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[sonycowboy]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6763

Tom Bramwell 10:41 11/02/2005

Namco Museum is the first title to support it.

Sony has demonstrated how the "Game Sharing" feature of the PlayStation Portable can be used to download a selection of small games to another PSP system and store data in RAM, but has yet to demonstrate single-UMD multiplayer functionality or other features to rival Nintendo's "DS Download Play" component, while this website can reveal that European developers were joking that "no one really knows how it works" as recently as last week.

The Game Sharing feature has been put to use in PSP title Namco Museum. In this example, one player selects the transmit function from an in-game menu, while the other selects "Game Sharing" from the PSP's main menu. When the systems recognise one another, a short download begins and the second player can then choose to play any of seven arcade classics stored in RAM.

The use of RAM to store the games rather than on the Memory Stick Duo means that players cannot continue with the games after the PSP has been shut down or sent back to the "Home" menu - from which players usually access media functions and launch software from UMD.

For now at least, however, Sony has not demonstrated multiplayer games running on multiple systems using a single UMD - something that would rival Nintendo's efforts in this area. The DS can not only use is Download Play function for single-cartridge multiplayer for up to four players in some cases, but Nintendo has also spoken of how it will allow players to download demos in the future.

Meanwhile, representatives of Sony's WipEout Pure development team showing off the game to journalists in London last week admitted, "There is Game Sharing, but no one really knows how it works," implying that it could be a little while yet before we see games capable of supporting multiplayer on a single game disc.

Other, that is, than Ape Academy, for the sake of the pedants, which in a few cases actually features multiplayer mini-games that you can play with two or even four players using the same PSP console.

 

[Andrew2]

Everytime I hear Sony and Namco in the same story,I'am very much convinced that they're both married in a way. Afterall,Namco have been pretty much been behind SCEI even up to the point of adopting thier technology for arcade games. Not just that,but Namco actually have active links from thier websites to that of Sony's.

For now at least, however, Sony has not demonstrated multiplayer games running on multiple systems using a single UMD - something that would rival Nintendo's efforts in this area.

A multiplayer game running off a single opitical media(UMD) is impossible unless the host PSP's could load data from the client PSP. Even if it could,there would probably be latency problems even through WiFi.

 

[DarienA]

Everytime I hear Sony and Namco in the same story,I'am very much convinced that they're both married in a way. Afterall,Namco have been pretty much been behind SCEI even up to the point of adopting thier technology for arcade games.

I've always wondered how it came that the first arcade Tekken was running on Sony hardware.... you know just wondering how that deal came together, which side initiated it, etc... and did Namco have any input in terms of hardware requirements or was it basically here it is... make a game with it....

 

[Drek]

Thats a nice little feature for Sony to include. I totally see why they have it stored in ram of course, but its still pretty cool.

A multiplayer game running off a single opitical media(UMD) is impossible unless the host PSP's could load data from the client PSP. Even if it could,there would probably be latency problems even through WiFi.

Well, if the game was small enough (ex. 2p tetris) it could be stored in ram, letting the only system data transfers be like you'd have with two copies of the game.

Unless they allow for memory stick dumping of data though I don't see them being able to make very elaborate multiplayer single umd games, and I don't see Sony or the third parties as being up for that. Who knows though, if they could timestamp the data, or leave a key file or two out that you'd need to quickly upload every time to play it might work out pretty well.

Thing is, if Sony allows for loading of game data from memory sticks, which it sounds like they very well might, the system is going to turn into a pirate's haven in no time. Hell, we'll probably see emulators up to SNES level within the first year or two of its release anyways, with PSX and N64 emus not far behind.

 

[Fantasmo]

PSX and N64 emus not far behind.

Not enough buttons.

 

[jarrod]

I've always wondered how it came that the first arcade Tekken was running on Sony hardware.... you know just wondering how that deal came together, which side initiated it, etc... and did Namco have any input in terms of hardware requirements or was it basically here it is... make a game with it....

It was more of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Namco had burnt bridges pretty bad with both Nintendo (by defying their illegal exclusivity contracts and developing for Genesis in th 1980s) and Sega (for dropping Genesis and going back to NES/SNES in the 1990s). Plus Sega was killing them in arcades.... the partnership started almost as soon as SCEI started going to 3rd parties about PlayStation development. In fact, Namco was the first major 3rd party to sign on iirc, they jumped at the chance to ally with a major hardware vendor. Sony's philosophies on 3D hardware design also meshed well with Namco's goals in arcades.

