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PSM PSP review

citan

Member
Does anyone else think that the PSM review of the PSP was utter crap!? I was thinking about purchasing one, then I read the review. Most of the review was spent complaining about the shortfalls of the system, examples: low batt life, it felt delicate, most PSP systems coming in from Japan are defective, etc.

About 90% of the article was complaining about the system, and yet the mag gave it an A-!!!!!

I know PSM is biased, but how in the heck can you complain about something the entire article, and still give it a good score and still consider yourself as a non biased mag?
 
citan said:
Most of the review was spent complaining about the shortfalls of the system, examples: low batt life,

Battery life has been a non-issue since the moment people got their hands on PSPs.
 
McFly said:
Since when is 0.6 percent most?
0.6% just refers to the number of systems with a stuck button returned to Sony. Other widely reported flaws include dead pixels and involuntary disc ejection. Sony doesn't fix the first and hasn't provided any numbers for the latter.
 
McFly said:
Since when is 0.6 percent most?

Or when the President brags about how his faulty square button that doesn't respond as well as the others was part of an intentional design that shouldn't be questioned or warrant for return.

In that case, 100% of PSPs are faulty.

Aside: My friend and I were discussing the crappy square button and thought, "maybe that's the same reason the GCN controller's B button gets stuck: it's too close to the C-stick." That seems to back up my thought that only the wired controller's B button gets stuck, but the Wavebird ones have always been fine.
 
Perhaps they felt (like most other PSP owners for that matter) that those shortfalls are actually insignificant compared with the good stuff PSP offers.
 
Here was their recap:

A-

After spending every waking hour over an entire week playing PSP, we can officially declare that it's everything we were hoping for. It offers amazing graphics, A/V capabilities, and even manages to feel great in your hands. Plus, the launch games, especially Ridge Racers, are truly console quality. The number of various defects, however, is a concern -- one that will hopefully be addressed before the U.S. lanuch.
 
Marconelly said:
Perhaps they felt (like most other PSP owners for that matter) that those shortfalls are actually insignificant compared with the good stuff PSP offers.

Probably, but the point the thread starter is making is that the they don't mention all the good stuff the PSP offers or why that stuff is so good for that matter. I haven't seen the article so I can't back up those claims but that seems to be what the first post is implying.
 
cybamerc said:
0.6% just refers to the number of systems with a stuck button returned to Sony. Other widely reported flaws include dead pixels and involuntary disc ejection. Sony doesn't fix the first and hasn't provided any numbers for the latter.
And widely reported doesn't necessarily mean widely experienced. So if you want to inflate that .6% you're going to have to do a little more than simply insinuate. You must work for cable news ;)
 
Actually the .6% number is the total number of PSPs returned to Sony so far. Nowhere does it state that those are ALL because of the square button. :P

Oh and stores DO exchange PSPs for dead pixels if they have stock, just that if you're outside of Japan, well you're shit out of luck. Most people just don't find it a problem enough to send it back. With the shortage and all, it might be difficult to actually get a replacement immediately.
 
The NES GBA SP I bought had THREE dead pixels. GBA is crap too many defective systems. :(



;)



As always, you will hear more about problems with a new system than positives and/or the negative stories will stick more than the positive ones.

Dead pixels don't make defective systems, and it happens with all portables. The squarre button sticking is definitely a defect if it's happening on so many systems. My square button stuck a little at first, but after enough use it worked perfectly.

But really, a "defective system" would be a PSP that doesn't read UMDs or just flat-out doesn't even power on, and I have yet to hear anything about that.
 
There's no "most" about PSPs being defective. I haven't read the article and don't think I'll bother reading it. I'd be interested to know what theses defects are that they speak of. Dead pixels shouldn't even be mentioned, since the other handheld this gen also has the same exact problem. The button isn't a defect either, as it's obvious once you look at the innards of the machine. Is it perfect? I dout it. But to call it defective is pretty fucking stupid. But in the end, it doesn't matter. People would still buy it even if they really were defective. PEACE.
 
Pimpwerx said:
There's no "most" about PSPs being defective. I haven't read the article and don't think I'll bother reading it. I'd be interested to know what theses defects are that they speak of. Dead pixels shouldn't even be mentioned, since the other handheld this gen also has the same exact problem. The button isn't a defect either, as it's obvious once you look at the innards of the machine. Is it perfect? I dout it. But to call it defective is pretty fucking stupid. But in the end, it doesn't matter. People would still buy it even if they really were defective. PEACE.

It's a damn problem when I keep getting my ass handed to me in Dynasty Warriors or trying to rotate a block in lumines and it doesn't :P Whoops! setup screwed.
 
pspsquare.jpg

Kutaragi said:
This is the design that we came up with. There may be people that complain about it, but that's something users and game developers will have to adapt to.

NEVER FORGET
 
0.6% just refers to the number of systems with a stuck button returned to Sony. Other widely reported flaws include dead pixels and involuntary disc ejection. Sony doesn't fix the first and hasn't provided any numbers for the latter.
In the thread about the article you're refering to many people made the same mistake you just did. The .6% is total number of units returned to Sony so far. There's no destinction between a dead pixel unit or a stuck square button unit. In fact, since Sony doesn't acknowledge the square button problems as a defective unit but a design issue, their technical support is less likely to be approving returned units due to that than dead pixels or launching UMDs.
 
oh shit. I've never seen that pic. :lol :lol :lol @ square button

that's freaking ridiculous. One of the most talented design firms in the world and this? HILARIOUS

does it/can it actually bend aside/skew as indicated in that post?
 
