The PSP Thread

I started this thread after reading the GS review on Daxter. For a while now I have been spouting off against the PSP, mainly for reasons of it being over-priced. Now comes Daxter, and even though I have hesitations about buying a PSP (I believe a part of me is waiting for Sony to pull a PSP-Lite out of its sleeve), this game has got me seriously reconsidering my stance.

Just so I don't go nuts and rush right out and buy a PSP simply to play this game (which I personally feel is the best game to come out yet for the platform) I thought I would first ask everyone here who owns a PSP to give me their take on the handheld. Give me the reasons for why you bought one, and what are some of the pluses (or minuses) that you've discovered about this handheld? What games have you really found enjoyable? How is the battery life? If you don't own a PSP please let me hear your reasons for not buying one.

I'm still holding out for a DS-Lite, because deep down I'm a true Nintendo fanboy. Plus I read somewhere that Sony was thinking of releasing a new and improved version at some point. Still the graphics and versatility of the PSP (and a game like Daxter) have intrigued me. So let me hear your reasons - for or against?

Thank yee, kindly.

I wasn't going to reply but when I saw you're open to hearing reasons why we wouldn't/didn't buy it, these are my reasons:

I must admit, I simply like Nintendo games - and though they stalled with the games, they always announced great games (now that I have the games, I'm very very happy!), and the DS just had fun features, long battery life, plus they have a nice little online network now :)  The promise of online kept me happy during the dry spell.  I always thought it was pretty ugly, but with the DS lite, that's not a problem anymore.  The DS doesn't have the greatest graphics in the world, and it shows on some games, still the games that do pull off good graphics look great (Not PSP level by any means, but they are nice).  Oh, and another draw was that I could still play GBA games on it (which is great because they still make lots of GBA games and I still wanted to play some that I still needed to get).

Not to bash, but my biggest gripe with the PSP is that it has stuff that I don't really need.  I don't have much of a DVD library at home, so I knew I wasn't going to be buying UMDs that only play on the PSP, and those movies are as expensiive as DVDs, and more so than older DVDs.  And I have an MP3 player, so I wouldn't be using that (I also think its impractical as an MP3 player cuz of the memory cards that you have to buy, those babies are pretty expensive, same goes for the movies, along with the annoyance of converting them).  Plus if I ever wanted that option, there's always the Play-yan for the DS, but happily, I didn't have to pay for those features upfront like the PSP cuz w/ the DS it's an add on.  Oh, and I must mention the DS is getting an online Browser (Opera) add on and a TV tuner in Japan and likely everywhere else, if not, it'll be import friendly.  Who knows how they'll turn out, but it'll be there if you want it.

Just a few more things, price - Sony thought about the system before the price tag (reminds me of what they're doing with the PS3..."we're gonna add Blue-Ray even if customers have to pay for it out of their ears" lol). Oh, and just before the release, there were those horrible reviews about the battery life -  Watch a movie and you can't play a game..and even games dry the battery (I once read a review about a guy who played on the plane and it died, then during lay-over he ran around the airport looking for a plug, then found someone there already charging!).  And the ones about the loading times (After playing with the gamecube w/ its fast load times so long, I can't handle load times, the PS2 drives me nuts, I've read PSP was worse), but those are reviews, so in some ways they sound like scare tactics, but I know 2 people w/ the PSP and they've pretty much said it's true about the battery and load times.

There are things that the PSP does better, it's technologically more impressive, with it's big screen and greater power.  And it handles certain games better (like racing, sports titles).  So I suppose the games are a matter of opinion, what you like.  The DS likes puzzles, platform, "innovative" games, and there's a flood of RPGs that are coming out, likewise the usual suspects that are Nintendo's flagship games.  Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Meteos, Tetris DS, Castlevania, Mario and Luigi, Phoenix Wright, Brain Training, MP:H, Children of Mana, FF3, Contact, And that's what I like.

.....wow, that was pretty long!

.....wow, that was pretty long!

Angelbabe531

Like I said in my last post, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is coming out for the PSP.
dcgames

[QUOTE="dcgames"]Like I said in my last post, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is coming out for the PSP.
jimmycanuck

Thanks

Like I said in my last post, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is coming out for the PSP.
dcgames

Isn't that a UMD movie?

....forget it, I see you guys are on right now...

I think the new Katamari game will be a good addition to the PSP library. I find it odd that there is no Final Fantasy game announced for PSP, but Final Fantasy 3 is coming to DS.Travo_basic

PSP PROS:

-wonderful graphics

-wonderful sound

-improving lineup of games

PSP CONS:

-extremely fragile system.  In the one year I owned a PSP, I had to trade it in three times, each time paying to renew the insurance on it.  Twice was for a crapped out drive, once for dead pixels.  When you are 'on the go' with this system, you need to treat it like a crystal champagne glass.  I kid you not, if you drop it from a height of about a 1/4 inch while the umd is spinning, say bye bye to the drive.

-a majority of the games still aren't very good, aside from the graphics.  I just didn't really have much FUN with most of them, for a variety of reasons.  See my reviews for details, but once the graphics stop stunning you, the games themselves are a little thin in the enjoyment factor.  Then again, I don't much like platformers or puzzle games.  Either the game was dull, the load times were horrific, or it was lots of fun but didn't last very long.  Yes, this might be changing now, but I'm waiting for at least another year to let a library to build up for the system (and for a newer/better version of the hardware to come out).

-lots of stuff others have talked about already: battery issues, useless extras, etc.

I figure if it drops another $50 in price I might consider buying one again.  However, the extremely expensive pricetag for new games on the system still means you get more bang for your buck with other console/handheld systems.

I am not a hand held user, so I cannot fairly judge whether or not this is a maintainable topic, so I am leaving it for now....

Would welcome feedback from others, ANY ONE actually.