Launch Horizon #6- The PS3’s Ambassador: the PSP
Via Chubigan
There’s a unique situation at hand when the PS3 launches in November: it succeeds two other Sony consoles that are still being strongly supported...one that has dominated the console industry for the last few years, and one that has not done quite as well in sales as expected. While the PS2 will continue to be supported and live on its own for the next few years, it is the PSP that opens a world of potential to the PS3...one that could help sales of both the PSP and PS3 over the next few years.
Why It’s Different.
Before we get to talking about the PS3 to PSP connectivity’s future, it is first important to note why this is different than any other console to handheld connectivity that has failed beforehand...namely, the Gamecube and GBA.
The GBA has a huge install base that easily surpasses any handheld on the market today. Couple that with the Gamecube and you have a recipe for success, no? Unfortunately few games supported the connectivity, and the whole idea dropped off before the Gamecube’s support waned. But why?
There are a few major reasons: one, the GBA is just not powerful enough to do much outside of providing maps and information to Gamecube games. The second and biggest reason is the adaptor users needed to purchase...while it was only $10, it was still an entry fee that needed to be bought before connectivity could happen. Players asked themselves...did they really want to pay $10 to, say, download Pac-Man on their GBA temporarily? Not many games aside from the one Zelda game that focused around the entire concept gave enough reason to make the investment, however small it was.
There were more reasons, namely the fact that you needed a specific cartridge for it to work and the fact that the connectivity was not supported inside the Gamecube hardware, but rather software only. This was not really Nintendo’s fault, as they’ve learned from this enough to make the DS and Wii more easily accessible. While previous generations separated handhelds and consoles with a big, thick line, as we move onto the future the gap is closing. While no plans have been announced by Nintendo to use the DS and Wii together, it will certainly happen.
Which brings us back to the PSP and PS3...the main benefit being if you have a PSP and PS3, you’re set to go, whether it be via USB (with the controller cable you already get with the system) or Wi-Fi. There’s no deciding whether or not you want to invest in a cheap cable, or if you need a certain game to get the content...the accessibility is already there, and its ready when you are.
PS3: Your Media...on Demand.
One of the most important things to note about the PSP to PS3 connectivity is that it’s ready to go right outside the box. We won’t have to wait a few months for the first firmware update to come in; it’s available right on November 17th, whether it be downloading media or buying PS1 games for your PSP.
The great thing is that the PSP isn’t recognized as just another USB hard drive, rather the PS3 takes the content as its little media cousin on the go (going as far as to display your name you chose for the PSP way back when you first booted it up...remember that?)
The great thing about all this is how you can stream content from your PS3 directly to your PSP...while it’s limited to the house at launch, in the next firmware update we’ll see it expand to across the world. Anything that’s on your PS3 media wise, you can stream it directly to the PSP. On the other hand you can plug in your PSP and stream any media you have on it to the PS3.
Yeah, I know...this is all news you’ve heard before. But when you hear people say the PSP to PS3 connectivity will likely fail, and you see all these options on day ONE with NO extra equipment to buy, it’s hard to see how it could “fail” at all. It’s only going to get better from here.
How so? We’ll, let’s find out.
PS3: Your Bank of Awesome.
The PS1 downloads are going to be quite excellent to have for the PSP on launch day...just buy a $5 PS1 game, hook up your PSP and start gamin’! According to Sony soon after the holidays we’ll even be able to play downloaded PS1 games on the PS3.
Once that happens you’ll see a whole new level of sharing and swapping...play some PS1 on the PS3, then transfer that save over to your PSP and continue where you left off. Once you get back home plug that PSP in, sync saves and continue yet again on the PS3. That’s pretty sweet if you ask me.
The problem we may run into is the size of PS1 games...you may need a big memory stick if downloads range from 200mb to 1GB. How are you going to be able to fit all those games on just a 2-4GB stick? Maybe it won’t be such a problem since you can swap them out when you get home, but what about going on a trip?
That’s where the PS3 comes in. Acting as a bank of your PS1 game library, you can directly access your PS3 with your PSP in, say, a hotel room. Then perhaps sometime in the future we’ll get a program on the PSP that shows all the PS1 games on your HDD back home. Now you check off what games you want to download, and leave the PSP plugged in as you go to bed. The PSP can automatically delete the PS1 games already on the memory stick and start to download the games you’ve chosen, then automatically shut down when the 2-3 hour process is complete. When you wake up, bam! Your new PS1 games are ready to go. Heck, maybe you could even sync your PS1 saves to the PS3 from your hotel room while you’re at it. The potential is not only possible, but probable. The tech is there, and it’s only a matter of time before Sony utilizes it.
