[Windowsrookie]

so what do you guys think of them? I never really thought much of them until today when I got to play with my firends. It's really a nice device. I"m thinking of buying one and they are on sale this week. anybody have any expirience with them?

[Wyatt]

I had one for a while (I sold it to buy my XBox 360). I liked it, but the library of games is not that great. There aren't a lot of games, and there aren't any of really high quality. Actually, the only game that I was really impressed by was Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. The other ones that I owned or played just weren't that great. They were good portable games (some of them, anyway), but they weren't just good games.

GTA: LCS was the only one that I would be willing to play on a console. So, when I was done with that game, I sold it the whole thing. I just found that I don't travel enough to warrant settling for lower-quality games to have the portability factor. I'm usually home, and when I'm not, I certainly dont' have time to play video games.

[Windowsrookie]

sweet. right now i have an xbox, i want a 360 but all i play is halo 2. and the graphics are so good in that game people are saying halo 3 won't be much better.

[Wrao]

I personally wouldn't want one, I don't see the appeal in carrying around such an expensive toy that can't fit easily into your pocket. Heck, I barely walked around with my iPod, I basically only used it in the car. As far as portable gaming, the DS or even a GBA makes more sense to me, lots of games, many of which don't require much attention or aptitude(perfect for fiddling around with in downtime), screens are protected and the whole case is smaller and more durable. If I were going to get a portable gaming toy, I'd get a DS.

Not saying I haven't enjoyed playing on a PSP in the times I've tinkered with it, but the DS just seems a lot more logical when considering what these gizmos are for.

[Yontsey]

My cousins all have one and they have madden and mlb 2006 for it and I play it every once in awhile. When I play them, im not really impressed because mainly, they games seem a lil laggy. I just dont know if hte PSP is powerful enough to run the games on it. I mean, dont get me wrong, the graphics are pretty good and its fun, but I think the gameplay is a lil slow at time and I'm afraid to get committed and buy one because I think theyll be another "flavor of the week" type thing and they wont have the lasting appeal.

[usurp]

I have both the PSP and DS and since I got them I stopped playing with my xbox and gamecube. Portable systems are a lot more practical then playing on the living room TV (Specially if you are married).

Between the PSP and DS I prefer the PSP because it has more games that are my style and bettr graphics. Also I love playing old 16bit SNES games and with the PSP I can do that using emulators.

I like the DS because of 2D games like Sonic Rush, Castlevania and the new Super Mario Bros that is getting released very soon.

[AsLan^]

Does the DS really have that instant on / off feature ? Can you just close the clamshell have the game paused and when you open it it's right where you left it ?

Does the PSP have a similar feature ?

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by AsLan^ Does the DS really have that instant on / off feature ? Can you just close the clamshell have the game paused and when you open it it's right where you left it ? Does the PSP have a similar feature ?

The PSP is a bit like an iPod. It just suspends play when you turn it off. It saves your place unless you let it sit for several days and the battery dies. I'm not sure about the DS, though.

[kbk]

My ex had one and I loved it! I used to play with it a fair bit.

It was a very cool little machine

[wecallitfall]

i won one, and i got to be honest i hardly ever use it

i only bought one because a mate at work got one and i was impressed with it when i first saw it, and thought it would be cool to play wirelessy together at work

i have four games -
World tour soccer = v basic, wireless multiplayer d/c's during pause
virtua tennis = not bad, lot of gameplay to be had
burnout = pretty much same as console versions
gta:lcs = best game, not bad story line, lots to do, just like ps2 gta3 - great great great mulitplayer

but really, theres not much to do with them, battery lasts 3 hours if you're lucky and with wi-fi we're talking 2 at the most

you'll get th emost out of one if a freind has one too and owns the same games

[usurp]

yeah ds when u close the cover goes to sleep. psp also goes to sleep with a switch.

[AsLan^]

Darnnit, I was hoping that a sleep feature might be the deciding factor in which one to buy

[babelfish]

I bought a PSP the day it came out... to be entirely honest haven't been using it that much. Only played a couple of games heavily (those being Lumines and Hot Shots Golf) whereas others captured my imagination for not very long at all. In my opinion I wouldn't get one... you find you really can;t be be arsed to take it around with you. Plus you worry about scratching the screen

[bassplayinMacFiend]

I picked up a PSP last year. The only game I really played the heck out of was Lumines, but I like puzzle games.

Also used it for awhile for portable playback of home videos, but it's hard to get good quality because of the limitations Sony put in the machine (only full size screen quality through UMD discs, memory stick video limited to lower resolution). Sony uses proprietary headers on PSP video so you can't just generate H.264 video using QuickTime and the best video encoders are PC only. Even Sony's software is PC only.

My PSP has been gathering dust for months now. Think I'm going to sell mine. Especially now that I do all my gaming on my 360.

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by usurp I have both the PSP and DS and since I got them I stopped playing with my xbox and gamecube. Portable systems are a lot more practical then playing on the living room TV (Specially if you are married).

Absolutely! My girlfriend loves her TV and I can live without TV at all (except for sport perhaps). So she can watch TV, I can play on my PSP! Both happy...

But the number of quality PSP games has been disappointing. GTA was good fun, exploring the old GTA3 streets once again. Pro Evo Soccer is great if you are a fan of the series! Outrun is fun for short 10 min breaks. But that's about it as far as decent PSP games go. TOCA came bundled with my PSP, and it was shockingly poor! I don't think I've seen a game that poor for quite some time.

UMD movies are laughably poor for their extortionate cost!

