[Pre-GC 2007] PSP Goes Multimedia Crazy!
Sony finally pulls the wraps off their grand vision for the future of the PSP, and it's nuts. It's also something we'll probably never see here.
Published: August 22, 2007
A few weeks back, we told you that Sony was prepping a service that they'll roll out in Ireland and the UK to stream content directly to PSPs. That in and of itself was fairly cool, but it's merely the tip of the content iceberg when it comes to what they're planning for the little wonderportable.
Branded under the new "Go!" line of services (the rest of which we'll get to in a second), the deal between Sony and BSkyB (that's British Sky Broadcasting for those of us not living in the UK) means a ton of content available on day one -- from music to movies to sports to animation -- and best of all any downloaded content can be transferred to a PC to watch later if need be. The service will have an entirely custom-designed UI for grabbing the flicks 'n tunes that we're sure will make graphic designers over here weep at it's simplicity and ease of use.
"Both truly mobile and with a best in class high-quality screen, PSP delivers a great on-the-move video experience. Working with such a well known content brand, we will be able to offer PSP owners access to the best in cross-genre Sky content, available through the first official video download service. This really will make PSP the standout all-in-one portable gaming, video and music device," explains SCEE Pres David Reeves.
James Murdoch, BSkyB's CEO, chimed in, adding, “Sky and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have complementary strengths in content, marketing and technology. Together, we’re ideally placed to make portable, on-demand TV a reality. Alongside our existing services for PCs and mobile phones, this is another example of how we’re working to give more choice, flexibility and control to customers. The quality of the PSP's screen and its substantial reach among 2 million users in the UK and Ireland makes it a natural extension to our multi-platform strategy.”
Ah, but we mentioned that was only part of the "Go!" branding, did we not? The rest, as it turns out, isn't entirely new, but it is the first actual confirmation of a lot of concepts that up until now didn't really exist for the PSP outside of Japan.
Go!Explore is meant to completely transform the PSP into a Euro travel guide, enabling GPS access and maps served up off of a custom UMD loaded with 7 different region-specific hunks of content in 11 laungues; English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Dutch. All versions will ship with their own maps, automatic zooming and tilting, a smart keyboard for plugging in destinations, the ability to save favorites and track history, 3D maps of bigger cities and landmarks, thousands of points of interest, customizable routes, and of course the usual turn-by-turn directions.
Go!Messenger, on the other hand, is built around communication with other PSP users. Though initially confined to just a simple text interface that uses the PSP's built-in keyboard, the XMB-integrated messenger expands as you add in more peripherals; add a headset and it becomes a VOIP communications device, add the camera and you've got a full video chat application. The app was built in collaboration between Sony and British Telecom, and needs only a Wi-Fi hotspot to work. As a side note, users with the PSP camera (dubbed Go!Cam in Europe), can leave video mail messages for other PSP owners. Scary.
“Bringing GPS navigation to PSP is simply fantastic and shows again the unrivalled potential of PSP,” squealed Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Developed in collaboration with key companies TeleAtlas and NavNGo, the market leaders in the map data and Navigation software industry, Go!Explore offers the best and most innovative In-Car and Pedestrian GPS navigation experience. With the ability to use 3D city maps and even 3D landmarks in certain key cities, GPS on PSP is a totally unique experience.”
“With Go!Messenger, PSP is pushing new boundaries, adding unique communication functionalities to all the existing multimedia experiences,” Hareau continued. “Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP.''
All this new content is meant to piggyback off of the new redesigned slimmer, lighter PSP that hits EU territories on September 5th (and even comes in some pretty hideous Spider-Man 3 and Simpsons red/black and yellow versions, respectively). Go!Messenger and Go!Explore and the download service (which apparently doesn't have a formal name yet) will all launch next year.
Branded under the new "Go!" line of services (the rest of which we'll get to in a second), the deal between Sony and BSkyB (that's British Sky Broadcasting for those of us not living in the UK) means a ton of content available on day one -- from music to movies to sports to animation -- and best of all any downloaded content can be transferred to a PC to watch later if need be. The service will have an entirely custom-designed UI for grabbing the flicks 'n tunes that we're sure will make graphic designers over here weep at it's simplicity and ease of use.
"Both truly mobile and with a best in class high-quality screen, PSP delivers a great on-the-move video experience. Working with such a well known content brand, we will be able to offer PSP owners access to the best in cross-genre Sky content, available through the first official video download service. This really will make PSP the standout all-in-one portable gaming, video and music device," explains SCEE Pres David Reeves.
James Murdoch, BSkyB's CEO, chimed in, adding, “Sky and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have complementary strengths in content, marketing and technology. Together, we’re ideally placed to make portable, on-demand TV a reality. Alongside our existing services for PCs and mobile phones, this is another example of how we’re working to give more choice, flexibility and control to customers. The quality of the PSP's screen and its substantial reach among 2 million users in the UK and Ireland makes it a natural extension to our multi-platform strategy.”
Ah, but we mentioned that was only part of the "Go!" branding, did we not? The rest, as it turns out, isn't entirely new, but it is the first actual confirmation of a lot of concepts that up until now didn't really exist for the PSP outside of Japan.
Go!Explore is meant to completely transform the PSP into a Euro travel guide, enabling GPS access and maps served up off of a custom UMD loaded with 7 different region-specific hunks of content in 11 laungues; English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Dutch. All versions will ship with their own maps, automatic zooming and tilting, a smart keyboard for plugging in destinations, the ability to save favorites and track history, 3D maps of bigger cities and landmarks, thousands of points of interest, customizable routes, and of course the usual turn-by-turn directions.
Go!Messenger, on the other hand, is built around communication with other PSP users. Though initially confined to just a simple text interface that uses the PSP's built-in keyboard, the XMB-integrated messenger expands as you add in more peripherals; add a headset and it becomes a VOIP communications device, add the camera and you've got a full video chat application. The app was built in collaboration between Sony and British Telecom, and needs only a Wi-Fi hotspot to work. As a side note, users with the PSP camera (dubbed Go!Cam in Europe), can leave video mail messages for other PSP owners. Scary.
“Bringing GPS navigation to PSP is simply fantastic and shows again the unrivalled potential of PSP,” squealed Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Developed in collaboration with key companies TeleAtlas and NavNGo, the market leaders in the map data and Navigation software industry, Go!Explore offers the best and most innovative In-Car and Pedestrian GPS navigation experience. With the ability to use 3D city maps and even 3D landmarks in certain key cities, GPS on PSP is a totally unique experience.”
“With Go!Messenger, PSP is pushing new boundaries, adding unique communication functionalities to all the existing multimedia experiences,” Hareau continued. “Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP.''
All this new content is meant to piggyback off of the new redesigned slimmer, lighter PSP that hits EU territories on September 5th (and even comes in some pretty hideous Spider-Man 3 and Simpsons red/black and yellow versions, respectively). Go!Messenger and Go!Explore and the download service (which apparently doesn't have a formal name yet) will all launch next year.
