PSP - Wait And See

By Tom Bramwell Published 1 September, 2005

Tom's had it for ages, but still says the time's not right to buy.

I wouldn't recommend buying a PSP. Not right now. Not for you guys.

"I know," you're thinking, "it's the launch line-up. Doesn't have legs."

Actually, I don't have a problem with the launch line-up. I thought it was odd that Sony VP Phil "lots of ducks" Harrison stood up in London this week and defended the PSP by arguing that launch titles don't define consoles. If I were he, I'd have defended what's actually on the shelves this morning. The line-up certainly has legs (better yet, in many cases it has wheels). Ridge Racer, WipEout Pure, Lumines, Everybody's Golf, Virtua Tennis - I'd recommend each and every one.

No, I'm not worried about the launch line-up. I'm worried about other things. For a start, I'm worried that in 12 months' time it's going to cost you £60-70 for a new game - because most of us still aren't ready to replace the home versions of games with portable ones.

Remember when Sony said it wanted to establish UMD as a format for films, and nobody could see the attraction of buying a DVD and a UMD? That's kind of how I feel about PSP - I'm worried that a lot of its biggest games in the next 12 months are going to be ports or facsimiles of the stuff you'll actually want to play on your PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC or whatever you have. We're already seeing examples of this - Pro Evolution Soccer 5 is going to be a close approximation of the PS2 version, but if you're a PES fan you're going to want to play it on your TV with your mates as well. That means buying both versions. Even if you'd written off the cost of the actual PSP hardware, you'd still be left paying a heck of a lot for one game.

You can argue, as Kristan has done in his conflicting editorial, that this doesn't apply to everybody. Of course it doesn't. Nor does the inclusion of progressive scan, widescreen and 60Hz options in PlayStation 2 and Xbox games. We argue for those features anyway, because that's what we want - and we're the buyer. What's relevant here is our desire to play games in the best possible way.

If we assume that most of the people buying PSP already own at least one games machine of some description - and it'd be incredibly speculative to suggest otherwise - either one version of a game has to cannibalise sales of the other, or everyone has to spend loads more money. The only other option is "PS2 and PSP" game bundles for less money. We might be able to get on board with that, but what right-thinking publisher is going to want to develop two versions of the same game and then slash the margin on both in order to sell either?

This concern will probably apply to virtually any PSP release from EA, Ubisoft, Activision, SEGA, and any number of other publishers. Of course, there'll also be ports of classic 3D games - Virtua Tennis is a good example - that'll seem worth buying, but that's because it's been a long while since you spent money on them. I'd consider paying £35 to play something like Vib Ribbon on PSP, but I'm not going to pay for Burnout: Revenge on PS2 and Burnout: Legends on PSP. I'm just not. And I'm also wondering whether a port of Gran Turismo 4 is something I want to buy barely a year after I did so on the PS2.

So then, for people like you and I, first party games and exclusives have to lead the way for the sake of our bank balances. It's truer for the PSP than for any other console. But it's not just a question of different formats battling with one another for shelf space and readies; it's also one of play habits, build quality, and the actual viability of some of its most noteworthy features.

For a large part, people are more likely to spend time playing PSP games indoors within reach of their other game devices than anywhere else. That's partly because it just makes sense - there are relatively few PSP games that you're going to want to just dip into for five minutes (£180 pays for a much livelier five minutes in most contexts than you'll get out of a PSP game anyway), and extensive leisure time away from home is seldom spent alone or inactive.

It's also partly because the PSP isn't very robust. This isn't a rugged Game Boy or DS that you can take to the beach and shake the sand out of afterward. The screen scratches very easily, and the thought of dropping it on a hardwood floor makes us cringe. I've done that to my DS before and it was fine, and I'd take that anywhere. I wouldn't exactly throw it around, but I wouldn't worry about it. I do worry about taking my PSP out of the house, because I've seen what happens when you manhandle it or get it dirty - the analogue nub breaks off, the screen scuffs, the shoulder buttons stick. And that's ignoring the not inconsiderable worry that it's going to be a hotter item for quick-fingered thieves than the iPod ever was.

