Sony PSP vs Nintendo DS

[Iron Monkey]

Well, I was pissed off at Nintendo when they released the SP since I bought a GBA at launch. I'm glad I held out buying the SP. Looks like I'll just get the DS when it comes out instead.

But I honestly do like the PSP better. I like it's design, the DS looks real ugly, IMO. I'm just hoping the PSP will come with some sort of cover to protect the screen. Besides, it's game library appeals to me more than the DS.

[Ending]

True... N's handheld looks so... old. I'm pretty sure they will change the design at some point, though; hopefully BEFORE the launch.

[DAK]

Originally Posted by Necrodeath

"Sony Europe boss Chris Deering has been having a good old chin-wag once again, this time with industry magazine MCV concerning the pricing of the rather exciting Sony PSP. Deering suggested that the UK launch price would be "closer to £200 than £300", with the Japanese price-point of 4,800 Yen translating to about £240, or a hefty $450."

Also taken from Ferrago, which I also posted in another thread in the games forum.
That is just too expensive for me. I'll probably won't get a PSP or a DS anyway, since handheld gaming doesn't appeal to me.

*picks lower jaw up off floor* $450... I think I'm going to curl up into a ball and cry now.. That's much too expensive for my liking. Hopefully they'll be kind and will drop the price to something passable, that is far too expensive for the release price of a handheld console. I don't care what it can do, people still won't pay that kind of money for it.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Wirhe

True... N's handheld looks so... old. I'm pretty sure they will change the design at some point, though; hopefully BEFORE the launch.

I also agree with you there... although it's functionally pretty cool, the visual look/design of the unit really doesn't stand up to the PSP. Obviously, it's the games that are most important, but a cool-looking design doesn't hurt! Apparently, Nintendo representatives at E3 have been saying that these are only prototype builds; the design will probably still be tweaked and the name may be changed before launch. I guess we'll see...

[Dark Zero]

Isn't it obvious thats just a prototype of the DS? They said they'd release what it was about at E3, thus they did so. I has no branding on it whatsoever and looks like just a show tool, its bound to change when it launches, jsut don't expect something to drastic. Furthermore, you all acting as if its the successor to GameBoy, which its NOT and has been claimed as such plenty of times before this. I don't even think it was ment as a competitor for PSP, which it might turn out to be in the end anyway -_- Also, is it just me or the PSP's GFX (the games i saw thus far) look like crap? All this BS about it being greater then PS2 GFXs and all I'm seeing is piss poor saturn-esk like gfx, gimme a break I hope that crap flops as worse as the n-gage. The DS prolly gonna flop too, I don't think people want to buy 'upgraded' handhelds so short inbetween all the rest. So far the line up for psp seems like ps1-ps2 clone's of previous games and little to no original ones, then people take about Nintendo being unoriginal........BAH this bores me.....

[husyk]

Sorry I meant touch screen and DS means Developer's System.

http://www.gamespot.com/gslive/index.html

[Dark Zero]

Originally Posted by husyk

Sorry I meant touch screen and DS means Developer's System.

http://www.gamespot.com/gslive/index.html

I thought at first DS was just the code name for DUAL SCREEN, am I wrong to think that?

[wnkryo]

In the end it's all about the money, you know--the bling bling ^^

If sony makes the consumer dish out alot more than nintendo plans to, then most people are going to lean toward nintendo. That is of course sony's PSP turns out to be mind bogglingly out of this world, then some might dish out for it's hefty price.

Finnaly, there is always that person who "will wait till the price drops", and with that in mind, I am interested to see how all this will play out.

By the way, I'm planning on getting a PSP--If I can afford one.

[Tommy]

The graphics on the PSP are amazing I saw a couple of game videos, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and they looked like PS2 graphics! what are the specs of the PSP? Anyways I agree if the price is too high I say screw it. I bet it will be $300 +.

[Sid_Burn]

I'd say PSP is the greatest... it's pricey though... but it's worth it... I mean... worth the fun...

Originally Posted by Tommy

what are the specs of the PSP?