A New Level of Connectivity
The PSP is ready to be the online network buddy of the PS3. It’s only a matter of time before Sony includes a Friends icon for the XMB that lets you see what friends are online at any given time, and perhaps even message them right through the PSP. Not only can the PSP do this, it’s vital if Sony wants to make their online system as robust as they want it to be.
The fact is, this might not happen right away. For all I know the PSP could have this included in the 3.0 update we’ll get this month. As of right now the PS3 online structure is still undergoing work, and the launch titles will not take advantage of it immediately (though perhaps a software update can fix some of the small things like friend lists). But come next year...heck, as soon as Motorstorm hits we’ll get the first title that utilizes Sony’s network platform to the fullest (seeing as it was delayed till next year to include online). And when it does, the PSP’s inclusion into the Sony Network will be absolutely necessary.
Expanding the Horizon
We’ve seen the PSP sync up to the PS2 in some promising ways, such as swapping save data with a game or unlocking PS2 content on your PSP with SOCOM, for example. We’ll see that supported yet again on the PS3, but maybe we’ll even see it expand even more.
Let’s take a sports game for example. Perhaps it’ll allow you to save a bunch of replays you’ve accumulated over the course of a session that includes some incredible scores and moves. Then you select “PSP Transfer” and the PSP downloads a small application that allows you to cut these clips in a Windows Movie Maker type fashion. The game will compress all the replays you have into some lower-quality vids that the PSP can deal with easier and you can start cutting away, adding some music and making transitions. Then when you get back to your PS3 you can upload the data to the game, which takes the video timelines and music and uses the information to cut the HD footage into an HD montage on the PS3, which is easily streamed via the PSP to show friends. Cool, wouldn’t you say?
Let’s take it a bit further. Let’s say GTA4 comes out on the PS3 and it takes place in a NYC type area. About a few months later GTA: San Andreas Stories comes out for the PSP (or another Stories game based off of a GTA locale). Once it does a patch is released for the PS3 GTA4 version. So you’re crusin’ down the NYC streets in your Cheetah when you see a mission icon that says “Connect PSP to download mission” when you go near it.
So you connect the PSP and get a new mission for the GTASAS game, which is available on the main menu. But when you start up the PSP downloaded mission you get a cutscene that uses the GTA4 characters, not the GTASAS characters. They start to reminisce of a job they did in San Andreas, and soon after the cutscene ends you’re not playing your GTASAS character, but rather a lower-poly GTA4 character in a flashback scene in San Andreas. Complete it and you get more backstory of the PS3 game. It works like the cutscene in San Andreas where you fly to do a job in Liberty City, except Liberty City wasn’t actually there, it was just a part of some buildings...but using the PSP, you can actually have the entire city at your disposal.
The possibilities for PSP content are endless...but what about utilizing the PSP for use with a PS3 game?
It’s All in the Dev’s Hands.
We all saw the demo at E3 in which a PSP was used as a rear view mirror for the F1 game. While it gives us insight as to what the PSP and PS3 can share, it didn’t exactly catch the world on fire.
The thing is, we might not see the PSP used for an in game PS3 controller for quite some time. The software support is something we might see once the PSP and PS3 numbers increase over the years, but I don’t see it happening right out of the gate. When it does happen, there’s quite a bit the PSP can do. Perhaps you can set up cameras around a level and use the PSP as the security monitor to see if any enemies are sneaking up behind you, or use the PSP as an in-game radar that shows the entire map. Those are the types of examples that will likely be more widespread than say, using the PSP like a controller (which was the sole purpose of the GCN to GBA connectivity, and failed as a result).
The nice thing about these examples is that they don’t require another PSP game purchase or anything like that...its just streamed media right to the PSP. Anyone can take advantage of it, which is vital for its use in games.
I’m almost certain devs like Polyphony will create some kind of “car garage” application for the PSP that allows you to store your bought cars from GTHD to the PSP to view, and perhaps tune up and such. Maybe we’ll see the PSP used as a way of transitioning to different minigames...remember those arcade machines you could play in Prey? Just hit a button and download that little minigame right to the PSP. Heck, you could get live video updates from a commander on your PSP while you’re fighting in a futuristic battlefield on the PS3. It’s something that dev’s will do when the PSP and PS3 sales numbers are just right...and that might not be too far off.
The PSP needs the PS3, and vice versa. Both need strong sales to propel software support over the competition. By having all of these connectivity options out the game, users might start craving both the PSP and PS3...which is exactly what Sony needs right now.
It’s gonna be hard to pass up either one in the next few years. Count on it.
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Well, we have less than two weeks until the launch of the PS3. TWO WEEKS!!! Come back for two more Launch Horizon blogs, including an interview that both PS3 e-Di fans and PSP owners alike might find interesting.
Till next time!