I'm not convinced by the prospect of wireless gaming on PSP either. I simply don't expect to randomly encounter many other people who have spent £180 on a console and £35 on a game, have both in their hands at the same time as me and feel like taking me on. And if I'm making special arrangements to play wireless Pro Evolution Soccer 5, why not just invite people round to play it on my PS2? The screen is bloody enormous.

It'd be fine if people were doing proper game sharing - allowing people to engage in multiplayer battles with just one copy of the game - but nobody has done so far, and given the PSP's technical superiority over any other handheld that's used this technique in the past, it seems fair to imagine that it will have to store a lot of data in the other person's PSP memory to facilitate proper 3D gaming. And it'll have to do this by sending the data over the slower of the two wireless networking standards currently available.

All of this talk and I haven't even spoken about the battery life, which is pretty abysmal and nowhere near enough for long journeys or days out; or the MP3 playback, which arrives just as free mobile phones start to offer same thing - and in a unit that's about five times the size and weight of £60 Compact Flash-based MP3 players that have 20 times the storage capacity out of the box. Movie playback is, as Kristan points out, a lot easier than it has been at times in the past nine months, but the larger Memory Stick you need to store that kind of file costs at least another £35 and probably more if you want any kind of headroom.

For the record, I'm glad I own a PSP, I highly recommend a handful of the games, and I'm dead keen on several of the others; but would I recommend spending £180 on it right now, and around the same picking up a selection of games? No. PSP is one of those ideas that sounds fantastic on paper, but right now it's too much of a gamble. There's too much fog hanging over its future. It's geek chic and it's definitely something you will appreciate if you do buy it - and I did buy one, lest we forget - but unless you're an exceptional circumstance like me, or you have lots of disposable income, you're going to be better off waiting until next year and reassessing the situation then.

PlayStation Portable is out now worldwide. For an alternative take, you can find Kristan's thoughts on it here.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (73) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraser #1 7 years ago

    "I'm worried that a lot of its biggest games in the next 12 months are going to be ports or facsimiles of the stuff you'll actually want to play on your PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC or whatever you have."

    That's what I'm expecting as well. And that's what's currently not happening to the DS. In Kristan's article I wrote the only PSP game that currently interests me is Mercury, and that's because it looks very original and innovative.

    I don't want PS2 ports on a handheld. The reason that I like the DS so much is because it's so different. It's not just a 15x5x3cm GameCube, it's something completely different. The PSP feels to much like a PS2 in a smaller housing.

  • Cosmopolitan #2 7 years ago

    Well said. As for my handheld gaming needs, SP is more than enough right now.

  • krudster #3 7 years ago

    "I don't want PS2 ports on a handheld"

    What about gamers who don't get much gaming time at home? Ever thought about catering for that market? I, for one, am really gagging for PES on PSP and a bunch of other titles that I'd love to play at home on my PS2 but will never ever get the time to do so.

  • Shinji #4 7 years ago

    So you're going to buy two consoles, and two full price copies of each game, in order to do that? I think that's a luxury most gamers can't afford - or would simply object to forking out so much money for.

  • krudster #5 7 years ago

    No Rob, I most certainly am not going to buy two copies of any game. I'll buy one based on *where* I can get best value out of it.

    I think arguing *against* giving consumers the choice over what format they buy their games on is a faintly bizarre concept.

  • boo #6 7 years ago

    My heart is saying 'run out at luchtime and see if you can find one somewhere', but my head is saying 'Wait and see.'

    If I didn't have to buy the 'value' pack, and could just get the machine for, say, £129 - I wouldn't be having an internal debate - I'd be playing Lumines.
    As it is - it's too much money for something that's just a poor cousin to my PS2, no matter how nice it looks.

  • Shinji #7 7 years ago

    No Rob, I most certainly am not going to buy two copies of any game. I'll buy one based on *where* I can get best value out of it.

    Hmm, okay. I see the choice argument, but I don't think that's what it's going to boil down to for most people. If you play much PES, you probably play it at home, with mates, on a big screen. Same for a lot of games that are making it from PS2 to PSP in the coming months. Are you going to sacrifice that for handheld? Well, probably not. So the PSP game becomes an additional purchase for you, not a replacement purchase.

