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GREAT ONE Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky tells a joke at a North American launch event for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Sony PSP North American Launch

Geartest.com Staff
March 23, 2004.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was in jovial mood today at Sony's launch of the PSP in Toronto.

Asked by Ian Jackson how Gretzky NHL on the handheld device compares to the real on-ice experience, Gretzky told the director of Sony Computer Enterainment Canada :"Right now, it's the only game in the country!"

The light-hearted jab at the NHL player lockout drew a chorus of laughter from the assembled media in Toronto where Sony was touting the multimedia PlayStation Portable device as part of its North American launch.

When the clock ticks past midnight to 12:01 a.m., March 24, 1 million PSPs will go on sale to eager game enthusiasts lining up in anticipation.

The 17 x 7.4 x 2.3 centimetre (6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 inch) PSP sports:

a 10.9 cm (4.3-inch) wide, 480 x 272-pixel TFT LCD display capable of displaying up to 16.8 million colors, with a 16:9 aspect ratio
32 megabytes of core memory plus 4 MB embedded DRAM
stereo speakers and capability to support Dolby Digital 7.1
wireless networking using Wi-Fi (802.11b) that supports up to 16 units, and an ad hoc mode that relies on line-of-sight infrared
128-bit AES encryption -- a standard used by the U.S. government

The basic PSP package that retails for $250 US ($299 Cdn). includes:

PSP
stereo headphones
32 megabyte Memory Stick Duo
carrying case
battery and charger
two 1.8 gigabyte Universal Media Discs (Sony's Spider-Man 2 movie and a disc that previews video game, film and music for the PSP)
no games included

The premium Gretzky pack adds a copy of Gretzky NHL and retails for $350 Canadian.

Sony, which delayed its European PSP launch to ensure adequate supplies, expects to sell 6 million units in North America by the end of the next fiscal year, March 31, 2006.

The consumer electronics giant's key innovation with the PSP is the creation of a new proprietary data storage format, the Universal Media Disc (UMD), which is capable of storing up to 1.8 gigabytes of data.

"The UMD is going to be a new standard," Sony's Ian Jackson said, adding he couldn't comment on Sony Electronics' track record of failing to establish industry-wide standards in the past.

Industry analysts and observers told Geartest.com Jackson's assessment is optimistic as the consumer electronics market becomes more fragmented and Sony's clout and ability to force a new industry standard continues to slip as a result.

The PSP also supports Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo media format, and USB connections.