Ahhh Yeah - Portible Sony Playstation

June 8, 2000 8:24 AM

Ahhh Yeah - Portible Sony Playstation Wether you are into gaming or not this ranks as cool as the Apple IIc, Sony Sports Walkman, Swatch, Palm VII, you name it! Portible gaming with connectivity...
posted by Brilliantcrank (10 comments total)

Pretty neat.. but it doesn't really look all that portable. Can't see playing with that on an airplane.
posted by endquote at 8:30 AM on June 8, 2000

I think the term "portable" is a bit deceptive. It doesn't run on batteries, so you won't see anyone carrying one on the bus. As far as I can tell, it's a redesigned Playstation that plays Playstation games and uses Playstation controllers. I assume it also needs a screen unless you want to imagine how much fun you're having in your head.
posted by honkzilla at 9:53 AM on June 8, 2000

A screen? Like this one? This doesn't look any larger than the portable DVD player the guy in the next seat was watching on my last transatlantic flight.
posted by harmful at 11:13 AM on June 8, 2000

Does it use the cell phone as an external modem? It might not be gameboy sized portable, but it's still cool nonetheless.
posted by mkn at 11:19 AM on June 8, 2000

Anything that needs to be plugged in to work is not portable. Sony is just trying to milk their Playstation I installed base.
posted by Calebos at 11:49 AM on June 8, 2000

Why is everyone so certain that this version of the unit won't have batteries, or at least a portable battery pack? I think I read about somebody hacking their original Playstation to run off a battery; IIRC, the Playstation just has an internal AC-to-DC transformer instead of a wall wart.
posted by harmful at 12:10 PM on June 8, 2000

yeah, it says "a/c adapter" and that usually assumes that it runs off some form of battery. Besides, you could always hook it up to a car battery
posted by starduck at 5:13 PM on June 8, 2000

Why am I so certain that it won't run on batteries?

From c|net:

"But the product is not truly portable and must be plugged into an electrical outlet to be usable, leaving some analysts wondering how the PSone fits into Sony's overall strategy. The device must be plugged into either a wall socket or a car's cigarette lighter and is roughly twice the size of Nintendo's popular Game Boy player, so it cannot truly be considered a portable product..."

link: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-2038294.html?tag=st.ne.1002.thed.ni
posted by Calebos at 7:07 PM on June 8, 2000

Anyone who's been on a long car journey with kids will know exactly where this fits in to Sony's strategy. It's an electronic dummy (pacifier) for kids young and not-so-young.
posted by Markb at 5:35 AM on June 9, 2000

Also, aren't there rechargable batteries available off the shelf which can power anything that can run of cigarette lighter current? Seems like I saw some paperback-sized models the last time I was in the automotive department. But yeah, the back seat of Mom's minivan is probably the target market for this gizmo.
posted by harmful at 6:26 AM on June 9, 2000