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Issue Date: December 4, 2005
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Entertainment on the go
If you get one gadget this holiday season, it better be this. Games, movies, Web browsing, MP3s -- the PSP has it all.
Before Sony's PlayStation Portable hit retail shelves earlier this year, hand-held gaming devices were thought to be cheap, colored plastic boxes designed for prepubescents. Kids carry around the Game Boy Advance and the more recent Nintendo DS in backpacks and whip them out in the minivan backseat. But the PSP, with its glistening black shell and silver-stripped edge, is no mere gaming toy; it's a multi-media center that lets you listen to music, view digital snapshots and watch full-length movies on a liquid-crystal-display screen capable of displaying 16.7 million colors.
Video games, which are available on a new type of high-capacity optical disc called a UMD, look so good that at times it's difficult to decide whether you like playing the game or simply enjoy looking at it. One of the coolest features is a built-in Wi-Fi communicator that lets you go head-to-head with other gamers who are within 100 feet.
The $250 hand-held PSP proved wildly popular when it debuted in late March, selling close to 500,000 units in just two days. (The iPod, by comparison, sold 125,000 in its first two months.) There are now more than 2.3 million PSP owners in North America; that figure is expected to double over the holidays when boys and girls across America petition their parents for the hot new thing.
Billed as "the first truly integrated portable entertainment system," the PSP is longer than a PDA -- slightly too long to completely disappear in your shirt pocket -- with a sleek design that looks more appropriate for the board room than the playground. "It's a sexier game machine for adults," says Peer Schneider, VP of content publishing at IGN Entertainment, a publisher of gaming-enthusiast websites. "It has raised the ante in the hand-held market."
While seemingly everyone in the Nickelodeon generation has a Nintendo hand-held, the PSP is huge with high school and college-age males. An estimated 70% of PSP owners are over 18; another 45% are 25 and older. These are people who grew up on PCs and game machines like Atari 2600 and Sega Genesis and continue to play.
The field already is crowded with PSP content. There are more than 200 movies and TV shows available and nearly 50 games, many of which are translations of major titles like "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" and "Spider-Man 2," but with added levels. A new generation of games is being developed exclusively for the device. "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo" (see below) has something called "interoperability," which lets a player connect a hand-held to a PS2 to unlock new levels or hidden items.
The PSP is the ultimate tool for slackers. The device's non-gaming extras include playing home movies and Web browsing, which can be used to check e-mail, the latest scores or stock quotes. Techies have figured out a way to load books onto their PSP and even watch live television through Sony's LocationFree, which streams a TV signal through the Internet to any location. You won't have to go home until the batteries run out. -- Charles Herold
The $250 hand-held PSP is geared to adults.
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KILLER APPS for PSP: The Lowdown
GAMES
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Players take on the role of mobster Toni Cipriani (a non-playable character in "GTA III") and work their way up the family. Mature-rated action and open-ended gameplay allow you to explore the game's gritty street life at your own pace.
Star Wars Battlefront II. The movies may be over, but the adventure is just beginning. Relive all the battles firsthand -- on the ground (including Jedi duels) and in space (dogfighting with X-Wings and TIE Fighters). Up to four players can engage in online combat.
Madden NFL 06. Armchair QBs can sink their teeth into a deep simulation of America's favorite sport. With all of the NFL teams, players, stadiums and playbooks, fans can experience gridiron action and strategy from anywhere.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo. With an exclusive series of missions set in Chile and new instant action gameplay for short 10-minute bursts of warfare, this modern-day combat game has been designed for the road. Players step into the boots of an elite SEAL team leader and hunt down global terrorists with an arsenal of 30 high-tech weapons.
Peter Jackson's King Kong. The entire cast is aboard for the ride. Players can explore the jungles of Skull Island and the streets of New York in a first-person adventure as Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) or in third-person, fighting as Kong.
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MOVIES
The Incredibles. This vibrant CGI classic about a family of superheroes gets better with each viewing. It's also one of a few UMD films the little ones can watch. (A video game sequel, "The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer," ships next year.)
Akira. Director Katsuhiro Otomo's landmark 1988 film helped introduce American audiences to the beauty of anime. The story, set in post-WWIII Tokyo, centers around a secret military project gone wrong.
Napoleon Dynamite. Jon Heder stars in this low-budget sleeper as a rather slow nerd who loves tater tots. With action figures, T-shirts and fan websites, "Napoleon" has etched itself into pop culture with such phrases as "Vote for Pedro." The film's quirky humor is ideal for repeat viewing.
The Bourne Identity. Matt Damon became an action star with this espionage thriller that packs plenty of plot twists and paranoia. Car chases come across with startling clarity on a PSP widescreen that replicates the theater experience in your hands.
-- John Gaudiosi
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