    I'm not saying your argument is invalid - more choice is good, and all that - but the question here is whether the PSP is a recommended, vital purchase for consumers, and I think that unless they fit into a pretty specific bracket of people who want to play their PS2 games on the move and don't mind either paying for two copies or sacrificing the ability to play them on the big screen at home, right now it's not hugely attractive.

  • #8 7 years ago

    Well said that man (Tom Bramwell)

  • Blerk #9 7 years ago

    The staff are fighting! Quick - steal their stuff while they're not looking! :-)

  • krudster #10 7 years ago

    We're not fighting, we're just doing what we do best: being argumentative little gits.

  • drumbaby #11 7 years ago

    Weird article.

    It's titled "PSP - Wait And See"

    But comes across "PSP - Don't bother"

    All the stuff Tom mentions isn't just going to go away in time...it's part and parcel of the system.

    Like I said; weird.


  • Eraser #12 7 years ago

    What about gamers who don't get much gaming time at home? Ever thought about catering for that market? I, for one, am really gagging for PES on PSP and a bunch of other titles that I'd love to play at home on my PS2 but will never ever get the time to do so.

    Good point, but I'm not that sort of gamer.

    It's a bit tricky to have the same discussion on two fronts, so I'm probably repeating what I already said in the other article, but when I express my views of the PSP, those views and opinions are what made me decide against buying one. For someone else, some of the reasons I used against buying it might in fact be a reason to actually do buy the system, or maybe not relevant at all.

    There are dozens of reasons to buy a PSP, but for me the question wasn't really "get a PSP or not", it's more like "get a PSP or a DS". They both fill the same need. I decided to get a DS because I found it far more interesting than the PSP, it's far cheaper and was released in Europe far sooner than the PSP. Now that I have a DS (which I really love) there's not that much of a reason to get a PSP anymore. If I didn't have a DS, recycled PS2 games might not even be that much of a problem for me. In that sense, the PSP seems more like deepening my games catalogue and the DS feels like broadening it. I'd rather choose for broadening it then (especially if I can do that at half the price).

  • Syneisha #13 7 years ago

    I'd say krudsters argument would hold a lot more water if playing PES on a PSP would be the same as playing it on a PS2, which it won't be sadly.

    Different control scheme, dubiously placed analogue nub, the issues of just using the PSP on the move....I don't see the PSP as a replacement for a PS2 at all.

    What the PSP really needs are games like Metal Gear Ac!d, Mercury and Lumines; games in their own right that are perfectly suited to what the PSP can do and also nicely suitable for use on the go.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 09:28

  • Furbs #14 7 years ago

    /doesnt have a PS2
    /wouldnt buy a PSP if he did (probably)
    /has had his charging since midnight and is just waiting for the right moment to switch it on :)

    I wont buy two copies of every game, I cant see many people doing so. We'll pick and choose. How many people own two of PS2/GC/Xbox? Yet they dont buy the game on both formats. You choose the format that suits it best.

    Having said that, I will be buying PES5 on both Xbox and PSP.

    Pro Evo...
    ...on the move....
    ...gaming nirvana.

    Incidently, this thread is gonna get really interesting when those on summer holidays (not just schoolkids, if ya know what I mean ;) ) wake up and start posting....
    200 posts by 6pm I reckon.

  • Derblington #15 7 years ago

    I have a PS2 (until this evening), a GC, a DS and now a PSP. And my 360 is on order.

    The PSP is going to be, at the mo, my main gaming machine because of the '5 min +' play nature of the machine. I won't buy games twice - I'll buy a game for whatever platform I'll get most use out of it but I'm also interested in games like PES for the PSP that I wouldn't touch on any other consoles.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 09:37

  • jiveguy #16 7 years ago

    I don't know if the argument that gamers who don't have time to game at home should fork out for handheld versions of games they own already stands up well. Surely the reason they don't have the time to game at home is because they are busy with non game related stuff outside of home? I can understand if you are making regular hour plus long journeys (and have your hands free) but for most people whipping out a handheld during they day may not be an option. I've only used my DS outside of home once and that was when I was traveling to/from eastern europe and even then I only took it because I was traveling alone.