It's by no means perfect, but my PSP has kept me amused for many hours. Rumours suggest a dual-analogue control PSP is in the works...

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by windowsrookie sweet. right now i have an xbox, i want a 360 but all i play is halo 2. and the graphics are so good in that game people are saying halo 3 won't be much better.

You probably wouldn't notice much difference in graphics quality in *any* 360 game unless you have an HDTV. Just who is it that thinks Halo 3 (or whatever Bungie will call it) won't have amazing graphics? I don't see Bungie releasing anything *until* it looks completely kick-ass and takes advantage of the new power in the 360.

[rasmits]

Anyone play Mercury? That game is worth the cost of a PSP. It's one of the best games I've ever played.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my PSP, but I wish I could rent UMD movies at Blockbuster or something, because I'd never buy them for the same price as a DVD.

[Dr_LHA]

I bought one a couple of days after it was released (coincided with a tax refund!). Loved it, played lumines to death, but recently have found that I haven't bought any games for it. Nothing really grabs me.

These days I spend far more time playing on my DS.

[macleod]

I have one, and I like it all right but I never use it. If I want to play a game I play my xbox 360 because of the big screen and it is just more comfortable than sitting and staring down at a little screen. As far as handheld gaming systems go it is a great one; I guess I am just not a mobile gamer! I am actually thinking about selling it, but don't know how or where. I am not a big fan of selling on ebay because I feel I might not get a good selling price. Any suggestions on where to sell or for how much?

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by MACleod I am not a big fan of selling on ebay because I feel I might not get a good selling price. Any suggestions on where to sell or for how much?

If you're nervous of getting a crap price on ebay you could always list it as a "Buy it Now" auction at a fixed price, or you could set a reserve price on a regular ebay auction.

[Windowsrookie]

I'm going to purchase it tomarrow unless anybody can prove to me it sucks.

[Windowsrookie]

im typing this on my new psp!!!

[Luca]

I went to Best Buy today and went to the video game section. Every station was occupied except for the PSP, so I decided to check it out. There some some baseball game in it. The graphics looked excellent, but I wanted to start a new game so I hit start and told it to end the current game.

And then I waited.

And I continued waiting.

After that, I waited a bit more.

Then some more.

Eventually the loading screen disappeared and I was presented with the main menu. I chose to start a new game.

At which point I was treated to another loading screen.

(tick, tock, tick, tock)

Boy that UMD is pretty slow isn't it?

Still waiting.

I had to go then so I left. It must have been a minute and a half to end the game and another minute and a half to start a new one. I have no idea how anyone can put up with how slow the PSP is at loading stuff.

I'll take a DS, thanks. Cartidges load quickly, the touch screen is cool, and Nintendo is just inherently a lot better than Sony.

[Mac+]

w-rookie - did you get a black or white one?

I saw some value packs at Shanghai that seemed pretty cheap and I was tempted myself. What amount of memory did you get with it?

[Windowsrookie]

white is only available in japan. (unless imported) But it's more expensive for a white color. :crazy:

Luca. There must have been an error or something (store models get beat up) it shouldn't take more than a minute to load.

Sony decided to go with UMD's because they hold 1.8gb's. They are slower but hold more for a cheaper price. I personally like UMD's.

[turbulentfurball]

Have you bought any UMD movies? Apparently, the format has not been as popular as expected, and some studios have ceased releasing movies for the format. Sony themselves have cut down on the number of releases for UMD.

[Windowsrookie]

I just saw a commercial for a new umd movie today. also i can just put my own movies on the memory card.

[turbulentfurball]

Originally Posted by windowsrookie also i can just put my own movies on the memory card.

... which is the reason that UMD movies are not selling well.

[Luca]

Originally Posted by windowsrookie Luca. There must have been an error or something (store models get beat up) it shouldn't take more than a minute to load.

That might be the case. It was about a minute for the game to end, and about another minute for a new game to begin. I may have overestimated the amount of time it took since I was in a Best Buy and as such I was somewhat uncomfortable and kind of bored (I only went there because my other option was to go into the fabric store next door with my mom), but it was a LONG time. I have always heard about how long it takes the PSP to load stuff but I didn't really realize how intrusive it would be until now.

Either way, whether it was Best Buy's fault (for having a beaten-up store demo model out) or Sony's fault (for designing the thing), any possible desire I may have once had for the PSP is now gone. I might get a DS at some point, though. Those look cool. And they use cartridges, so although they might not hold as much data, you don't have to wait forever in order to play something. That's what confuses me about the PSP. The games are complex and the loading times are long, but portable systems are supposed to be really quick to pick up and play, and to stop whenever you want. The PSP might technically be a "better" gaming system (better graphics, more versatile, more storage, bigger and brighter screen), but the DS is better as a purely portable system.

[Robo]

The PSP is actually known for having some horrific load times.

EGM Editer-in-Chief Dan Hsu summed up my feelings perfectly in his most recent editorial:

"I like the PSP. It's a well-designed machine. I don't like the PSP's games. They're not well-designed for the PSP. (Maybe that means that the PSP isn't so well-designed after all.)"

Many of the PSP's games are "remixes" of console games, but they're just kinda forced to fit onto the PSP. The PSP only has one analog stick, which nearly ruined versions of even exellent games like Katamari Damacy. It's a great machine, but the games are so...blah.

Whereas, the DS is an okay machine, but the games are great.

So, take your pick. You can have a sexy machine, or a fun one.

(Or, you can wait until the new DS Lite comes out, and have both. )