Update: March 24 2005
With the USA PSP Value Pack now available stateside, NCS lowers the price of the Japanese Regular Pack to US$270. Please note that a 13.2MB firmware update was released last night and may be downloaded here. To install it, copy the file from PC to your memory stick (dir X:\PSP\GAME\UPDATE\) and then select the memory stick in the PSP browser. Once detected, the installation will begin.

Update: March 15 2005
A number of USA PSP games have shipped to market this week and we can now confirm that Japanese PSP units are capable of playing all of them. There is no territory lockout on PSP video game software and USA game UMDs are playable on Japanese PSP handheld units. UMD movies are however INCOMPATIBLE and territory-protected.

Update: Jan 31 2005
PSP Regular Pack pricing drops slightly to US$319.

The Sony PSP system package includes the following items:
1) Sony PSP unit
2) Power cord and adapter pack (100V-240V)
3) Rechargeable lithium ion battery.

Please note that we will not accept any returns of the PSP because of dead-pixel problems. Yes, there are numerous reports of units with dead-pixel problems in the market. None of our suppliers or Sony themselves, apparently, will accept dead-pixel PSPs for return and you agree to accept this condition.

Notes from NCS / Last Updated on Jan 05, 2005
0) When powering up the PSP for the first time, the user will be prompted to set the language, time/date, and other optional settings such as system nickname, power save, sound, security, and network. There's also a setting to automatically dim the screen after a set amount of time of inactivity.

1) The AC adapter is indeed INPUT: 100V-240V so that it will work in Japan, the USA, and in Europe without any stepdown converters, etc. Battery life is ~5 hours if you just leave the PSP unit on without any activity other than swishing around buttons and experimenting. At full gaming mode with the UMD whirring away, battery life is halved to about 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours.

2) The Memory Stick Duo port on the PSP is located on the left side of the unit. A little hatch may be removed to insert/remove Memory Sticks. Please note that any Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Duo Pro may be used with the PSP and we're currently using a 512MB stick to store our data.

3) The screen quality really is as good as you've read on message boards, pro reviews, newsgroups, etc. Considering that Ridge Racers is visually brilliant, we can only imagine how good second generation games will look. There are three gradations of LCD brightness which may be adjusted with a button located on the front of the unit.

4) The quality of the D-pad, analog nub controller, and the front buttons are very good but we have some reservations about the trigger buttons on the top of the unit. They pop up and down with a cheap tactile feel and they also wobble somewhat to and fro. We'd peg these as the first to get broken/damaged with extensive use.

5) The plastic screen over the PSP LCD is surprisingly resistant against scratches. The rest of the face of the unit is also scratch-resistant but the plastic and the buttons tend to get smudged easily by oily fingertips. A few wipes with a non-abrasive cloth is good for quick cleanings however. Smudges are a minor thing but they are unsightly. We're looking for third-party manufacturers to release PSP films and front overlays which will alleviate the smudge problem.

6) Access to the UMD drive is granted by sliding an "Open" switch on the top portion of the PSP. The UMD drive door tends to literally shoot out with a great amount of force. Since we're fairly sure that this will result in wear and tear on the door over the course of a few months to years, we'd recommend placing a finger against the door when sliding the "Open" switch so that the door pops open in a more controlled manner.

7) The background color of the PSP changes depending on the month. For example, last month (Dec 2004), it was orange. This month (Jan 2005) it is a light blue color. In the coming months, it will change to the following colors:

February 2005: Yellow
March 2005: Green
April 2005: Pink
May 2005: Dark Green
June 2005: Purple
July 2005: Aqua
August 2005: Sky Blue
September 2005: Violet
October 2005: Gold
November 2005: Light Brown
December 2005: Red

8) We've sold a few hundred PSP units in a couple of weeks and overall, the response has been very positive. A couple of customers were disappointed that they had 3-4 dead pixels on the LCD screen but even they were ecstatic over the quality of the unit. Kudos to Sony for bringing portable gaming to the next generation in terms of visual power.