    I agree with a comment from another thread that most handheld gamers don't (won't?) use their handheld outside of the house. For me it's just another option when I want something different and can't be bothered firing up a console or crouching in front of the PC. Or if its a sunny day and I want to game in the garden...actually, scratch that, the DS screen is useless in bright sunlight :)

  • Eraser #17 7 years ago

    tbh I barely use my DS inside the house.
    I go with the bus to work (30 mins drive) and with the train to my girlfriend (about an hour with the train, an hour and a half when I go directly out of work) so I kill that time playing on my DS. Some games however, like NFS:U2 require a steady hand and view of the screen. That makes playing the game on the bus very hard.

  • sephy #18 7 years ago

    It'd be fine if people were doing proper game sharing - allowing people to engage in multiplayer battles with just one copy of the game - but nobody has done so far,
    Namco museum battle Collection
    Granted it's not a Uk title as yet, but it's there


    Also Tom, as for your comment about PES on your "bloody enormus" screen, you are in the enviable position of having a PJ aren't you? Joe Public probably won't be so the arguement isn't quite the same (although its still valid to a lesser degree)

    I'm also wondering if people actually realise you can keep your screen in tip top condition for just £6... If you've just spent £180 on a handheld, £6 isn't going to break the bank

    I'm confused about"here's too much fog hanging over its future". Surely the future looks better as games will be more varied and developers would have spent more time getting the best out of the machine. It's like saying the ps2 had a foggy future based on it's (smaller number of) launch title
    Edited by 2 at 01/09/05 @ 09:46

  • Eraser #19 7 years ago

    " "It'd be fine if people were doing proper game sharing - allowing people to engage in multiplayer battles with just one copy of the game - but nobody has done so far"
    Namco museum battle Collection
    Granted it's not a Uk title as yet, but it's there"

    Even if developers did, chances of running into someone with a PSP are very slim.
    In all the time that I've had my DS, I have ran into someone playing a DS game only twice, and only one of the two times I played a game with the other person. Problem was that we only had enough time for about two rounds of Mario 64 DS.

    The thought of booting up your DS/PSP and finding someone to play a game is a utopian thought.

  • Dr_Actually #20 7 years ago

    "but I'm not going to pay for Burnout: Revenge on PS2 and Burnout: Legends on PSP. I'm just not"

    But they're completely different games.

    "... be fine if people were doing proper game sharing - allowing people to engage in multiplayer battles with just one copy of the game - but nobody has done so far, .."

    Most of the next wave of games will have game sharing pretty much as standard, I gather..
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 09:51

  • Derblington #21 7 years ago

    "but I'm not going to pay for Burnout: Revenge on PS2 and Burnout: Legends on PSP. I'm just not"

    I must admit I will be - I love Burnout and these are 2 completely seperate games that I'll be more than happy to play through.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 09:56

  • Teeth #22 7 years ago

    "It'd be fine if people were doing proper game sharing"

    Fired Up I believe has single-UMD multiplayer, and according to my source it takes 15 seconds to transfer the game to all waiting clients and then a further 10 or so to send a level and start playing. I tihnk that's what he said.

  • Furbs #23 7 years ago

    This sharing thing - I assume its a limited/cut down version like say MarioKart on the GBA?

  • Eraser #24 7 years ago

    "This sharing thing - I assume its a limited/cut down version like say MarioKart on the GBA?"

    Not sure how it works with the PSP, but with the DS it works like this (and I expect the PSP to work the same).

    Player 1 fires up a game in multiplayer mode. Player 2 starts the "download play" application. The application searches for nearby connections and lists them. You pick the connection of player 1 and player 1's DS will transfer the required data to player 2 where it'll be stored in memory (meaning that once the DS is shut down, the data is lost). You can play the multiplayer part of the game with each other then.

  • Huntcjna #25 7 years ago

    I thought this article was great and its really brought me down to earth, because I was getting caught up in the launch hype and was gonna blow some money on one but now Im gonna wait, buy advance wars ds, and see what happens january time. Also I need to save some bones for my 360.

  • PearOfAnguish #26 7 years ago

    Dull and expensive. It is shiny, though.

  • wattoo #27 7 years ago

    It seems abit rich slagging the PSP for ports of games when the DS is guilty of the same thing. Mario 64 was a port with a few extra bits for the stylus and I've just been gutted to have a go on Advance Wars Dual Strike and seen exactly the same maps as on my GBA version. I think it's more heinous for the DS to do that sort of thing because of the way it's marketed as enhancing gameplay with the touch screen where as the PSP is a Portable Playstation so ports are more of an excuse. There's games i like for both systems but because of all the other stuff my PSP can do, i'd definitely choose that if i could only have one of them.

