Well, the details about the PSP launch have finally come out, it's time for us nerds to draw our lines in the sand and bicker. Here's the details about the PSP:

Comes out March 24
$250
Includes the system plus:
32MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case, and cleaning cloth. In addition, the bundle boasts a movie/music/game sampler UMD disc with non-interactive demos. On top of everything else, the first one million people to purchase a PSP in the US will receive a bonus UMD featuring the full feature film Spider-Man 2.

Launch games:
Ape Escape: On the Loose, Sony Computer Entertainment America
ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, Capcom
Dynasty Warriors, KOEI
FIFA 2005, Electronic Arts
Gretzky NHL, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Lumines, Ubisoft
Metal Gear Acid, Konami
MLB, Sony Computer Entertainment America
MVP Baseball, Electronic Arts
NBA, Sony Computer Entertainment America
NBA Street Showdown, Electronic Arts
Need for Speed Rivals, Electronic Arts
NFL Street 2 Unleashed, Electronic Arts
Rengoku: Tower of Purgatory, Konami
Ridge Racer, Namco
Smartbomb, Eidos Interactive
Spider-Man 2, Activision
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, Electronic Arts
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, Activision
Twisted Metal: Head On, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment
Wipeout Pure, Sony Computer Entertainment America
World Tour Soccer, Sony Computer Entertainment America

That's the details at the moment. Although I'm not interested in any of those games(NOTE: the Metal Gear game is some kind of card battle thing), I gotta say that's a damn impressive lineup. That's twice as many games as there are available for the DS right now. The music and movie playback abilities are pretty impressive too.

The DS is no slouch though. There should be about 18 games out by the time the PSP actually launches, including Wario Ware: Touched, the DS game I've been looking forward to. Of course, the DS plays all the GBA games too, so that's a huge advantage. And then there's another Viewtiful Joe, Mario Kart, and Metroid Prime: Hunters later on. Conversely, the PSP has Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, and eventually a FFVII spinoff.

Ultimately, I'm leaning towards the DS, unless the PSP price drops and the battery life improves big time. The thing will barely be able to play back Spider-man 2 in one sitting, ferchrissakes. The movie and music playback features aren't very compelling either. You'd have to buy a big memory stick to store a satisfactory amount of mp3s on that thing and movies basically wear the battery out. Finally, the PSP is being marketed to adults and I just don't think the mainstream public wants to be seen playing games on the go.

Realizing that this is far too long, any other thoughts?

[Edited on February 4, 2005 at 2:24 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2005 2:14:39 PM

is a UMD an optical, spinning media?

It seems like the PSP tries to do too much for its intended purpose and targetted audience to me.

How long its battery life for games?

Also, the PSP is a bit larger than the DS, isn't it, when the DS is folded up?

I think for games, the DS is going to be better... Playing that Metroid demo with the touchpad hooked me, I think. And Nintendo is offering (or will be, I think) an adapter to use flash cards that you can play music and watch videos with.

2/4/2005 2:41:24 PM

Yeah, they have some kind of adapter in Japan.

Battery life for PSP games depend on how processor intensive they are and how often they access the disk. A simple puzzle game will last about four to six hours according to Sony. A racing game will be less than that. Movie playback is also pretty short. I doubt you can make it through one LotR films with that.

2/4/2005 3:14:23 PM

hmm. I'm not sure how often I'll need to play 3 hours without recharging, but I suppose a last minute Christmas shopping trip to Cary Town Center with my wife (by then) might present a problem. I'm not sure either one will have enough buttons to give me the control that I'm used to with my ps2 and computer. I wouldn't buy one without playing them both though.

[Edited on February 4, 2005 at 6:28 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2005 6:26:55 PM

the movie playback on the psp is worthless. who in the hell would want to sit in front of a psp and watch a friggin movie? stupid if you ask me. as for game play, psp has a bigger screen, and although ds primary playing screen in smaller, the touch screen as pizzazz to its creation. tight race if you ask me.

2/4/2005 9:08:35 PM

lets see, affordable handheld that is indestructable and guaranteed to have great games on it
or
$250 brick that is certain to break within a year that plays nothing but sports games and ps1 rehashes

2/4/2005 9:57:11 PM

both have been out in japan for a while. wonder which one is doing better there?

2/4/2005 11:11:18 PM

don't fuck with nintendo and the handheld market

2/4/2005 11:42:48 PM

I'm Batman.

