video is a key selling point for the PSP came recently from a new report issued by The NPD Group, a major consumer electronics research company. According to an NPD press release, the PSP Functionality and Content Study surveyed 55,000 consumers, ages 6 to 44, to determine their preferences with the PSP.

While playing games and listening to music were cited as the top uses, more than 40 percent of owners said that the ability to watch movies or television programs on their PSPs was a key factor in their decision to buy the device, according to the study. Sony sells movies for the PSP on a proprietary format called Universal Media Discs (UMD), but the NPD report indicated that many users don't necessarily care about which format is used to deliver content.

"Watching videos from a PRO Duo memory card significantly lengthens the play time for movies and video when compared with watching from a UMD," said Wes Brewer, SanDisk vice president of consumer products marketing. "Longer play time and ease of video transfer are key selling features of our new RapidGX line."

Recently, several PSP-oriented websites have begun offering downloads of movies, TV shows and games, and Sony has indicated that it will launch various types of media download services within a year.

The PSP management tool that comes with each RapidGX card was customized for SanDisk by Mediafour of West Des Moines, Iowa, and is based on an award-winning software program. This all-in-one solution helps PSP owners organize and optimize their multimedia files as they are transferred to the PSP. The software has a powerful point-and-click interface that makes it easy to add a file or a group of files onto a PSP. It automatically converts video files to the MP4 PSP format. Furthermore, it has several compression options that can save valuable space on the memory card by maximizing the number of videos, songs and photos that the card can hold.

SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S. (DIGY)

(1) 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.

(2) Based on SanDisk internal testing.

Source: MobilitySite
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Rumor: Sony PSP & Nintendo DS Mobile Phones

Vonage logo

Not content with playing games, watching telly and listening to music on your Nintendo DS or Sony PSP? Never fear – you could soon be using it as a mobile phone too.

It’s rumoured that Vonage is in the process of creating an interface that would allow users to convert the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS into internet-powered phones.

Both devices are compatible with VoIP, as they come with microphones and can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi. All they need the necessary interface and software – and that’s what Vonage is working on.

Vonage’s partnership with Wi-Fi operator Cloud means that its customers can get internet – and therefore VoIP – access at over 7,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country – so Vonage stands to gain a whole lotta new customers if it can convince them that their handheld console makes a nifty phone as well as a nifty device for playing Mario Kart on.

Source: Scenta and Gadgetspy

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Rumor: Earthworm Jim Coming to PSP?

This game from the gifted game developer Shiny is a secret project for the PSP that, as the company says, "harkens back to the earliest days of Shiny's game development history." The game is heavily rumored to be a revival of the Earthworm Jim franchise.

Although this game has been confirmed via a job posting by Shiny, the game has not been formally announced.

Source: IGN

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Sony to support AAC -- heck not to freeze over

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When Sony execs recently announced that the company was prepping to take on the iPod with new software, a download service and new digital audio players, we didn't expect the company's first move to be to announce support for the AAC audio format. But plans by Sony to include the format in the latest version of its Sonic Stage software -- and, presumably, in future portable players, as well -- makes perfect sense. After all, the PSP -- not to mention most Sony Ericsson musicphones -- already supports AAC, and Sony was one of the developers (along with AT&T, Dolby and others) of the format in the first place. However, that hasn't stopped various pundits from concluding that Sony's AAC support marks some kind of victory for the company that leads the market for portable media players (or as PortalPlayer likes to call them, "our biggest customer"). But despite headlines such as "Sony bows to Apple format," which appeared on Asahi.com earlier today, Sony will not be supporting Apple's FairPlay DRM, so iTunes-purchased tracks will remain iPod-only. And, chances are, despite the AAC support, Sony's products will still be Sonic Stage-only, so you can probably forget about using iTunes with your next-gen Bean. Now, move along. There's nothing going on here.

Read the entire Engadget article here.
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E3 06: PSPs Get Grand Theft Auto: Vice City!

Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories announced for Sony's portable system; all-new storyline begins October 2006.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted May 10, 2006 7:25 am PT

LOS ANGELES--A wave of jubilation followed by a quick turn to frustration hit fans of the Grand Theft Auto series yesterday. First, good news struck when Microsoft officially confirmed that the next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto was coming in October. The smile on their faces was temporary though, as said October was a ways away--in 2007, not 2006.

GTA fans jonesing for more 'jacking got a bit of a reprieve today, as Rockstar Games, who had been rather quiet before Tuesday, announced the next dose of their controversial series would be released in October...2006. Following last year's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Rockstar Leeds is bringing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories to the PSP on October 17, 2006 in North America and October 20 in Europe.

Like LCS before it, VCS will be set in familiar territory compressed to fit on the PSP. It will also feature a new storyline with new missions, but no specific details, including the identity of a protagonist or a time period, were divulged.