As for System 11, it was a much cheaper alternative to Namco's own high end System 22/23 boards and nice counter to Sega's coming ST-V (Saturn based) board. I think it was also the first time a 3rd party just licensed a console hardware for arcade use.

 

[Axsider]

:lol

 

[CamHostage]

A multiplayer game running off a single opitical media(UMD) is impossible unless the host PSP's could load data from the client PSP. Even if it could,there would probably be latency problems even through WiFi.

Works the exact same way as DS (and GBA before it) -- you don't stream, you bulk upload essentially an entire executable from the host machine. It's like downloading and then playing right away a multiplayer-only demo. No latency issues -- you're playing a second, condensed copy of the game, not streaming code of the host's game.

The thought for PSP design is to lay off the UMD, and a lot of games work entirely from RAM in the game itself without loading again (even Ridge Racers could be run with the UMD popped out.) So, might go fairly deep. RRDS allowed you to race a game as big as that with downloadable play - you could only do one track and then would have to quit out and re-upload if you wanted a new track, but it worked for what it offered. Nobody's doing the same on PSP yet, but it seems entirely possible.

 

[Azih]

Works the exact same way as DS (and GBA before it) -- you don't stream, you bulk upload essentially an entire executable from the host machine. It's like downloading and then playing right away a multiplayer-only demo. No latency issues -- you're playing a second, condensed copy of the game, not streaming code of the host's game.

Yes but PSP games are going to be much much larger than DS games

 

[Gaia Theory]

Everytime I hear Sony and Namco in the same story,I'am very much convinced that they're both married in a way. Afterall,Namco have been pretty much been behind SCEI even up to the point of adopting thier technology for arcade games. Not just that,but Namco actually have active links from thier websites to that of Sony's.

Namco has links to Sony's website? Wow! They have links to Nintendo and Microsoft on their webpage too! Incredible.

In all fairness, Namco is in bed with Sony, but they're not in it all that much anymore. Namco and Nintendo have been growing a very strong partnership over the last few years - with Tales, Baten Kaitos, Starfox, Soul Calibur and Donkey Konga and Mario Baseball. Couple that with a very strong lineup for the DS - soul calibur, xenosaga, baten kaitos, and a very weird strong showing for the GBA late in the game and it is very obvious that Nintendo and Namco are forging stronger bonds than that of Sony and Namco, as of late. That said, I'd expect to see continued support for Sony, but it's interesting how much of their focus has shifted to Nintendo this generation considering the complete lack of support last generation.

 

[jarrod]

Yes but PSP games are going to be much much larger than DS games

Sure, but PSP has 24MB RAM for game data versus 4.5MB on DS.

 

[border]

Not enough buttons.

If you map the C-buttons to the D-pad, then there's enough buttons. You'd need to switch control setups a bit depending on the game, but a Nintendo 64 emulator could work wonderfully.

 

[Drek]

Yupperz.
analog = analog
c buttons = d pad
a, b, z = face buttons
L, R = L, R
one extra face button left over to boot.

 

[jarrod]

Ugh, shifting the C buttons to the Dpad? How am I supposed to play Zelda like that? :/

 

[border]

You would think how Zelda plays and change accordingly, maybe with a couple C-buttons mapped to the face buttons....

Not many N64 games really require you to have lightning-fast access to all 8 buttons. Putting 2 of them on the D-pad probably will leave 95% of games quite playable.

 

[CamHostage]

Yes but PSP games are going to be much much larger than DS games

Sure, but PSP has 24MB RAM for game data versus 4.5MB on DS.

Right. Same difference. Not every game can do downloadable sharing or whatever else this feature will make use of; not every PSP game can do it. The fundamentals are the same on each system -- you're just transferring over an application to a machine that doesn't have a game, and it can be as big as you've got RAM for (or, in the PSP's case, maybe even as big as you've got Memory Stick room for -- there's not necessarily anything that says that this download can't be stored if it's designed for that, as far as I can tell.)

Only difference would be that you may have to wait as long as a massive 24MB (I thought it was 32? Or am I including VRAM and other junk in that?) upload for a PSP, whereas DS would at max send over a sixth of that (or whatever the math is on the two system's RAM slots).

 

[jarrod]

24MB (I thought it was 32? Or am I including VRAM and other junk in that?)

It has 32MB RAM but 8MB is reserved for the OS.