2/5/2005 12:25:01 AM

you're a faggot

2/5/2005 2:31:38 AM

while the psp is nifty the DS and nintendo in general have pretty much had their way with all comers in the hand held arena

2/5/2005 2:34:57 AM

See you say that now.

However

I saw a classmate hold a PSP in his hands during NE419.

It made the nintendo DS look like a Tiger hand held.

Sorry folks.

Nintendo got its ass served.

2/5/2005 3:35:55 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8167667662&rd=1

2/5/2005 3:56:59 PM

2/5/2005 3:58:19 PM

2/5/2005 3:59:22 PM

bigger game library + cheaper price = win

ps2 had a head start as well, same thing for the GB: DS

[Edited on February 5, 2005 at 6:51 PM. Reason : ]

2/5/2005 6:50:58 PM

mobile consoles are growing more and more archaic with each generation, I think the psp looks like a better system sort of like game gear vs gameboy, and the nintendo will probably win out. maybe if the psp read discs you authored yourself and you could make your own movies, it'd be ok as a portable dvd player/game system, but as is, it needs more battery power to be useful (LONG trips and such)

2/5/2005 9:02:41 PM

^ yeah i think that's it's biggest flaw at the moment is the absolutly shitty battery life

2/5/2005 9:33:36 PM

Quote :

"I'm not sure either one will have enough buttons to give me the control that I'm used to with my ps2 and computer."

That is one of the main reasons for the touch screen on the DS. Each game can use as many or as little buttons as they choose. It won't come the near the same amount of control you feel with a console controller, but that is just how handhelds are.

Quote :

"And Nintendo is offering (or will be, I think) an adapter to use flash cards that you can play music and watch videos with."

Do you have a link or anything for that?


Oh yeah and one more thing... If the Zelda game that is coming out has nearly the impact as Ocarina of Time did, then that is that. I also heard that a Super Smash Brothers game is gonna be released at some point, which would be extremely awesome with the wirless. Final Fantasy III will be nice too with the touch screen.

[Edited on February 6, 2005 at 1:19 PM. Reason : d]

2/6/2005 1:17:17 PM

The PSP's battery will last longer then the inflamed joints in your hands.

If you're enough of a hardcore gamer to manage to play a game 3hrs straight on a midget p33n sized screen/control setup then you're a fucking idiot for not getting a laptop and playing a real man games.

2/6/2005 1:26:05 PM

Oh you mean FPS, simulations, and strategy games? Yeah I can't get enough of those.

2/8/2005 12:43:29 PM

Quote :

"If you're enough of a hardcore gamer to manage to play a game 3hrs straight on a midget p33n sized screen/control setup then you're a fucking idiot for not getting a laptop and playing a real man games. "

Its not 3 hrs straight you douche. What if I am on a long road trip? Might want to play some now and some later. What about the TRUE handheld gamers? There is a mini niche of those in our society believe it or not. People will go out and have fun. During times when you are standing around (ie waiting for a movie, in line for dinner, driving in the car in between events, etc), people will pull out their SP/Advance and play a little bit, or play verses.

Now, that may not seem like a lot of time, but it adds up. Also, starting a system takes a bit of juice in itself. So that 3 hours of continuous play might not even make it that long if you are playing a game on again off again.

PS: Laptops cost considerably more than handheld consoles. They also do not have the same library of games (PC different than console, imagine that). And they are not as portable. "La-de-da! I'm going to take my laptop into the movie theatre with me!" To even make the mere suggestion is absurd.



Btw, were the heat and skipping problems associated with the PSP completely erradicated?

2/8/2005 1:45:45 PM

i want one so i can play to in between class when i have nothing better to do.

2/8/2005 2:09:14 PM

hands down, shopping with the girlfriend wins out.

2/8/2005 3:41:48 PM

i think i'll just stick with my atari lynx

thanks for the info, though

2/8/2005 4:27:16 PM

^I had one of those back in the early 90s. That thing was a beast when it came to batteries. That was before you could just plug the thing in and charge it... I think it ran on like six AA batteries and had a battery life of <2 hrs. It was cool if you plugged it into the wall for direct power though even though it completely defeated the purpose of it being portable. I think I only had like three games though... Viking Child, Ninja Gaiden, and some racing game. The backlight and color was a nice change from the Gameboy though.

