Sony PSP details revealed

In the PlayStation Meeting 2003, Sony Computer Entertainment revealed details and specifications for its upcoming handheld, the PSP. SCE described the PSP as the "21st-century Walkman," showing confidence in the company's upcoming product, which utilizes a number of high-end components. The PSP will consist of two microprocessors, an advanced sound engine, a 3D graphics engine, a 4.5-inch, 16:9-format TFT LCD screen, and a number of connection capabilities.

The PSP will run under two 32-bit MIPS R4000 microprocessors, described by SCE president Ken Kutaragi as each having 10 times the clock speed of the PlayStation’s CPU and the same amount of power as the PlayStation 2's CPU. One of the microprocessors will be used as the CPU, and the other will be utilized as an engine dedicated to handling media, such as movies and music, with its own 2MB of memory. Although the PSP's main memory will be 8MB, Kutaragi commented that it is an extraordinary volume for a handheld game console. In general, all the components used in the PSP are designed for low-energy consumption since it is a portable device, and the microprocessors feature a low-voltage (1.2V) design.

The GPU (graphics processor unit) will work as both a 3D rendering engine and a surface drawing engine. Morphing, tessellation, and other rendering abilities are supported by hardware to reduce the loads on programs. The GPU will come with 2MB of VRAM and a bus with a 5.3gbps transfer rate. In theory, the PSP will be able to handle a maximum of 33 million polygons a second. In terms of sound, the PSP will feature 3D sound and 7.1 channels, adopting the use of a digital signal processor named the VME (virtual mobile engine). The VME is a technology developed by Sony for use in its portable MD and MP3 players, and it allows sounds to be processed with less energy consumption compared with traditional DSPs (digital sound processors). As firmware, the VME can be updated to the latest instruction codes when required. The PSP's VME will also allow playback of MP3-, AAC-, and ATRAC3-format music under SCE's current plans.

The control buttons for the PSP are similar to the PlayStation joypad--there will be circle, cross, triangle, square, R1, L1, start, and select buttons, as well as a directional pad and an analog stick. As revealed in prior announcements, the PSP will read proprietary 60mm-wide optical disks named UMDs (universal media discs) that can hold up to 1.8GB. The PSP will support advanced-video-coding-format MPEG4s that have high compression rates, and one UMD can contain up to two hours of DVD-quality video. There will be an advanced encryption technology used on the PSP for the copy protection of software as well. In terms of communication, the PSP will come equipped with 802.11-standard LAN, IrDA, and USB 2.0. 802.11-standard LAN is a wireless LAN specification that can communicate in a 100-meter range with a transfer rate of up to 2mbps, and IrDA is a standard for infrared wireless communication.

To promote early development of games, SCE plans to distribute development kits for the PC that will emulate the PSP at about a 10th of its actual speed. A more complete hardware-based developer kit will be released in spring 2004. SCE aims to make programming software for the PSP as easy to develop as the original PlayStation, and it also aims to provide programmers with a number of libraries and middleware to support development.

The prototype of the PSP and several game titles are scheduled to be revealed at E3 2004, followed by a display of games at the Tokyo Game Show 2004, and the release of the handheld in the last fiscal quarter of 2004. No price was revealed for the PSP in today's announcements.

For more details on the North American launch of the PSP, check out our Sony PSP Launch Center.

PSP Specifications:

PSP CPU Core

MIPS R4000 32-bit core
128-bit bus
1-333MHz (1.2V)
8MB eDRAM main memory
2.6Gbps bus bandwidth
FPU, VFPU (2.6 billion flops)
3D graphics extended instructions
I Cache, D Cache

PSP Media Engine

MIPS R4000 32-bit core
128-bit bus
1-333MHz (1.2V)
2MB eDRAM submemory
I-Cache, D-Cache
90nm CMOS

PSP Graphics Core

1-166MHz (1.2V)
256-bit bus
2MB eDRAM (VRAM)
5.3Gbps bus bandwidth
664 million pixels per second pixel fill rate
3D curved surface and 3D polygon engine
Support for compressed textures, hardware clipping, morphing, bone, tessellation, bezier, b-spline (NURBS)
Maximum of 33 million polygons per second
24-bit full color (RGBA)

Sound Core

VME (Virtual Mobile Engine)
Reconfigurable DSP
166MHz (1.2 V)
128-bit bus
5 giga operations per second
CODEC capabilities
3D sound, 7.1 channels
Synthesizer, effecter, and other abilities
ATRAC3 plus, AAC, MP3 for audio

Media

UMD (Universal Media Disc)
60mm-diameter disc
660nm laser diode
1.8GB capacity (dual-layered disc)
11Mbps transfer rate
AES crypto system
Unique disc ID
Shockproof
Regional code system
Parental lock system
Repeat ordering system

Other Specifications

16:9-format widescreen TFT LCD (480x272 pixels, 24-bit full color)
MPEG4 AVC decoder
Wireless LAN (802.11)
IrDA (Infrared Data Association)
USB 2.0
Memory Stick
AV in/out
Stereo headphone out
Lithium ion battery
Expansion port