"The success of Liberty City Stories on the PSP system was nothing short of spectacular," said Rockstar Games' Sam Houser. "We are excited to once again give our audience a fresh experience in one of their favorite locales in the Grand Theft Auto series, Vice City."

Today's announcement may not come as a surprise to all. In addition to being the next logical step in the series (is GTA: San Andreas Stories around the corner?), Vice City Stories became the subject of rumors when a GTA fan unveiled the Web site www.vicecitystories.com. The simple black page had an authentic-looking logo and the words "Coming 2006 to PSP," but was later revealed simply as an opportunity "just to fool people." The site has since been taken down, and the URL redirects surfers to a GTA fan site.

Source: GameSpot

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SanDisk launches 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card

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Lots of video game news is breaking this week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, but regular technology companies are getting into the act as well. Memory card maker SanDisk today announced a few new memory cards, including a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card.

Designed for owners of the Sony PlayStation Pro (PSP) gaming device, the memory card can store up to 64 hours of MP3 files, 20 or more hours of videos, 12 hours of game saves or 4,000 digital photos, SanDisk says. The card is expected to ship this month for $219.99. Other capacities include 256MB ($34.99), 512MB ($44.99), 1GB ($59.99) and 2GB ($109.99). The new 4GB comes in semi-transparent red neon.

The company also announced its RapidGX card, a 1GB high-performance Memory Stick Pro Duo card that comes with PSP conversion software that lets PSP owners convert and transfer multimedia files from their PC to the gaming device. The $84.99 card will also include the SanDisk MicroMate high-speed Memory Stick Pro Duo card reader, the company adds. The reader allows users to transfer data at up to 1.5MB/sec., about twice the speeds of the PSP when it's hooked up to a PC via the regular USB cable, SanDisk says.

The media file management utility includes a point-and-click interface that makes it easy to add a file or group of files onto a PSP. The tool automatically converts files into the MP4 PSP format, SanDisk says. Compression options are also available to make more videos, songs and photos available on the card.

Source: Network World

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Sony preaches flexibility at E3

E3, LOS ANGELES - The PS3 may be sleek with its piano finish and contoured controller, but what's outside the box is only as important as what the inside can do.

The bells and whistles of the hardware capabilities have been a big draw of interest for the PS3, even prior to E3, but the changes to the online environment will have a say in how well the console does.

Gamers have been teased with small-scale PS2-to-PSP functionality, by being able to unlock certain gameplay elements or by using the PSP as a rearview mirror for a racing title. Now the stakes have gotten bigger with the new console ready to hit the market in six months.

Read the full article here.
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Daedalus N64 Emulator W.I.P. Update!

From PSPUpdates and StrmnNrmn's blog:

Well, taking a small break from our E3 coverage, I'd like to give give out a bit of homebrew news. StrmnNrmn, the guy behind Daedalus has just given an update. And boy, it's something to look forward to!

First, the geek-speak. He's thinking of writing a new dynamic recompiler. The reason's I'll mention below:
  • The older dynarec was a huge memory hog. The recompilation engine is fairly enthusiastic about recompiling blocks of code almost as soon as it comes across it. This approach isn't recommended for the PSP version since it takes up a huge amount of memory.
  • There's currently no way to easily flush old fragments of code from the cache to save memory. This isn't much of a problem on the PC, but on the PSP you can't afford to have old fragments of code lying around, chewing up valuable memory.
  • The PC version of the dynarec is sufficiently old, poorly documented and overly complex that it's almost impossible for to improve and properly debug.
Now in simple words, it means that he's thinking of re-writing the main engine of the emulator. The actual core which translates everything from one platform to another. But this isn't something which can be planned and done over the weekend.

If he does go ahead, be prepared to wait for it for some time. But once it's done, you can look forward to a totally new experience on Daedalus. Speculating about it would be wrong. I'd rather wait for it to be released. No dates have been given out.

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Video of Sony's own PS1 Emulator for PSP from Sony's E3 Press Conference

Well, we'd like to show you the video of the Sony PS1 Emulator on the PSP. Right now, it shows the PSP running Ridge Racer, one of the first PS1 titles. And although it ran it in a letterbox format, what was interesting was that the screen size could be adjusted to fit the whole screen. And the game ran perfectly.

Also, it shows the PS1 game being directly booted from the Memory Stick. That's right, there isn't a seperate icon for the emulator in the firmware! This could mean that the games released for the PSP might be modified a little. Although it's just a speculation, I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps the textures are enhanced a bit. Plus a few things like removing support for the second analog controller and shoulder buttons.

It was announced that PS1 games could be bought online using a "Playstation Card", essentially a snazzy pre-paid card which would be sold in denominations, upwards of $50.

Check out the video here.

Source: PSPUpdates

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