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First off, is it PSP Go? PSPGo? PSPgo? PSP go? Or just the PSP-N1000? I’m not sure Sony’s got this sorted, quick as they are to call their remodeled PlayStation 3 a “PS3 Slim” (despite nothing on the retail box or system), or simply “The PlayStation 3,” followed by thrilling modifiers like “now available” or “for $299″ or “Yes, NOW!” I mean, it’s the Wii or DSi, not the W ii or DS i, right?
It’s almost here–available this Thursday in North America–and I’ll finally put knuckles and palms around our review model later today. So how’s Sony’s new micro-portable look going in?
Upsides: The PSP Go is 16% lighter and 35% smaller than the PSP-3000, shares every feature with the latter save its screechy UMD drive, puts the thumb-nub in a much smarter position relative to your grip, adds Bluetooth support (rumored to exist in older model PSPs, but disabled), and packs 16GB of internal flash memory out of the box.
Downsides: The PSP Go’s 480×272 LCD is 3.8″ (compared to the PSP-3000’s 480×272 4.3″ screen), which means a 12% reduction in the legibility of already smallish fonts (especially text in emulator-interpolated PS1 games). The screen-slide mechanism protects the wrong features (the d-pad, thumb-nub, and action buttons, as opposed to the screen itself, which remains fully exposed, iPhone-like). Mini-USB cables no longer work with the system (you’re stuck with a proprietary one). The absent UMD drive, which was supposed to be a boon, may turn out to be a boondoggle, with Sony backing away from suggestions it might provide a mechanism for carrying players’ existing UMD libraries over. And then there’s the system’s price tag: $250, when the regular PSP-3000 with a UMD drive costs just $170 (possibly dropping soon).
I can live with the smaller screen and work around its vulnerability with the usual protective “socks.” The proprietary cable’s no big thing as long as it’s included. But the UMD library conversion issue and the steep price point leave Sony in an unenviable position. Enthusiasts who already own one of the earlier PSPs and who might still be inclined to drop $250 on a gee-whiz upgrade face the prospect of repurchasing games they already own in UMD-format. So-called “casual” gamers who the PSP Go seems labeled and styled to attract may balk at the $250 price tag and opt instead for Nintendo’s 32% cheaper, family-friendlier DSi. In short, the PSP Go seems to be positioning itself at the wrong ends of either spectrum.
To be fair, the $170 DSi costs $40 more than the DS Lite, but then it comes with supplementary features, e.g. two 640 x 480 0.3 megapixel cameras, instead of subtracting major ones. My lineup of UMD games changes frequently, but I’m usually packing a half dozen, minimum. That translates to between $180 and $240 in library-replacement costs, if I have to purchase them (as downloads) a second time.
YouTube said Tuesday that music videos from Warner Music Group Corp. will return to the video site in the coming months after a nine-month dispute over splitting ad revenue.
Most of the catalog of videos from artists such as Madonna, Metallica and Green Day will be available for free viewing by the end of the year.
YouTube typically gives content owners the majority of the revenue in ad-sharing deals. Under the new arrangement, Warner will get an even larger share than before because it is also bearing the burden of selling ads, which Warner will contract to an outside agency.
YouTube gains by ensuring that viewers wanting Warner music will have a reason to visit the site.
The deal also means YouTube now has partnerships will all four major recording labels — Warner, Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, Sony Corp. and EMI Group PLC — and their respective publishing divisions.
Warner had pulled all of its music from YouTube in December, saying the payments it received did not fairly compensate the company or its artists and songwriters.
YouTube’s head of music partnerships, Chris Maxcy, said the multiyear deal was separate from the online music venture Vevo, which YouTube and Universal are launching later this year.
New York-based Warner said in a statement that YouTube users will be able to access videos and “other music-related content” from its artists, but also have access to a “feature-rich, high-quality premium player and enhanced channels.”
Music videos on the player will be of higher quality than videos currently available on YouTube, which is owned by Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc.
Artists will have individual channels that will allow for greater fan interaction and give advertisers a more defined demographic for marketers to target.
The deal also covers advertising that could be attached to user-generated videos that feature songs or videos from Warner artists.
Microsoft Corp has no plans to acquire Electronic Arts, a Microsoft executive said, shooting down unsubstantiated talk of a potential bid that triggered a spike in the video game publisher’s shares.
“We have no plans to acquire EA,” Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. “They remain a very important partner to us. No acquisitions.”
Spencer declined to comment on whether it had held talks with Electronics Arts on such a move.
Shares of Electronics Arts jumped more than 8 percent on Wednesday on unsubstantiated talk that Microsoft may want to buy the video game publisher.
Last year, Electronic Arts, the publisher of popular titles like “Madden” football, unsuccessfully pursued a buyout of rival video game company Take Two Interactive Software.
The Redwood City, California-based company, which has a market value of $6.5 billion, is frequently named by traders as a target for Walt Disney Co and Time Warner Inc.
A 19 year old Pennsylvanian man has been arrested after stopping to check his account on social networking website Facebook whilst burgling a house, and then forgetting to log out again. According to The Journal of West Virginia, Jonathan G. Parker, of Fort Loudoun, PA, is alleged to have stolen two diamond rings from the property, worth more than $3,500. The victim called police after noticing evidence of a break in through a bedroom window and other signs that there had been an intruder looking around her home. She later also noticed that the burglar had used her computer and that his Facebook account was still logged in, and realised that she was missing two diamond rings that had been in her dresser which was located in the same room as the computer. A friend of the victim happened to know where Parker was staying so as part of the investigation police went to the address. There they found a friend of his who said that the alleged burglar didn’t live there but visited him occasionally. He also revealed that on the night before the incident occurred Parker had asked him if he wanted to help with the break in, although his friend had refused. Parker has been arraigned of one count of felony daytime burglary and remains in custody, with a bail of $10,000. If found guilty of the theft he could face between one and ten years in prison, a large price to pay for a small Facebook addiction.
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