  • RandolphScott #28 7 years ago

    I think the argument that you will NEED both versions and therefore you won't buy one of the consoles is pretty stupid.

    Proper gamesharing exists on titles like Fired Up.

  • Putty-Man #29 7 years ago

    Great article, I was fighting the urge to buy one 'just because' but this has set me straight.

    I thank you Tom!

  • Kay #30 7 years ago

    sephy, no matter which way you look at it a TV screen at home will always be bigger than the PSP screen. So, yes, compared to it the TV screen can be described as 'bloody enormous'.

    Some very good points in the article, describing perfectly the reasons why I haven't got one, despite being very tempted. One thing that I'm surprised that people haven;t elaborated on more is the fact that the PSP is such a delicate piece of hardware. Is that appropriate for a handheld machine?

    krudster argues that the PSP ports will be for people who don't have time to play on their PS2's at home - but can anyone seriously imagine taking their PSP outside? I think Sony may have shot themselves in the foot on this matter, as by making their product so desirable they are making it less likely for people to use it in the circumstances for which it was designed for.

  • Burton2000 #31 7 years ago

    i have advacne wars dual strike and it aint a port its a sequal for the main reason it has difernt story. mario 64 yeah thats a port cus it has the same story but awds aint.

  • Lost_in_Darkness #32 7 years ago

    That's some sound advice. Well thought out, and I agree.

  • RandolphScott #33 7 years ago

    " but can anyone seriously imagine taking their PSP outside?"

    Yes. Yes I can. I've seen people in town with mobile phones and ipods as well but they were obviously wrecklessly endangering their lives.

  • wattoo #34 7 years ago

    Burton - but the multiplayer maps are all the same as on my gba. 5 new units is not a reason for me to buy it so it's gone from an essential purchase to not a purchase in one viewing. virtua tennis may well get my dosh instead

  • PearOfAnguish #35 7 years ago

    " It seems abit rich slagging the PSP for ports of games when the DS is guilty of the same thing."

    Yeah, I was disappointed to find that Nintendogs, Kirby, Electroplankton, Zoo Keeper, Meteos and Yoshi Touch & Go were exactly the same as the GameCube versions.

    Oh, wait...

  • masterson #36 7 years ago

    "I don't want PS2 ports on a handheld" is mostly said by people who have, rather ironically, been enjoying SNES ports on a handheld well enough for the last few years.

  • Furbs #37 7 years ago

    Yeah cos Metal Gear Acid, Mercury and Lumines were just like their PS2 counterparts. Oh. Wait. :)

  • mcmonkeyplc #38 7 years ago

    Excellent article mugsy!

    /claps hands

    /waits

  • Vin #39 7 years ago

    "Well said. As for my handheld gaming needs, SP is more than enough right now."

    This man knows the score.

  • PearOfAnguish #40 7 years ago

    Well, that's three games to keep me going until someone comes up with a new idea then, thanks for the tip.

    ""I don't want PS2 ports on a handheld" is mostly said by people who have, rather ironically, been enjoying SNES ports on a handheld well enough for the last few years."

    Except that the GBA/DS cost less initially and SNES ports make up a fraction of its catalogue.

    DS is outselling PSP 100:1 in Japan, where Sony usually do extremely well. The reason? Nintendogs. Software sells these systems, Sony needs to get its arse in gear and get some decent games out there. GTA will probably sell them some units, though.

  • Furbs #41 7 years ago

    Well at least thats three, cos not one of the titles you list appeals to me in any way ;)
    Its different consoles for different people. I want sports games, racing games and the odd shooter. I'm not interested in puzzle games, tamogotchi/pokemon or cartoony games. In the fields I'm interested in, theres less scope for originality, so I dont give a shit :p

  • PearOfAnguish #42 7 years ago

    So you're the one who buys every EA sports game each time it comes out.

  • #43 7 years ago

    Would it be a fair statement to say that "Sony's biggest competitor with PSP is, in-fact, PS2"?

    But, then again, PS2 is on it's way out anyway isn't it?

