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[CO_Andy]

Sony designed quite possibly the worst analog sticks imaginable for both console and portable. Is it too much to ask for hardware that won't make me fumble?

Same goes for the dpad, but realistically i don't see Sony changing it's design, ever.

 

[Kroole]

Same goes for the dpad, but realistically i don't see Sony changing it's design, ever.

If Sony is going to have this product out on the market for 5+ years like they said the would, why wouldn't there be a redesign in the future? They can shrink the tech allowing more space for a real analog stick, reduce the size of the screen (tighter, smaller pixels) etc. etc.

 

[Gio_CoD]

I've found it's easiest to pretend the analog stick doesn't exist on the PSP.

But I'm sure we'll see a redesign sometime down the line. Sony's redesigned all their other shit, so I don't know why they'd stop at the PSP.

 

[Zombie James]

...reduce the size of the screen...

Why would they reduce one of the PSP's best features?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

There needs to be. We need a faster responding screen, 2 analog and a proper d-pad.

 

[xaosslug]

Maybe, once they price-drop to around $150-ish territory they'll release a redesign when sales wane, before they price-drop further? ::shrug::

 

[radioheadrule83]

I can see why Nintendo have redesigned the DS.
I can't see why Sony would want to redesign the PSP. It hasnt got any problems in the looks department imo.

I'm not fond of the sliding nub either, but it hasnt broken any games for me...

 

[PS2 KID]

Maybe, once they price-drop to around $150-ish territory they'll release a redesign when sales wane, before they price-drop further? ::shrug::

No need for a redesign. Just drop the price down to $150 and make everyone who doesn't have one happy.

 

[meltpotato]

I could see it getting a little smaller (battery, internals), redesign of overall aesthetic and input (i.e. d-pad, buttons) to match the ps3 somewhere within holiday 2006 and late spring / early summer 2007.

 

[Beezy]

PSP doesn't need a redesign, it needs more games.

DS was the other way around, so now there's DS Lite.

 

[Amir0x]

I think PSP can use a redesign, and I'm sure we will see one in the future.

PSP needs - faster refreshing screen, streamlined interface controls (the face is absolutely filled with various buttons. They need to create a button that does several functions to cut down the clutter), a new d-pad, maybe another analog, higher quality L/R buttons, and get rid of that fucking gloss. Also, better speakers.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I have no doubt that the PSP will have a redesign at some point, and having a second analog knob seems to be logical. Adding a hard drive has been mentioned as well, but they'd need to increase battery life, and give up a bunch of memory stick sales.

Don't fuck with the screen size, unless you're making it bigger, and more responsive. I don't want to see a smaller screen on the PSP.

Increased battery life would be awesome as well, but that's already started with the new battery.

 

[Kroole]

Why would they reduce one of the PSP's best features?

Making a more compact screen and then also make room for a more compact design. If you keep the same amount of pixels you will still have an awesome screen.

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

I think PSP can use a redesign, and I'm sure we will see one in the future.

PSP needs - faster refreshing screen, streamlined interface controls (the face is absolutely filled with various buttons. They need to create a button that does several functions to cut down the clutter), a new d-pad, maybe another analog, higher quality L/R buttons, and get rid of that fucking gloss. Also, better speakers.

YES to all of the above.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I'd approve of faster refresh-rate on the screen, less buttons on the face, better speakers and a generally smaller, more pocket friendly presence..

but a second analog stick would piss me off. Dual Shock controllers for the original PlayStation weren't an actual part of the machine... at most it cost you the price of a controller to play dual-analog games. So yeah. It'd piss me off like online Pictochat and demo downloads would probably piss off original-DS owners... IF the rumor of that kind of functionality being in "Lite" is true.

As much of a fingerprint magnet as it is, and as much as smudges on the gloss piss me off -- I don't think PSP would look as good without it.

I'd be impressed if they can shrink it. Its bleeding edge stuff. How small can a UMD drive, Memory Stick bay, USB port + that powerful hardware go? One of the best things about the PSP is that gorgeous 4" screen, but I'd love one that was more pocket friendly or obviously less intended as a video player.