I think these are the specs...
Product Name: PlayStationPortable (PSP)
Color: Black
Dimensions: Approx. 170 mm (L) x 74 mm (W) x 23 mm (D)
Weight: Approx. 260 g (including battery)
CPU: PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1~333MHz)
Main Memory: 32MB
Embedded DRAM: 4MB
Display: 4.3 inch, 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD
480 x 272 pixel (16.77 million colors)
Max. 200 cd/m2 (with brightness control)
Speakers: Built-in stereo speakers
Main Input/Output: IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi)
USB 2.0 (Target)
Memory StickTM PRO Duo
IrDA
IR Remote (SIRCS)
Disc Drive: UMD Drive (Playback only)
Profile: PSP Game
UMD Audio
UMD Video
Main Connectors: DC IN 5V
Terminals for charging built-in battery
Headphone/Microphone/Control connector
Keys/Switches: Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
Analog pad
Enter keys (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
Left, Right keys
START, SELECT, HOME
POWER On/Hold/Off switch
Brightness control, Sound Mode, Volume +/-
Wireless LAN On/Off switch
UMD Eject
Power: Built-in lithium-ion battery, AC adaptor
<LI>Access Control: Region Code, Parental Control

[Iron Monkey]

I'm excited about the PSP, but I just have to wonder how good the battery life is really going to be. I was concerned about this initially already when I first heard the PSP was going to use a disc medium. That would mean having a motor spin the disc, and that can drain battery power pretty quickly. And how noisy is the PSP going to be with the motor? And will it give off a soft vibration, since it has moving parts? Is it going to be comparable to an MD? If so, I guess that's not too bad.

[aahhsin]

boooooo

i got my SP like a year ago i think... been awhile, but not too long... like from Gameboy -> Gameboy color...

bullshit man... now a new system already? can't I enjoy my SP a while longer

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by aahhsin

bullshit man... now a new system already? can't I enjoy my SP a while longer

Well, not that it's much comfort, but Nintendo says that this is not the successor to the GBA - it is designed to play new kinds of games. They say that they think of it as their third system (GCN, GBA, DS), and that the GBA will still be fully supported by software. As I said, though, that's not much comfort, because everyone will still think of it as the next GameBoy, and the GBA will become like the PSone after the PS2 launched. The weird part is, if this really isn't the GBA successor, does that mean there'll be a GBA2 a few years down the road as well that won't be compatible with the DS? This is just getting complicated...

Originally Posted by Iron Monkey

I'm excited about the PSP, but I just have to wonder how good the battery life is really going to be. [...] And how noisy is the PSP going to be with the motor? And will it give off a soft vibration, since it has moving parts?

Those are some good questions. These, along with the price, are really what's really keeping me from getting too excited about PSP at this point. If it all works out well, though, I'll definitely get one.

[Liquidus]

I'm all for PSP... if the price is right. I'll probably still get a DS even though the design is kinda bleh. At least I can still play my old GB/GBA games. Some of the "features" such as the touch screen, dual screen, microphone, and wireless seem cool and all but I can't see them being used very well. I just hope that was a demo unit.

[wnkryo]

Originally Posted by Iron Monkey

I'm excited about the PSP, but I just have to wonder how good the battery life is really going to be. I was concerned about this initially already when I first heard the PSP was going to use a disc medium. That would mean having a motor spin the disc, and that can drain battery power pretty quickly. And how noisy is the PSP going to be with the motor? And will it give off a soft vibration, since it has moving parts? Is it going to be comparable to an MD? If so, I guess that's not too bad.

The battery for the PSP is going to be lithuim, so 10 hours for game, 8 hours for mp3, and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for dvd/video. All this info came straight from the developers mouth at E3.

The official price of the PSP have been claimed to be less-than expected, but new figures show it might go as high as 300 dollars american.

[HK anime seeker]

Originally Posted by wnkryo

The battery for the PSP is going to be lithuim, so 10 hours for game, 8 hours for mp3, and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for dvd/video. All this info came straight from the developers mouth at E3.

The official price of the PSP have been claimed to be less-than expected, but new figures show it might go as high as 300 dollars american.

Well I'm in Hong Kong so I'll be able to get the PSP when it comes out, I won't need to wait for the WWR. But the intial price will be about the same though. But after afew months the price will be around 80% of what you'll be paying.

Well I'll be getting the PSP over the DS because of the better specs and the better graphics. For me its a ps2(Or is it ps1?) with a built in TV so I can, to some degree not need to by a TV for my room. As the battery requirements i'll be fine because In Hong Kong you don't realy travel for long periodes of time. Only forty five to one hour minitues tops if you plan to go from one end of Hong Kong to another. So the battery time isn't that much of an issue for me.