  • captain-future #44 7 years ago

    I STILL DON'T GET IT: why would anyone buy a more expensive UMD over a DVD?

  • PearOfAnguish #45 7 years ago

    " I STILL DON'T GET IT: why would anyone buy a more expensive UMD over a DVD?"

    Sony is banking on the idiot gamer contingent and clueless parent brigade.

  • Furbs #46 7 years ago

    Maybe...I guess I'm not hardcore or cool then eh?

  • MoFo #47 7 years ago

    To me handheld gaming should go hand-in-hand with "Fits in your pocket". The GBA/SP did that. Neither DS or PSP do. So in reality they are more like laptops than handhelds. I'll stick to Advance Wars on my SP for now.

  • laur #48 7 years ago

    Personally I would be very happy to buy ports of games from the PS2, as long as they are well done and don't suffer from problems that ports often do. As mentioned above, Pro Evo on PSP is a prospect that many are looking foward to, and the added bonus of connectibility with the PS2 version only comes about due to its similarity to the PS2 version.
    Do you really buy something just because it is different? No, of course not. With the PSP you are getting familiar high quality titles that are not only fun to play for gamers but economic successes for the companies that develop and produce them. And of course, there are "different" or "original" games, such as Mercury.

  • Feanor #49 7 years ago

    Personally I love that PSP games are region free. I'll be importing Pro Evo 5 for my American PSP instead of waiting till next year for Winning Eleven 9 International which likely won't have nearly as much fan support. And Pro Evo should look great on the PSP's screen, especially since I'm pretty sure Pro Evo won't have widescreen support on home consoles till it's on the 360 and PS3.

  • dokodemo #50 7 years ago

    The PSP games I've spent all my time playing - Lumines, Wipeout Pure and Metal Gear Acid. Yes, I can play those on the PS2, of course!

  • Machiavel #51 7 years ago

    Wow, Dodgeball on UMD was £21.99 in Virgin - mind you that's 92 minutes of quality widescreen entertainment (no extras) that is eminently rewatchable - as it's layered...

  • Ali #52 7 years ago

    Interesting point on the 'two game' theory. Perhaps there's a very small market that overlaps, where people who normally played games on their PS2 will give it up for a PSP? A Game Boy Player-style peripheral for playing PSP games on the telly might help soften the blow.

    Anyway, isn't it a little greedy to want to play PES5 all night on the PS2 and then play it on the way to work on your PSP, THEN get to play it at work as your job anyway? Huh? :)

  • Furbs #53 7 years ago

    Oh that would be cool Ali - given the PSP's screen res I guess it would look better than the old GB stuff (if not great)? Imagine if they had put a TV out port? Would certainly have helped UMD movie sales I'd imagine.

  • abacabb #54 7 years ago

    All this talk about screen size... I feel snice no-one else has pointed it out it's up to me to - while you may have a large (or even huge) tv screen at home, a handheld, like the psp, will usually be held a lot closer to your eyes than that massive flat plasma on your wall, so you'll probably find that it will actually take up around the same amount of your vision. Try holding it up and test it yourselves. Therefore the whole screen-size thing is a non-issue..am I alone on this?..am I making sense?
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 16:08

  • abacabb #55 7 years ago

    Oh, and for DS users...just hold the thing a little bit closer and...BOOM! A screen taking up so much of your vision you'll laugh at those poor PSP users having a screen so small that by closing one eye and putting a thumb close to the other will entirely cover up...it's all about perspective lads

  • Ali #56 7 years ago

    Everyone knows the fun you can have with massive widescreen TVs by sitting up close to them so you can see nothing else... try doing that with a PSP and you'll probably get cancer.

    Also, widescreen TVs are a bit more tricky to get on the train.

    I don't have one, and don't plan to get one for a while, but is anyone else petrified about taking theirs out on the train? I live in London and come from Essex; I might as well be bending over in front of a line of gays for the shafting I'd get whipping a PSP out in Stratford.

  • Killerbee #57 7 years ago

    Great article Tom. :)

    Sums up nicely why I'll be sticking with my GBA SP for the forseeable future. Right now if I ever feel like a new handheld, the DS is looking far and away the most appealing option.

