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Sony CONNECT and the PSP

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Beowvlf

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I know Sony's average CONNECT service isn't exactly the most popular around (for good reason really), but based on what Sony stated at CES last month, they have some major plans for the service scheduled for March (or a tad later knowing Sony's punctuality).

If Sony realizes their plans for the service, videos, music and games are all to be directly downloadable to the PSP, which (I believe) has never been done before in a portable device.

Personally, this is something I'm really anticipating, as I use my PSP for music, videos and games, and to have all directly downloadable to the device will just fucking rule. Downloading a couple Live Arcade-style games, the latest Crooked Fingers album and an episode of Battlestar Galactica directly from one of many hotspots around town to pass the time on the train home might just be the greatest thing to happen to the world since oxygen. The only downside is that a 1GB (at least) memory stick will pretty much be a prerequisite, though I'm sure that's not a problem for most of us.

Who else is hyped? (ie. crossing their fingers Sony doesn't fuck it up)
 
iTunes/iPod already does it without sucking. Aside from games.

I used free credits to download the Jak X album. It took 3 reboots and 2 Connect-crashes before I ended up downloading all the music twice, accidentally.

Right now Connect is basically run in a shelled-IE browser that's buggy as all fuck. Sony would need a COMPLETE overhaul of that abortion before it should even be considered.

It's bloated, slow, and buggy. There's not a single complement I can give to the developers, aside from thanking them for not giving me a virus.
 
If the PSP has good downloadable games, I'm there. I doubt I'll use the thing for music, and I'd rather have video content on a UMD (downloadable content is for my 5th gen iPod). Sony Connect needs to be intuitive, easy to use and inexpensive. I hear that as a program it's actually buggy and unpolished - better fix that, too. iTunes got it right. Sony needs to get it right as well.
 
I am very hyped. I'm also hyped @ the account MrKlaw gave about the PSP <--> PS3 connectivity. Theres going to be amazing thing coming up for the PSP.
 
Heian-kyo said:
Holy shit, you have an iPod with Wifi that can have content directly downloaded to it?
Click to expand...
I don't need to bother with that. It syncs when it charges. It's that easy.

My Treo has wireless sync on it, with bluetooth, but more often I only sync when I'm charging, too.
 
I'm cautiously pessimistic. I believe I was forced to use Connect in order to get the G-d of War soundtrack promised with my purchase of the game. Awful software. Aside from that, I highly doubt that whatever Sony cooks up will be able to compete with iTunes as far as music and video content is concerned. Games? That would interest me.

As for wifi downloading versus iTunes' wired mechanics. Not a big deal. It's not like the NY subways HAVE wifi available, so most of my downloading would be done at home. And if it's going to be at home (where I do have a Wifi router), going the wireless route isn't exactly some huge convenience over just plugging my iPod into the computer.

*shrugs* We'll see how it pans out.
 
tried Mora... the PSP download music service.

A revolutionary "24 hours" service!

it's... a bag of shit. An unusable, crashing, piece of dung.
And the prices? $2 per track! Albums that cost as much as (and in some cases more than) the CD.

We need to know who makes these pieces of software - Connect, Sonic Stage, and Mora... because if they are in anyway involved in any part of the Sony HUB thing, it's going to be like eating razorblades.

Sony are often hyped by what they have done in the past (queue Silent hill man, tech demos etc...) so until they actually craft a usable bit of app software, i'm going to hold fire on getting excited.

Can we have a screen shot of Mora/Connect/Sonic Stage as the anti-SH Old Guy?
 
I can't find pictures of it, but I think someone leaked a picture of an upcoming version of Connect that looked a lot like iTunes, and looked approximately 95% less shitty than the current versions, signifying a near-total overhaul of the software. I'd like an officially-endorsed iTunes style playback system on my PSP. Maybe I could make better playlists that way.
 
I am so ready for Connect to hit, I hope they have a decent selection of movies and tv shows (games... meh). I'm also hoping for some sort of demo service. Does anyone know if this is planned?
 
Heian-kyo said:
I know Sony's average CONNECT service isn't exactly the most popular around (for good reason really), but based on what Sony stated at CES last month, they have some major plans for the service scheduled for March (or a tad later knowing Sony's punctuality).

If Sony realizes their plans for the service, videos, music and games are all to be directly downloadable to the PSP, which (I believe) has never been done before in a portable device.

Personally, this is something I'm really anticipating, as I use my PSP for music, videos and games, and to have all directly downloadable to the device will just fucking rule. Downloading a couple Live Arcade-style games, the latest Crooked Fingers album and an episode of Battlestar Galactica directly from one of many hotspots around town to pass the time on the train home might just be the greatest thing to happen to the world since oxygen. The only downside is that a 1GB (at least) memory stick will pretty much be a prerequisite, though I'm sure that's not a problem for most of us.

Who else is hyped? (ie. crossing their fingers Sony doesn't fuck it up)
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it. I use the Connect software from time to time to download songs, since I've got so many free credits from all sorts of promotions.

Offering downloads direct to the device would be a great way for them to set it apart from the rest of the pack. If you're in the mood for a new song, then you could just go to the PSP's home screen and download one.

Taking it a step further, I want to see some network integration with the PS3, allowing someone who is traveling to stream music, video, and maybe even some small games from PS3 over the Internet to the PSP. This is a bit like what Sony does now with LocationFree TV, but extended to music and games.

I know there are some people wishing for a new PSP model with a built-in 20 GB or 40 GB hard drive to compete directly with iPod and other hard-drive-based media players. Bad idea. Slick utilization of the PSP's Internet capabilities would give it a huge advantage over soon-to-be outdated hard-drive based devices that lack network functionality. With the eventual proliferation of Wi-Fi, there would be no need to physically carry the hard drive in your pocket--the "hard drive" would just be the one in your computer or your PS3 at home.
 
Chris_C said:
I'm also hoping for some sort of demo service. Does anyone know if this is planned?
Click to expand...
The original press release made passing reference to game downloads, but won't know for sure until next month when its supposed to be officially unveiled.
 
If it's tied to one username, should we have the option of streaming or downloading the media?

And not only that, but is anyone else envisioning free trailers, downloadable games a la Xbox Live Arcade, and streaming radio?
 
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