 

[Pimpbaa]

There will never be a 2nd analog nub/stick. Why do people keep hoping for this? It wouuld render the original model PSP obsolete. The best you can hope for is a 2nd nub/stick on the PSP2.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

^^

Remember the PSOne. When I got mine, there wasn't analog anything in it.

 

[radioheadrule83]

^^

Remember the PSOne. When I got mine, there wasn't analog anything in it.

Just addressed that in the edit of my above post.
Original PSP owners would be screwed out of playing dual analog games. Its not like they can just buy a new controller for it..

 

[Pimpbaa]

^^

Remember the PSOne. When I got mine, there wasn't analog anything in it.

It's much easier to replace a freakin gamepad than it is a whole system. It will not happen.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Minor issue. They'd just need to have devs give control options for both models.

Case closed.

Having played a fair amount of DC games in the last few weeks, I don't know how I wasn't bothered by there being only one analog stick.

 

[EOGamer]

I like the design fair enough as is, maybe though they could reduce the screen size a smidgen and make the square button feel as solid as the rest of the buttons do. A real analog stick would also, as mentioned, enchance the games available and coming quite a bit. But at this point a redesign is alot less called for than a larger battery, seriously.

 

[meltpotato]

Adding a hard drive has been mentioned as well, but they'd need to increase battery life, and give up a bunch of memory stick sales.

I'd expect to see solid-state memory instead of a HDD in a redesign. They are already having battery troubles plus, this being a japanese product, the unit will almost surely be reduced in size. 1-5 gig of internal flash would be in line with current trends (ipod nano for instance) and be reasonable from a size standpoint as well as a memory stick sales standpoint. I am not sure as far as enery use is concerned, but i THINK internal flash would use much less than an HDD.

 

[Pimpbaa]

Minor issue. They'd just need to have devs give control options for both models.

Case closed.

Unless the 2nd analog stick was used for camera control only, there is absolutely no chance of this happening.

 

[Amir0x]

Kutaragi: "WHAT IS THIS? You mock my design? I scoff in your general direction! What I have created...it is a masterpiece! It is more beautiful than the sun setting on the tuscan sea! More beautiful than a super nova on the blackened corners of space! When I set out to make this, it was to create the most beautiful thing EVER conceived! Michaelangelo set out to do this with his Sistine Chapel Ceiling. Leonardo tried to capture it in the smile of Mona Lisa. Finally, in the year 2004...I have accomplished it with the PSP. The most magnificent piece of artistic design since man first crawled out of the primordial ooze!"

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Unless the 2nd analog stick was used for camera control only, there is absolutely no chance of this happening.

If they can manage to get Splinter Cell on there...

 

[ghibli99]

Sony designed quite possibly the worst analog sticks imaginable for both console and portable. Is it too much to ask for hardware that won't make me fumble?

Same goes for the dpad, but realistically i don't see Sony changing it's design, ever.

When pressing the d-pad right or the square button too hard can crack the screen, there's a problem with their design. The d-pad is pretty poor (as many people have noted in the past), as is the analog nub slider. I actually wouldn't mind a slightly smaller screen with more closely-packed pixels if it means that we could get a real analog stick (two, if possible). I've always thought that a rubberized and slightly stiffer version of the Saturn analog controller would be great for a handheld, since it doesn't have to protrude too high off the controller surface. It holds your thumb well and rotates naturally.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

It needs (two) NGPC-esque clicky sticks for analog. The nub should be concave as well.

 

[Mick Z]

[Offtopic]Finally made it in to GAF![/offtopic]

Hope not. Like the PSP design alot, beats every other handheld out there... Rather put new battery's etc. into the machine.

 

[Amir0x]

[Offtopic]Finally made it in to GAF![/offtopic]

You and five thousand other people. There's about to be a rain of people who suddenly realize they can post.

 

[Beezy]

A rain of bans will also be handed out.

 

[Amir0x]

A rain of bans will also be handed out.

That is correct.

