PSP will be online at launch

FriskyTanuki

FriskyTanuki

CAGiversary!
Feedback
36 (100%)
http://psp.ign.com/articles/585/585937p1.html
http://psp.ign.com/articles/586/586179p1.html

Could it be that the PlayStation Portable will set the record as the first major videogaming system to launch in North America with internet play ready to go on launch day? Even online-ready game systems such as Dreamcast and Xbox left gamers waiting for the parent companies to roll out their major network plans, but we're about to see a handheld do on Day One what consoles took their time with. Sony has its gear together from the past two years of PlayStation 2 net development, and with its upcoming portable system capable of both local and hotspot-carried online connectivity, the company will have three of its sports games ready to connect and play online.

The three online-enabled PSP games confirmed by SCE's representatives are from the 989 Sports franchise -- we mentioned last week that Sony's 989 Sports division is experiencing a comeback year, and this effort to bring online features to the PSP versions of its titles shows how far they're coming around to make this happen. Of course, next year might be the rough ones if the battles between EA and Take-2 to buy up sports gaming rights keep going, but that's for then, and what's for now is that 989 Sports has, to our knowledge, the only online-enhanced PSP sports game. Those PSP games are:

Gretzky NHL - 989 Sports / Page44 Studios - 2 players LAN/HotSpot
NBA - 989 Sports / 989 Sports - 2 players LAN/HotSpot
MLB - 989 Sports / 989 Sports - 2 players LAN/HotSpot
ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails - SCEA / Climax - 4 players LAN/HotSpot
Twisted Metal: Head-On - SCEA / Incog Inc. - 6 players LAN/HotSpot

Gretzky and NBA are entirely new franchises from 989 Sports, divorced from the old FaceOff and ShootOut lines -- the PS2 Gretzky on which the PSP game is based came out this December and won back a lot of critics with its new development team and redesigned gameplay, while the NBA game for PSP uses new graphics and a wildly different control system for an entirely new b-ball game that's both sim- and arcade-styled. MLB continues on 989's strongest franchise from the PS2, and judging from the incredible MLB screenshots of the PSP version so far, it's got a good chance of continuing on that legacy. Each of these games will feature 2-player head-to-head play either locally or on the net, and while the feature set for stats and updates will not be as robust as the perpetually-online console versions, there will be a lobby match-up system and a certain degree of statistics features.

The PlayStation Portable features two modes of WiFi connectivity -- ad-hoc and intranet, or local and networked. The vast majority of PSP games so far have made use of the ad-hoc mode, which simply allows PSP systems to link together and play wirelessly. Network play was an unknown entity -- although PSP is ready to connect up online with what's in the box, the relative scarcity of net HotSpots (some of which charge for service) and the complications of designing such online features for launch titles seemed unlikely. However, rumors have arisen about early PSP net play since the very beginning. Gamers have been buzzing about the possibility of there being online features in PSP launch games for months -- early screenshots of the menu systems in certain games (including two of these games, in screenshots dating back to E3 2004) featured either 'Online' or 'Network' as menu choices for the wireless play, but these option headers were expected to be just placeholder images for the WiFi feature set. (Certain Japanese games also featured the term 'Network' on their menu, but no Japanese games featured online play.) It is unknown whether any other PSP game announced so far has online features in the works. 989 Sports' own fourth PSP launch game, World Tour Soccer, will unfortunately not carry online play features, and there is not any other word of other First- or Third-Party launch or near-launch games with online features in active development.

PSP online play is also already possible via online tunneling applications, which have already been successful in linking up players via their PCs and a home wireless router using masking techniques to trick LAN play into running on the net. Coders have already gotten deep into the PSP's networking features, and the tunneling technique is already functional and can be designed to work with just about any WiFi-enabled PSP game. However, this technique requires special software and home-bound hardware, whereas officially-included WiFi play would allow gamers to connect up and play anybody online at a coffee shop, library, trade show floor, or wherever else a HotSpot is available.

Online play will likely continue to be a rare feature for the PSP until development ramps up and SCE puts emphasis in the feature, but having these three online-ready at launch is an impressive start. We'll have some hands-on experience with these games in the coming weeks to let you know if they are ones you'll want to go online with, and we'll also be hitting up other developers to ask when they're expecting to take their own PSP games online as well.

Though it's only sports games right now, this could be a good sign to expect more online-enabled games to come out for the PSP in the future. Any games you're hoping will be online-enabled in the future?

EDIT: Updated
 
[quote name='Chris in Cali']Hello Nintendo!?!?![/quote]

Well this would be big news if we see more of it.

Its going to push warpipe to come out that much quicker.
 
Where are the big titles????

I'm disappointed with the line-up.

No Halo, Star Wars, no RPG's. C'mon Sony, you've got so much potential.

I'm on the fence. All it will take is a big name title.
 