    Maybe if the PSP gets a few more exclusives like a Final Fantasy RPG or something, I'll consider it, but then why would a publisher like Square restrict itself to releasing only on the PSP if it could just as easily knock out the same game on the similarly-architectured PS2? Oh, and the price needs to come down.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/05 @ 23:45

  • secombe #58 7 years ago

    I don't think wireless gaming is a utopian vision, especially not with a DS. I recently stayed in a hotel in Africa for 2 weeks which happened to have loads of kids around, I was amazed at the amount of kids with DS', so I got the DS out (which I only took for airport play) and had an absolute blast, the range is unbelievable on these things. Its great not needing many of the games either.
    Its also bullet-proof, I had it operating in direct 48c sunshine for ages, and I dropped it twice from quite a height.
    Will I be buying a PSP? No chance, the games don't appeal to me in terms of taking them out and about (they don't seem to have that portable appeal to them, seem great for sitting in the living room playing, but isn't that what the PS2 is for?), and I love the fact that my DS is actually, you know, portable.

  • Tomo #59 7 years ago

    Blimey... this article makes me think second thought about buying my PSP so early on. I love it, but there are plenty of points there that I agree with. Lets hope Kristan's article will restore my faith when I read that now.

    Oh and the Eurogamer Live! Argument - great stuff. More of it please.

  • onyxbox #60 7 years ago

    this article is right on the money. I bought a PSP about 6 months ago and have just about every game worth owning for it and I feel the same way.

    good job Tom.

  • l_p_4_7 #61 7 years ago

    Surely though, the main reason why alot of people have (and will) still buy a PSP is the potential of homebrew (read: emulators) on the move?

    Yes, Sony is trying to outlaw it by releasing new firmware patches, and I think euro PSPs come with firmware that doesn't work with homebrew code at the moment, but coming from someone who owns a US 1.50 PSP, I just LOVE the ability to play Snes/Genesis games on the move!

  • Jowiddaflo #62 7 years ago

    Totally agree on the article

  • alanoboe #63 7 years ago

    perfect for filling the hour trip to uni each way every day. dont need battery to last more than 4 hours at a time. for longer journeys, dont think i'd be wanting to play it 4 hours straight.

    get wireless internet in the uni library to check emails and quick browsing.

    dont see point in playing it at home if uv got a big screen/better console (when xbox 360 or ps3 comes out)

    people will choose the best platform to buy a game on and in some circumstances buy it for both.... PES is a must for when ur mates are round before/after a night in the town.... but u might want a copy to play on the way to work aswell.... its only an extra £25 for the pleasure.

    reckon most people who buy one for £180 will be commuters/students/older than primary school and will be able to look after (not drop or scratch) it. it'll be treated like a mobile phone.

    not think umd movies will be like pre-recorded mini discs and not take off......? people will end up putting their existing dvd's onto the memory sticks one at a time, with odd person maybe buying their favourite film to watch...

    don't want to take it outside? - a bit sad really

    nintendo in my opinion just keeps modifying mario - should have left it on the gameboy years ago.... i wouldnt consider a ds

    rant over

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #64 7 years ago

    This article has convinced me to wait. I've been sorely tempted but it's only really Lumines and Mercury that have got my juices up, although there's a few others I'm looking at with a lot of interest.

    /looks at wallet

    Well that's decided it. No PSP for me!

    And alanoboe You were doing SO well up until
    nintendo in my opinion just keeps modifying mario - should have left it on the gameboy years ago.... i wouldnt consider a ds

    Really? So Nintendogs, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Another Code, Animal Crossing DS, Polarium, ElectroPlankton, Ouendan, Metroid Prime: Hunters etc etc are just modified Mario games?