 

[Zombie James]

There's about to be a rain of people who suddenly realize they can post.

I just got on too, not my fault it took a month to get my account validated

 

[kaching]

I'd expect to see solid-state memory instead of a HDD in a redesign.

If they do manage to shrink the innards enough to throw in either of those, it'd probably be more economical for both them and potential buyers overall to just put a second flash memory reader slot inside, say for SD.

 

[Eric_S]

If they do manage to shrink the innards enough to throw in either of those, it'd probably be more economical for both them and potential buyers overall to just put a second flash memory reader slot inside, say for SD.

Oh I doubt that, greed would stand in the way I'd imagine.

 

[Kiriku]

I know it would split the userbase and all that jazz...but man, PSP could really use a 2nd analogue stick/nub.
I mean, having only one analogue stick could be a good thing in that it makes it potentially harder for devs to port console games (using both sticks) to PSP forcing them to make games specifically for PSP instead. But in reality, it just means it's harder to play the semi-ports on PSP.

 

[meltpotato]

If they do manage to shrink the innards enough to throw in either of those, it'd probably be more economical for both them and potential buyers overall to just put a second flash memory reader slot inside, say for SD.

Although that would be nice, I really dont see sony putting an SD reader on the PSP. Im sure mem stick revenue has seen a huge rise as PSP adoption has increased.

 

[kaching]

PS3 has been announced with SD *and* CF slots, guys. For a fantasy redesign of the PSP, I really don't think it would be so unlikely. If they wanted to ensure brisk memory stick sales, they could always require that game saves/data only be accessible from memory stick, as has been speculated for the PS3.

 

[PjotrStroganov]

The practical thing to do is to put the analog stick above the D-pad. Toca 2 supports upside down controls. And it play surprisingly good. Upside down, the stick is in just the right position.

 

[meltpotato]

just my point of view, but it seems like SD and CF are justified for a console more than a handheld. PSP isnt a "media hub". But thats just speculation and you could easily be right. either way i still see it more likely that they use internal solidstate. Probably a somewhat inferior amount so people fill it up and feel the need to keep buying mem sticks.

 

[kaching]

Understood. One way or another, we're just talking about a means of additional storage though. Putting an additional flash card slot in the PSP doesn't make it any more or less a "media hub" then adding an hdd or solidstate mem.

 

[Mrbob]

Dual analog nubs ftw.

Yes I would take a second nub strictly for camera control. Developers could then scheme games for both setups. Make it happen Sony!

 

[meltpotato]

in regards to hub, i meant the ps3 is trying to attract users to incorporate as many of their other products, and in turn their media, as possible. the psp is trying to be your only device. its not a strong point though and any of this is really anyone's guess. SD card reader would certainly make a lot of people happy.

 

[Chittagong]

Much like the GBA cart size in GBM and DS, and the two screens and their relative distance in DS, the combination of UMD drive and 16:9 pretty much determine the shape and volume of PSP. Only possibility I can think of is a flip-top, with UMD on the bottom and screen on the top lid, which would be only the width of the screen and as thin as RAZRs.

Indeed, PSP can never be considerably smaller. It will always be portable, never mobile, micro or nano.

An interesting note is that I recently spoke with a provider of a key component and cost driver to PS3, and he said that Sony's technical competence in miniturization has decreased in the recent years with the decline of Sony's electronics. I politely pointed out PS2 slim to him, but he was pretty determined.

 

[kaching]

I politely pointed out PS2 slim to him, but he was pretty determined.

The PS2 slim does have the distinct advantage of having eliminated the full-size hdd bay *and* internal power supply before anyone even had to think about truly miniturizing any of the remaining internal components.

 

[btrboyev]

PSP needed a redesign much more than ds did. DS needed better screens is all, which the lite fixes.

The psp needs:

A new d-pad
Two totally redisgned analog nubs
Fix button issues
Fix volume control (way to quiet and tinny)
and most importantly an internal HD..it just makes sense.

 

[LittleTokyo]

PSP needs a better battery life and a smaller screen and I'd buy one in a second.