Gaming: Sony's PlayStation Portable could be the next big thing

By Jennifer Buckendorff
Special to The Seattle Times

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Now that the strobe lights from last month's E3 video-game convention have been shut off, we're left wondering what gamers will be asking Santa for this Christmas. If most of the actual games left attendees a little cold, cool new hardware more than made up for them.

Enter the PSP

Don't think that Sony, with its corporate eyes firmly fixed on Apple, hasn't noticed the iPod Mini's success. Sony is gunning for those same 18-35-year-old, disposable-income-rich trendsetters. And they have the toy to prove it: the sleek, downright-elegant PlayStation Portable, or PSP.

At E3, folks were lining up just to touch the PSP. (Not that that's such a big deal: At E3, people line up to buy curly fries from the back counter.) Japanese news crews had their klieg lights on high beam, discussing every nuance of the device's form and function.

With 32 MB of memory, PSP's computing power rivals the PlayStation 2 itself — an astounding achievement for a portable device. It supports wi-fi for online gaming and will even play DVDs, albeit on a teeny, tiny 4.3-inch 16:9 widescreen display.

Of course, because of its small size the PSP doesn't play regular DVDs. Instead, it uses Universal Media Discs, which can store 1.8 gigabytes of games, movies or music. The PSP also can import data through its wireless LAN connection or through a Sony memory stick.

The PSP is the device that will have many of us pressing our noses up against the glass at Best Buy. With beauty comes pain, though — a price tag rumored to be several hundred dollars, maybe up to $450. That gee-whiz factor comes at a cost.

By targeting adult gamers, Sony can bring innovative, mature-rated games to its new portable platform. Sony is reluctant to list specific titles for the PSP (that announcement comes in September), thus diverting attention from the device itself. But that hasn't stopped game developers from releasing reams of PR announcements about their new PSP titles.

The list for the PSP's launch includes some hard hitters, such as "Metal Gear Acid" (a combat-themed shooting game) and the black-humor title "Death Jr.," which premiered at the Game Developers Conference this spring. (Sony will round out the mix with some general-interest titles, like EA's savvy basketball game, "NBA Street.") These are complicated, nuanced games, a far cry from a more kid-friendly game like Nintendo's Mario series.
 
If Sony launches the PSP effectively, it will be an interesting feat. The portable device as hipster status symbol — it's a strategy that has worked well for Apple.

The devil's in the details, though, and if the screen for the PSP gets scratched the first time it's dropped in the bottom of a book bag, buyers will keep their wallets firmly closed.

The portable dead zone

For lessons on how not to develop a new handheld, look no further than Nokia and its dismal device, the Nokia N-Gage. Last year, the overpriced N-Gage debuted to mediocre reviews.

The buttons seemed clunky and the graphics resembled games of the early 1990s. Using the built-in phone was like holding a taco shell up to your ear.

The breathless advertising campaign didn't help, trying to give the game a much-needed edge.

The poorly-done N-Gage — called "Dis-N-Gage" by many clever headline writers — set the standard for a product-release flop. At the EBX store in Pacific Place, N-Gages were stacked high by the counter, like sad debutantes not asked to dance.

At E3 this year, tumbleweeds were blowing through the Nokia booth, as reps tried to get wary guests excited about the new, improved N-Gage QD, now with "a few welcome adjustments." With the N-Gage, though, once burned, twice shy. No one lingered long.

Nintendo's touch screen

Nintendo, on the other hand, has nowhere to go but up. GameBoys are the standard long-car-ride entertainment for 12-year-olds everywhere. This year, the company announced the Nintendo DS, which some think stands for "Dual Screen." (Nintendo insists it stands for "Developer's System." Whatever.)

The DS has many of the same technical specifications as the PSP, like built-in Wi-Fi. The design is clunkier, heavier and not as easy to slip into a pocket as the PSP. But at a price rumored to be around $150 and with Nintendo's reputation for kid-friendly games, it's likely to be the playground status symbol, come spring 2005.

Why the double screen? Admittedly, most everyone visiting the Nintendo booth (if you could call it that, since it was the size of a department store) was a little skeptical. One screen has touch capability, just like the cash registers at T.G.I. Friday's. Why would gamers want a touch screen, anyway?

Turns out, it's something that makes perfect sense when you try it. It just clicks. Testing the DS with "WarioWare, Inc."? — a goofy collection of "mini" games that last less than a minute — players frantically point and grab to put items in the right place.

There's no need to know which button is the right one, since it's all right on the screen. It's a clever concept, considering that some games require a 400-page manual to even get started (looking at you, "Final Fantasy XI").

EyeToy sees all

And speaking of user-friendly hardware, let's talk about the EyeToy, the weirdly popular add-on device to the PlayStation 2. Resembling a Web cam, the EyeToy was released as a kind of novelty last year, the Sony equivalent of those mall photo booths that create tiny stickers.

The EyeToy records motion as the players stand or sit right in front of its tiny camera. During gameplay, it acts as a substitute controller, with certain motions the equivalent of mashing the X button.

This year, some game companies announced new games that capitalize on the EyeToy's cult success. Konami will release "Dance Dance Revolution Extreme," with built-in EyeToy options. DDR, as it's known to fans, involves an often humiliating display of jumping around in time to disco and dance club hits. Those with DDR skills look impressive, while others flail around, waiting for the game's on-screen crowds to start booing.

With the addition of the EyeToy to DDR, players must wave their arms to keep the screen from fogging over, in order to see their dancing directions. On display at E3, the game looked like an Arthur Murray dance studio on PCP.

Anyone with this high a caliber of hand-eye coordination should be recruited into some kind of super-elite squad, able to defend our national honor at international dance-offs. Everyone else who tries DDR Extreme (with the EyeToy enabled) should make sure no friends are nearby.

In 2004, the big players at E3 — Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo — didn't make any landmark announcements related to hardware. (Big news items, like the release of the PlayStation 3, will likely come at next year's conference.) But a well-done device from one of these companies could redefine game play in a year or two, bringing good games into the dead zones of daily life.

In airports, in line in the post office or waiting for the number 7 bus, you'll likely see people fighting to top a friend's high score. (Hopefully, they'll do so a little more quietly than their cellphone-using compatriots.)

Like the ubiquitous white earphones that signal an iPod fan, a portable game system such as the PSP could be the next big thing, moving games out of the living room and into the world at large.

Jennifer Buckendorff: jenb@elvis.com