We finally have our hands on Sony’s PlayStation Portable - and we have to admit despite our initial skepticism, it’s truly exceeded our expectations.

Here’s a quick rundown of the specs:

Dimensions: Approximately 6.7 in (W) x 2.9 in (H) x .9 in (D)
Weight: Approximately 280g / .62 lbs (including battery)
CPU: PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1 - 333MHz)
Main Memory: 32MB
Embeded DRAM: 4MB
Display: 4.3 inch, 16:9 Wide screen TFT LCD, 480 x 272 pixel, 16.77 million colors
Sound: Built-in stereo speakers
Main Input/Output: IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi), USB 2.0 (mini-B), Memory Stick Duo™, Infrared Port
Disc Drive: UMD Drive (Read only)
Main Connectors: Memory Stick Duo™ Slot, USB connector, DC IN 5V connector, Headset connector
Power: Lithium-ion Battery, AC Adaptor
Wireless communications: IEEE802.11b, Infrastructure mode, Ad hoc mode (connection up to 16 consoles)

The PSP Value Pack is available now in North America for $249.99, and the games generally retail at around $39.99. If you can’t wait for the European release, your best bet is to try either eBay or a dedicated import shop such as videogamesplus.ca.

So what do you get for your $250? Aside from the essential battery pack/AC adapter/manual, the Value Pack includes a copy of the Spiderman 2 UMD, a Sampler disc (containing videos of upcoming movies/games), a 32mb Memory Stick Duo (for storing gamesaves), headphones, an inline remote, a wrist strap, a soft carrying case and a cleaning cloth. Sony could learn a thing or two from Apple in regards to packaging, but first impressions were good to say the least.

The Unit

Although you’ve probably already seen hundreds of photos of the PSP in action, it’s impossible to fully appreciate just how beautiful the screen is until you actually have it cradled in your hands. Not only is the display absolutely massive, but the picture is remarkably crisp and evenly lit all over. Our screen was perfect, no sign of dead pixels whatsoever.

The PSP has a nice heft to it, and is evenly balanced when held with both hands. Although it looks pretty solid, compared alongside the Nintendo DS it’s the more fragile of the two. It simply won’t survive being thrown around in bags or dropped, and as the screen isn’t covered it’s definitely more susceptible to scratches. We recommend you buy a screen protector (try and get one with an anti-glare coating as the screen is quite reflective) if you want to keep it pristine.

System Menu

This is the PSP’s core menu. From here you can play official game/movie UMD discs, playback media from your memory stick and change the system’s settings. The background changes color each month (April just happens to be pink), but there’s no support for skins or any custom backgrounds.

Games

As you can see from this in-game shot of Wipeout Pure, the PSP’s real strength lies in producing stunning graphics - far better than any other handheld console currently on the market. The closest competitor would be the Nintendo DS with its N64-style graphics, but it’s unfair to compare them against each other as they’re both very different machines.

So far we’ve played through Wipeout Pure and Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix, both of which are great games and extremely playable on the PSP. Fans of Wipeout will be pleased to know that Pure returns to the series’ roots, and it’s an absolute joy to play - as is THUG2, offering more of the same addictive gameplay. However, since both games are based on existing franchises, are they offering anything new to the gamer who’s already played them to death on his home console? Both have added features in the way of content downloads and extra levels, but they are essentially the same as their console predecessors.

But here’s the thing; it’s early days yet, and there’s plenty of time for original titles to appear. The fact that the current batch of games look and play so well compared with their console counterparts is a testament to the power of the PSP hardware.

A Closer Look

Located directly below the directional pad is an analogue stick. Ideally there would be another one on the opposite side for FPS games, but you can’t have everything. The analogue stick takes a little getting used to - it’s placed quite low on the machine, so there’s nothing to support the rest of your thumb. Below that is a headphone socket, with an extra input for the Value Pack inline remote. The grey switch mounted on the side activates wireless LAN for multiplayer gaming, allowing it to be turned off to conserve battery power.

The 5V charger socket is located on the bottom right side of the PSP, right next to the power switch. The power switch can be operated three ways; pushing it down for hold, pushing up and releasing puts it to sleep (the power light flashes green), and pushing up and holding for two seconds powers on/off the PSP.

The top of the PSP features a USB 2.0 port, used for uploading media to the memory card. Unfortunately Sony didn’t include a USB cable in the box, but they can be picked up cheap online. Next to that is the UMD eject switch, and on the other side is the infrared port. The two holes let devices (like the PSP mini-keyboard) be attached onto it.

Above the directional pad is the left shoulder button, which works perfectly - but can feel a little loose at times.

The same can be said for the right shoulder button. The battery pack slots into the back of the machine on this side.

The Memory Stick Duo port is just behind the WLAN switch on the left hand side of the machine. It didn’t take long to discover the standard 32mb memory card doesn’t hold much, so we tested a SanDisk 1GB Pro Duo stick in its place and it worked flawlessly.

To encode and upload videos, we used PSPvideo9 in conjunction with VirtualDubMod (see this post for more details) and the resulting video playback was smooth and clear. We also had a try uploading MP3 and JPEG files, and both worked perfectly.

Issues

Dead Pixels- Although thankfully our machine was totally free of dead pixels, there have been a lot of angry customers complaining about them, some with as many as 16 scattered all over the screen. There have also been reports of bubbles or imperfections in the plastic, as well as dust and bits of fibre under the screen.

Battery Life- On a full charge, our PSP reported just under 7 hours of estimated battery life, which isn’t great compared to some other portable devices. We haven’t yet experienced a situation where it ran out of battery whilst playing, but it’s probably a good idea to buy a spare battery pack if you travel a lot.

UMD Media- Sony are starting to offer movies in UMD format that can be watched on your PSP, which is fine, except they cost almost the same price as regular DVD’s - but have none of the extra content, and can’t be watched on anything else except for the PSP (And even if they could, the resolution would be so bad it wouldn’t be worth watching). Save the money and invest in 1GB Pro Duo Memory Stick instead.

Game Loading Times- Some games (THUG2 Remix in particular) can take a while to load. The load time is probably exacerbated by the fact that we’re used to instant gaming on handhelds, and the choice of an optical drive over cartridges doesn’t help matters. But it’s definitely bearable - and you can always continue the game from sleep mode instead of shutting it down.

LCD Response Times- We noticed a delay when watching some of the movies from the UMD sampler disc. This ghosting tends to be most noticeable when dark areas quickly change to light, leaving a slight impression over the next few frames.

Square Button- Due to the shape and layout of the buttons over of the circuit board, the square button doesn’t always register when pressed and can even get stuck. If you look closely you can see part of the metal underneath, and it just doesn’t feel as strong as the other buttons. Quite a few people have reported this problem, but our square button seems to work well enough.

Shoulder Buttons- The shoulder buttons do feel a little loose though. It’s nothing drastic, it would just be nice if they had a bit more resistance when pressed.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that it represents value for money even as a gaming unit alone, but when you consider the added multimedia features (that can easily compete with more expensive devices like the Creative Labs Portable Media Center) - the PSP enters a whole new league. The current batch of titles prove that the machine is more than capable of producing some very impressive games in the near future.

It’s expensive and has its fair share of flaws - but it’s the most exciting thing to happen to video games in a long time.