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Sorry this took so long to post! But it’s finally here: the PSP launch guide!
The hype leading into the PSP was real: Sony had taken the fifth and sixth generation of consoles HANDILY. Now they were headed after the handheld market. We can reflect all day on how the DS ended up having the better life in the long run, but the PSP was the talk of the town at its launch. The first gaming video EVER on YouTube… was of the PSP.
As you could guess, the excitement of the launch produced this incredible magazine, which details everything about the new system they could!
God, look at how much of an MP3 player the 1000 model PSP looked like. But it has all the smooth, metallic edges that just make it so futuristic! Such a great piece of technology from an aesthetics standpoint.
Of course, they had to detail EVERY SINGLE PART OF THE PSP. This is definitely overkill, but it’s at least funny to read them doing a review of the dang L button.
They detail many of the basic aspects of the user interface, including the XMB which was brand new at the time. The zine features several authentic ads for the early games of the PSP, so get a taste!
Since this is an unofficial magazine, check out how they suggest changing the icons for your games by putting your PSP into a computer and messing around with the images? Take note of that! The PSP would become SYNONYMOUS with jailbreaks and modding over its lifetime, some would even say that’s a core part of the PSP experience (I would!). It just goes to show that, EVEN FROM THE LAUNCH, people were immediately thinking about how they could break Sony’s new toy to become an all powerful portable beast.
One of the best parts about these old magazines is seeing all the guff they try to sell you. The PSP has some of THE FUNNIEST accessories I have ever seen, as they all fit the aesthetic but all ride the line of “do you need this? Why do you need this? For what reason?”
And there it is: the infamous memory sticks. Yup, Sony has ALWAYS been greedy and evil when it comes to their pricing. Flash storage, baby. It doesn’t come cheap, and a full gigabyte would cost you about 2/3rds the system itself.
Extra storage has always been the bane of any system’s existence, and the PSP was the beginning of the storage wars for game playing systems, as it would later get the shop and other such things that promoted digital downloads.
Since this is an unofficial magazine, they cover several different options that Sony PROBABLY wasn’t going to tell you about. But, it’s the PSP! This was never Sony’s device anyway: it was YOURS. And if you had to get messy to get online with the PSP in 2005, you bet people were going to do it.
Now, what system would be complete without the games? The PSP had a lot of launch titles to choose from! And each one got an individual overview! While I didn’t photo them all (I don’t think we need to cover EVERY game in the lineup) I took a bunch of photos of a whole variety of titles! So many that I can’t fit them all in this one post! I’ll make a few extra posts to show them all off!
This first batch of games shows off the weird “remake” focus of the launch lineup. The standouts to me are probably Lumines, the best puzzle game on any Sony system, and Dynasty Warriors, which was just WILD to see running on this thing day one!
The second batch of photos gets into the REAL meat. My favorite PSP game currently, Ridge Racers, is given a full two pages to show off its glory. Wipeout Pure, of course, brings another racing showing that’s as stylish as the system itself was! Spider Man 2 is… such a perfect match with the system. Just reeks of the time period. Love to see Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 get a mention, as it was the first and last time we would get a proper Tony Hawk game on the go! And Twisted Metal Head On brings up the back, being another beloved PSP launch game.
The last few pages of the magazine shows the future of the PSP, with many hidden gem titles that I’ll be sure to check out on my own time (thank you, Repo!)
The future sure was bright for this system! The best was yet to come, but little did Sony know, they would have a long rough road ahead as people would always be looking to find ways to make their PSP more… personalized.
It’s not just a nut you can play with outside: it’s YOUR nut.
That sounds wrong.
The hype leading into the PSP was real: Sony had taken the fifth and sixth generation of consoles HANDILY. Now they were headed after the handheld market. We can reflect all day on how the DS ended up having the better life in the long run, but the PSP was the talk of the town at its launch. The first gaming video EVER on YouTube… was of the PSP.
As you could guess, the excitement of the launch produced this incredible magazine, which details everything about the new system they could!
God, look at how much of an MP3 player the 1000 model PSP looked like. But it has all the smooth, metallic edges that just make it so futuristic! Such a great piece of technology from an aesthetics standpoint.
Of course, they had to detail EVERY SINGLE PART OF THE PSP. This is definitely overkill, but it’s at least funny to read them doing a review of the dang L button.
They detail many of the basic aspects of the user interface, including the XMB which was brand new at the time. The zine features several authentic ads for the early games of the PSP, so get a taste!
Since this is an unofficial magazine, check out how they suggest changing the icons for your games by putting your PSP into a computer and messing around with the images? Take note of that! The PSP would become SYNONYMOUS with jailbreaks and modding over its lifetime, some would even say that’s a core part of the PSP experience (I would!). It just goes to show that, EVEN FROM THE LAUNCH, people were immediately thinking about how they could break Sony’s new toy to become an all powerful portable beast.
One of the best parts about these old magazines is seeing all the guff they try to sell you. The PSP has some of THE FUNNIEST accessories I have ever seen, as they all fit the aesthetic but all ride the line of “do you need this? Why do you need this? For what reason?”
And there it is: the infamous memory sticks. Yup, Sony has ALWAYS been greedy and evil when it comes to their pricing. Flash storage, baby. It doesn’t come cheap, and a full gigabyte would cost you about 2/3rds the system itself.
Extra storage has always been the bane of any system’s existence, and the PSP was the beginning of the storage wars for game playing systems, as it would later get the shop and other such things that promoted digital downloads.
Since this is an unofficial magazine, they cover several different options that Sony PROBABLY wasn’t going to tell you about. But, it’s the PSP! This was never Sony’s device anyway: it was YOURS. And if you had to get messy to get online with the PSP in 2005, you bet people were going to do it.
Now, what system would be complete without the games? The PSP had a lot of launch titles to choose from! And each one got an individual overview! While I didn’t photo them all (I don’t think we need to cover EVERY game in the lineup) I took a bunch of photos of a whole variety of titles! So many that I can’t fit them all in this one post! I’ll make a few extra posts to show them all off!
Post automatically merged:
This first batch of games shows off the weird “remake” focus of the launch lineup. The standouts to me are probably Lumines, the best puzzle game on any Sony system, and Dynasty Warriors, which was just WILD to see running on this thing day one!
Post automatically merged:
The second batch of photos gets into the REAL meat. My favorite PSP game currently, Ridge Racers, is given a full two pages to show off its glory. Wipeout Pure, of course, brings another racing showing that’s as stylish as the system itself was! Spider Man 2 is… such a perfect match with the system. Just reeks of the time period. Love to see Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 get a mention, as it was the first and last time we would get a proper Tony Hawk game on the go! And Twisted Metal Head On brings up the back, being another beloved PSP launch game.
Post automatically merged:
The last few pages of the magazine shows the future of the PSP, with many hidden gem titles that I’ll be sure to check out on my own time (thank you, Repo!)
The future sure was bright for this system! The best was yet to come, but little did Sony know, they would have a long rough road ahead as people would always be looking to find ways to make their PSP more… personalized.
It’s not just a nut you can play with outside: it’s YOUR nut.
That sounds wrong.
Last edited:
!
. Just saying.)