2/8/2005 4:36:02 PM

Quote :

"See you say that now. However I saw a classmate hold a PSP in his hands during NE419. It made the nintendo DS look like a Tiger hand held. Sorry folks. Nintendo got its ass served."

after carefully reviewing the specs of each, and the game types for each, i concur with the above conclusion. although, i will say that either of the two will satisfy a handheld gamer. I would not go as far and say it makes the psp makes the ds looks like a tiger game either, just the bigger screen is the shizznit.

http://hardware.gamespot.com/Sony-PSP-11721-S-4-6
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/allgames_a.html
http://hardware.gamespot.com/Nintendo-DS-11722-S-4-6
http://www.gamespot.com/ds/allgames_a.html

2/10/2005 9:26:48 PM

Even if the PSP does turn out to be better, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be more popular. That $250 pricetag is probably gonna deter a lot of people from getting one until the price goes down a bit.

[Edited on February 11, 2005 at 7:16 AM. Reason : price]

2/11/2005 7:15:55 AM

http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=7972§ion=feature&email=evan%40blaustein.net

2/11/2005 7:27:23 AM

-ZiP!-

2/11/2005 8:22:38 AM

too bad it's not really that big and the graphics wont be near as nice...

2/11/2005 10:41:10 AM

Actually the size of that picture depends on the size and resolution of your screen, so on my 10.4" laptop that actually looks just about actual size.

From some of the actual screenshots I've seen the games look pretty damn good for a handheld.

2/11/2005 12:31:00 PM

so, that joker has no analog stick?

2/11/2005 12:37:12 PM

Actually Armabound

The graphics of Ridge Racer did look THAT nice.

And Ridge Racer, or whatever the fuck that game was, isn't GT4.

Sorry

Let me repeat:

Nintendo DS = Teh Pwnt.

2/11/2005 12:41:11 PM

http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20050210/index.html

2/11/2005 1:24:36 PM

2/11/2005 2:23:44 PM

they will both be amazing systems.

2/11/2005 5:49:14 PM

nintendo ds scores 1 in the 'redeeeming attribute' department.
being able to play some multiplayer games with only one copy of the game is awesome.
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/ds/multiplayer.jsp#multi_pak

2/11/2005 8:17:49 PM

hah. did more investigating. i have come to the conclusion that, first i am to retract my opinion that 'the psp will own the ds', and say that i think it is about equal between them now. in addition to the above stated reason in the previous post(which i was not able to edit and put this post in there with it b/c of the 30 minute limit to edit a post), i will say that nintendo has cleverly converted a console controller over to a handheld device, just the same as it did with the nes controller when it first created gameboy. i came to this conclusion upon noting that there exist couple of strong simlarities, if not coincidences, between the console controls and the ds controls. first of all, the right side of the nifty touch screen, in collaboration with the thumd piece, functions quite the same as the c-stick on the console controller. the left side of the touch screens serves as the z-button on the console controller. all the other buttons are obviously placed. i would assume that this would mean that ds game developers could make more interactive games that psp, i suppose. anybody differ?

2/11/2005 9:57:29 PM

this same discussion is in this month's mobile pc magazine

2/11/2005 10:42:47 PM

http://www.everyfreegift.com/landings/template_05.jsp?lid=3722&product_id=4673&pid=1844165613&cid=557

2/12/2005 12:01:27 AM

http://www.wipeoutpure.com/
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/action/thegodfather/media.html?gcst=godfather3_press1.asx

[Edited on February 12, 2005 at 9:03 PM. Reason : z]

2/12/2005 8:49:32 PM

lets not forget that the ds is not a new version of the gameboy.

2/16/2005 12:45:26 PM

DS

2/16/2005 1:35:38 PM

this is all you'll ever need

2/16/2005 2:05:52 PM

^^Yeah Castlevania DS is gonna be awesome. It and Wario Ware: Touched! are the reasons I'll eventually own one.

2/16/2005 6:30:54 PM

I bought my girlfriend Warioware Touched for Valentine's and she loves it, but I haven't gotten a chance to play it yet. Anyone have any output on it?

2/17/2005 8:27:40 AM

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=292866

2/17/2005 8:30:53 AM

You can also BLOW on the touchpad. I stand corrected

Apparently mini games in Wario Ware and another game require you to BLOW on the unit

-I seriously spent several hours thinking about how the fuck that would work-

[Edited on February 17, 2005 at 10:23 AM. Reason : doh]

2/17/2005 10:17:50 AM

actually, you are to blow in the microphone.

2/17/2005 10:20:12 AM