[quote name='Derwood43']Where are the big titles????

I'm disappointed with the line-up.

No Halo, Star Wars, no RPG's. C'mon Sony, you've got so much potential.

I'm on the fence. All it will take is a big name title.[/quote]

but you have to admit, the launch lineup is a whole lot better then the DS, and like 5 times the size
 
w00t. Now only if they'd solve the problem of PSP quality control.

I'm psyched about the NBA game. Shootout wasn't too bad at first back in the PS1 days. Hopefully they can reach some modicum of quality.
 
[quote name='cthcky33'][quote name='Derwood43']Where are the big titles????

I'm disappointed with the line-up.

No Halo, Star Wars, no RPG's. C'mon Sony, you've got so much potential.

I'm on the fence. All it will take is a big name title.[/quote]

but you have to admit, the launch lineup is a whole lot better then the DS, and like 5 times the size[/quote]

It's just the launch, so there could still be some more to come. Halo is Microsoft's, there's only been one online SW game, and there's one Baulder's Gate-like RPG that's coming out at launch and quite a few more coming out this year. Give it time, and these types of things will come.
 
With the exception of Nintendo I'd expect all future game systems to have immediate online support. The feature is fully established as a vital factor that enhances appeal of a game even to those who won't necessarily use it.
 
[quote name='cthcky33'][quote name='Derwood43']Where are the big titles????

I'm disappointed with the line-up.

No Halo, Star Wars, no RPG's. C'mon Sony, you've got so much potential.

I'm on the fence. All it will take is a big name title.[/quote]

but you have to admit, the launch lineup is a whole lot better then the DS, and like 5 times the size[/quote]

Well Nintendo could have just waited till late march and had a bunch more titles available like Sony did.

If they both launched at the same time.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']

Well Nintendo could have just waited till late march and had a bunch more titles available like Sony did.

If they both launched at the same time.[/quote]

agreed, i think everyone knows that nintendo has been working on an online program but have not finished developing it. im sure if they had decided to push the launch of the ds back 4 months for extra development on games and online they could have acheived it. but such is not nintendo's style. instead they will continue to develop online functionality until it is flawless and release it later to boost ds sales once they start to fade. makes sense from a business standpoint to have a killer upgrade in order to rejuvinate sales instead of doing it all at launch, because they really would not have sold many more than they did at launch with it anyway, they will make more money out of ds by doing it their own way and releasing it later in the DS' lifespan (im guessing around the 1 year aniversary of the ds launch in america, right before the holidays again) IMO.
 
[quote name='Chris in Cali']http://psp.ign.com/articles/586/586179p1.html?fromint=1


Twisted Metal, and ATV are now online as well.[/quote]

Hmmm... now where have I heard THAT before :roll:
 
Wow, this is awesome. I was wondering why EA dropped the ball and didn't have online play in their first generation of PSP titles.

Looks like 989 has beaten them to the punch! I'll only be purchasing PSP games that can go online, outside of the GTA title(s) for the PSP.

This is great news.
 
[quote name='ransom456'][quote name='Chris in Cali']http://psp.ign.com/articles/586/586179p1.html?fromint=1


Twisted Metal, and ATV are now online as well.[/quote]

Hmmm... now where have I heard THAT before :roll:[/quote]

Haha good point.
 
[quote name='Mook Williams']Wow, this is awesome. I was wondering why EA dropped the ball and didn't have online play in their first generation of PSP titles.

Looks like 989 has beaten them to the punch! I'll only be purchasing PSP games that can go online, outside of the GTA title(s) for the PSP.

This is great news.[/quote]

It just may be that they haven't announced it yet. Remember, these are Sony's announcement about their games, so EA might still announce it. Though EA's pretty much trying to get their games portable friendly and make sure they play well before they go after online.
 
Its a good think you can play PSP games at home over the Internet while you have it plugged in because I bet the wireless multiplayer really drains the battery.
 
I just want the PSP more and more every day. Twisted Metal will probably be a game I get on launch, and online on the first day is impressive IMO
 
any word on talking over online play? is there a microphone on the PSP or do we have to buy headsets or what?

Being able to use the PS2 headset would be a good idea
 
[quote name='AlbinoNinja']any word on talking over online play? is there a microphone on the PSP or do we have to buy headsets or what?

Being able to use the PS2 headset would be a good idea[/quote]

No, there's not a microphone on the PSP. There may be a headset in the works, but there's no plans for talking over online play right now.
 
[quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='AlbinoNinja']any word on talking over online play? is there a microphone on the PSP or do we have to buy headsets or what?

Being able to use the PS2 headset would be a good idea[/quote]

No, there's not a microphone on the PSP. There may be a headset in the works, but there's no plans for talking over online play right now.[/quote]

Oh man, portable SOCOM with headset support? If that were to ever happen, consider me sold.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top