Sony gives students portable fun

Yeah, I’m a golf master. I’m a force to be reckoned with on the last nine holes of the Autumn Pagoda Golf Course. I’ve got these cool plaid pants with a striped shirt and spiky bracelets; people fear me when I step on the green.

Ok, ok, so it’s all on my new Sony PlayStation Portable and I’m playing Hot Shots Golf Open Tee. But there is something about getting the birdie on the 18th hole to win the tournament that just oozes triumph.

PlayStation Portable (PSP), which retails for $249.99, was released by Sony in early 2005 and made its mark on the map by releasing “Spider-Man 2” the movie, with the first million units sold, said Sony. The PSP came into a market that had been previously dominated by Nintendo according to Gameworld Network, emphasis on previously.

Sony was waiting in the wings, letting Nintendo have its 15 minutes of fame. All the while the Sony gears were turning and without warning, PSP launches and changes the world of handheld game devices forever.

PSP decided to go with a new approach, bringing on a system that not only allows the owner to play PlayStation games but also has a variety of other entertainment features built in.

I can watch movies, listen to MP3s, view pictures and beat other golf novices on the Internet.

Oh, hang on, it’s my shot.

Sony has given in to the world of multi-taskers. With all the things it does, there is no need to buy the portable DVD player, iPod and a video game device.

Sony has created the Universal Media Disc, or UMD. About a quarter the size of a DVD, the UMD has caught Hollywood by storm. Most executives in the movie business were hesitant to sign on with Sony and the UMD, but Sony said over 5 million units have been sold since PSPs release and the fact that UMD movies are flying off the shelves, movie makers have seen the error of their ways, said Newsweek.

You could say if Hollywood were a golf course, big shot movie executives would be asking for a Mulligan (that’s a do-over for you golf juniors).

All right so one not-so-hot thing is that if you already have a PlayStation, you need to buy new games on the UMD format to play on PSP. But there is always a silver lining; you didn’t think I’d go against my own opinion did you?

All PSP games are the same quality as their home console counterparts, but there is something different. Kind of like the Where’s Waldo of the video game world. The scene is different. Hey, that’s a new character. Her hair wasn’t pink in the original. These rules are different. I don’t remember getting the silver sword that way before.

Something is different about all the games and not just something simple you might skip over. Sony said this was done on purpose to encourage gamers to get the PSP and all their favorite games. And are all the PlayStation games now available for PSP? Yes, about 80 percent of the games thus far. But not to worry, all games will be available by early 2006, Sony said.

In addition, all your favorite movies are either out or are on the way to UMD format. Everything from “Dodge Ball” (a personal favorite) to anime is available. Sony said companies like New Line and Universal have jumped on the bandwagon to release upcoming flicks on DVD and UMD.

Pretty soon Sony is going to take over the world and I know for sure whoever coined the term, “better than sliced bread” was anticipating PSP. Eagle shot? No way, who’s taking over the world now?

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