Sony PSP Power Brick on the shelves for North American release

by Ben Zackheim { Feb 23rd 2005 at 11:35AM }

Hey, have you heard? The Sony PSP sucks a lot of power. Yes, it's true. However, if you don't mind lugging an extra power source around, you can grab a Power Brick from Gamestop on March 16th. The twenty dollar Electro Source/Pelican device is snazzy enough, though that cord looks a little on the short side. Where am I supposed to put it? My chest pocket?

[via I4U]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

How long does this last?

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

While I understand the "need" for this, it still seems like a bad solution to a bigger problem.

It just seems to take away from the whole idea of the PSP being "portable".

What's next? "Because the square button has been known to stick, Sony is releasing a controller that can be plugged into the devise. Also, for those wanting a larger screen, a TV can be plugged in..." Actually, the TV idea wouldn't have been bad...

GTi-VR6 @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

ummm....no.

How about: "Because the square button has been know to stick we've found a flaw in the mfg process, and fixed it (http://www.techjapan.com/Article900.html) and are offering a free fix for those that have the problem."

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

GTi-VR6: Oh man! You totally got me! I guess my sarcasm didn't come across when I wrote "comment#2".

That sucks too because I was really hoping that Sony would release a controller and a TV extension to go along with their battery pack.

Note: This comment too, was intended to be sarcastic.

Clint @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

I don't see what the problem is. This device would really come in handy if you were travelling and needed more battery life. It doesn't look too big to me. The battery life isn't that big a deal. I don't know any adult who would play more than 2 hours in one session anyway! If your child is playing video games more than 2 hours per day, you really need to take the dang thing away from them anyways or they will end up working at McDonalds or some other crummy job when they grow up.

Wayne Phinney @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

"How about: "Because the square button has been know to stick we've found a flaw in the mfg process, and fixed it (http://www.techjapan.com/Article900.html) and are offering a free fix for those that have the problem.""

Yeah, because they were all nice about the issue when it first came up. I loved their "Deal with it." attitude that they had. Sure, now they're fixing them, but the attitude they had about the problem initially is a major reason why I will not be getting a PSP.

And this is not to say I'm getting a DS. I'm not getting one of those either.

elementalwinds @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

if your not getting one then why are you posting at all.

Power block looks like a good idea to me. Better then the case with the built in battery that's going to cost 60 bones. I can get a Power block and a nice sexy case for 35 bones. Not bad.

note to all*

Don't post about the PSP if you not getting one. Don't post about the PSP unless you have useful information. I want factual information not your rants about how much sony suck etc. etc. I don't like wasting my time reading your useless comments.

carlosc1dbz @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

Well I am at least happy that someone is trying to address the problem. Lets not criticize companies for trying. The process to improving the psp will include sucky products and then companys will make improvements those products, and in the end we will end up with a pretty good product. In this case we are adressing the psp power brick. Yeah it has a short cord and is probably annoying to carry around, but its a start and before you know it a company will imrove on this idea and come out with a better battery brick. So i give props to the company that made the powerbrick because its the start of better things to come.

toelemental @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

I had no idea that these comments were for solely for you elementalwinds. For your information just because you dont want to hear bad factual information about sony doesnt mean it doesnt exist. I personally like to hear the pros and cons about things that I like to buy. That being said I like the idea of having an external power source.

Joey Geraci @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

So you pretty much only want to hear from people who have already bought a psp? Why don't you go on a psp fan site, here we all have different opinions, and we don't let people with small minds restrict us.

carlosc1dbz @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

hello, I would just like to add that at least this battery pack is not white like something else associated with the psp i dont want to mention any accesories,(COUGHS!)(VALUEPACK HEADPHONES). So i think that the battery pack is cool and, poeple stop with the negativity plase. Whats next? The PSP screen is to small. lol. Still im sure the battery pack is just a temporary solution since sony has confimed something about new battery technology that will add like 30% more battery life to the psp.
"word to your mother"

Mark Edwards @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

I seem to remember a couple of other handheld game platforms that required external battery packs due to their power consumption. The Game Gear and Nomad. It was their downfall

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

It's possible and likely that the cord will be longer than in the photo. This picture is obviously some sort of "promo" shot, and they probably don't want to show a long cord on this.

@Mark Edwards, I do remember that huge "Game Gear" external battery pack thing. You could kill someone with that thing.

Ironchew @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

Come on. The PSP's battery life sucks. I'm not saying this because I'm biased against the PSP, only because it's counter-intuitive to the functionality of the machine. Sure, you can play games on it. You can watch movies also. You can play MP3s. While all this technically jacks up the price of the machine (not to mention buying the media for it), it would be nice to have a battery life that lets you do all these things to a full extent, about 3 times over. The PSP fails in that regard. Not even 3 hours of battery life. That's just bad. Having to pay for something that will extend the battery life is bad too, mostly because it was an uber-expensive toy to begin with.

Oh BTW, I don't support the DS either. GBA all the way!

Kevin @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

Ya the battery life in the PSP kinda suck but the bundle comes with 2 batters!!! so you have about 6hr. of play time on the road!!

also how long does it take to charge the batterys????

larry @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

i have a psp on prepurchase and i owned the nintendo ds but in my experience with the ds isno good games are out for it to speak of and the battery lasted around 6 to 7 hours playing mario 64.which is a rehash unlike the psp games.if th ebattery lasted 3 to 4 to 5 hours at a time sounds cool to me as i dont sit around at one place long to play one for that long of time .when not playing it set it to charge up.if you are playing it and are near a plug in for power hook it up,as for pelicans powerbrick battery i am wondering how it works is it charged up or what feel free to email me at lhardwick69@direcway.com and tell me.also i am a try videogamer.i've had the xbox gamecube ps2 ps2 n64 supernes sega dreamcast and so on back to the atari days.every system has their pluses and minuses as there isnt anything perfect about the systems.sure xbox has good games like 1 a month and gamecube 1 every other month and oodles for ps2 as companies know ps2 is where the money is at. thats why resident evil 4 is coming to ps2 now as ps2 has a huge following and i am sure it will be a fun game as it was on gamecube.so play hard and remember just because you think it sucks like a hoover doesnt mean someone else does

Joshua @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

If everyone would like to cough up another 100 bucks for their PSP, I'm sure they could've thew in a 10-15 hr battery and maybe make pancakes...but they have to shoot for a price, and they opted for a better gaming experience over the length of the gaming experience. Not to mention its practically a swiss army knife of multimedia...video, music, games...for the same price as an iPod...the PSP gets an incredible thumbs up from me...mp3 play length is only 2 hours shorter than an iPod, I see no problems...

RvLeshrac @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

The reason you need to stop talking about the PSP if you don't have one AND aren't getting one is illustrated by the battery life 'issue'.

I own a PSP. Battery life is roughly 5 hours. While that doesn't hold a candle to the GBA or DS, for most people it is more than enough. If you're playing a UMD Video with the brightness and volume all the way up, you'll come closer to the three hour figure.