Topic: PSN Digital Comics

[idolminds]

Launched today

So far US only but I guess they are trying to get it elsewhere soon. In a strange move, so far they can only be read on the PSP and need to be purchased through the PSP or the MediaGo PC client.

Anyway, I'm gonna check it out. I'm currently on the latest PSP firmware on account of LittleBigPlanet (no worries though, with my Pandora battery and magic memory stick I can be back on CFW in 10 minutes), and I saw the little "Extras" icon on the system. Below that is the Digital Comics reader. Its a separate download but only 5MB or so.

The store currently has something like 17 free comics you can grab to check the whole thing out. I lined up the few that looked interesting to me. Havent downloaded any yet so I'll report back when I do. One interesting thing I read today was that comics can have their own audio tracks and can have things like artist commentaries, similar to DVD commentary tracks. That'll be interesting.

[idolminds]

Well, the reader works pretty well. I downloaded the smallest free comic that sounded interesting. Unfortunately this particular comic seems to be just part of a full comic. But hey, it was free. The others are 3-4 time larger filesize wise, so they might be the full thing.

Its not the most complicated thing in the world. Easy enough to select the comic and load it up. It has an "easy mode" way of reading where it will zoom in and frame the panels in sequence. Panels larger than the screen can display are panned across in what appears to be a programmed motion specific to the panel. This comic had two such panels and is scrolled past them differently. No worries if you dont like this since you still have full control over zoom and the camera position so you can read it however you want.

So its neat. The comics are cheap enough I might be tempted to buy one here and there when I've only got a couple bucks in my account or something.

[Quemaqua]

Sounds like something I would never, ever use.  If I buy a comic, it will be on paper.  I don't do ebooks either.

[idolminds]

Heh, very true. I dont buy a lot of comics, but if I did it would be paper all the way. I dont see this really taking off in any major way, but I'm sure some casual comic reader like me will pick up an issue here and there. So if thats what they were planning on then it might work out for them.

[Quemaqua]

I dunno'... lots of people seem to want to throw themselves at digital stuff as though it will save their souls, so it might do just fine.  Hard to say.