Hacking the PSP Blog

Sony goes back to school

UK managing director explains Sony's involvement in a project using PSPs in schools; Relentless demonstrates Buzz! The Schools Quiz.

Teachers have traditionally not been keen on students bringing handhelds or games into the classroom, but a new initiative supported by Sony aims to change that. At a "PSP in Education National Launch" event held today at its 3Rooms brand space in London, Sony Computer Entertainment UK's managing director, Ray Maguire, introduced a project organised by ConnectED that sees the PlayStation Portable being used in schools as a learning tool.

Maguire explained that Sony has been linked with education for some time--in 2003, there was a trial of using the PlayStation 2 and EyeToy as a communication method between students in different schools. However, the development of "connected" devices such as the PSP, and the increase in the availability of wireless broadband, has really opened up the opportunities for a link with education, Maguire said. While he commented that Sony was not aiming to be a leader in the education space, he pointed out that there were lots of opportunities for content providers to make use of the portable, connected nature of the PSP as a way to provide data and programs.

Laura Jenner
March 12, 2007

Source: GameSpot

PSP redesign denied, confirmed, re-denied

Sony has said "No" to a PSP redesign on several occasions. Now a conflicting report from SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire says a "smaller, lighter" PSP will be introduced in the future. However, a day later the head of SCE UK PR fed us this line: "There are no immediate changes planned for PSP." Did someone miss the memo?

Actually, both of them are probably telling the truth in a sneaky corporate kind of way. Most gaming systems get plastic surgery a few years after their launch. The DS was transformed from a clunky brick to sexy machine we're proud to carry around. It took four years for Sony to release a slim version of the PS2, which means the PSP could be overweight for another two years. A redesign is on the horizon, but that horizon could be a lot further out that we think.

John Bardinelli
March 13, 2007

Source: Joystiq

Sony UK boss confirms PSP redesign

SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire has confirmed the platform holder’s intentions to release a redesigned version of its PlayStation Portable handheld.

Speaking yesterday afternoon at the national launch of Sony’s PSP in Education initiative, Maguire told an invited audience of press, teachers and education specialists that the current PSP is just the "first iteration".

In line with the firm’s strategy for previous consoles, a "smaller, lighter" system will be introduced in the future.

Responding to a query on Sony’s plans for redesigning the system, Maguire added that any changes to the industrial design would not affect the size of PSP’s screen - widely seen as one of the system’s key strengths - which is "fixed". He did not offer any suggestions as to when the new iteration might be released.

A reworked PSP has been rumoured for months, but this is the first time a Sony executive has gone on record to confirm the company’s plans. Aside from a reduction in size and weight, Maguire did not suggest any additional changes to the hardware.

If the cost of components for the reworked PSP is less, the machine itself could also carry a lower price tag. It currently retails for GBP 179.

Cutting the size and cost of console hardware has been standard practice for Sony since it introduced PSone in 2000, five-and-a-half years after the Japanese launch of the original PlayStation. The slimline PStwo launched four years after PlayStation 2.

Following the PSP in Education event, a Sony spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz that while there are no "immediate changes" planned for the handheld other than new firmware updates, "In the longest term, of course we are always looking at ways to continue our platform development, and this normal business practice is what Ray was referring to."

Johnny Minkley
March 13, 2007

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Off Topic: Is That Just Some Game? No, It’s a Cultural Artifact

In just a few years, however, Mr. Lowood’s notion that video games were something with a history worth preserving and a culture worth studying has gone from absurd to worthy of consideration by the Library of Congress.

On Thursday at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Mr. Lowood announced a game canon, an idea that grew out of a proposal submitted to the Library of Congress in September 2006 by a consortium made up of Stanford, the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois.

“Creating this list is an assertion that digital games have a cultural significance and a historical significance,” Mr. Lowood said in an interview. And if that is acknowledged, he said, “maybe we should do something about preserving them.”

Mr. Lowood and the four members of his committee — the game designers Warren Spector and Steve Meretzky; Matteo Bittanti, an academic researcher; and Christopher Grant, a game journalist — announced their list of the 10 most important video games of all time: Spacewar! (1962), Star Raiders (1979), Zork (1980), Tetris (1985), SimCity (1989), Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), Civilization I/II (1991), Doom (1993), Warcraft series (beginning 1994) and Sensible World of Soccer (1994).

Read the full article here...

Heather Chaplin
March 12, 2007

Source: New York Times