Machine head

My first Sony PlayStation moment: When my niece first bought her first PlayStation, we played games until we resembled happy zombies staring into the TV screen without any knowledge of surrounding reality. It was fun. We got free games to go with the unit, too – Tomb Raider, a bunch of NBA games, Tekken, and Resident Evil. Her mom had to step in and tell my niece it was way past her bedtime, so I was left alone inside a house teeming with flesh-eaters (straight out of The Night Of The Living Dead and Evil Dead), rabid dogs and mysterious doorways that led to more and more evil. I was scared out of my pants. I ended up listening to Frank Zappa’s Zombie Woof instead of battling with the undead.

Years later, Sony has come up with a handheld game console (the size of a bulkier cell phone) that allows users to enter a universe of games and digital amusement. Sony dubs it the PlayStation Portable or PSP. The PSP can play video games, video, and digital audio, as well as display digital photos. Instead of using traditional ROM cartridges with battery-backed RAM for saves, games, and other contents, the PSP utilizes Sony’s new 1.8 GB Universal Media Discs or UMDs. Imagine if they release a UMD of "Resident Evil virtual reality apocalypse doom edition special" or something. That would be a pocketful of bone-chilling, pant-wetting horror.

In a recent media launch at Enterprise Tower, Sony Philippines managing director and president Hiroaki Kobayashi said that the company is offering a more "aggressive pricing" scheme for its PSP, "just in time for the yuletide season." Users who will order PSP until Oct. 26 will get free PSP merchandise and a game certificate worth P3,000 at Sony Squares in Gateway or Park Square.

Product specialist Josephine Ambrocio reiterated that the PSP is not just a gaming console but another multi-function device. "You could view digital photos, listen to MP3 tracks, and even watch movies," she explained. Some of the new movies featured on the PSP website include Guess Who, Kung Fu Hustle and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

As for the games, titles (currently available as well as upcoming ones) include Space Invaders, F1 Grand Prix, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Tomb Raider Legend, and The Chronicles of Narnia, among others. The good thing about the PSP is that you could battle (wirelessly) with other PSP owners.

Good. So I wouldn’t have to be alone in fleeing from those flesh-eaters when Sony comes out with a new Resident Evil software.

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For information, log on to www.sony.com.ph, e-mail info.sph@ap.sony.com or contact 878-7600.