PSP Slim & Lite
A new renaissance looms?
When the PSP was first announced by Sony many moons ago, both commentators and gamers hoped that the company's foray into a new market might see them achieve for handheld gamers what they had already done for the home console market, with the PS2. The PlayStation Portable, or PSP, started brightly enough, but an overwhelming deluge of ports from the architecturally similar PS2, coupled with scant few original 'killer' titles, saw the new device's stock fall in the two or so years following its introduction.
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Couple this inability to make good on early promise with the rise in popularity of Nintendo's runaway market-leader the DS, and it is little wonder that as 2007 wore-on Sony were taking a long hard look at their portable PlayStation. First and perhaps foremost, the firm started taking advantage of the platform's obvious hardware advantage over the DS, encouraging more games that offer true online play (such as the excellent PSP version of Killzone) beyond just the Ad Hoc mode, more original titles and overall devoting more time to the format.
Sony also spent the summer announcing new features for the PSP, tapping into the techie-savvy demographic who currently enjoy the device via TV deals, camera peripherals and clever media-sharing link-up capabilities with the PS3. All this newness alone wouldn't be enough to completely transform the system's fortunes, however, and Sony realised that a few tweaks to the machine itself might also help broaden the device's appeal.
Winter 2007, then, saw the introduction of the new 'PSP Slim & Lite', a revised version of the original hardware that incorporates a few well thought out changes and generally 'tightens-up' the package on offer. We've been having a play with it over the last few weeks, and we're certainly convinced its a step in the right direction.
The first thing worth noting is that the new version of the PSP is, as the name suggests, both slimmer and indeed lighter than the original. Cleverly, Sony's talented engineers have managed to maintain the system's wonderfully huge widescreen display, and all the original features, while making the contraption notably slimmer and easier to carry in, say, a pocket. The fact that it is somewhat lighter is also a nice bonus. Gone also is the spring-loaded UMD disc drive, which never really seemed as sturdy or reliable as the rest of the unit, and instead we're now offered a manual loading drive which in many ways makes a lot more sense.
Not content with tweaking the design of the console, Sony have also introduced a rather nice TV connectivity feature, allowing you use a normal television to play games as well as media files stored on the PSP. On the one hand this makes playing the PSP at home an experience that is far easier on the eyes, while allowing you to show off your gaming on other people's screens, too. On the other hand the new connectivity also allows you to carry your media files or UMD movies to other places with genuine ease, and this feature will be especially useful for those of you with a penchant for downloadables and a large enough Memory Stick.
The impressive thing about all these admitted novelties is that they all appeal to the system's likely fans, further differentiating the PSP from bitter rival the DS. While the DS uses novel input methods, quirky games and Nintendo's unique chic to entice fans, the PSP is a gadget-fan's wet dream - the kind of device magazine's like 'Stuff' get positively moist over. With this revised system, an improving software roster and the promise of enhanced media and TV functionality in the future, Sony are getting back in touch with their customers.
Sony recently even launched a PC-based version of the PSP Store, allowing gamers to purchase and download new titles for their handheld via the convenience of a PC and USB cable. With Skype phone functionality, increasing online support and all manner of nice-to-have extras promised for the future, the future is suddenly looking much brighter for the PSP Slim & Lite. Sony seemingly working hard to finally deliver on the PlayStation Portable's undeniable potential.
A few big name game releases and Sony could finally have in their hands the handheld machine we were promised back in 2005. This new Slim & Lite revision of the PSP, then, should be seen as just one step in the right direction among many.
