Sony was nice enough to attend the San Diego Comic-Con, letting attendees know how fantastic the PlayStation Portable is, from a sales and library perspective. Sony reps also let slip some details on future functionality, upcoming releases, and much more.
Both Shacknews and IGN attended a session of "PSP University" with the following highlights getting us all hot and bothered. Okay, maybe hot and slightly blas .
- There are currently over 350 UMD movies and TV shows available. Sony Pictures and Fox still have UMD products in the works.
- Sony stated that in the United States, PSP is about a million units ahead of Nintendo DS, though a representative admitted that DS Lite had a particularly strong debut showing.
- PSP firmware version 2.80 will be released next Thursday and will include RSS video support. Sony strongly encourages keeping the system up to date with the latest upgrades.
I'll bet they do! Especially considering the last bullet point in this list.
- Thursday's firmware update will also have a demo of World Tour Soccer 2
- Sony may at some point revise certain aspects of PSP, including its speakers and analog nub. However, there are no plans to modify the d-pad.
- Sony has no plans to modify the text entry system for PSP, or to release a keyboard peripheral.
- Sony is looking into the possibility of a video output solution for the system, but ultimately it is up to Sony's Japanese operation.
- Sony is in discussion with wireless providers to create more internet hotspots for your PSP to connect easily to the web
- A Sony representative shared the company's stance on homebrew development: "Overall it's frowned on. Our tech guys have gotten madder and madder lately, and it does void your warranty."
In addition, Sony also showed trailers for upcoming games, including Ratchet & Clank, Gangs of London, as well as upcoming UMD movie releases. Not too much in the way of exciting PSP news, but it's good to see that Sony is expanding the non-gaming functions of the device. I should go dust mine off and play some more Lumines!
PSP At Comic-Con [Shacknews]
Comic-Con 2006: PSP aka PS3 Remote [IGN]
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