Looks like a pretty clever design. I wouldn’t have wanted the screen to be any smaller nor having the buttons sit any closer to each other (that is a problem with the DS, buttons too small/close etc?).
 
As long as the button can't shift laterally, it should activate the contact just fine. The plastic's not likely to bend much at all, so you'll get good leverage with it. Maybe the ones that got returned genuinely had problems. There are always defects in manufacturing, but to say it's most of the units is pretty ridiculous. 800k PSPs is already a decent number of units for any electronics device. If there was high failure rate, you'd know about it. PEACE.
 
What hole? Please explain to me why this is a design problem. The offset between the point of contact you have with the square button and the base that registers contact on the circuit board doesn't make a difference as long as the button can't be moved significant amounts laterally, as Pimpwerx pointed out. If that were the case, then ANY button would have problems with responsiveness, regardless of whether such an offset were present in the button design.

The problem that Sony has acknowledged as a manufacturing defect has nothing to do with this offset in the button element itself, it has to do with a misalignment of the metal mold that is adjacent to some of the buttons.
 
"Dead pixels shouldn't even be mentioned, since the other handheld this gen also has the same exact problem."

Not to the extent seen with the PSP where having a perfect screen is the exception to the norm, it would appear. Sony's website mentions that there is a pixel fail rate of 0.01% (http://www.playstation.jp/info/qa.php?pid=&cid=460&sid=1) With a screen resolution of 480x272, then of those 130560 pixels it's not unreasonable to expect 13 of your pixels to be defective. Sony don't see this as an issue or a fault, but i can tell you - a PSP with 13 dead pixels or so is not pretty (TetsuoXB).

"The button isn't a defect either, as it's obvious once you look at the innards of the machine. Is it perfect? I dout it. But to call it defective is pretty fucking stupid."

If it doesn't function correctly, then it's obviously a pain in the arse. I've had no issue with the button at all, and i agree - it's not a defect, just the best design that the engineers could come up with. It's just that it sounds from Kutaragi's talk on the matter that it's prone to fucking up. I don't think Kutaragi should have said what he said about users and developers having to get used to it though, and going to the extent of saying users aren't pressing the buttons right does smack of arrogance somewhat. Regardless, every game should have configurable buttons just in case something fecks up.

Duckroll, stores are replacing units with deadpixels??? Where at? It'll be cool if they are.
 
Juice said:
Or when the President brags about how his faulty square button that doesn't respond [...] was part of an intentional design that shouldn't be questioned or warrant for return.

You either do not know how to read or are intentionally trolling.
 
Panajev2001a said:
You either do not know how to read or are intentionally trolling.

Yes, it is not quite to the extent of Kutaragi laughing from his throne at us mere mortals, though I was dissapointed to read his comments about 'adapting' - particullary after his apology for Sony's prior reluctance with digital music.
 
since this is a PSP thread, i thought i'd mention that at work today our phase change layout indicates that PSP is launching "late march", and it gets a whole 4 feet oh boy!

as much as i'd like a 3/4/5 launch, it's not lookin so good.
 
Pimpwerx said:
I haven't read the article and don't think I'll bother reading it. I'd be interested to know what theses defects are that they speak of... PEACE.

I haven't read your post and don't think I'll bother reading it. I'd be interested to know what you're talking about though. PEACE.
 
They should have compressed the whole button mapping and had all the buttons use a "rocker" setup instead of just the square button.

Then, they could have shifted all the buttons a bit to the right and avoid having to "rocker" the buttons as much as the square is now, and all buttons would have the same feel.
 
Panajev2001a said:
You either do not know how to read or are intentionally trolling.

Sorry Pana, but Ken K is being a total douchebag in this case.

Not that that's stopping me from using my PSP +3 hours a day. :D
 
Sho Nuff said:
Ken K is being a total douchebag in this case.

Why? He's defending his design. It's flawless, dude. Absolutely flawless and those who complain and return their PSP to the stores are the real douchebags.

CONSUMER RIGHTS SUCK
 
CVXFREAK said:
Why? He's defending his design. It's flawless, dude. Absolutely flawless and those who complain and return their PSP to the stores are the real douchebags.

CONSUMER RIGHTS SUCK

If you think consumer rights are bad in the USA, you should see them in Japan! Holy fuck. Seriously, whenever I see a Japanese person picketing something or having a protest, I wanna jump right in and join 'em. Not enough people get pissed off in this country (and do anything about it).
 
I never thought the square button was a problem until I got Dynasty Warriors. Now I'm not so sure :(... it's the first game that actually uses the button a lot so maybe that's why I didn't notice it until now.
 
McFly said:
Since when is 0.6 percent most?

Fredi

Well, apparently PSM thought that .6 percent was most, since they mentioned that you'd be lucky to get a unit with nothing wrong with it.

And for thoes of you who think that dead pixels aren't a defect, I have a laptop and a DS without any dead pixels, if either did, I'd be upset.
 
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