What about you guys? Do you have to travel for hours on end or do you just not recharge your batteries

[Iron Monkey]

It's funny, but with my GBA, I hardly ever travel with it. I bought it because I wanted to play the games. I usually play my GBA when I'm at home, and I usually just plug it into a walljack. I'm usually play for an hour or so before I go to bed. Weird? Maybe. So I guess the battery issue might not be as big an issue as I originally thought, although, it's still an issue. If gaming battery life is 8 hours, then it's not that big a deal. Price point, yeah, it's looking like it's gonna be pretty expensive. But I'll still buy it, as long as it's under 400 USD.

[HK anime seeker]

Originally Posted by Iron Monkey

It's funny, but with my GBA, I hardly ever travel with it. I bought it because I wanted to play the games. I usually play my GBA when I'm at home, and I usually just plug it into a walljack. I'm usually play for an hour or so before I go to bed. Weird? Maybe. So I guess the battery issue might not be as big an issue as I originally thought, although, it's still an issue. If gaming battery life is 8 hours, then it's not that big a deal. Price point, yeah, it's looking like it's gonna be pretty expensive. But I'll still buy it, as long as it's under 400 USD.

This might be the case for everyone else that says they like a longer battery life. I usely play from the wall just like IronM, unless I'm on a long trip. But when I'm on a long trip its a vactaion and you want to be spend your time taking in the senery or reading about the destination your going to.

How many of you people actualy use you portable for more then two hours?

[dragonz20]

Originally Posted by HK anime seeker

This might be the case for everyone else that says they like a longer battery life. I usely play from the wall just like IronM, unless I'm on a long trip. But when I'm on a long trip its a vactaion and you want to be spend your time taking in the senery or reading about the destination your going to.

How many of you people actualy use you portable for more then two hours?

yes but how often will you remember to replug it in after traveling? are you diligent enough to remember? a 2hr battery life is NOT very long at all and a shorter batterly life will only increase your chances of forgetting on a long trip. Nothing will piss me off more if I've been dying to play a GBA game on a trip but can't get it to play because I forgot to charge my batteries. and even if you recharged it, if you leave it alone long enuff, the battery charge will slowly decay in power and thus you might going on a trip w/ less than 2hrs worth of playing.

A decent RPG game will easily consume that entire time on a flight. Hell, if you add 40mins-1hr of waiting time at the airport, you really only have 1 hour of playing on the actual flight then.

And even thought I do play my GBA @ home, I prefer to play it unplugged so I can move around or adjust my sitting position without roughly yanking the powerplug right out of the wall.

[microlith]

On the topic of battery life, I've been quite pleased with the duration of my SP's battery. It hangs on for a long time despite its small size, and so long as you remember to plug it in (like, you know, remembering to change the batteries) then you'll be fine. If you have a habit of forgetting, then I suggest looking into an external battery pack. What with the stated lifetime of 3 hours for the PSP's battery (while playing video,) I would say that Sony has their work cut out for them while the Nintendo crew (who has tackled this problem many times) may have figured this bit out.

I personally think the DS is gonna take the cake here. A lack of moving parts and what looks like a hefty amount of support for the system could make it killer. The lack of moving parts saves battery power and increases durability (my SP has gone to Japan and back with little more than scratches on the outside,) and Nintendo's handhelds have never been short on good games.

The problem I see with the PSP is much like was stated in the Nintendo conference, Sony is boasting the specs of the hardware but honestly, a modestly powerful yet efficient bit of hardware in the hands of a good developer can make a better game than the most powerful hardware in the hands of developers focused on flash but not gameplay. That and the dual screens, touchpad, six buttons and wireless capability look to make the thing killer.

Sony stated somewhere that their device was supposed to compete not with the DS but with the iPod and play back movies and music. To be honest, if I want to play back movies I'll watch it on my laptop or a TV (better screens) and my iPod wins out for a couple reasons, namely:

- It uses a hard drive for storage and not #$%@$# memory sticks. So I get 20GB of capacity I can use for anything.
- It plays mp3s directly, unlike Sony's wholly proprietary ATRAC format which it converts all mp3s to using their special upload utility (which is the ONLY way to get stuff on there) to "check in" music, which you can't copy off again later (even the iPod doesn't prevent this.)
- It does nothing else.

That and reports are saying $400 or so for this sucker. That would be a death sentence if it's true. We'll see what Sony has up their sleeve. I'll still likely jump on the DS boat, but Sony can get their act together, I may jump on that boat too.