About a year and a half ago, before my vacation in Cabo San Lucas, I finally made the plunge and bought a PSP. I was so excited! One of the first things I did was rip my DVD of "Transformers" onto a format the PSP could play, and then loaded it onto the Memory Stick Duo card. My wife and I watched the movie on the plane rides over, and it was great. But then it all went wrong.
Although I didn't spend a lot of time playing it, I was working on an RPG (surprise, surprise) in the evenings. Then, all of a sudden, my PSP was gone. Stolen from my room? Maybe. I reported it, but of course nothing was ever found. Could I have left it by my chair poolside and someone swiped it while I was enjoying my adult beverages in the comfort of the pool? Probably. But either way, my time with the PSP was less than one week. One week, people.
I was crushed. I've always wanted access to a portable gaming system for times where I am traveling, or just on the go, which tends to be a lot. Plus, a lot of the games I like (RPG's) are starting to dominate the Hand-Held market. There are also other games like platformers that work great on these systems.
So while investigating the DS vs PSP, one thing greatly stood out. Prices! Damn, these things are ridiculous! I mean, I would love to have the PSP Go, but $250! Are they freaking out of their minds? And DS or DSi, while a little cheaper, don't do anything but just play games. Part of what I want is netbook like features, where I can still surf the web, or use Skype, etc. The PSP is definitely a better option for me, but c'mon! $250? When I bought my PSP, I bought it used for $100.
My wife has an iPhone, and if she wanted to, she could game on it, but honestly, I haven't really seen any titles that I thought would be that great. It's growing, but I don't want the expense of another iPhone to pay that extra $30 a month for a phone. Hell, that's a new PSP game every month!
What are your thoughts on Hand-Held's? Do you own one (PSP, DS, Smartphone, something else I don't know of)? Pro's/Con's? Worth having or waste of money?
[By the way, I knew that picture would force you to read my ramblings :P]
(Image copied from Kotaku at http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/images/jess_psp.jpg)
I'm sure we're all fimiliar with Jessica Chobot's licking handhelds.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion right now is kind of torn. The PSP is getting some really cool exclusives right now. I.e. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. I'm sure there's a hack for the ripping DVDs to a PSP GO!
On the other hand, DS games are just more fun in my own opinion. Recently, my DSlite's touch has been starting to lose it's percesion. I've had it for years and I kind of abuse the little thing. I'm thinking about getting a DSi XL because while I like gaming on the go. I normally play DS games during bathroom breaks or on long trips. Having a bigger screen would be nice. The DSi now has a built-in web browser, or you can at least download one. There are tons of great RPGs on DS, too. I really recommend the Mario and Lugi series.
DS = great games
PSP = more functions
PSP isn't expensive as long as you get a 2000/3000 model. I love mine. Have a decent amount of rhythm games, Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins, Metal Gear Portable Ops and a huge selection of JRPG's if you feel so inclined. Don't forget you can play 100% of the PSOne library on the PSP also (if you have yours modded that is).
ReplyDeleteBut as superior the hardware is, I tend to play my DS more since the battery lasts longer, it's smaller so I tend to carry it around more.
Both platforms have more then enough games to keep you happy. If you like to see some really beautiful games on the go, PSP might be the better bet. But DS has a pretty diverse selection of games anyone can enjoy too.
Yeah. I can't make a solid recommendation. Although for some really awesome adventure games...I recommend DS, hands down!