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Sony’s PSP Sadness Sony has been having problems over the course of the PSP’s lifecycle trying to convince Film studios to bite on their UMD bait. In recent PSP news there has been talk that the Universal Media Disc (UMD) is losing favor with Hollywood. Originally the idea of carrying hit movies with you wherever you go seemed appealing. However the studios quickly realized that people were not willing to pay $30 to see a movie on a tiny screen. Paramount Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and even Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have axed many of their tittles on their release list for the PSP. Truthfully, it seems pointless to buy the movies when they are readily available to anyone with a big enough memory stick. This could be a serious blow to the PSP’s multimedia capabilities. Sony is reportedly working on an upcoming device which would allow UMD’s to be played on a television. Sony also has a marketing gem up their sleeve with the upcoming DVD/UMD bundles. Certain DVD tittles will come with their UMD counterpart for just under $30US. A step in the right direction for UMD sales and the battle against piracy as well; good job Sony!
Nintendo DS’s delight Its all smiles for Ds owners in Japan with the announcement of upcoming support for multimedia functions. In DS news there has been a big push toward making the machine more multimedia like! When the system was first released, many thought it would be a hopeless attempt at trying to maintain a firm grip on the handheld market. However over the course of the last year the DS has held up extremely well compared to the PSP. I would argue it is just as good, if not a better gaming machine than the PSP. The DS's overall technical functions in comparison to the PSP though, have been weak. This is all about to change. At a recent Press conference in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that the DS would receive the following upgrades: Voice chat through the DS’s mic via Voice over IP (VoIP), Web browsing and digital television broadcasts! The wireless chat will be introduced in Metroid Prime Hunters. Much like Quake and Battlefield 2 you will be able to talk smack or run strategies with your friends. The Web browsing will be unique with the DS’s touch screen, stylus pen and dual screens. The browser is also based off of the popular Opera web browsing software. Finally digital television broadcasts on the DS will take advantage of Japan’s new 1 seg broadcast system being released this April. The 1 seg broadcast system is aimed at mobile devices and sends out video at resolutions of 320 x 240. Contributed by: Cain - April 12, 2006 |
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