  • Made_in_the_USA #65 7 years ago

    Finally someone gets it! Thank you Tom, thank you! Why in the world would you want to play a watered-down version of a game you already own!? And I too disagree with the "What if you aren't ever home?" guy. If you're not playing it at home, then you're probably doing something work related. And even if you are playing on a commute, the battery dies faster than a dog in India. The line-up on the DS is much better anyways. Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Nintendogs, Feel the Magic: XY XX (Project Rub for you guys), Meteos, Jump Superstars (JP), Jam with the Band (JP), Osu! Tatake! Ouendan (JP), Another Code, Super Mario 64 DS, and WarioWare Touched! are pulling the current line-up fine. And with Lost in Blue, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble, Mario Kart DS, SBK: Snowboard Kids DS, Animal Crossing DS, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, Egg Monster Hero, Final Fantasy III, Katamari Damacy, New Super Mario Bros., Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS, Legend of Zelda DS, Shin Megami Tensei DS, Electroplakton, Xenosaga DS, Lunar: Dragon Song (you guys don't get this one T.T), Sonic Rush, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, Azure Dreams, and the English version of Jam with the Band coming, the DS' future is looking alot brighter than the PSP's (sorry if I got some of the info for you guys wrong). And before you ask, I'm not just some ignorant Nintendo fanboy. I did EXTENSIVE research on BOTH systems and have found the DS to be better.

  • SlackMaster #66 7 years ago

    I've been tempted to buy one but have had doubts... now after reading this article I'll wait... I almost got one on a impulse buy yesterday... if it wasn't for the fact that HMV would only sell them in their £259 bundle then I would have one (they're trying to milk as much out of people as possible buying a PSP)... Luckily I din't get one and now I'll wait until next year...

    Nice article by the way... I agree with most points raised.

  • attep #67 7 years ago

    I bought pro evo 4 on PS2 and Xbox. Buying one game to play against your mates is fine but to be able to wonder aimlessly and challenge someone on the train, in the supermarket - worth the 2nd purchase. :D

  • Zuiyo #68 7 years ago

    I would mention that Sony says it's attempting to open up the market, to sell a PSP to people who can't play games in normal situations (TV, living room) whatever their situation is. In other words, it is not completely safe to assume PSP buyers to own other game systems.

    Other than that, agree with most points mentioned. Well written.

  • Tommyc352 #69 7 years ago

    Great article, and as a PSP owner I agree with the points made.

    I have been thinking I spent too much money - the fact that I commute on the train is one of the few reasons I havent flogged it yet - tho I am tempted

    If no new original games are due within the next 6 months I will be selling it tho

  • SirScratchalot #70 7 years ago

    "I don't want PS2 ports on a handheld" is mostly said by people who have, rather ironically, been enjoying SNES ports on a handheld well enough for the last few years. "

    Maybe, but at last they weren´t on sale at the same time as the snes version and they were pretty much the last vestige of 2d gaming, also the sheer difference in processing power made sure that newly developed titles had to be differentiated from what was on console. And I do remember this being one of the main points of contrition in the GBA:s second year. "Where´s our proper NEW games?" was voiced on many a forum....

  • alanoboe #71 7 years ago

    nintendogs? who thought up that nonsense......

  • Repsode #72 7 years ago

    Someone who's probably very rich by now.

    Anyway as someone who has owned an imported PSP for some time now, I agree with this article. Sure its a good system but now isn't the time.
    I am also worried about PS2 ports, but less so than this article does. I don't mind it if the game is good for portable play.
    This best game to sum up the PSP is THUG2 Remix. A technical marvel of a port and a really good game, but it also shows up some of the systems worst aspects. In an out of the house situation i barely get the time to load up the main screen let alone hone my combos and the controls make the game harder than it should be. I worry that this reckless dumping of PS2 games on the system could kill it entirely. Publishers dont seem to care that the PSP isn't a Dual Shock and make little effort to rework to controlls efficiently. It is subsequently my least played game.
    Some ports DO work. These are the simple ones with minimal button useage. Eg Virtua Tennis. It just seems to me that this is another Game Gear. Not only because its the more technically advanced machine but also because it is essentially a handheld version of a current console that is still available. (GG= Master System) the reason why the GBA worked as a port machine is that the games that were ported came from two generations previously and the two versions dont take up the same shelf space.
    I agree that the greatest threat to the PSP is the PS2.

  • Carrybagma #73 7 years ago

    Sony's best hope for success is probably the non-games features - pictures, films, music - stuff the DS cannot do. But Apple, Creative and all the others are already there and driving down the cost of portable media. Shame they couldn't do more (with games) on the memory stick without encouraging piracy. Shame they couldn't produce a killer game on launch too. They've ticked all the 'cool' boxes that Sony do so well, but nothing stays cool for long.

    It could turn out to be a portable Dreamcast...