JEDDAH, 2 September 2005 — A handheld entertainment system for gaming enthusiasts was unveiled here on Wednesday night. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and Modern Electronics Co. Ltd., a member of Al Faisaliah Group Holding Co. Ltd. (AFG), launched the system — PlayStation Portable (PSP).
“This follows the success of the PSP launches in Japan and the United States,” AFG Group President Prince Mohammed ibn Khalid Alabdullah Al-Faisal, told a press conference.
“We’re excited about the launch of PSP, as we’ve always been about the launch of our various products. We’re excited because the new product offers a lot of things to a lot of people,” he said.
“PSP will revolutionize portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music, and connect wirelessly on their terms, wherever and whenever they wish to do so more than ever,” Prince Mohammed said, adding that the new product meets today’s demands from consumers for access to their personal entertainment outside the home, without compromising quality.
With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in a single package, Tim Stokes, SCEE’s Dubai-based sales and marketing director, distributor markets, explaining the technical features of the PSP in his presentation.
PSP features a 4.3-inch, 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. It comes complete with built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and a range of input/output connectors such as USB 2.0 and 802.11b wireless LAN, enabling users to connect to the
Internet and play online via a wireless network. Up to 16 PSP systems in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly in ad hoc mode, allowing for wireless head-to-head competition.
In addition, wireless capabilities will allow software and data to be downloaded to PSP and saved onto a memory stick duo. PSP uses universal media disc (UMD), a newly developed proprietary storage medium.
This high-capacity optical disc is the next-generation compact storage media, and although only 60mm in diameter, a UMD can store up to 1.8GB of digital data — more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM,” Stokes said, adding that a broad range of digital entertainment content such as high quality 3D games, music, movies, video clips and other media can be distributed on UMD.
The PSP comes with a package of accessories and entertainment content including the PSP system with a pouch, 32MB memory stick duo, battery pack, headphones with remote control, AC adaptor, wrist strap, cloth and a video/music/game sampler UMD, aside from some non-interactive game demos.
